Aba Roli Court Assessment Consultant At American Bar Association

TERMS OF REFERENCE

ABA ROLI Court Assessment Consultant

Promoting the Rule of Law in Angola

Call Title: Consultant for Court Assessment in Angola

Theme: Courts Operational Review Location: Angola (Remote) Contract Type: Consultant

Consultancy Dates: 15 March – 15 May 2024 Duration of Assignment: ~30 Working Days Application Deadline: 8 March 2024

ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW

The American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) is a non-profit organization that implements legal reform programs. ABA ROLI has worked for over 25 years in more than 100 countries to promote the rule of law, advance human rights, strengthen judicial institutions, support legal professionals, and advance understanding of the law and rights of citizens by the public. To this end, ABA ROLI has established partnerships with a wide range of actors, including institutions in the justice sector (judges, prosecutors, public defense offices, mediation offices and national human rights institutions, investigators, and police), civil society organizations, bar associations, legal aid organizations, and lawyers, among others.

ABA ROLI’s work in Africa spans a variety of programming around the rule of law, access to justice, atrocity prevention as well as human rights protection and promotion. ABA ROLI’s Africa Division has country offices across the continent, including in Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Liberia, Niger, South Africa, Sudan and Uganda.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

The American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI), in partnership with various stakeholders in Angola is implementing a three-year rule of law programme, focused on judicial strengthening. The program’s goal is to support the building blocks for the promotion of the independence and effective operation of the Angolan judiciary. It has three main objectives, namely; to strengthen the legal framework for judicial independence in Angola, to improve citizens’ awareness of their rights and responsibilities and to increase judges’ and courts’ ability to manage and adjudicate cases fairly and effectively.

PURPOSE AND TASKS

ABA ROLI seeks to conduct an assessment of standard operating procedures, policies and capacity needs in the Angolan judiciary, with emphasis on the system’s handling of sexual and reproductive health rights in Angola’s highest courts and courts in select implementation provinces. It is widely acknowledged that merely transplanting or importing technical standards or procedures to an institution, without inquiring and understanding the behavioural context, does not lead to effective and lasting change. Consequently, the assessment design focuses on both:

1. The technical soundness of procedures, standards, and management processes;
2. The behavioural incentives and drivers shaping how administrative staff, defence attorneys, prosecutors, and managers/supervisors apply or don’t apply those standards.

This detailed assessment will consider the technical and practical impediments to effective procedures and will evaluate oversight systems. The assessment will incorporate the views of diverse stakeholders and will seek to understand key actors’ motivations and the roots of existing procedural challenges.

SCOPE OF WORK

In line with the above, ABA ROLI is seeking a legal expert with experience in operations and management of the courts and the justice delivery system in Angola. The specific purpose of the assignment will be to:

1. From a gender perspective, assess the operational frameworks for Angolan Courts and other justice sector mechanisms such as the police, prosecutorial services and the legal profession.
2. Assess the effectiveness or otherwise of these frameworks in promoting access to justice, using sexual and reproductive health rights cases as a potential example.
3. Identify behavioral incentives and drivers shaping how administrative staff, defense attorneys, prosecutors, and managers/supervisors apply or don’t apply those standards and provide recommendations for change.
4. Provide recommendations for a review of the standards, including procedural laws/regulations, court rules, standard operating procedures, and codes of ethics/conduct or any other relevant frameworks.
5. Provide recommendations for the development of any new frameworks to improve operational and procedural aspects of the Angolan courts and the country’s justice delivery sector.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s and/or master’s degree in law or international human rights law.
• At least 5-10 years of professional experience working directly with the courts and other justice sector actors and mechanisms in Angola.
• Candidates must demonstrate a strong understanding and knowledge of the Angolan legal and justice system and Angolan court operations and procedural law.
• Fluency in both Portuguese and English

ESTIMATED TIMELINE

Specific timelines will be discussed with the successful candidate, but the consultant will be expected to work within the period from March 15 to May 15, 2024.

