LOCAL CONSULTANT TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CONCEPT ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CHILD-FRIENDLY JUSTICE SYSTEM AND PROVISION OF OVERALL GUIDANCE TO THE LEGISLATIVE REVIEW PROCESS IN GEORGIA

Consultant Programme & Policy

Overview

Consultant needed to develop a child-friendly justice system concept in Georgia.

You have:

• Advanced university degree in law or international law
• At least 10 years of professional work experience in child's rights, justice, juvenile justice and children's access to justice
• Extensive experience in designing concepts, manuals and materials on justice systems for children
• Comprehensive knowledge of international and regional standards on child-friendly justice
• Experience in legislative work concerning issues of child rights, juvenile justice and access to justice
• Excellent writing skills
• Excellent analytical, communication and negotiating skills
• Computer skills, including internet navigation, and various office applications
• Fluency in English

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

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BACKGROUND

"Child-friendly justice" refers to justice that is accessible, age appropriate, speedy, diligent, adapted to and focused on the needs and rights of the child, respecting the rights of the child including the right to due process, to participate in and to understand the proceedings, to respect for private and family life and to integrity and dignity.[1]

First steps to introduce some elements of a child-friendly justice system were undertaken in 2010 through the initiation of the Juvenile Justice System Reform in Georgia. Initially, it focused only on children in conflict with the law, however, the scope was gradually expanded and, since 2014, the reform covers all children who may appear in the justice system.

The adoption of the Juvenile Justice Code in 2015 was a significant step to introduce a child-friendly approach in the Georgian criminal justice system. The Code is a comprehensive document covering issues concerning children in conflict with the law, child victims and witnesses of crime as well as children participating in administrative violations proceedings. It brings Georgian Juvenile Justice legislation close to international standards, in particular the following areas: the best interest of the child as a matter of primary consideration, the mandatory specialization of justice professionals, the use of detention as a measure of last resort and during the shortest appropriate period of time, expansion of use of diversion and restorative justice; reduction of detention timeframe and regular revision of the use of diversion; strengthening individualized approaches through introduction of individual assessment reports at all stages of criminal proceedings and introduction of a child-friendly approach and guarantees for child victims and witnesses of crime.

These positive moves were accomplished in September 2019, when the Parliament of Georgia adopted the Code on the Rights of the Child[2]. The Code is a special law, which provides the legally binding guidance for all state agencies and local self-government, other administrative bodies, the Common Courts, public and private organizations and persons in their work and decision-making processes with and for children and on all other matters directly or indirectly concerning children`s rights. It introduces legal grounds, safeguards and guarantees for the realization of all the rights and freedoms of the child, with a main focus on ensuring the best interests of the child at all levels of decision-making. Furthermore, the Code provides legal guarantees for empowering the child in independently exercising and protecting his/her rights, inter alia, through child-friendly access to justice institutions and mechanisms.

The Code introduces child-friendly approaches for children participating in civil and administrative justice proceedings, thus, together with the Juvenile Justice Code of Georgia, suggests a framework for the establishment of a child-friendly justice system covering all domains of justice where children may appear. The Code provides main principles and guarantees on access to justice, including measures and safeguards for children's access to information, consultation, legal aid, the right to impartial and independent representation, the right to independently apply to the courts or an administrative body, the right to individual or collective complaints, protection of personal data, a multidisciplinary approach, child-friendly justice proceedings, the guarantees for the child`s views to be heard, and requirements for the substantiation of the administrative and judicial decisions based on the principle of primacy of the best interests of the child. According to the Code, all justice professionals working with children will need to be specialized, application forms and various instruments will need to be modified based on needs of children of different ages, and relevant working instruments, methodology, tools and mechanisms created.

Implementation of child-friendly approach also requires bringing Georgian procedural and substantial legislation in line with the requirements of the Code on the Rights of the Child.

UNICEF is the main partner supporting the Government to establish child-friendly justice system in Georgia. All main directions of the Juvenile Justice system reform, as well as legislative initiatives concerning child rights and children's participation in justice proceedings were supported by UNICEF.

