Community Legal Services (Cls) Programme company information, Employees & Contact Information

Community Legal Services (CLS) is a Department for International Development (DFID), UK supported programme implemented by Maxwell Stamp PLC as the principal contractor, and the British Council and the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (UK) as the implementing partners. CLS is a five-year programme ending August 2017 which provides grants to eligible NGOs to support delivery of community legal services. CLS encompasses a set of interventions that promote greater access of the poor to legal entitlements, better protection of human rights and appropriate modes of dispute resolution through:  Legal and human rights awareness and education, alongside community organisation;  Identification of gaps and issues that rise out of knowledge of the law and human rights;  Community level mediation services provision;  Engagement with the Union Parishad officials for the resolution of problems;  Engagement with village courts and arbitration councils on cases within their jurisdiction;  Provision of legal aid at the district and national levels;  Community policing forums for resolution of disputes at the local level;  Development and deployment of competent community paralegals; and  Research and advocacy as complementary to community level action. CLS aims to provide greater access to justice to poor, marginalised and socially excluded communities in Bangladesh. Its overall objective is to improve the quality and coverage of CLS in Bangladesh, build sustainability into CLS programme interventions of potential grant partners, and encourage and create an enabling environment for legal service providing NGOs and community based organisations, to coordinate their activities for improved delivery of CLS to the target beneficiaries.