TERMOS DE REFERÊNCIA

ABA ROLI Consultor(a) de Avaliação Judicial

Promoção do Estado de Direito em Angola

Título do Concurso: Consultor(a) pela Avaliação do sistema judiciário em Angola Tema: Revisão do quadro normativo dos Procedimentos dos Órgãos Jurisdicionais Localização: Angola (virtual)

Tipo de Contrato: Consultoria

Datas de Consultoria: 15 de março – 15 de maio de 2024

Duração da Missão: 30 dias úteis

Prazo de Candidatura: 8 de março de 2024

SOBRE A ABA ROLI

A American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) é uma organização sem fins lucrativos que implementa e apoia programas de reforma, na área do Direito. A ABA ROLI trabalha há mais de 25 anos, em mais de 100 países, na promoção do Estado de direito, dos direitos humanos, fortalecimento das instituições judiciais, apoio aos profissionais do direito e promoção da elevação da consciência cívica para a compreensão das leis e dos direitos, pelos cidadãos. Para tal, a ABA ROLI estabelece parcerias com diferentes actores, incluindo instituições do sector da justiça (juízes, procuradores, gabinetes de defesa pública, gabinetes de mediação e instituições nacionais de direitos humanos, investigadores e polícia), organizações da sociedade civil, ordens de advogados, organizações que prestam patrocínio judiciário, advogados e outros.

O trabalho da ABA ROLI em África abrange vários programas sobre o Estado de direito, acesso à justiça, prevenção de violações de direitos, bem como proteção e promoção dos direitos humanos.

A Divisão para África da ABA ROLI tem escritórios em todo o continente, incluindo no Benim, Burkina Faso, República Centro-Africana, República Democrática do Congo, Gâmbia, Libéria, Níger, África do Sul, Sudão e Uganda.

RESUMO DO PROJECTO

A Iniciativa para o Estado de Direito da American Bar Association (ABA ROLI), em parceria com vários parceiros em Angola, está a implementar um programa de três anos para a promoção do Estado de Direito, centrado no fortalecimento das instituições da administração da justiça. O objetivo do programa é apoiar o reforço e a promoção da independência e do funcionamento eficaz do sistema judicial angolano. O referido programa possui três objetivos principais, nomeadamente: reforçar o quadro normativo sobre a independência judicial em Angola, melhorar a consciência cívica dos cidadãos sobre os seus direitos e responsabilidades e contribuir para a melhoria da capacidade dos juízes e dos tribunais para gerirem e julgarem os processos de forma justa e eficaz.

OBJECTIVO E FUNÇÕES

A ABA ROLI procura conduzir uma “Análise e Avaliação dos Procedimentos Operacionais, das práticas e usos comportamentais, das políticas e das necessidades de capacitação no sistema judiciário angolano”, com ênfase no tratamento de casos sobre direitos sexuais e reprodutivos, nos Tribunais ( comuns e especializados, nas províncias seleccionadas para a implementação do programa.

It is recognized that the mere transposition or import of models, standards or technical procedures into an institution, without inquiring and understanding the local context, does not lead to effective and lasting change.

Therefore, assessment focuses on the following:

1. The technical soundness of the procedures, standards and management processes of justice administration institutions;
2. Factors that motivate certain behaviors, as well as the way in which administrative staff, judges, prosecutors, lawyers and court managers/supervisors apply or not these standards.

This detailed assessment will take into account technical and practical obstacles to effective procedures and evaluate control systems. The assessment will incorporate the views of diverse stakeholders and seek to understand the motivations of key actors and the roots of current procedural challenges.

SCOPE OF WORK

According to the summary of activity above, ABA ROLI is looking for a legal specialist, with experience and knowledge in operations and management of courts and the justice system in Angola. The specific objective of the consultancy is:

1. Assess the operational regulatory framework of Angolan courts and other bodies in the justice sector, such as the police, the Public Ministry and the legal profession, from a gender perspective.
2. Evaluate the effectiveness or otherwise of the regulatory framework in promoting access to justice, using cases of sexual and reproductive health rights as an example.
3. Identify positive and negative behaviors that determine how administrative staff, judges, lawyers, prosecutors and managers/supervisors apply or not apply these standards and present recommendations for change.
4. Recommend review or creation of standards, including procedural laws/regulations, judicial rules, procedural standards, codes of ethics/conduct or any other relevant instructions.
5. Present recommendations for the development of any regulatory instruments, aimed at improving the operational and procedural aspects of Angolan courts and the country’s justice sector.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree and/or master’s degree in law or international human rights law.
• At least 5-10 years of professional experience working directly with the courts, other actors and mechanisms in the justice sector in Angola.
• The candidate must demonstrate a strong understanding and knowledge of the Angolan legal and judiciary system, as well as the functioning of Angolan courts and procedural law.
• Fluency in Portuguese and English

ESTIMATED CALENDAR

Specific deadlines will be discussed with the selected candidate, but the consultant must work from March 15 to May 15, 2024.