Consultancy - Technical support to the finalization of the Child Justice Bill, Windhoek, Namibia (for International only)

The scope of work focuses on legal drafting assistance, and ensuring the consistence of the Bill with the existing legal framework, as well as alignment with international law and standards pertaining to children in conflict with the law: • Ensure compliance and complementarity of the Bill with Criminal Procedures Act, No. 51 of 1977, and Child Care and Protection Act. No. 3 of 2015; • Ensure alignment with international law and standards, as applicable; • Ensure that references within the Bill, but also to other legislation are up to date and correct; • Ensure that definitions section is complete, coherent with Namibian law and not contradictory to the other chapters; • Ensure that the sequence of the chapters follows a logical order.

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Background/Justification

In its Concluding Observations to Namibia in 2012, the Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed deep concerns about the current situation of children in conflict with the law in Namibia. The Committee was especially concerned about the low age of criminal responsibility, the lack of special detention facilities for children, and the general lack of protection of children’s rights in the juvenile justice system. The Convention on the Rights of the Child sets out a child rights-based approach to juvenile justice which furthers the realisation of all children's rights relevant to diversion and alternatives to detention and imprisonment. The general understanding in juvenile justice is that the best interests of the child needs to be balanced, on a case by case basis, against the interests of victims, survivors and society in general. Further, investment in children’s rights contributes to increased reintegration and reduced reoffending and therefore to the objectives of the criminal justice system and crime prevention as a whole.
In the last decade, the situation for children in conflict with the law in Namibia has significantly improved. The introduction of child friendly courts through an amendment of the Criminal Procedure Act, No. 51 of 1977, and the introduction of the Child Justice Programme set important milestones to ensure the protection of children’s rights in the juvenile justice system.
Even though there have been substantial improvements, the status of the juvenile justice system in Namibia is still fairly fragmented. Diversion measures and other restorative justice mechanisms have been introduced, but are still lacking variety and minimum quality standards.
Even though some legislation such as the Criminal Procedure Act, No. 29 of 2004, and the Children’s Act, No. 33 of 1960, punctually address issues of children in conflict with the law, there is no comprehensive legislative framework in place which addresses juvenile justice. In order to fill this gap and ensure the establishment of a procedural framework for children in conflict with the law, the Government of the Republic of Namibia has been working on the Child Justice Bill since 1997, which comprehensively regulates the juvenile justice system in Namibia.

Even though the Bill in the layman’s version has already passed the law-making process in the early stages, significant policy changes have been incorporated in the last couple of years, to ensure alignment with both international law and relevant new national legislation. Therefore, the Ministry of Justice, as the custodian of the Child Justice Bill, has decided to re-submit the Bill to Cabinet for approval of policy decisions taken, and then pass it on to the Cabinet Committee on Legislation for technical input.
Before this process can be undertaken, it is decisive that the current gaps in the Bill with regards to international law are closed, that the Bill is aligned to national legislation and references relevant Acts where appropriate, and that it is ensured that the Bill in itself is comprehensive with regards to the definitions, structure of the Bill as well as logical order of the chapters.
It is against this background that UNICEF is seeking an experienced legal juvenile justice expert, to provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Justice for the finalisation of the Bill.

Scope of the work (work assignment)

The scope of work focuses on legal drafting assistance, and ensuring the consistence of the Bill with the existing legal framework, as well as alignment with international law and standards pertaining to children in conflict with the law:

•  Ensure compliance and complementarity of the Bill with Criminal Procedures Act, No. 51 of 1977, and Child Care and Protection Act. No. 3 of 2015;
• Ensure alignment with international law and standards, as applicable;
• Ensure that references within the Bill, but also to other legislation are up to date and correct;
• Ensure that definitions section is complete, coherent with Namibian law and not contradictory to the other chapters;
• Ensure that the sequence of the chapters follows a logical order.

How can you make a difference?