As the next step to introduce a child-friendly approach throughout the entire justice chain, UNICEF is planning to develop the concept of the establishment of a child-friendly justice system. The process will imply the analysis of the existing systems and mechanisms vis-a vis the requirements of the new and comprehensive legal framework and development of a comprehensive vision and recommendations for further reforms in the justice area including legal review. To undertake this comprehensive task, UNICEF is planning to create a team composed of high level international and local experts on issues concerning child-friendly justice. In addition to this, UNICEF is planning to support the legislative review process in line with the requirements of the Code on the Rights of the Child. These two assignments are considered as separate processes, however, closely linked to each other.

Hence, UNICEF is seeking to involve a local consultant to support the development of the concept on the establishment of  child-friendly justice and guide the legislative review process.

2. OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

To work with the international consultant and support the development of the concept on the establishment of a child-friendly justice system vis-a-vis the requirements of the Code on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Juvenile Justice Code (JJC) and relevant international instruments and standards.[3] This will imply preparation of initial analysis of Georgian legislation and systems, assisting the international consultant to organize a mission, meetings with different stakeholders and children, reviewing and contributing to the draft concept produced by the international consultant and assisting in contextualizing the recommendations produced, Â developing some parts of the concept, organizing discussions with stakeholders and partners.

3. SPECIFIC TASKS OF THE CONSULTANT

• Prepare initial analysis of Georgian legislation and justice system concerning children which will be used as the basis for further work;
• Present the initial analysis to the international consultant, brief her/him on Georgian legal system and compile all necessary and/or relevant legal documents;

• Assist an international consultant in reviewing the national justice system including criminal, civil and administrative areas, vis-a-vis the requirement of the Code on the Rights of the Child and the Juvenile Justice Code and identify areas for the introduction of further reforms. The review should cover all areas in the justice system (criminal, civil and administrative judicial proceedings as well as administrative proceedings) and all actors directly or indirectly involved in the administration of the justice process:

• Judiciary;

• Ministry of Internal Affairs;
• The Prosecution Service;
• Ministry of Justice;
• Legal Aid Service;
• Georgian Bar Association;
• Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport;
• Agency for State Care and Assistance for the (Statutory) Victims of Human Trafficking.

The review should cover:

• All proceedings where a child may appear (criminal, civil, administrative),
• Systems and structures (judiciary, law enforcement, Legal Aid Service, Agency for State Care and Assistance for the (Statutory) Victims of Human Trafficking),
• Mechanisms such as diversion and mediation,
• Issues related to specialization of various systems, coordination between different sectors, involvement of non-justice professionals (psychologists, social workers) in justice proceedings, their role, responsibilities, specialization requirements, child-friendly environment, etc.

The task will be conducted through desk review, interviews with the representatives of various systems, agencies, non-governmental organizations, professionals, and most importantly, children having experience with the justice system (criminal, civil, administrative).

• Assist the international consultant in organizing meetings with partners, stakeholders and children;

• Assist the international consultant in contextualizing and developing a concept and specific recommendations on the establishment of a child-friendly justice system in Georgia. This may imply the development of some parts of the concept as agreed between UNICEF and two consultants; The concept should be based on the requirements of the JJC and CRC and cover all domains of the justice system, suggest recommendations for the improvement of:

• Procedures;

• Mechanisms;
• Specialization systems and standards,
• Child-friendly environment;
• Multisectoral cooperation between justice and non-justice agencies and professionals; and

• Interaction between different domains of the justice system.

• Participate in the discussions regarding the draft concept and review feedback submitted by main stakeholders;

• Assist in finalizing the concept, specific recommendations on the initiation of the implementation of the concept.

4. DELIVERABLES

• Initial analysis as well as contribution to the review of the national justice system including criminal, civil and administrative areas, vis-a-vis the requirement of the Code on the Rights of the Child and the Juvenile Justice Code and relevant international standards;
• Contribution to the draft concept on the establishment of child-friendly justice system (the contribution will mainly imply contextualization of a concept prepared by the international consultant to the Georgian reality and some parts of the concept);
• Contribution to the finalized concept and specific recommendations on the establishment of a child-friendly justice system in Georgia.

