Historique

Since April 2018 the Government of Ethiopia has launched a series of bold and comprehensive reforms in the country. Legislative and Institutional reforms have been introduced in the justice system. Legislative reforms include the revision of the Charities and Societies Proclamation, Electoral Laws, the Anti- Terrorism Proclamation, Federal Courts Proclamation, the Judicial Administration Commission Proclamation, the Media Law, Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code, and new legislation on Hate Speech. The Federal Supreme Court revised the Federal Courts Establishment Proclamation and the Judicial Administration proclamations.  Institutional changes were made through the appointment of new leadership and structural changes. The Prison Administration and Federal Police Commissions were set up under the structures of the Attorney General and the (newly established) Ministry of Peace, respectively. Direct administration of non-judicial staff of the Federal Supreme Court as opposed to the management by the Civil Service Commission has been approved by the parliament and transition is underway.

Justice sector institutions are mainly entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring respect for the rule of law, protection of human rights, and delivery of justice to citizens. Coordination, collaboration, and harmonization of efforts among justice institutions is an important factor that contributes to the achievement of the goals of the justice sector reform. At the Federal level, the Justice Sector Steering Committee (JSSC/ Abiy (Main in Amharic) Committee) comprising of the Federal Supreme Court, the Office of the Attorney General, the Federal Police Commission, the Addis Ababa Police Commission, and the Federal Prison Administration, and more recently the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, has developed a ‘Common Agenda of Institutions of Justice’, with a view to carrying out justice-related operations in a coordinated manner. The Common Agenda outlines issues of common concern across the justice sector institutions. The Common Agenda is expected to be translated into a Comprehensive Justice Sector Program which will be implemented as of January 2022. The Interim Support to the JSSC focuses on implementing short-term activities. Among these activities is conducting an assessment on causes of delays in criminal proceedings in the past five years. 

Everyone suspected/accused of committing a crime has the right to get a speedy trial guaranteed under the FDRE Constitution and human rights instruments ratified by Ethiopia. Speedy trial and timely disposition of criminal cases is also one component of peoples’ right to access to justice. This is reminiscent of the legal adage “justice delayed is justice denied”. The absence of speedy trials of criminal cases will lead to the erosion of public confidence in the judiciary and the justice system as a whole. As a result, providing judgment on criminal cases without reasonable delay is one of the ways to enhance as well as to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of the justice system.

Improving the status of speedy trials in the criminal justice administration requires, among other things, assessing the main challenges and bottlenecks, and reasons hampering the speedy disposal of criminal cases. In this regard, efforts have been made in the past to identify major bottlenecks that cause delays in criminal proceedings. However, in the past five years, the social and political dynamics of the county changed leading to an increase in violence and the filing of criminal charges. Hence, it is found crucial to evaluate major bottlenecks in light of the changes, measures undertaken, efforts made in the past, and gaps that are still persistent.

Therefore, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the JSSC is commissioning an assessment on major bottlenecks and causes of delay in criminal trial proceedings. To this end, UNDP will appoint one senior consultant and two Associate consultants to undertake this assignment.

Devoirs et responsabilités

OBJECTIVES OF THE SERVICE / WORK

The primary objectives of the assignment are: 

• Identifying challenges and gaps of the judiciary, Attorney General, Police, and prison administration in handling criminal proceedings;
•  Evaluating efforts and measures taken by respective justice sector institutions and through the JSSC to ensure speedy trial;
•  Providing practical recommendations on how to address challenges identified with reference to international and regional best practices. 

SCOPE OF THE WORK

The scope of the consultancy work will cover the following: 

• Conducting an assessment on the practice of speedy trial of cases in trial and pre-trial stages in the past five years.
• Collecting data from all relevant stakeholders of the Ethiopian criminal justice administration.
• Identifying the major bottlenecks and reasons for delays in criminal trial proceedings together with recommendations.
• Producing a report written in standardized research report format.
• Presenting the report in validation workshop and other platforms that will be organized by the Federal Supreme Court or UNDP;
• Submitting final report incorporating all comments and feedback.

