Local consultant for Language Review and Evaluation of language versions of Key Legislation(SSAs)

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Application deadline 1 year ago: Wednesday 22 Jun 2022 at 00:00 UTC

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Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

Background:

In the past years, in order to remedy significant translation deficiencies in legislation, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo (OSCE) has supported the review and translation of 12 justice related Laws into Serbian language. All reviewed and translated laws or draft laws were handed over to the Ministry of Justice, which is the sponsor of these laws. In addition, the OSCE supported the review and evaluation of 10 Laws, among which both draft and laws in force, with the aim of identifying language discrepancies and providing concrete suggestions for harmonization between Albanian and Serbian as the two official and equal language versions of legislation. However, the issue of inconsistent language versions of legislation continues to create problems and delays in the justice system and not only. Therefore, building on its past efforts, and supporting the implementation of the Rule of law Strategy 2021 – 2026 and its Action Plan, the OSCE will hire a local consultant (Albanian and Serbian speaking) for a period up to two (2) months, to work directly on selected legal act(s) in force and under the drafting process (depending on the volume of the selected piece(s)). The legal act(s) will be determined in co-ordination with the Ministry of Justice and the Language Commissioner. The consultant will identify discrepancies between the official language versions of selected legal act(s), and discuss them with the relevant stakeholders. In doing so, the OSCE will also support a workshop, in order to discuss and further evaluate the consultant’s review with the Ministry of Justice, Language Commissioner and other relevant stakeholders, including the implementers of the selected piece(s) of legislation. Finally, the consultant will present a report containing the evaluation of the official language versions of selected piece(s) of legislation and suggested corrections, to remedy the identified discrepancies, which will be shared, subsequently, with the Ministry of Justice and the Language Commissioner.

Objective of Assignment:

The objective of the consultancy is to carry out language review of, identify discrepancies in, and provide an evaluation of the official language versions of selected piece(s) of legislation with concrete recommendations to address and remedy the identified discrepancies.

Duration of Assignment:

The consultant will be engaged for a total of 30 working days.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

Under the supervision of, and in co-ordination with the Project Manager, the consultant will:

  • Develop a review/analysis of selected legal act(s) in force as well as draft legal act(s) identifying the most significant errors and suggest correct translation, based on the procedure foreseen by the draft Law on Legal Acts, where applicable;
  • Carry out a survey with relevant stakeholders, such as Serbian speaking legal professionals, in order to gather input on the most significant errors in selected legal act(s) in force as well as draft legal act(s);
  • Develop a methodology and questionnaire(s) for the survey;
  • Undertake review and provide concrete suggestions to remedy identified language discrepancies in selected legal act(s) in force and draft legal act(s);
  • Develop agenda and hold one (1) workshop (online or in-person) to discuss and finalize the findings from the review of the selected piece(s) of legislation;
  • Submit the final suggested corrections to the Ministry of Justice and the Language Commissioner for their enactment, either during the drafting process (for the draft legal act(s)) or upon the entry into force of the draft Law on Legal Acts.

Deliverables:

  • Methodology and questions for the survey regarding discrepancies in official language versions of legislation drafted and submitted by 15 August 2022
  • Survey with relevant stakeholders to identify the most significant errors in selected legal act(s) in force as well as draft legal act(s) is conducted by 31 August 2022.
  • Review and evaluation of the official language versions of selected piece(s) of legislation with concrete recommendations to address and remedy the identified discrepancies are prepared and submitted to OSCE/Chief of Law and Justice Section (LJS) by 31 August 2022.
  • Review and evaluation of the official language versions of selected piece(s) of legislation with concrete recommendations to address and remedy the identified discrepancies are finalized after discussions with stakeholders in the workshop by 15 September 2022.
  • Final report, with feedback from participants in the workshop, including the evaluation of the official language versions of selected piece(s) of legislation and list of identified discrepancies and suggested corrections, to remedy the identified discrepancies, is submitted on time to the OSCE/Chief of LJS by 30 September 2022.

Performance Indicators:

  • The survey is prepared and conducted on time, in the agreed form and of satisfactory quality to the OSCE/Chief of LJS.
  • A review outlining the most significant errors in selected legal act(s), is prepared in the agreed form and of satisfactory quality to the OSCE/Chief of LJS.
  • One (1) online or in-person workshop with relevant stakeholders, such as the Ministry of Justice, Serbian speaking legal professionals, the Language Commissioner, different line ministries, civil society organizations etc. is timely delivered and meets the needs of the participants.
  • A Final Report on the evaluation of the official language versions of selected piece(s) of legislation and list of identified discrepancies and suggested corrections, to remedy the identified discrepancies, including stakeholder feedback, is delivered to the Ministry of Justice and Language Commissioner for their enactment, either during the drafting process (for the draft laws) or upon the entry into force of the draft Law on Legal Acts.

Necessary Qualifications:

  • University degree in law, human rights and/or related field;
  • Certified Court translator in Albanian and Serbian is desirable;
  • Knowledge of the Kosovo legal framework;
  • Excellent knowledge of legal terminology in Albanian and Serbian;
  • Preferable experience in translating local or regional legislation;
  • Knowledge on developing surveys and conducting analysis;
  • Proven capacities to co-ordinate and timely manage a large workload;
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills in Albanian, Serbian and English;
  • Professional experience in a multi-cultural setting;
  • Ability and willingness to work as a member of a team, with people of different cultural and religious backgrounds, different gender, and diverse political views, while maintaining impartiality and objectivity;
  • Experience in delivering trainings/workshops.

Remuneration Package:

Remuneration will depend on the qualifications and experience of individual experts as well as the detailed work plan to be agreed upon and will be based on the current OSCE consultancy rates.

In order to apply for this position, you must complete the OSCE's online application form, found under https://vacancies.osce.org/. Applicants are encouraged to use the online recruitment and only fully completed OSCE applications will be accepted. However, if you have technical difficulties with the system you may use the offline application form found under https://jobs.osce.org/resources/document/our-competency-model and forward the completed form quoting the vacancy number by e-mail to: [email protected]. In line with your qualifications please indicate your preference to one or more field of expertise listed above (while using the online application the field of expertise preference can be indicated in the cover letter part). Kindly note that applications received after the deadline, submitted in different formats than the OSCE Application Form or in other languages than the English language would not be considered. The OSCE is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce and encourages qualified females and male candidates from all national, religious, ethnic, and social backgrounds to apply.

Additional Information

  • Issued by: OSCE Mission in Kosovo
  • Requisition ID: LAW000021
  • Contract Type: Special Service Agreement (SSA) / Consultant
  • Grade: No grade
  • Job Type: Consultant
  • Number of posts: one
  • Location: OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Prishtine / Pristina
  • Issue Date: Jun 8, 2022
  • Closing Date: Jun 22, 2022
  • Education Level: Bachelor's Degree (First-level university degree or equivalent)
  • Job Field: Human Rights
  • Target Start Date: 01/07/2022
Added 1 year ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: vacancies.osce.org