5. ETHICAL ISSUES

The consultant shall comply with UNICEF's Procedures for Ethical Standards in Research, Evaluation and Data Collection and Analysis (Annex 1).

The consultant should identify relevant potential ethical issues and mitigation strategies relating to potential harms and benefits, informed consent, privacy and confidentiality. Before commencement of the field work ethical review of the full research protocol (that includes all data gathering tools/instruments and methods as well as information on how ethical issues will be dealt with) may be performed by an independent and impartial ethics review board as per UNICEF Procedure for Ethical Standards in Research, Evaluation, Data Collection and Analysis. This can be performed by internal ethics review board or by the UNICEF Ethical Review Board (ERB).

The decision upon the necessity to perform independent ethics review would be based on the proposed methodology and will be done using the attached checklist (see Annex 2).

Before issuing approval, the ERB must determine that the following requirements are satisfied:

• informed consent is sought from each subject or the subject's legally authorized representative;
• the proposed research design is scientifically sound and that risks to subjects are minimized;
• any risks to subjects are reasonable in relation to anticipated benefits;
• subject selection is equitable;
• safeguards are included for subjects likely to be vulnerable to undue influence or coercion;
• subjects' safety, privacy, and confidentiality are maximized.

6. TIMEFRAME AND DURATION

The consultant will be hired for up to 50 days within the period 1 October 2020 - 31 January 2021.

The assignment will be mostly home based and will include various meetings outside and in UNICEF office. Location - Tbilisi, Georgia.

7. REMUNARATION AND ENTILTEMENT

The consultant will be paid a daily fee negotiated between UNICEF and the consultant based on an initial offer of the consultant to be submitted with the application. The fee will be paid against the provision of deliverables to be approved in written by the supervisor.

The consultant has no entitlement for annual leave, sick leave, maternity, adoption or paternity leave or any other kinds of special leave. UNICEF will not undertake any liability for tax, duty or other contribution payable on payments made under this contract. UNICEF will not issue a statement of earnings.

8. HEALTH INSURANCE

UNICEF does not provide or arrange health insurance coverage for this position. The consultant will be required to provide a proof of health insurance for the duration of the contract.

9. QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

• Advanced university degree in law or international law
• At least 10 years of professional work experience in child's rights, justice, juvenile justice and children's access to justice at the international and national levels;
• Extensive experience in designing concepts, manuals and materials on justice systems for children;
• Comprehensive knowledge of international and regional standards on child-friendly justice;
• Experience in legislative work concerning issues of child rights, juvenile justice and access to justice;
• Excellent writing skills;
• Excellent analytical, communication and negotiating skills;
• Excellent team working skills and respect for diversity;
• Computer skills, including internet navigation, and various office applications;
• Ability to work through networking and in partnership;
• Fluency in English.

10. PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

The performance of the consultant will be evaluated against the following criteria: timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, and quality of the products delivered; also drive for results and a willingness to work within a team environment will be essential and will contribute to the performance evaluation.

11. SUPERVISIO

The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the UNICEF Child Protection Officer and under the guidance of the Chief of Child Protection.

12. APPLICATION DOCUMENTS

The application must include:

• Cover letter including the applicant's motivation to apply to this position;
• Curriculum vitae;
• Proposal of the daily consultancy fee;
• Names and contact details (email and tel. number) of three persons, who can provide reference feedback.

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[1] Guidelines on child-friendly justice, Council of Europe, 2010

[2] The Code on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the Parliament of Georgia, on September 20,2019 (#5004-Iს)

[3] Convention on the Rights of the Child; United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice ("The Beijing Rules"); UN Guidelines on Justice in Matters involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime; Committee on the Rights of the Child - General Comment #24 Children's Rights in Juvenile Justice; Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse; Guidelines of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on child-friendly justice.

Criteria for Ethical Review Checklist.docx

UNICEF PROCEDURE FOR ETHICAL STANDARDS.pdf

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.

View our competency framework at

http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

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.

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.

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Potential interview questions

Added 5 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org