It is globally recognized that there are strong links between establishing democratic governance, reducing poverty and securing human rights and access to justice for all. This recognition has led to the acceleration of justice reforms worldwide as one of the essential prerequisites of sustainable human development. In line with this, access to justice is a service line under the Democratic Governance practice areas identified by UNDP globally. Judicial reform is one of the high priority issues for Turkey. Commitment of Turkey to judicial reforms is expressed in various national policy framework documents. Government of Turkey clearly emphasizes the need for the continuation of judicial reforms in its 9th Development Plan in which it states: “endeavors aimed at service quality in the functioning and basic elements of judiciary will continue; in the framework of supremacy of law and requirements of rule of law, legislative and institutional arrangements aiming at rapid, just and reliable functioning of the judicial process will be undertaken.” Similarly, the 2008-2013 National Program of Turkey also emphasized the importance of faster, simpler, effective trial with a minimum cost and resolution of certain disputes through non-contentious jurisdiction, compromise, and conciliation instead of contentious jurisdiction to increase the efficiency, efficacy and functionality of the judiciary. In addition, the Government accelerated its efforts of crafting an encompassing Judicial Reform Strategy as a follow up these national policy frameworks. The referred Strategy foresees the broad application of the practice of mediation in both criminal and civil justice system of Turkey and stresses the commitment of the GoT to increase the effectiveness of the Turkish judiciary through different means of dispute resolution. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms, in particular mediation, are not a substitute for the formal court system. They can serve as alternatives that complement formal justice systems in both civil and criminal cases. Access to justice, especially for the poor and disadvantaged, is facilitated through mediation or other mechanisms of ADR as it addresses key obstacles facing these groups such as economic barriers in the form of lack of means to meet the costs of court fees, lawyer fees, form fees, illiteracy and resulting limited communication with the judicial actors to understand their technical jargon, lack of awareness, insensitivity/lack of awareness of particular needs, insufficient outreach of disadvantaged groups and in some cases is more accessible than courts. In addition, from a right-based perspective, mediation practices often provide win-win solutions, in which both parties are satisfied with the result. Within this perspective and with reference to the above mentioned national and international policy documents, the necessity to enhance the efficiency of the judiciary through decreasing the workload and strengthening the administrative and judicial infrastructure is urgent as it constitutes a requirement for the principle of democratic governance and empowerment of the disadvantaged groups for better access to justice for all in Turkey. In that respect, based on UNDP’s holistic approach towards judicial reform, UNDP Turkey and Ministry of Justice initiated a program entitled “Support to the Improvement of Practice of Mediation in Criminal and Civil Justice System in Turkey” in January 2011. The referred Program will serve for improving access to justice in Turkey as being one of the fundamental conditions for the establishment of the rule of law through the application and effective implementation of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in both civil and criminal disputes. The Terms of Reference at hand is for the international expert(s), who will support UNDP, Ministry of Justice for the development and delivery of the Training of Trainers program for the resource persons who will be selected among the judges, lawyers and academicians on mediation in civil disputes.
|
Objectives The objective of the assignment is to provide support for the implementation of UNDP & Ministry of Justice joint program for “Support to the Improvement of Practice of Mediation in Criminal and Civil Justice System in Turkey” in terms of development and delivery of the Training of Trainers program for the resource persons who will be selected among the judges, lawyers and academicians on mediation in civil disputes. Scope and Field of Specialization: The international expert(s) expert shall support the Program for “Support to the Improvement of Practice of Mediation in Criminal and Civil Justice System in Turkey” for the development of the Training of Trainers (ToT) Program for the resource persons (120) on mediation in civil disputes. The resource persons will be selected based on the already identified criteria among the judges in Turkey and they are expected to be the advocates of mediation practices and contribute to the awareness raising among the judges and the public at large. Along with the judges, resource persons will be selected among the lawyers and academicians of law faculties. The international expert(s) will work closely with Ministry of Justice General Directorate of Civil Affairs, UNDP as well as international and national experts who are responsible for the overall implementation of the Program activities. The Training of Trainers Program is expected to create platforms where the level of knowledge and awareness among the selected resource persons will be raised. In that respect for overall 120 judges, who are selected as resource persons, there will be 4 ToT sessions, having 30 resource persons for each session. Depending on the number of lawyers and academicians those will be selected there will be additional 2 or 3 ToT sessions. In specific terms, the international experts will be responsible for the following: - Develop the training modules for the ToT programs
- Develop training manuals and simulations customized to the Turkish situation to be used during the ToT sessions
- Deliver 4 ToT sessions for a total number of 120 judges selected as resource persons
- Deliver 2 or 3 ToT sessions for the selected lawyers and academicians
- Assess the results of the ToT sessions and update the training modules
Timing, Duration, and Place of Work: The Assignment is to start in May 2012 and be completed in September 2012. The table below outlines the number of working days that are allocated to the international expert(s) to carry out the assignment. The Assignment is planned to be launched on 1 May 2012 and be completed by 15 September 2012. - Submission of the training modules for the ToT programs -20 w/d - Ankara - Place of residence
- Submission of the training manuals and simulations customized to the Turkish situation to be used during the ToT sessions - 10 w/d - Ankara - Place of residence
- Completion of the delivery of the 4 ToT sessions for the judges - 10 w/d - Ankara
- Completion of the delivery of the 3 ToT sessions for the lawyers and academicians - 6 w/d - Ankara
- Submission of the assessment reports and updated training modules - 10 w/d - Ankara - Place of residence
Services and Facilities Provided by UNDP UNDP will provide project documents and background information. The meetings and the workshops planned for the assignment will be organized by the project. Payments: The international expert(s) will be hired under a Individual Contract (IC) and be paid in USD on daily basis and the payments schedule for international expert(s) is set out in the table below. - Submission of the training modules for the ToT programs - 20 working days of the contracted amount*
- Submission of the training manuals and simulations customized to the Turkish situation to be used during the ToT sessions - 10 working days of the contracted amount*
- Completion of the delivery of the 4 ToT sessions - 10 working days of the contracted amount*
- Completion of the delivery of the 3 ToT sessions for the lawyers and academicians - 6 working days of the contracted amount*
- Submission of the assessment reports and updated training modules - 10 working days of the contracted amount*
* The payment conditions indicated herein represents the maximum amount to be paid for the particular deliverable and will be based on the actual number of working days invested for the development of each deliverable. The number of the days invested for the assignment shall not exceed 56 w/days The amount paid shall be gross and inclusive of all associated costs such as social security, pension and income tax. Assignment-related travel and accommodation costs will be borne by UNDP upon submission of documentation.
|
