Legal Counselor x 3 - Tripoli

Job Description

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933, the IRC offers life-saving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in more than 40 countries and 22 cities in the United States, the IRC restores safety, dignity, and hope to millions of vulnerable individuals uprooted by conflict or disaster. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

Under the supervision of the Child Protection Systems Strengthening Manager and technical supervision by the IRC Legal Manager, the Legal Counselor will coordinate closely with the mandated NGOs from the Ministry of Justice in Tripoli (Himaya and UPEL) and with IRC to identify legal needs for the children under their justice files, to provide them and their caregivers with legal counseling and assistance including representation in relevant administrative bodies and/or courts. The Legal Counselor will conduct direct legal follow-up for the children who are in conflict with the law and/or protection that will be assigned from Himaya, UPEL, and IRC. The Legal Counselor will conduct field visits according to shared schedules to provide consistent follow-up with beneficiaries, if and as needed. The Legal Counselor will work with community leaders to support advocacy at the community level and engage in mediation and negotiation as needed.

The below sections describe the major responsibilities of the service provider while a clear individual annex will describe the specific expected deliverables (monthly and yearly) for the completion of service.

Syrian and Palestinian refugees and/or stateless children require judicial protection in Lebanon. Examples include adolescent boys working on the street who require protection but are classified as cases of children in conflict with the law and children exposed to sexual exploitation.

Whilst state actors and humanitarian agencies aim to ensure basic services for the most vulnerable children and their families, at times relevant actors are not able to protect vulnerable children from harm. Children in contact with the judicial system may experience the following:

- Interrogation by front-line investigators as part of an investigation. - Delayed forensic testing for survivors of abuse and sexual assault. - Children may lack information and awareness regarding forensic testing procedures- this includes not receiving adequate information regarding the reasons necessary for completing tests, and the emotional, physical, and legal implications of the process. - Cases considered high risk and in need of judicial protection, may in certain circumstances be detained due to conflicting application of the legal framework. - Children may experience prolonged periods of detention due to complex bureaucratic procedures. - Children are integrated into a judicial process whereby child protection child-centered standards are not consistently implemented. - Outcome decisions on protection cases, may unintentionally conflict with the child’s best interests as a result of the application of the law.

Major Responsibilities:

Legal services:

- Provide 27 children and their families referred from Himaya, UPEL, and IRC in the North with child-sensitive and child-centered legal counseling. - Represent 18 children & their families in different courts primarily juvenile and others per year, also they should represent & accompany children during the investigation. - Conduct regular mediation with private stakeholders and authorities. - Closely coordinate with the legal counselor at IRC, the Team leader at UPEL and Himaya, and relevant staff to ensure children are adequately supported through the judicial process. - Conduct field visits only to detention centers and palaces of justice after getting the consent of the family and with the presence of an adult or a social representative if needed, this should be also in coordination with UPEL / Himaya team leader and the IRC project manager. - Consistently follow up on cases referred by the IRC CP program, UPEL, Himaya, or other actors. - Follow-up meetings be held between the lawyer and UPEL/Himaya and IRC case workers, to update them about the progress of the case. - Immediate coordination is to be conducted between the caseworkers and the lawyer in case of emergency.

Legal Counseling:

- Develop and adapt information sessions for children on relevant legal services and processes. - Deliver information sessions to children and adults in or at risk of being in contact with the law. - Ensure communication regarding legal services and relevant processes are child friendly.

Reporting:

- Ensure relevant documentation is updated on each case as per monitoring and evaluation requirements on a weekly basis and submitted for reporting. - Update and closely coordinate with the Child protection case managers and legal counselor and Himaya and UPEL caseworkers on a weekly basis regarding the cases. - Provide legal report according to set templates to IRC – Access to Justice manager on a Bi-weekly basis. - Share with IRC all the legal documents submitted or prepared during the work on the Juvenile file.

Upon request, the Legal Counselor can be asked to conduct other duties by the supervisor according to changes in context.

Deliverables and Timeframe:

Legal case management

- # of Legal consultation: Minimum 3 per month a total of 27 till the end of March 2024 - Assess the case’s legal situation. - Provide legal guidance through legal info session with the family/child during one home visit or more (as needed). - # of Legal representation: Minimum 2 per month a total of 18 till the end of March 2024 - Coordination with GP and/or Juvenile Judge, - Conduct meetings with the child or caregiver in the Palace of Justice or at arrest locations after the consent of the family and during their presence or the presence of a judicial protection social worker. - Prepare the legal file (stamp, legal fees, etc..) - Attend the investigation session with the child at the police station and/or his/her legal guardians. - Attending all the court sessions with the child and/or his/her legal guardians only concerning case files related directly to the child. - Do the needed referrals for the case such as refer to Clinical management of rape in case of sexual abuse. - # of case conferences with UPEL and Himaya team & case review meetings with the IRC Access to Justice Manager and Legal Consultant : 2 meetings per month

Reporting

- # of monthly reports submitted:1 - Physical file for each case. - Fill in the legal database.

Qualifications

- Extended professional experience in the field of child protection and violence against children - domestic violence/gender-based violence/violence against women and girls. - Professional experience in project management. - Strong understanding of social (and child) protection and justice systems and social norms, with a particular focus on violence. - Registered in the Bar Association.

Payment Mode:

Payment will be issued on a monthly basis based on the number of legal counseling and representation finalized. A monthly certificate of Completion will be issued signed by both parties based on the supporting document submitted by the legal counselor including an invoice and case report submitted to IRC’s focal point.