Consultancy- Support to the Judicial Academy to Develop Judicial Regulations and SOPs Under the Child Rights Protection Act, NOA/B for 52 working days

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Application deadline 2 years ago: Wednesday 24 Nov 2021 at 18:55 UTC

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UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

Advert: National Consultant- To support the Judicial Academy to Develop Judicial Regulations

and SOPs Under the Child Rights Protection Act

How can you make a difference?

Article 35(a) of the Constitution of the Republic of Maldives guarantees every child special protection and special assistance regardless of their status. Since the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the Maldives, there has been slow progress towards the development of a comprehensive justice system that accords protection to the child. In 1991, following the ratification of Convention on the Rights of the Child by the Maldives, Child Rights Act (Law No: 09/1991) was introduced to ensure provision of certain rights enshrined in the said convention. This Act made an avenue for novel ideas such as introduction of a separate criminal justice system leaning towards rehabilitation of children in conflict with the law, prohibition of corporal punishment in academic centres, duties of parents, introduction of special programs for children in television and radio, special assistance towards children with physical or mental disability and many other such rights and obligations with regards to the societal treatment towards children.

In 2014, the Child Rights Protection Act of 1991 was amended to ensure free education up to middle school for all children within the territory of Maldives. It must be noted that in this regard, the government of Maldives has made a remarkable achievement as it has gone above the statutory threshold and made education up to grade 10, free for all children.

On 20th November 2019, H.E. the President ratified the reconstituted Child Rights Protection Act which repealed the old law. This Act, comprising of more than 130 sections has detailed out several aspects already identified with regards to the rights of children in civilized, democratic societies and in several international instruments. The Child Rights Protection Act imposes an obligation upon the State, the parents, the family, the guardians, and the community at large to safeguard the rights of the children at all times. This Act specifies special rights accorded to children under the Act, the responsibilities of the State, the parents and the legal guardian in the provision of the rights. In addition to this, the Act establishes a fostering mechanism for children in need of care and protection.

The Child Rights Protection Act (19/2019) has entrusted State authorities to take several measures in order to ensure proper implementation of the Act. Particularly, the Act has tasked the Judiciary to formulate Regulations required to ensure the effective application and enforcement of the law. It is also imperative to establish Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to ensure consistency in practice and in application.

The Purpose of the assignment:

The main purpose of this assignment is to work together with the Judicial Academy to develop Judicial Regulation and SOP under the Child Rights Protection Act (Law No: 19/2019).

Duty station: Male’ Maldives : The consultant will be based at the Judicial Academy and is expected to work closely with the relevant stakeholders.

Supervisor: The consultant will be supervised by the Programme Specialist for Child Protection, Child Rights and Gender, UNICEF MCO, in collaboration with the Judicial Academy and Family Court.

Travel: No travel to the Atolls/Islands envisaged for this assignment.

Key Tasks for the Assignment:

The Department of Judicial Administration (DJA) is mandated to organize, implement, and oversee all administrative matters in the Judiciary. Accordingly, DJA is designated with the task of effectively supporting the implementation of the components and undertakings assigned to the Judiciary under the Child’s Right Protection Act. This includes formulation of SOPs, Regulations, and provision of training programs for the Judiciary. In this regard, DJA with the assistance of UNICEF is seeking the support of a local consultant to develop Judicial Regulations and SOPs on the essentials of the Child Rights Protection Act. Under the guidance of DJA and the Family Court, the assignment undertaken by the consultant under the Terms of Reference include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following;

  1. Major tasks and deliverables / End product

The Department of Judicial Administration (DJA) is mandated to organize, implement, and oversee all administrative matters in the Judiciary. Accordingly, DJA is designated with the task of effectively supporting the implementation of the components and undertakings assigned to the Judiciary under the Child’s Right Protection Act. This includes formulation of SOPs, Regulations, and provision of training programs for the Judiciary. In this regard, DJA with the assistance of UNICEF is seeking the support of a local consultant to develop Judicial Regulations and SOPs on the essentials of the Child Rights Protection Act. Under the guidance of DJA and the Family Court, the assignment undertaken by the consultant under the Terms of Reference include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following;

Task

Deliverables

Duration

1. Conduct a desk review of the legal framework in the Maldives, including legislations, regulations, policy documents, research papers and recommendations on the subject of Child Rights and submit an inception report.

Inception Report – a summary of the existing legal framework, policy directives, relevant statistics and data analysis and the proposed policy alternatives for the regulations including the constraints with regard to the implementation of the regulations and the SOP and a clear schedule for the draft of the regulations and the SOP.

10 days

2. Conduct meetings with relevant stakeholders such as the Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Services, Maldives Police Service, Prosecutor General’s Office, Maldives Correctional Services, Department of Judicial Administration, Judicial Services Commission, Supreme Court, High Court, Drug Court, Juvenile Court, Family Court and relevant NGOs, to discuss viable ways to implement the law and harmonize procedures across the institutions.

3. Draft the Regulation and SOP on the following areas:

  1. Procedure on children below the age of 18, expending, selling or exchange of property in their name or inherited by them.
  2. Issuing Protection Orders
  3. Issuing Temporary Assessment Orders
  4. Issuing Foster Orders
  5. Cases filed under section 89 (a)
  6. Cases filed under section 92 (b) & (c)
  7. Cases filed under section 93 (a)

Draft Regulation and SOP – the consultant is expected to hold consultations with the stakeholders

Draft SOP developed and submitted for review

30 days

4. Conduct a consultation on the draft regulations and the SOPs with the key institutions for feedback and necessary revision, and to ascertain the implications of the regulations on the institutions and their operations in the said area.

5.Prepare the final regulations and the SOP with input from consultation with the stakeholders

Consultation Report and final draft Regulation and SOPs – the draft regulation and the SOPs must be submitted to the stakeholders for feedback and the comments or changes must be incorporated in the final draft

7 days

6. Prepare a Roadmap for Regulation and SOP implementation in coordination with relevant stakeholders.

Roadmap – provide details of the implementation strategy, implications for key institutions, challenges to effective implementation and ways to mitigate them, and must also consist of a timeline for the implementation of the regulations.

5 days

Payments will be disbursed against accepted deliverables and on the acknowledgement of the receipt of the deliverables.

Estimated duration of contract and deadline for submission of end-product

The total consultancy will be for duration 52 working days.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

  1. Qualifications or specialized knowledge and/or experience required

To be selected for the consultancy, the applicant should have the following academic qualification, working experience, skills and competencies:

Academic qualifications:

  • A post graduate degree or equivalent qualification /degree in law.
  • Sound knowledge and experience on child rights and relevant judicial processes.

Knowledge, skills, and experience:

  • A minimum of 5 years’ experience in the juvenile justice system & Family law matters
  • Familiarity with the Principle of Inheritance, guardianship, and foster care
  • Previous experience in drafting legislation, regulations is desirable

Personal competencies:

  • Ability to keep to tight timelines.
  • Strong drive for results.
  • Highly developed communication, networking, and interpersonal skills.
  • Working with teams of diverse capacities.

Language competencies:

  • Proficiency in written and spoken English and Dhivehi.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are...

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Deadline for application is 14th November 2021, 11:55pm (west Asia standard time)

Remarks:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

Added 2 years ago - Updated 2 years ago - Source: unicef.org