Terms of Reference
7 March 2019
1. Background
Support to anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine is a high political priority for the European Union. By combatting corruption, the EU contributes to consolidation of democracy and economic growth of Ukraine, as well successful approximation of Ukraine with the EU.
The programme “EU Anti-Corruption Initiative in Ukraine (EUACI)” 2017-2019 is a three-year programme implemented by the Danish International Development Agency using the indirect implementation modality.
The parliament of Ukraine adopted the Law on the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) on 7th June, 2018. HACC is a specialized court mandated with adjudicating high-level corruption cases investigated by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and prosecuted by the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecution Office of Ukraine (SAPO). HACC completes the chain of specialized bodies in the criminal justice sector established for effective investigation, prosecution and adjudication of high level corruption cases in Ukraine.
The legislative process that led to the adoption of the LHACC included negotiations between the Ukrainian authorities and international stakeholders (International Monetary Fund in close cooperation with the European Commission for Democracy through Law – Venice Commission) which, alongside Ukrainian civil society, suggested the involvement of international experts in the selection process for the judges of the court. The Venice Commission, in its opinion issued in October 2017, recommended giving international participants a crucial role in the selection process. The LHACC takes this recommendation into account by allowing international experts the opportunity to get involved through the Public Council of International Experts (PCIE) for a total period of 6 years. The PCIE is composed of 6 experts selected by the HQCJ for a one term period of two years from a list of candidates nominated by international organizations. Ukrainian authorities envisage to have the HACC operational by March 2019.
The EUACI is committed to provide support to the establishment of HACC by assisting national stakeholders such as HQCJ, SJA, HCJ and PCIE in organizing and carrying out selection process of judges as well as actions directed at establishment and institutional development of HACC.
The selection of judges, regulated in the Law of Ukraine on the Judiciary and Status of Judges (LJSJ), is under the responsibility of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine (HQCJ), a state body of judicial self-government composed of 16 commissioners. The procedure foreseen by the law for the selection of HACC judges is essentially the same as the procedure for the selection of ordinary judges, except for the involvement of international experts through the PCIE. The involvement of the PCIE replaces the participation of civil society representatives (through the Public Council of Integrity) in the selection process for the HACC judges.
The PCIE institutionally is a subsidiary body to the HQCJ, assisting it to ascertain whether a candidate-judge is qualified for the job. Each individual PCIE member will have, in particular, the following tasks:
- Take active part in the PCIE meetings, special joint meetings with HQCJ, interviews with candidate-judges;
- Comment and contribute to the development of PCIE internal documents, e.g. its rules of procedure, assessment criteria of candidates;
- Direct the PCIE secretariat in the tasks assigned;
Review of dossiers of candidates, external submissions on candidates, comment on documents prepared by the PCIE secretariat, take part in the PCIE deliberations.
Organizational and technical support of the activity of the PCIE is executed by the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine. The law allows financing of the activity of the PCIE with the help of international technical assistance. International donors agreed to provide the PCIE members with a secretariat for back-office support as well as expert assistance.
The PCIE has concluded it first operational phase with the official announcement of the list of selected candidates by the HQCJ on 6 March 2019. Some of the dismissed candidate judges have taken legal action against their termination. At this stage the EUACI is committed to assist the PCIE in monitoring and assessing the legal actions taken by the dismissed candidate judges.
Objective
Main objective of technical support to be provided to the PCIE is to assist its effective functioning to ensure that it performs in accordance with the LHACC and the Venice Commission recommendations.
Scope of work
The legal analyst will work under direct supervision of the Head of the Secretariat and will be responsible for the following tasks:
- to conduct legal analysis and monitoring on the legal actions taken by the dismissed candidate judges;
- to prepare legal opinion and arguments related to the legal actions;
- to communicate with the HQCJ regarding the legal actions;
- to update the PCIE members, PCIE Secretariat and EUACI/IDLO regularly;
- other tasks as assigned.
Timeline
The intended commencement date is the date of signature of the contract by both parties and the period of implementation of the contract will be 3 months with part-time engagement. A maximum of 30 full working days shall be provided.
Outputs
Key output includes the following:
- Monitoring reports;
- Written legal analysis;
- Written legal opinions;
Requirements for the Consultant
Education and Experience:
- Degree in Law;
- At least 5 years of experience in legal research and analysis;
- Experience in reform processes in anti-corruption and/or judiciary sectors; sound knowledge and understanding of reform processes in Ukraine will be a strong advantage;
- Experience of working with governmental institutions as well as international organizations providing assistance to rule of law and/or anti-corruption reforms in Ukraine will be a strong advantage.
Language: Proficiency in Ukrainian and English is required.
Monitoring and evaluation
Definition of indicators
The performance of the contractor will be judged upon reaching the purpose of this contract as well as obtaining its results, as indicated in the sections “Objectives” and “Expected Deliverables” herein respectively. Moreover, the performance of the contractors will be judged upon successful implementation of all the specific activities indicated above.
Special requirements
By signing the contract, the contractors agree to hold in trust and confidence any information or documents ("confidential information"), disclosed to the contractors or discovered by the contractors or prepared by the contractors in the course of or as a result of the implementation of the contract, and agrees that it shall be used only for the purposes of the contract implementation and shall not be disclosed to any third party.
The contractor reports to the EUACI and PCIE Secretariat. The contractor shall de-brief the EUACI prior to finalising the assignment.
Cross-cutting issues (integration of the youth, equal opportunities)
The assignment will be implemented ensuring equal opportunities for men and women and integration of the youth.
Selection
CV, motivation letter, indication of required expert fee level per working day and contact information of at least two references shall be submitted to the e-mail: [email protected] with the subject: Legal Analyst for the PCIE Secretariat. Deadline for applications is March 15 (Friday).
The candidate will be selected in two stages:
- Assessment of received applications against the requirements listed in this announcement;
- Interview with the EUACI.
For any questions, please contact Halyna Kokhan, Anti-Corruption Expert at EUACI ([email protected]).