  We discuss the theoretical and experimental situations for charge symmetry
violation (CSV) effects in the elastic scattering of pi+ and pi- on deuterium
(D) and 3He/3H. Accurate comparison of data for both types of targets provides
evidence for the presence of CSV effects. While there are indications of a CSV
effect in deuterium, it is much more pronounced in the case of 3He/3H. We
provide a description of the CSV effect on the deuteron in terms of single- and
double- scattering amplitudes. The Delta-mass splitting is taken into account.
Theoretical predictions are compared with existing experimental data for pi-d
scattering; a future article will speak to the pi-three nucleon case.