Expected deliverables:

In order to accomplish the task the consultant is required to undertake the following:

1. Produce an Inception report including an analysis of current gaps and potential areas of improvement;
2. Conduct a scoping mission for initial discussion with the Ministries of Justice, Gender Equality and Child Welfare, Sport, Youth and National Service, as well as the Namibian Police (NAMPOL), the Office of the Prosecutor General and the Office of the Judiciary based on the inception report, and map the way forward;
3. Produce a first revised draft for comments and inputs by Ministry of Justice and UNICEF;
4. Present the revised draft with incorporated comments during second mission to multi-stakeholder workshop to be organized by UNICEF and the Ministry of Justice;
5. Produce a second revised draft, incorporating all comments from stakeholder consultation;
6. Present and submit final draft for endorsement during third mission to Namibia;
7. Liaise closely between the Ministry of Justice and UNICEF to ensure that work is undertaken as planned.

During all stages of the consultative process, the consultant must adhere to all Government regulatory processes.

Summary of deliverables, timelines and payment schedule:

PAYMENT

20% - Upon receipt and approval of the inception report

40% - Upon receipt and approval of the 1^st Draft of the Regulations

40% - Upon receipt and approval of the Final drafts of the Regulations

Conflict of Interest

The Consultant is required to comment on any potential conflicts of interest arising out of other assignments or a conflicting involvement in other assignments.

Confidentiality

The Consultant agrees to keep confidential all information that they receive, directly or indirectly, from the Ministry of Justice, UNICEF, or any other stakeholder, as well as all copies or analyses that they make, or have been made by third parties, on the basis of such information (collectively, the Material). The Consultant shall use the Material exclusively for the purpose of preparing deliverables relevant to this assignment. The confidentiality obligations shall not apply to information in the public domain. The Consultant shall only permit access to the Material to persons within their organizations on a need-to-know basis. The Consultant shall explicitly inform such persons of the confidential nature of the Material and, prior to providing them the Material, subject them to the confidential obligations contained in this Terms of Reference.

The Consultant shall have the following minimum qualifications and experience:

1. Post Graduate degree in law with at least 10 years of experience in juvenile justice, child protection, criminal procedures;
2. Excellent knowledge of international and regional juvenile justice standards, and their integration into national legislation;
3. Broad experience in legislative drafting, in particular in the field of juvenile justice;
4. Experience in juvenile justice in Namibia and the region considered an advantage;
5. Proven ability to: (i) handle multiple tasks under pressure with short deadlines; (ii) ability to work independently, seeking guidance on complex issues; and (iii) excellent interpersonal skills, proven team orientation and the ability to work across unit boundaries;
6. Experience in working with UNICEF and Government Ministries considered as advantage;
7. Excellent knowledge of spoken and written English, with advanced computer skills in MS office programmes

Call for proposals

Interested candidates are required to submit a proposal on how they intend to approach the work. The proposal will include a Project Plan, including work plan, a timeline, and methodology, based on the Terms of Reference. The proposal will also include detailed CVs of the consultant, relevant samples of related past work, as well as a financial proposal, clearly indicating daily rate for professional fees. The financial proposal must include costs of air fares, airport transfers and living expenses for in-country missions.

Evaluation weighting

70% technical, 30% financial

100% total

 Conditions

• The consultant will work on his/her own computer(s). 
• The consultant will be provided office space at UNICEF during missions.
• All international and local travel and airport transfers (where applicable) must be included in the financial proposal.
• Any indication where the consultant is expected to work (eg, will UNICEF provide office space or not?)

How to apply?

Please visit our careers page at https://www.unicef.org/about/employ/  for details on the consultancy assignment and how to apply.

The search criteria are Namibia and Consultancy.  Please insert requisition number 515216 in the 'Keyword' tab and scroll down to select consultancy on 'work type' tab.

Interested individuals should submit a financial and technical proposal detailing proposed methodology, work plan, timeline and samples of similar work.  A detailed breakdown of the proposed cost should include consultancy fee, living expenses and travel both into and within Namibia.  Applications without a financial proposal will not be considered. 

Applications should be submitted no later than Friday, 17 August 2018. 

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

View our competency framework at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

Remarks:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.