International Consultant to Review the Family Law

Contract

This is a International Consultant contract. More about International Consultant contracts.

Background

The democratic transition provides an opportunity to strengthen governance and institutions in the Maldives. Judicial reform is key to strengthen the justice sector and the government’s legislative agenda will contribute towards enhanced access to justice for the most vulnerable parts of the community. While key milestones have been achieved in strengthening governance, however, important challenges remain in strengthening the legislative framework. The Family Law (Act Number 4/2000) was enacted in 2000 and deals primarily with solemnization and registration of marriages, divorce proceedings, child custody, inheritance and parental guardianship in the Maldives. In the nearly 20 years that have passed since then, there has not been a comprehensive review of the law despite the profound changes that have occurred in the family law system and society. Recognizing the need for a comprehensive review of the family law system to address the needs of modern society and improve the system’s responses to children and families impacted by family violence and negligence, the government has initiated work on reviewing the law.

UNDP has been supporting the government on its legislative agenda for a number of years to ensure critical reforms to the legal and justice sector are in place. In this regard, it has supported the government on the drafting of the Penal Code, Criminal Procedure and Civil Procedure Code as well as its roll out and implementation aspects. As part of this support UNDP in partnership with the Attorney General’s Office is seeking the support of an international consultant to conduct a comprehensive review of the Family Law (Act number 4/2000).

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance of the AGO and UNDP, the consultant will lead the process of reviewing the existing Family Law system of the Maldives and propose recommendations for reform of the law to ensure that the new Family Law system encompasses the needs of all members of the community. The tasks to be undertaken by the consultant under the Terms of Reference include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following;

1. Conduct a desk review of existing legal framework and relevant legislation and regulations, including but not limited to the Family Act, the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act, the Child Rights Act and the regulations made thereunder, and submit an inception report outlining recommendations in line with international norms, standards and best practices;
2. Review existing policy papers, consultation reports, relevant assessments and follow up on their recommendations;
3. Organize and conduct online consultation meetings with relevant stakeholders including but not limited to relevant Government institutions, courts, lawyers, academics and civil society organizations to better understand the current challenges and feasibility of recommendations;
4. Conduct online consultations with members of the public and representatives of the families and victims to ensure the new Family Law encompasses the needs of members of the community;
5. Based on the review of suggested policy directives from the AGO and key stakeholders and based on the inception report, submit a comprehensive assessment on the gaps identified in the system and areas for legislative reform with proposed recommendations and possible constraints and possible actions.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

All reports shall be submitted as stipulated below and all reports will be submitted as drafts and upon review by the UNDP and the AGO, the consultant shall revise the draft report. Once, the revised reports are accepted by the AGO and the UNDP, they will be termed as final reports by the consultancy.

The consultant will be responsible for the following deliverables;

1. Inception Report: The inception report shall include a summary of regulations and reviews undertaken, proposed policy options and recommendations for the new Family Law, and possible constraints with regard to the proposed changes.
2. Consultations: Conduct consultation meetings with relevant stakeholders to learn about on-the ground practices including the challenges in implementation and monitoring and to discuss possible actions to overcome these challenges. Follow these with consultation meetings with clients and members of the public to learn about the challenges in accessing justice and possible remedies to overcome these challenges.
3. Final Assessment Report: A detailed review of the existing Family Law system of the Maldives identifying gaps in the system and areas for legislative reform focusing on;

• better protect children and other vulnerable groups
• modernize and simplify court proceedings

• introduce modern dispute settlement mechanisms

  with proposed recommendations focusing on;

• Solemnization of marriages (Islamic Shar’iah)

• Registration of Marriages
• Functions of the Registrar of Marriages
• Divorce Proceedings (Islamic Shar’iah)
• Child custody proceedings (Islamic Shar’iah)
• Division of matrimonial assets
• Spousal Support
• Child Maintenance

• Other proceedings involving family matters

  and outlining possible constraints and possible actions to overcome the constraints identified.

The following table shows an indication of the duration for the deliverables;

Deliverables/ Outputs

Estimated Duration to Complete

Draft inception report

Final inception report

5 days

3 days

Consultations

5 days

Draft Assessment Report

Final Assessment Report

15 days

5 days

The consultancy is expected to start in the first week of September 2020.

Institutional Arrangement

The consultant is expected to work with the AGO. The consultant will be accountable to the Programme Officer of Result Area 2, IGP, for each deliverable as stipulated in the proposal. Fortnightly meetings will be held with ARR and Programme Analyst of IGP and AGO focal point. A briefing and debriefing meeting will be organized with UNDP senior management at the beginning and end of assignment.

Duty Station: Home-based

Competencies

Corporate Competencies

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards and acts in accordance with the Standards of Conduct for international civil servants;
• Advocates and promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favouritism.

Functional Competencies

• Knowledge about the UNDP programmes would be an advantage;
• Proven strong analytical abilities;
• Ability to work under pressure with several tasks and various deadlines;
• Ability to actively generate creative, practical approaches and solutions to overcome challenging situations;
• Excellent writing, presentation/public speaking skills;
• A pro-active approach to problem-solving;
• General IT Literacy

Required Skills and Experience

ducation

• A minimum of a master’s degree in law, gender studies, social policy or relevant discipline.

Experience

• A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in reviewing and developing of legal frameworks, legislations, regulations etc. on family law or related areas
• A minimum of 10 years of experience working in the area of Family Law, Domestic Violence, Child Rights and Gender Equality
• Experience in the region or similar context is an added asset

Language requirement

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required

Application process

Interested individuals must submit the following as proposals in order to demonstrate their qualifications.?

• A letter indicating why the candidate considers himself/herself suitable for the required consultancy;
• Submission of an updated detailed Personal CV or P11 form which can be downloaded from?http://sas.undp.org/documents/p11_personal_history_form.doc
• Lump sum financial quotation, with a breakdown of daily consultancy fee, daily subsistence allowance and ticket fees as applicable – clearly indicate the breakdown of daily fee and number of days of work;?
• Previous similar works undertaken by the consultant
• At least two references from recent previous jobs or three references contact details

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