UNDP Jobs - 55122- Consultancy for the Harmonization of Customary Law

Consultancy for the Harmonization of Customary Laws and the State Legal System in South Sudan

Location :

Juba, SOUTH SUDAN

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

20-Apr-2015

Application Deadline :

07-Apr-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

20 working days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

20 working days

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

Organizational Context

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ), provides legal advice to the Government of the Republic of South Sudan (GRSS). More particularly, the Ministry is responsible to: advise all levels of GRSS on legal matters; represent all levels of GRSS in public prosecution, litigation and adjudication; draft legislation for all levels of the GRSS; any other functions and duties that may be assigned to it by law, the GRSS or any other level of Government in South Sudan; and establish legal administrations for each of the ten states in South Sudan.

UNDP through its Access to Justice and Rule of Law Project provides institutional support to the MoJ through a capacity development strategy, and support to infrastructure to achieve MoJ’s short-term objectives while facilitating strategic planning for achievement of its medium and long-term objectives. Ultimately, the strategy is aimed at enabling the MoJ to achieve its mission of creating a strong foundation for a united, peaceful and prosperous society based on justice, equality, respect for human rights and the rule of law.

Through this Project UNDP has been providing support to MoJ in three areas: technical advice, capacity building and infrastructure/equipment support. Both national and international consultants with functional expertise and experience in comparative jurisdictions have been engaged to provide technical support to the MoJ.

The Project has worked closely with the MoJ to establish a customary law centre and commissioned a research on the ascertainment of customary laws in an attempt to harmonize customary structures with norms and structures provided in the new constitutional dispensation of South Sudan.

South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011. The nascent nation has a vastly diverse population with many ethnic communities that continue to rely on the use of customary law and traditional authorities to resolve disputes. There are more than 60 ethnic groups each with its distinct customary laws and practices, though they share significant commonalities. The statutory and traditional legal systems have coexisted and interacted for over a century in the region. Thus, customary law is an integral component of the justice system of the country, with customary law recognized as a source of legislation in the Transitional Constitution of South Sudan. Customary law remains a vibrant and legitimate mechanism for resolving conflict in communities and should be strengthened in compliance with constitutional and human rights standards. Studies and assessments have cited the fact that the overwhelming majority of disputes are handled at the customary level and that there is an urgent need to harmonize customary mechanisms with the statutory system. Traditional responses have played a historic part in the resolution of inter-ethnic conflicts and remain relevant to the resolution of the 15 December 2013 crisis if properly synthesized. This requires the ascertainment, recording, analyzing, comparing and synthesizing of the customary laws of the various ethnic groups in South Sudan to inform the process for harmonization, reform, and institutionalization of customary law and local dispute resolution mechanisms that promote sustainable peace, the rule of law, and respect for human rights.

Duties and Responsibilities

Consultancy for the Harmonization of Customary Laws and the State Legal System in South Sudan
Customary law remains a vibrant and legitimate mechanism for resolving conflict in communities and should be strengthened in compliance with constitutional and human rights standards.

Against the backdrop of the critical role played by customary law in the lives of most South Sudanese, UNDP has been supporting MoJ in documenting customary law through the process of ascertainment. The ascertainment of the customary laws of 14 communities have been completed, while the ascertainment of the customary laws of 10 more communities is on-going.

The objectives of the ascertainment study was to document the customary laws in relation to various aspects of community life such as criminal behaviour, marriage and family concerns, inheritance, property ownership, rights over grazing routes and natural resources, and human rights. The methodology used was self-ascertainment wherein the communities primarily stated their laws themselves.

Harmonization of customary laws and modern legal standards require the alignment of customs with constitutional and human rights norms, analyzing, comparing and synthesizing of the customary laws of the various ethnic groups. This study will provide analysis of the ascertainment reports. It will identify and evaluate evolving customary practices, commonalities in the customs of various communities and in what areas of social interaction they are most prevalent. It will also seek to harmonize the customs of the various communities and make recommendations for a coherent customary law system. The study will further identify customary practices that are at tandem with human rights norms as well as the Transitional Constitution of South Sudan.

The study will document its findings in narrative form, and by the use of graph, charts, diagrams that communicate the message in visual form.

Objective

The main objective of the study is to conduct an analytical commentary of the ascertainment studies and explore possibilities for the harmonization of customary law and the statutory legal system.

More specifically the study will:

Make a comparative analysis of the customary laws of various communities in South Sudan as per the content of the ascertainment study reports;
Identify commonalities in the different customary laws of various communities as well as the extent of variations. Such commonalities and variations should be expressed by narration as well as infographics and visuals;
Identify customary laws that are at tandem with human rights norms or resonate with the Transitional Constitution of South Sudan, internationally recognized standards of justice, the rule of law and human rights;
Identify and analyze customary law norms that have evolved over time, factors affecting evolution and local demands influencing reform.

Scope of work

The consultant will finalize a working scheme in collaboration with UNDP. While proceeding as described, the consultant should:

Prepare and submit reports to UNDP and MoJ and address their comments;
Provide documented debriefing, on progress in the project document formulation, to the Project Manager, UNDP, representatives of MoJ and Local Government Board.

Duration:

20 working days.

Deliverables:

Methodology Development

To be prepared within 4 days of the assignment:

The methodology will be desk based;
Finalization of time line with key benchmarks for results;
Present the methodology and literature review to UNDP and MoJ for inputs and improvement.

Drafting, completion and submission of final text.

To be prepared within 16 days of the assignment:

The text will analyze the ascertainment reports and analyze commonalities and variations in the customs of ethnic groups and the pattern which they take. Comparisons will include efforts to synthesize customary law practices with human rights norms and explore opportunities to harmonize customary justice systems and state law;
As per the work plan, the text will be completed and compiled in publishable form and quality and submitted in soft copies.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrate integrity by modeling UN values and ethical standards;
Respect the vision, mission, and strategic in goals of the UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies:

Demonstrate team-building capacity including interpersonal and communication skills and ability to cope with a difficult environment where formal institutions of government are at the embryonic stage;
Deals diplomatically with challenging bureaucratic processes, and pressure to meet strict deadlines;
Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
Demonstrates openness to changes and ability to manage complexities;
Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
Background in the field of human rights promotion;
Demonstrated knowledge and applied skills in legal pluralism and the ascertainment of customary law;
Knowledge of rule of law institutions, current political situation and historical background of South Sudan is desirable;
Knowledge of customary/traditional legal systems in Africa and ability to observe opportunities for customary law strategies development around the world with special sensitivities to working with all facets of institutional development from the community level to central government;
Communication and team building skills, strong communication and interpersonal, analysis, and planning skills;
Understanding of legal reform strategies within a post-conflict context is highly desirable.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced degree in Law, Development, Applied Legal Anthropology or Legal Pluralism, or other relevant field of study with strong background in legal research and strategic planning.

Experience:

At least 7 years’ experience in legal systems reforms and development, applied legal anthropological, i.e. work experience with traditional leaders and members of traditional communities;
Of which minimum of 7 years’ experience in applied research and strategic planning in legal pluralism (work focus on traditional leaders and members of traditional communities) and other sectors of law.

Language:

Fluency in English (written and oral);
Knowledge of Arabic language is an asset.