International consultant to review and update the training programs on judicial/forensic expertise for justice professionals from the Republic of Moldova

Contract

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Background

The UNDP project “Strengthening Efficiency and Access to Justice in Moldova” (A2J) is a multi-year institutional development project designed to contribute to an increased efficiency of justice services and to improved access to justice of men and women in Moldova, in particular from vulnerable and marginalized groups, through enhanced capacities of forensic institutions to provide qualitative justice services, strengthened capacities of the justice sector actors in the selected pilot areas to provide coordinated response to men’s and women’s justice needs and strengthened civil society able to claim the respect of rights and engage in a constructive dialogue with the justice chain actors. Project interventions will offer and encourage equal opportunity for the participation of men and women.

Although important efforts have been deployed at national level during the last years to advance the efficiency, transparency, fairness and accessibility of the justice sector, improvement is further required to ensure coherent coordination among law enforcement, security, and justice institutions for effective administration of justice, so that men and women, particularly from marginalized or minority groups, are able to claim their rights and access justice effectively.

The system of forensic institutions is an integral part of the justice system. The expert conclusions provided by these institutions are critical for the objective and evidence-based delivery of justice. The quality and accuracy of forensic investigations and examinations have an extensive impact on the quality of justice and affect the overall perception of users about the justice system.

A well-established forensic infrastructure, compliant with the international quality standards, with better capacities of the experts, more transparent and efficient institutional processes, standardization in line with the ISO requirements and automation of internal workflows is crucial for the ability of forensic evidence to adequately put the case under review at all stages of the judicial process.

Furthermore, considering the importance of forensic science and its connection to law, policy and investigation, being a process that encompasses the crime scene throughout to court, understanding of what is and how to use forensic evidence by justice professionals is critical to ensure that justice chain actors (judges, prosecutors, lawyers, criminal investigation officers), who are entitled to request judicial/forensic expertise, have an uniform understanding of the functioning, scope, procedures and mandate of the forensic institutions.

All initial or continuous training programs for judges and prosecutors (organised by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ)), lawyers (delivered by the Lawyer’s Training Centre) or police officers (through the Police Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs) include modules addressing judicial expertise and procedures.

The results of the Assessment of the Communication between National Judicial Expertise Institutions and Justice Chain Actors, conducted in 2021 by UNDP in the framework of the A2J Project, indicate that training and methodological support is needed to help the justice professionals better understand the functioning and scope of the judicial expertise, depending on the type of investigation or case, including the procedural aspects of judicial expertise.

Additionally, the findings of the Report on the assessment of the implementation of the mock trial methodology, conducted by UNDP in the framework of the “Support to Justice Sector Reform in Moldova – Reinforcing the National Capacities Skills – Based Training for Legal Professionals” Project, indicate that the NIJ should consider looking into more detail into its methodology for conducting the judicial/forensic expertise training and connecting it to criminal law module, including how to ensure a balanced approach in amount and detail of information so as to fit the profile of the target audience.

UNDP is supporting the institutional development of forensic institutions, providing assistance in reviewing and amending the regulatory framework, as well as supports development of e-tools aimed at integrating isolated and uncoordinated forensic investigations into a consistent and coordinated process.

Recognizing the important role of forensics in ensuring a fair access to justice and aiming at ensuring a better understanding of the role of forensic institutions and on efficient use of forensic expertise amongst justice professionals, UNDP Moldova seeks to contract an International Consultant to review and update the training programs for justice professionals, acting as requestors of judicial expertise within the justice system of the Republic of Moldova.

Duties and Responsibilities

The expected output for the International Consultant’s assignment is to review and provide recommendations for enhancing the currently available training programs on judicial/forensic expertise and procedures for justice professionals, in line with the best international practices.

To achieve the stated objective, the Consultant shall perform the following tasks and activities:

1. Prepare an Inception Report and detailed work plan for the assignment;
2. Review the current training system set-up, training programs and opportunities on forensic/judicial expertise and procedures for justice professionals (judges, prosecutors, lawyers, criminal investigation officers) and provide recommendations for ensuring efficient approaches to professional training of targeted groups on judicial/forensic expertise and procedures, as well as alignment of these to the best international practices:

• Prepare the methodology, tools and workplan to be used for conducting the review, including questionnaires for collection of quantitative and qualitative data, list of topics to be discussed, stakeholders to be interviewed, literature to be reviewed, etc;
• Conduct in-depth interviews and consultation meetings with management and/or delegated personnel from the national institutions providing initial and/or continuous training for justice professionals[1], as well as the Superior Council of Magistrates, Superior Council of Prosecutors, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Union of Lawyers, as well as management and/or delegated personnel from the national judicial expertise institutions and private forensic experts’ bureaus. The consultant shall also interview NGOs and other stakeholders identified during the desk review or discussions with the above listed key parties;
• Conduct an analysis of international practices to collect comparative data for substantiating the analysis.

