Objectives and desired results

1) General objective

To provide high-quality international expertise, analytical support and capacity-development assistance to judicial governance and self-government bodies in implementing judicial reform and strengthening their strategic management, institutional capacity and procedures 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

•  Develop analytical materials assessing recent developments in the judicial reform in Ukraine and comparative analyses of judicial self-governing bodies in EU Member States.

•  Support the audit of the functioning of judicial governance and self-government bodies and the implementation of its recommendations, and the improvement of the legal framework of the National School of Judges.

•  Analyze regular judicial evaluation practice and EU Member States’ approaches, and assess and improve test materials for the competition for Supreme Court judicial positions.

•  Support the strategic management, business processes and internal communications of judicial governance bodies.

•  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

•  Judicial governance bodies are equipped with analytical materials and recommendations on the implementation of judicial reform and their functioning.

•  Scope, criteria and approach for the audit of judicial governance and self-government bodies defined, and recommendations on the legal framework of the National School of Judges developed.

•  Analytical report on regular judicial evaluation practice, comparative study of EU Member States’ approaches.

•  Strengthened strategic management and internal communications of judicial governance bodies, improved donor coordination and international cooperation.

•  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

Experts 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. Analytical materials, audit and comparative studies

•  Develop analytical materials assessing recent developments in the judicial reform in Ukraine.

•  Contribute to the comparative analysis of judicial self-governing bodies in EU Member States.

• Conduct a desk review of the legal framework, mandates, competences and procedures of judicial governance and self-government bodies, organize stakeholder consultations to define the scope, criteria and approach for their audit, and support the implementation of its recommendations.

•  Prepare analytical papers with recommendations on the legal and institutional framework governing the status, governance, accountability, advisory bodies and organization of the National School of Judges.

B. Regular judicial evaluation

•  Analyze completed regular judicial evaluations to identify practical challenges in applying the current methodology and recurring shortcomings, and prepare recommendations for improving the evaluation procedure.

•  Conduct a comparative analysis of regular judicial evaluation in EU Member States, including country profiles on evaluation models, criteria and tools, procedural safeguards, professional development needs and follow-up mechanisms, to inform improvements to the HQCJ’s methodology.

•  Assess and improve materials and practical exercises for the competition for judicial positions in terms of their validity, relevance, clarity, complexity and consistency with European standards, and propose new test questions, case studies and assessment criteria.

C. Institutional development, coordination and international cooperation

• Provide analysis and recommendations on the strategic management, business processes, internal communications and capacity-building of judicial governance and self-government bodies.

•  Support preparation of background notes, overviews of ongoing assistance and summaries of outcomes on the judiciary.

•  Support the international cooperation of judicial governance bodies and judges for participation in international meetings, networks and peer exchanges.

•  Design and deliver training sessions, workshops and other capacity-development activities for members and staff of judicial governance bodies.

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 judiciary, judicial governance and self-government bodies, the status, selection, evaluation and careers of judges, and judicial training, including their compliance with European standards and Ukraine’s EU accession commitments.

•  Analyze judicial practice and case-law of Ukrainian courts, the practice of judicial governance and self-government bodies, and relevant case-law of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the EU, and identify trends, inconsistencies and implementation challenges.

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

•  Prepare expert opinions, analytical notes, comparative studies, policy briefs, comments and proposals on draft legal acts, methodologies, 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 judicial 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 judicial reform and judicial governance.

•  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, data and factual materials requiring assessment; consultations with the HCJ, the HQCJ, the NSJ and other relevant beneficiaries; the preparation and delivery of training, coordination and international cooperation activities; participation in working groups and coordination mechanisms; the submission, review and revision of deliverables; and any circumstances that may affect the quality, timeliness or impartiality of the assignment.

Experts shall promptly communicate any potential conflict of interest, including participation as a candidate in the competition for judicial positions or in other selection or evaluation procedures covered by the assignment, 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.