EXPECTED OUTPUTS AND DELIVERABLES  

• Inception Report (preparation, presentation to Focal Persons Committee, & incorporating comments);
• Data collection, entry and analysis, and submission of the first draft; 
• Incorporating comments and submitting the final report;

Important Note: 

• Unless otherwise provided, all deliverables shall be produced in Amharic.

METHODOLOGY

The inception report shall comprise a detailed work plan and clear methodology for the achievement of the above-mentioned objectives and deliverables, including desk review of documents, interviews/meetings with stakeholders, and analytical work.

INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENT / REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS

• The consultancy will be undertaken by a senior consultant. The Junior Consultants will report to the senior consultant

DURATION OF THE WORK   

• The duration of work will be 40 working days. 

Compétences

Functional Competencies:

• In-depth understanding of criminal law, criminal procedure, and criminal justice administration.
• Demonstrated experience in conducting research, training, and developing policy and work documents.
• Good communication and presentation skills.
• Good assessment and analytical skills.
• Be a team player and ability to work/liaise with various counterparts.

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
• Treats all people fairly without favouritism;
• Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

CONFIDENTIALITY AND PROPRIETARY INTERESTS 

The Consultants shall not either during the term or after the termination of the assignment, disclose any proprietary or confidential information related to the consultancy service without prior written consent. Proprietary interests on all materials and documents prepared by the consultants under the assignment shall become and remain properties of FSC.

Qualifications et expériences requises

Education

• A bachelor’s degree in law and related social science. 

Experience

• The associate consultants must hold 8 years of increasingly responsible professional experience in the substantive area, in criminal justice, reform research, and teaching.
• Significant experience in research and policy-level analysis.

Language Requirements

The consultants shall demonstrate proficiency in English and Amharic.

Important Note:

Only the applicants who hold the above qualifications will be shortlisted and contacted.

Price Proposal :

The Consultant shall submit a price proposal in accordance with the below instructions:

• A Lumpsum Fee– The Consultant shall submit an all Inclusive Lump Sum Fee: which should be inclusive of his/her professional fee, local communication cost, insurance (inclusive of medical health). The number of working days for which the daily fee shall be payable under the contract is 40 working days.

Evaluation Method And Criteria:

Upon the advertisement of the VA, a qualified Individual Consultant is expected to submit both the Technical and Financial Proposals. Accordingly; Individual Consultants will be evaluated based on Cumulative Analysis as per the following scenario:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation. In this regard, the respective weight of the proposals are:
  1. Technical Criteria weight is 70%
  2. Financial Criteria weight is 30%

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in Technical Evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation

Criteria Max & Points:

Technical Competence (based on credentials and technical proposal): 70%/ max 100 Points         

• Criteria a. Criteria a. Understanding the Scope of Work (SoW); comprehensiveness of the methodology/approach; and organization & completeness of the proposal. 60 pts
• Criteria b. Expertise in the areas of assignment   including previous experience and team composition  40 pts

Financial   Max 30% -  30 Points

PAYMENT MILESTONES AND AUTHORITY

The prospective consultant will indicate the cost of services for each deliverable in the currency of the contract (Ethiopian BRR)  all-inclusive lump-sum contract amount when applying for this consultancy. 

The qualified consultant shall receive his/her lump-sum service fees upon certification of the completed tasks satisfactorily, as per the following payment schedule:

• First installment: Upon submission, presentation, and approval of the Inception Report.  Percentage of payment: 30%
• Second installment: Upon submission, presentation, and approval of the first draft report.  Percentage of payment: 30%
• Third and Final installment: Upon submission, presentation, and approval of the final report. Percentage of payment: 40%

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Proposers who shall not submit the below-mentioned documents will not be considered for further evaluation.

• Personal CV or P11 indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references;
• Confirmation of Interest and Availability & Financial Proposal: Interest and Availability to perform the task and Financial Proposal must be submitted through a standard template Offeror’s Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the Individual IC, including Financial Proposal Template
• Technical Proposal including:
• Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment and a methodology on how they will approach and complete the assignment.
• A brief description of the approach to work/work plan on how he/she will approach and complete the assignment.
• Financial Proposal: As per the template provided.

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