Local expert working on the practical section of the Benchbook related to criminal proceedings.
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Background
Justice Without Delays (‘JWD’) project was conceived to improve the efficiency of district court proceedings in Albania, through the implementation of practical measures to improve court efficiency and by improving the knowledge of justice professionals on how to conduct efficient proceedings. The project is implemented between May 2016 and February 2019 by the OSCE Presence in Albania (‘the Presence’), with extra-budgetary funding from the Austrian Development Co-operation (‘the donor’), in partnership with USAID’s Justice For All Project. Beneficiaries include current and future judges, court administrators, lawyers and prosecutors, Ministry of Justice, High Council of Justice and agencies working with the courts and Albanian citizens.
One of the components of the Justice Without Delays (‘JWD’) project seeks to increase the knowledge of justice professionals on conducting efficient proceedings through training and publications. In this regard, the Presence will develop a Bench book for judges and court staff on the topic of active case management. The Bench book is conceived as a useful tool for judges, administrative staff, court administrators, but also young magistrates who aspire to become judges. Besides being disseminated to serving judges and court staff, this publication will be handled to the School of Magistrates in order to ensure sustainability of the principles of the Justice Without Delays Project.
The Bench book will contain three main sections: on the one hand, a theoretical description of the active case management techniques, and on the other, a detailed compilation of concrete measures that have been implemented in courts to reduce lengthy proceedings and unproductive hearings, one part consisting of the measures that have been applied in criminal proceedings and the other one on civil proceedings. The theoretical section will consist of an introduction to the concept of active case management, best practices, and examples of application in other countries. Whereas the practical section will consist of examples of administrative and practical measures implemented by the courts across the country to reduce delays of proceedings and increase their efficiency, by detailing those accordingly for civil and criminal cases. The Bench book will be developed by three national experts, one covering the theoretical section and two others the practical section of active case management. The contract hand regards the engagement of one expert working on the practical section of the Bench book related to criminal proceedings.
Tasks and responsibilities:
The consultant in co-ordination with the other two local consultants (responsible to draft the theoretical section of active case management and the section on practical measures for civil proceedings) and under the guidance of the Presence’s point of contact, will be responsible to prepare the practical section with concrete measures applied in criminal proceedings of a Benchbook on Active Case Management Techniques for judges and court administrative staff. More specifically the consultant will be expected to:
1- Participate in a preparatory co-ordination meeting with the other local consultants on 11 June 2018, organised by the Presence’s point of contact to discuss about the content of respective sections of the Bench book that each expert will develop.
2- Independently from the other experts, prepare the practical section with concrete measures for criminal proceedings of the Benchbook in the Albanian language, which will consist of:
a. A detailed compilation of practical and concrete measures and techniques applied to reduce the length and unproductivity of criminal proceedings;
b. Lessons learned regarding criminal proceedings in the course of implementation of the “Justice without Delays” Initiative in Albania.
3- Deliver a first draft of the practical section with measures for criminal proceedings of the Benchbook on 15 July 2018 to the Presence’s point of contact of a minimum of 10 pages.
4- Reflect the comments provided by 22 July 2018 by the Presence on the first draft delivered and submit a revised version of the draft by 15 August 2018.
5- Reflect any potential additional comments of the Presence on the revised draft and submit the final section of the Benchbook by 3 September 2018.
6- Make an oral presentation of the practical section of a Benchbook on concrete measures applied in criminal proceedings in a roundtable with judges and other justice professionals from other key justice institutions to be organized by the Presence on 14 September 2018.
Expected Output/Deliverable:
1- First draft of the practical section of the Benchbook until 15 July 2018, in the Albanian language, to the Presence’s point of contact.
2- Revised version of the draft until 15 August 2018
3- Final version of the section of the Benchbook until 3 September 2018
4- Personal presentation of the practical section of a Benchbook on 14 September 2018,
Necessary Qualifications:
Training and Education
Master studies in law, justice or a related field or equivalent four years law degree;
Knowledge and Experience
• A minimum of five years’ experience and expertise as a justice professional (judge preferred) in the field/sector of law and/or judiciary, including in criminal matters;
• Experience as a professor, researcher or trainer on court administration, in Albanian law educational/training institutions;
• Direct experience with the application of measures introduced in the Albanian courts through the Justice Without Delays Project;
• Proven experience as a trainer of justice professionals, including judges and prosecutors;
• Excellent communication and drafting skills in Albanian;
• Demonstrated gender awareness and sensitivity, and ability to integrate a gender perspective into tasks and activities;
• Computer literate with practical experience in Microsoft applications.
Competencies
• Actively contributes to achieving the purpose of the assignment
• Demonstrated ability and willingness to work as a member of a team
• Actively works to achieve clear and transparent communication with the project staff and collaborators
• Works towards the achievement of goals in a structured and measured manner
• Analyses available information and draws well-founded conclusions
Remuneration
The fee will be paid upon submission of the final section of the Bench book and upon completion of all deliverables in the described quality, cleared by the Presence and after the presentation of the Bench book in the roundtable indicated above.
How to apply
All applications are due by 29 May 2018. If you wish to apply for this position, please use the OSCE's on line application link found under link https://jobs.osce.org/. The OSCE retains the discretion to re-advertise the vacancy, to cancel the recruitment, to offer a contract with modified Terms of Reference or for a different duration. The OSCE is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious, ethnic and social backgrounds to apply to become a part of the organization. Please be aware that the OSCE does not request payment at any stage of the application and review process.