1. Based on the results of the review, draft the Analysis Report containing findings and recommendations which would ensure efficient approaches to professional trainings programs on judicial/forensic expertise and procedures for justice professionals, aligned to the best international practices. The Analysis Report shall consider but not be limited to:

• Overview of the current training system set-up, training programs and opportunities on judicial/forensic expertise and procedures for justice professionals;
• Findings on the gaps, weaknesses and strengths of the current set-up and content of the training on judicial/forensic expertise and procedures delivered to justice professionals;
• Recommendations on solutions aimed to ensure efficient approaches in the training on judicial/forensic expertise and procedures delivered to justice professionals, aligned to the best international practices. The overview shall be supported by data from the analysis of international practices;
• Recommendations to the curricula currently used by national institutions providing initial and/or continuous training for justice professionals on judicial/forensic expertise and procedures;
• Other areas the consultant considers necessary and has agreed with the Project team;
• Conclusions.

1. Organise and facilitate up to three participatory meetings with national institutions providing initial and/or continuous training for justice professionals, as well as the Superior Council of Magistrates, Superior Council of Prosecutors, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Union of Lawyers, as well as management and/or delegated personnel from the national judicial expertise institutions and private forensic experts’ bureausto present and validate the findings of the review and the proposed solutions;
2. Draft proposals for adjusting the curricula for the training on judicial/forensic expertise and procedures for justice professionals, customized for each category of justice professionals, and endorse those with the management and/or delegated personnel of the national institutions providing initial and/or continuous training for justice professionals;

Two missions may be considered only when it is confirmed to be safe for staff, consultant, stakeholders and if such missions are possible within the assignment’s schedule. The exact duration and period of the missions shall be coordinated with UNDP. For purpose of estimation of services’ costs, the expected duration of the mission, could be up to five working days, depending on the scope.

* The responsibility for facilitating the consultation process for the purpose of completing the tasks outlined hereto will be borne primarily by the consultant. The consultant shall be responsible for preparing working materials and agendas and will be supported by the Project team to ensure participation, communication, and coordination with invited stakeholders.

For detailed information, please refer to Annex 1 – Terms of Reference.

[1] National Institute of Justice, Lawyer’s Training Centre and Police Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Competencies

• Excellent knowledge and understating of the set-up and functioning of justice professionals initial and continuous training as well as mandatory content demonstrated by previous assignments;
• Excellent understanding of the forensic expertise and procedures area demonstrated by previous professional experience;
• Demonstrated knowledge of curriculum development process and stages;
• Excellent analytical and report-writing skills demonstrated by previous assignments;
• Demonstrated interpersonal and diplomatic skills, as well as the ability to communicate effectively with stakeholders at all levels and to present ideas clearly and effectively;
• Previous work with UNDP and/or other development partners will be an asset;
• Proven commitment to the core values of the United Nations, in particular, respecting differences of culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, language, age, HIV status, disability, and sexual orientation, or other status.

UNDP Moldova is committed to workforce diversity. Women, persons with disabilities, Roma and other ethnic or religious minorities, persons living with HIV, as well as refugees are particularly encouraged to apply.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

• Master’s degree (or 5 years university degree) in Law, Economy, Forensic Sciences, or related fields of equivalent scope;

Work experience:

• At least 7 years of professional experience, related to the development of university curriculum or professional training courses/programs for legal professionals, or academic experience in the related field;
• At least 5 years of experience in conducting trainings, developing training methodologies and programmes, or exercising other related assignments at training institutions for judges and/or prosecutors;
• Previous assignments related to forensic expertise and procedures area (at least 2 assignments, undertaking or participation in developing educational materials, teaching experience, etc.) is an asset. Confirming documents will be mandatorily provided;
• Professional experience in Central and Eastern Europe on similar assignments will be an asset.

Language:

• Fluency in English. Knowledge of Romanian and/or Russian is an asset.

Application instructions:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

• Offeror’s Letter confirming interest and availability for the Individual Contractor assignment with financial proposal (LUMP SUM) (in USD, specifying a total requested amount per working day, including all related costs, including daily fee, travel expenses and per diems - quoted in separate line items). The travel costs to Moldova shall be indicated separately and will be covered only if the travel will be allowed in the COVID-19 context. Financial proposal template included in Annex 2;
• Duly updated CV with at least 3 references;
• Proposal, explaining why he/she is most suitable for the assignment, including past experience in similar assignments, providing a brief information on above qualifications, and brief methodology on how he/she will approach and conduct the work.

Note:

For complete information about this vacancy including detailed tasks and responsibilities, full and detailed description of the evaluation procedure which will be applied please refer to the Terms of Reference, the Individual Consultant Procurement Notice as well as the UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract, published at the UNDP Moldova website, Jobs Section:

https://sc.undp.md/jobdetails/2382/