Consultant – CT PHARE

About the IIJ

The International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ), an institution inspired by the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), provides training to lawmakers, police, prosecutors, judges, corrections officials, and other justice sector practitioners on how to address terrorism and related transnational criminal activities within a rule of law framework. Established in 2014 in Malta, with an international Governing Board of Administrators (GBA) representing thirteen countries and the European Union, the IIJ has established itself as a leading platform to deliver innovative and sustainable counterterrorism capacity-building based on the rule of law and related good practices developed by the GCTF and other international and regional fora. For more information, visit the IIJ website: https://theiij.org/.

The IIJ requires the services of a Research Consultant to assist with the production of a Survey on the practical use of Good Practice 5 of The Hague Memorandum on the rights of the accused to a fair trial, as part of the IIJ CT PHARE project – Platform for HumAn Rights Engagement and the 2022-2024 Italian and Nigerian co-chairmanship of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) Criminal Justice and Rule of Law Working Group (CJ-RoL WG), of which the IIJ is the implementing partner.

Background of the Consultancy

While many countries have developed legal frameworks and institutions to protect human rights, these have not always been integrated effectively, or at all, into counterterrorism-related criminal justice responses. Furthermore, several of the counterterrorism measures that a number of states have adopted in recent years have negatively impacted, or even violated, a wide range of human rights, such as the right to a fair trial.

In this context, the IIJ has launched a project entitled CT PHARE – Platform for HumAn Rights Engagement, funded by the European Union’s Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI), with the specific objective to increase the degree to which states’ counterterrorism policies, legislation, and judicial strategies, in addition to day-to-day investigation and prosecution practices, comply with internationally-recognised human rights standards – both on the policy and the operational levels.

Drawing on the recommendations laid out in The Hague Memorandum on Good Practices for the Judiciary in Adjudicating Terrorism Offenses (2015) of the GCTF, one of the project outcomes aims at providing tailored regional capacity-building activities with management-level and senior criminal justice sector practitioners and policymakers to fully integrate respect for human rights in their daily work.  

To achieve this, the IIJ proposes to develop a Survey in GCTF countries and other UN Member States, assessing the practical use of Good Practice 5 of The Hague Memorandum, which states that judges and trial courts should support the rights of the accused to a fair trial with adequate legal representation. In the seven years since the endorsement of The Hague Memorandum, the extent to which this Good Practice has been put into practice successfully is still unclear. The above rights are particularly vulnerable to abuse in terrorism cases where defendants may lack the means to provide for their defense. Moreover, given the nature of terrorism-related offenses, and the impact they can have on a nation, there is the very real potential for many to call for the abrogation of the rights of the accused persons. This highlights the particular need for judges to ensure the rights of the accused are fully respected.

The IIJ, therefore, is currently seeking for a Research Consultant to provide support for the design and development of the project Survey.

Key tasks and deliverables

Under the overall guidance of the IIJ Executive Secretary, the Research Consultant will work closely with the Project Lead and the Project Manager in charge of the implementation of CT PHARE.

The Consultant will entail the following:

• Participate in an introductory virtual meeting with the CT PHARE project team during the first week of assignment.

• Establish a precise methodology with key concepts and elements to be used for the Survey questionnaire.

• Formulate a questionnaire to assess both on a quantitative and qualitative basis the use of Good Practice 5 of The Hague Memorandum on the right of the accused to a fair trial, based on the application of individual rights related to criminal prosecutions in terrorism cases. The individual rights to assess may include:
• the right to a fair hearing without undue delay;
• the right to a public hearing and pronouncement of judgement with limited exceptions;
• presumption of innocence;
• freedom from compulsory self-incrimination;
• the right to be informed promptly and in detail of the accusation;
• adequate time and facilities to prepare a defence;
• the right to legal assistance;
• the right to examine witnesses;
• the right to an interpreter;
• the right to appeal the conviction and sentence; and
• freedom from ex-post facto laws.
• Send the draft questionnaire to the countries that will take part to the assessment in order to incorportate their inputs. Present the final draft of the questionnaire to the IIJ CT PHARE team for review and any comments. The IIJ CT PHARE team will return to the Consultant the draft with any comments for incorporation. Both the draft and the final version of the questionnaire will be sent through representatives of the GCTF CJ-RoL WG, namely the Italian and Nigerian Ministries of Foreign Affairs.
• Based on the questionnaires’ answers, assess the countries’ level of compliance with Good Practice 5 of The Hague Memorandum through the review of existing legal frameworks, their application and/or gaps in protecting the rights of the accused in terrorism cases.   
• Present the Final Deliverables, a proof-read report including the questionnaire, the survey assessment, recommendations and action points aimed at improving the use of Good Practice 5. Action points may become the basis of a technical assistance programme to be implemented in coordination with the GCTF regional working groups, relevant UN partners and civil society organisations.  
• The Final Deliverables will also be shared during a presentation (in person and/or online).
• Provide regular updates throughout the period of the consultancy, at least weekly, directly via email to the CT PHARE team, and the Director of Administration and Outreach who oversees the consultancy administratively.

Breakdown of effort required

The consultancy will start at the beginning of 2023 for a period of 20 working days (spread over two months). No field visits should be required for the Survey.  

Final Deliverables

The Survey which the Consultant will produce, will meet the following criteria, with any deviations subject to agreement by the IIJ:

• Covering the following subject areas:
• A detailed analysis on the level of compliance with Good Practice 5 to ensure effective legal representation for those charged with terrorism offenses in all critical phases of court proceedings,
• A description of good practices, gaps and challenges related to the working procedures of criminal prosecutions related to terrorism cases, and
• Containing concrete recommendations and action points for policy, procedural, and legislative actions aimed at improving the use of Good Practice 5;
• Reflecting and referring explicitly to:
• existing good practices documents produced by the GCTF, and
• as well as other relevant international and European documents and frameworks;
• Appropriate for use in training prosecutors, criminal justice practitioners, policymakers and other relevant stakeholders in their ongoing work on the rights of the accused to a fair trial, thus assisting them in their day-to-day activities.

Consultant profile – Skills and competencies required

The Consultant will have the following qualifications:

• At least 8 years of experience as a practitioner or legal researcher in the field of criminal prosecutions and fair trial;
• Direct experience with investigations and prosecutions of terrorism cases;
• A proven track record of publications in the field of terrorism studies;
• Excellent writing, research, analytical, and conceptual abilities;
• Excellent knowledge of both spoken and written English. Knowledge of Arabic and French is considered an asset.

Interested applicants should send their CV and covering letter to hr@theiij.org citing the job title in the subject line by February 20th, 2023 (17.00 CET)