Local Consultant to support the Office for the Publication of the Official Gazette in the development of a procedure for the correction of sub-legal acts (SSA)

Consultant Human Rights

Overview

Support the development of a procedure for legal act corrections in Kosovo.

You have:

• Master’s degree in Law, preferably in the area of Constitutional or Administrative law
• Minimum of eight years of professional experience in the field of public law or administration
• Experience in policy and/or legal development
• Excellent knowledge of Kosovo’s legal framework and applicable international instruments
• Excellent knowledge of one official language (Albanian or Serbian), both oral and written
• Working knowledge of the other official language is desirable
• Professional fluency of English, including communication and drafting skills
• Strong analytic and problem-solving skills
• Ability and willingness to work as a member of a team
• Digital literacy and proficient use of Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint), internet research

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

Background:

The Rules of Procedure of the Government approved in 2024 introduced for the first time the possibility of correcting technical errors in legal acts issued by the executive bodies without requiring legal amendment. Article 93 thereof, however, only sketches some basic elements of the procedure, which requires further elaboration. In the context of Kosovo, “corrigenda” can play an essential role in ensuring linguistic rights of all communities, as they would allow for the speedy harmonization of different language version of sub-legal acts, tackling one of the key recommendations made by the Mission in its 2018 report on Bilingual Legislation in Kosovo.

However, the correction of legal acts can be misused to avoid required debate and consideration when “technical errors” are not clearly defined. ODIHR’s Guidelines on Democractic Lawmaking for Better Laws explicitly recommend that “proposed amendments may follow simplified procedures but should still be verified and reviewed by both government lawyers and specialists, and [when referring to Laws] by parliament”. The Office for the Publication of the Official Gazette (OPOG) has asked the Mission to provide assistance in developing such a process in a manner that ensure both the functionality of the mechanism as well as respect for democratic lawmaking and broader rule of law principles.

Since the mechanism introduced at this stage for sub-legal acts will likely constitute the basis for further development in the future, it is important to ensure that its scope is well defined and its procedure ensures due review.

The consultant will support the development of such procedure by conducting a comparative study, assessing similar procedures in the EU countries, as well as applicable CoE or international standards. The consultant will also help to incorporate them into the final design, as well as training ministerial officials in the purpose, scope, limits and procedure. The OSCE will support one such training session, with up to two more organized by the OPOG.

Objective of Assignment:

Support the Office for the Publication of the Official Gazette in the development of a procedure for the correction of sub-legal acts in accordance with relevant international standards.

Duration of Assignment:

The Consultant will be hired for 20 working days.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

1. Conduct, in co-ordination with the OSCE Project Manager, a comparative study, identify and analyse common elements, minimum standards and guiding principles for the correction of legal acts. (8 days)
2. Based on the research conducted, support the Office for the Publication of the Official Gazette and the working group with the development of the correction procedure and the necessary guidelines/manual. (7 days)
3. Provide training to ministerial civil servants on the procedure after approval. (3 days)
4. Prepare the draft of the final report and submit to the Project Manager for review. (2 days)

Deliverables:

• By 15 July the consultant drafts Analysis of a comparative study identifying common elements, minimum standards and guiding principles for similar documents . Performance Indicators:
• Final comparative study submitted to and approved by the project manager. By 15 August the consultant drafts Specific proposals of the correction procedure and the necessary guidelines/manual based on applicable international standards. Performance Indicators:
• Participation in workshop sessions, written recommendations on relevant draft documents.
• By 31 November the consultant deliveres presentation of methodology, scope and limitations of mechanism in training sessions. Performance Indicators:
• Participation in at least one and at most three training session(s).
• By 31 December consultant provides final report submitted and approved by the project manager.

Necessary Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Law, preferably in the area of Constitutional or Administrative law;
• Minimum of eight years of professional experience in the field of public law or administration;
• Experience in policy and/or legal development;
• Excellent knowledge of Kosovo’s legal framework and applicable international instruments;
• Excellent knowledge of one official language (Albanian or Serbian), both oral and written; working knowledge of the other official language is desirable.
• Professional fluency of English, including communication and drafting skills;
• Strong analytic and problem-solving skills;
• 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;
• Digital literacy and proficient use of Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint), internet research.

Remuneration Package:

Remuneration will be based on the selected consultant's/expert's qualifications, experience, the tasks and deliverables for this position and in accordance with the OSCE established rates.

In order to apply for this position, you must complete the OSCE's online application form, found under OSCE Careers - Jobs. 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 at Offline application form | OSCE Employment and forward the completed form quoting the vacancy number by e-mail to: [email protected]. In line with your qualifications please indicate a preference for one or more fields 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 other languages than the English language would not be considered. The OSCE is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious, ethnic, and social backgrounds to apply.

Additional Information

• Issued by: OSCE Mission in Kosovo
• Requisition ID: KOS000320
• Contract Type: Special Service Agreement (SSA) / Consultant
• Grade: No grade
• Job Type: Consultant
• Number of posts: one
• Location: KOS - OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Prishtine / Pristina
• Issue Date: Jun 5, 2025
• Closing Date: Jun 19, 2025
• Education Level: Master's Degree (Second-level university degree or equivalent)
• Job Field: Human Rights
• Target Start Date: As soon as possible

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Potential interview questions

Added 1 year ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: vacancies.osce.org