Objectives and desired results

1) General objective

To provide high-quality international expertise, analytical support and capacity-development assistance to the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and the specialized administrative courts in strengthening their strategic management, business processes, communications and institutional capacity in line with European standards, including through the analysis of legislation and judicial practice, assessments and expert opinions on issues arising in the course of reform implementation.

2) Specific objectives

•  Support the strategic management, business processes and internal communications of the Supreme Court, including the development of the Judicial Communication Strategy.

•  Support the Constitutional Court of Ukraine through comparative analysis on the quality of judicial reasoning and capacity-building of CCU judges and staff.

•  Support the operationalization of the specialized administrative courts through the development of business processes and targeted capacity-building.

•  Support international cooperation and knowledge exchange of the highest courts with EU counterparts.

•  Provide, upon request of the Project, legal and policy analysis of legislation, draft laws, secondary legislation, judicial practice and case-law, as well as assessments and expert opinions on other issues relevant to Result 1.2.

3) Anticipated results

•  The Supreme Court is equipped with recommendations and inputs to strengthen its strategic management, business processes and communications, including the Judicial Communication Strategy.

•  A comparative analysis on the quality of judicial reasoning and drafting of constitutional court decisions delivered, and capacity of CCU judges and staff strengthened.

•  Business processes for the specialized administrative courts developed and their staff trained.

•  Strengthened international cooperation and knowledge exchange of the highest courts.

•  Beneficiaries and the Project are provided with timely expert analysis of legislation, draft laws, judicial practice and case-law, assessments and expert opinions supporting evidence-based decision-making.

• International expertise and EU Member States’ practices integrated into Project outputs and technical assistance activities.

Description of the assignment

1) Planned activities

The Expert shall work under the overall supervision of the Senior National Key Expert on Judiciary Reform and Pillar 1 Lead, and in close coordination with other Project experts and relevant beneficiary institutions.

Depending on the specific assignment and area of expertise, the Expert may be required to provide some or all of the following services:

A. Supreme Court

• Provide analysis and recommendations on the strategic management, business processes, internal communications and capacity-building of the Supreme Court.

• Support the Supreme Court in implementing the measures of the Rule of Law Roadmap and related EU accession commitments within its competence, including preparation of analytical inputs and recommendations.

•  Support the development of the Judicial Communication Strategy, including the communication needs assessment, stakeholder consultations and the review of existing communication practices.

B. Constitutional Court of Ukraine

•  Contribute to the comparative analysis of European practices and standards on the quality of judicial reasoning and drafting of constitutional court decisions, and prepare recommendations relevant to the CCU.

•  Support the strategic management, business processes and internal communications of the CCU.

•  Contribute to the design and delivery of capacity-building and knowledge-sharing events for CCU judges and staff on EU law, European constitutional justice standards and cooperation with constitutional courts of EU Member States.

C. Specialized administrative courts

• Develop business processes, internal procedures and organizational recommendations to support the launch and initial operationalization of the Specialized District Administrative Court and the Specialized Appeal Administrative Court.

•  Design and deliver targeted capacity-building for judges and staff of the specialized administrative courts, including training agendas, presentations, case studies and practical exercises.

D. Analysis of legislation and case-law, assessments and expert opinions

•  Upon request of the Project, provide legal and policy analysis of the legislation, draft laws, secondary legislation and internal regulations governing the organization and functioning of the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court, the specialized courts, judicial and constitutional proceedings, including their compliance with European standards and Ukraine’s EU accession commitments.

•  Analyze the case-law of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court and relevant case-law of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the EU, including issues of case-law consistency and quality of judicial reasoning, and identify trends, inconsistencies and implementation challenges.

•  Conduct needs assessments, functional and institutional assessments, gap analyses, surveys and other assessments of courts, procedures and practices, and prepare findings and recommendations.

•  Prepare expert opinions, analytical notes, comparative studies, policy briefs, comments and proposals on draft legal acts, strategies, action plans and other documents relevant to Result 1.2, including in response to ad hoc requests from the beneficiaries.

•  Contribute to the monitoring of the implementation of relevant reform measures, international recommendations and interim benchmarks, and to the preparation of the Project’s analytical and reporting inputs.

E. Representation of the Project’s position and results of work

• Participation in working groups, meetings or other working and coordination platforms dedicated to the institutional development of the highest and specialized courts.

•  Presentation of papers, studies and other materials prepared by the expert under the assignment received from the Project during public events and working meetings.

2) Anticipated deliverables

3) Consultation

Experts shall work under the overall supervision of the Senior National Key Expert on Judiciary Reform and Pillar 1 Lead.

Experts shall maintain regular communication with the designated Project experts concerning the prioritization and allocation of analytical and capacity-development tasks; the scope, methodology and expected outputs of expert products; legal questions and factual materials requiring assessment; consultations with the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court, the specialized administrative courts and other relevant beneficiaries; the preparation and delivery of training, events and international cooperation activities; the submission, review and revision of deliverables; and any circumstances that may affect the quality, timeliness or impartiality of the assignment.

The Expert shall promptly communicate any potential conflict of interest, confidentiality concern or other circumstance that may affect the performance of the assignment.

4) Implementation period

Start date: January 2027

End date: June 2030

Effective duration of the assignment: 42 months

5) Place of performance

The assignment shall primarily be performed on a home-based basis. Frequent travel to and within Ukraine may be required, upon formal request by Expertise France and subject to applicable security and contractual arrangements.

Participation in meetings, consultations and other Project activities may take place in person or online, subject to prior agreement with the Program Key Expert.