LSASL receives coveted ALSA membership
THE ALSA IS A STUDENT BODY WHERE 14 DIFFERENT ASIAN COUNTRIES INCLUDING INDONESIA, JAPAN, KOREA, MALAYSIA, SINGAPORE, TAIWAN, THAILAND AND SRI LANKA ARE PART OF, AND STUDENTS FROM THESE ASIAN COUNTRIES ARE COMMITTED TO PROMOTING THE APPRECIATION AND UNDERSTANDING OF CORE VALUES IN EACH LEGAL SYSTEM
Reaching new heights in bringing both international and local law students together, the Law Students Association of Sri Lanka (LSASL) has done Sri Lanka proud by becoming the first South Asian country to receive membership in the Asian Law Students Association (ALSA), at the Asian Forum held in Manila, Philippines.
From being an observing member in the ALSA, Sri Lanka has risen to being a member of the ALSA, when the LSASL was honoured with the membership. The induction took place at the Forum which was held from August 27 - September 2 after the International Board of ALSA and other member countries had agreed unanimously to grant Sri Lanka the membership of ALSA.
In the past years LSASL has been relentlessly pursuing their objective of promoting an accessible mass-oriented legal system in Sri Lanka. Thus as a result, law students from different Sri Lankan universi- ties have been working towards this common goal and it also has brought them together as a society of law students from different backgrounds eager to share their experiences and ideas about developing our legal system.
The ALSA is a student body where 14 different Asian countries including Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Sri Lanka are part of, and students from these Asian countries are committed to promoting the appreciation and understanding of core values in each legal system.
LSASL has also organised a study tour for their Asian counterparts giving them the opportunity to share their ideas and assessments on human rights and how the subject is influenced by socio cultural factors. "Law and Human Rights" was held from 13- 18 August and the future legal representatives were able to present their understandings about Law and human rights on a recognised platform and going beyond the academic experience, the foreign law students had been given the opportunity to engage in several activities to get a taste of Sri Lanka culture.
In addition LSASL organised a Legal Aid Programme for the Kalutara District last year together with a Disability Law Awareness Programme. A Legal Panel Discussion event “LawTALK” was also organised to enhance the opportunities of sharing the expert knowledge of legal experts. All members of the governing Council of ALSA voted in favour of Sri Lanka assessing the activities done by LSASL both internationally and locally and being impressed with the record they accepted Sri Lanka as a member country.
Receiving the ALSA membership would place both Sri Lanka and ALSA in a vital position as it opens more windows of opportunity for Sri Lankan law students to develop contacts and connect with others to get wider international exposure and share legal knowledge with their fellow Asian law students.
LSASL will be holding their LSASL Annual General Meeting in the first week of October where the National Council of LSASL and the ALSA Sri Lanka Board would be appointed.