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Ref.
2024/CFTFEOTPIP/12005

Job offer type
Experts

Type of contract
Service contract

Deadline date
2024/10/27 20:35

Duration of the assignment
Short term

Contract
Freelancer

Duration
3 months

Mission description

Expertise France seeks to recruit a consultant(s) so as to carry out the final evaluation of its programme Pravo-Justice II. The final evaluation of Pravo-Justice II will take place nine months after the closure of the program, and at a time when a subsequent phase of the program, Pravo-Justice III, has already begun.

This final evaluation mission will serve a dual purpose: firstly, it is a milestone for the project to ensure its accountability to the donor (European Union and French Ministry of Foreign Affairs), the implementing agency (Expertise France), and the project's beneficiaries, notably the Ministry of Justice, the Office of the Attorney General, and the High Judicial Council. Furthermore, it aims to identify lessons learnt and best practices, so as to guide the implementation of the subsequent phase.

Project or context description

The action “Support to Justice-related Reforms in Ukraine II” (further - Pravo Justice Phase II) seek to assist Ukraine in the ongoing rule of law reforms by providing the necessary technical resources, equipment and capacity building for sustainable reform and effective implementation of the relevant sector strategic documents. The Multi-Donor Action Pravo Justice Phase II is implemented by Expertise France, through indirect management mode in cooperation, for a total budget of 10.270.480 EUR (with the EU contributing to the Action’s budget to the tune of 10.000.000 EUR, and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs contributing an additional 270.480 EUR to the programme budget). 

 

The programme inter-alia support the following state and non-state entities:

·         The Verkhovna Rada Committee on Legal Policy – it is a preparatory parliamentary body for the legislative initiatives in the justice sector, which also takes part in policy-making settings.

·         The Supreme Court – it is the highest court in the country established in 2017 as part of the 2016 judicial reform. It has higher capacity, trust in and recognition within the legal community compared to other courts. Yet, its organisational structure remains complex and it still struggles with uniformity of case law and backlog of cases.

·         The High Council of Justice (HCJ), High Qualification Commission of Judges (HQCJ) and the State Judicial Administration (SJA) – they are the main judicial governance bodies in the country dealing with judicial appointments, dismissals, discipline and administration of courts. There was a gradual decline in their effectiveness and efficiency since 2017. In autumn 2019, the HQCJ was dissolved and the process of judicial selection and qualifications assessment of sitting judges remains on hold, pending the re-establishment of the new HQCJ on the basis of the new judicial reform legislation adopted in July 2021. The process fully resumed from 2023 onward.

·         The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) – it is the main policy-making and regulatory body in the wider justice sector, in particular engaged in the regulation and oversight of notaries, enforcement agents, and bankruptcy trustees. It is also managing the free legal aid, registration, penitentiary and probation systems. Despite some shortcomings in its structure and business processes, the MOJ has continued to be a proactive, responsive, constructive, and results-oriented partner.

·         The Notaries, the Private Enforcement Officers (PEOs) and Bankruptcy Trustees (BTs) and their associations – are three private legal professions playing an important role in the functioning of the justice system. The gradual emancipation of PEOs, BTs and notaries from the MOJ has been a clear trend since at least 2017 – which the previous phase of the project contributed to.

·         The Prosecution Service, including the Office of the Prosecutor General – it is in charge of maintaining public prosecution in criminal cases and developing a well-coordinated prosecutorial and criminal justice policy in the country. The prosecution service has seen a major reform following the September 2019 amendments to the Law on Public Prosecution.

·         The civil society organisations – a diverse group of CSOs operate in the justice sector. Their range from specialised CSOs such as the Ukrainian Bar Association, legal aid providers and mediation organisations, to legal think tanks and advocacy-focused CSOs. CSO expertise and activism potential is still concentrated in a limited number of mostly Kyiv-based organisations. Pravo Justice II is supporting the Regional Justice Reform Councils in 6 regions of Ukraine, in order to nurture the development of regional civil society groups focused on justice sector reforms and evidence-based support to the central-level policy makers.

Support to the aforementioned actors seek to advance the following general and specific objectives:

·         The Overall Objective is to support national authorities in strengthening the Rule of Law system in Ukraine and in aligning Ukrainian justice system with the best European and international practices.

  • Specific Objective 1: Management of justice sector reforms improved in terms of strategic planning, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of reform implementation in the sector
  • Specific objective 2: Independence, efficiency, quality, integrity and transparency of the judiciary, and access to a fair trial enhanced
  • Specific objective 3: Enforcement of court decisions enhanced in civil and criminal cases
  • Specific objective 4: Justice sector digitisation policy instruments and e-justice solutions implemented
  • Specific objective 5: Accountability for international crimes and serious violations of human rights in Ukraine promoted
  • Specific objective 6: Administration of justice during wartime secured and key beneficiaries’ swift recovery supported

Required profile

1)      Expected number of experts for this assignment: 2

2)      Profile of appointed experts to undertake the contract:

Qualifications and experience

  • Master degree and/or 3rd cycle degree in law;

·         At least 10 years of experience in the justice sector, including at least of 3 years of experience working with public institutions;

·         At least 3 years of experience managing/implementing development cooperation projects/technical assistances;

·         At least 3 years of experience in relation to monitoring and evaluation, especially with regards to the implementation of external evaluations;

·         Prior experience in either policy-making or policy evaluation would be strong asset;

·         Good knowledge of the intervention context (Eastern Neighborhood and/or EU enlargement process) would be an asset;

Technical skills:

·         Excellent command of the EU project-cycle and general M&E tools (theory of change, logical framework, etc.);

·         Excellent command of MS Pack Office;

·         Excellent communication and organizational skills

 

Language skills:

·         Excellent command of written and spoken English (good writing, synthesis and analysis skills, etc.).

·         Excellent command of written and spoken Ukrainian. In the absence of Ukrainian language skills amongst the suggested team of evaluators, interpretation/translation resources should be included in the financial offer.

Additional information

Tenders should include:

·         Technical outline: demonstrate an understanding of and comment on the terms of reference, methodology, composition of the evaluation team, CVs and similar experience, and include the components mentioned in the terms of reference (detailed workplan, distribution of roles and responsibilities), as well as a draft evaluation matrix, to be reviewed during the inception phase;

·         Financial outline: overall budget for the evaluation, including the following: daily cost of each participant; breakdown of time spent on each intervention by participant and by phase; additional costs (services and additional documents); translation costs; and proposed terms of payment.

Selection criteria for applications

The selection process for candidates will be based on the following criteria :

  • Candidate’s understanding of cooperation project stakes

Deadline for application : 2024/10/27 20:35

File(s) attached : ToR_Final evaluation_Pravo Justice II.docx

Expertise France is the public agency for designing and implementing international technical cooperation projects. The agency operates around four key priorities :

  • democratic, economic, and financial governance ;
  • peace, stability, and security ;
  • climate, agriculture, and sustainable development ;
  • health and human development ;

In these areas, Expertise France conducts capacity-building initiatives and manages project implementation, leveraging technical expertise and acting as a project coordinator. This involves combining public sector expertise with private sector skills to drive impactful results. 

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