UNDP Jobs - 83452- Individual Consultant - Legal (For Indian National

Individual Consultant - Legal (For Indian Nationals only)

Location :

Ministry of Tribal Affairs, New Delhi, INDIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Mar-2019

Application Deadline :

22-Feb-19 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

09 months (10 working days in a month)

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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

The Government of India has enacted legislations - Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA); Provision of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996; and 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments for protection of rights of the most marginalized.

The Forest Rights Act (FRA) is crucial to the rights of millions of STs and other forest dwellers in an attempt to undo the historical injustice to the forest dwellers and recognize their individual and community rights in the forest areas along with need for their consent before considering the diversion of forest land.

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has taken several proactive steps in addressing various issues impeding the implementing of FRA by amending the Forest Rights Rules, issuing guidelines to States and providing need based clarifications to the states. Despite these affirmative actions, there have been challenges in implementation of FRA at ground along with legal interpretations of FRA vis-à-vis other laws related to land. In addition, there have been incidences of Act violations or misinterpretation of the various provision of FRA by states while undertaking development projects in the forest areas.

In this backdrop, Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) require the services of a legal expert on tribal and land laws to support in drafting legal replies and articulation of Ministry’s legal position on various matters for submission to the concerned ministries/committees along with follow up on cases in the Supreme Court and the High Courts, as may be required

Duties and Responsibilities

The Legal Consultant will work under the overall supervision and direction of Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs and National Project Director, MoTA-UNDP project and will perform the following functions

Legal support to MoTA on legislations such as Forest Rights Act, PESA, Land Alienation etc. and other emerging tribal concerns - displacement, land issues with specific focus on:
- Draft responses through affidavits and counter affidavits for cases where Ministry is a party/ respondent in various courts including High Courts and Supreme Court
- Follow-up on ongoing or new litigations pertaining FRA in Supreme Court and various High Courts
- Draft legal notes on the position of Ministry vis- a-vis FRA 2006 for various internal committees and correspondence with other Central Ministries
- Inputs in drafting operational guidelines and provide clarifications to ensure effective implementation of the Act
- Technical and legal opinion on other matters related to tribal development

Competencies

Functional Competencies

Ability to meet deadlines.
Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards;
Positive, constructive attitude to work;

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualification:

University Degree in Law
Additional specialization in environmental sciences. forest management, tribal issues or related subjects will be an added advantage

Professional Experience:

Atleast 10 years of experience related to the issues of legal rights for tribal and forest dwelling communities, preferably in the Supreme Court and High Court, including litigation experience
Experience of working with Government on the protective legislation for tribal communities will be preferred

Language Requirement: English and Hindi

Evaluation Criteria:

1) Academic Qualification - 20 Marks

University Degree in law
Additional specialization in environmental sciences, forest management, tribal issues

2) Experience of working on legal rights for tribal community and forest dwellers - 30 Marks

3) Experience of practicing in the Supreme Court or High Court - 30 Marks

4) Experience of working with Central or State Government on protective legislations - 20 Marks

Payment Scheduled:

On Monthly basis on certification of timesheet

Consultancy Fee: INR 13,000/- per day worked

Documents to Submit:
Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/ information to demonstrate their qualifications. Please merge those into one (1) single PDF document as the application only allows to upload only one document:

Offerors Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the Individual Contractor (IC) Assignment.

Personal CV.

Notes:

As system allows uploading only one file, please merge above-mentioned documents to be submitted as part of application into one (1) single PDF document and upload.

Application may not be accepted, if all the above listed documents are not submitted.

The following documents can be accessed, clicking the link:

General Conditions for Individual Contract
http://www.in.undp.org/content/dam/india/docs/procurement/UNDP%20General%20Conditions%20for%20Individual%20Contracts.pdf

Offerors Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the Individual Contractor (IC) Assignment, including Financial Proposal template
http://www.in.undp.org/content/dam/india/docs/careers/PSU_%20Individual%20Contract_Offerors-Letter-UNDP.pdf

For queries, please email to: ic.india@undp.org