International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)

Deadline: 28 June 2021 (5pm)

Type of contract: Consultancy

Location: Home-based

Duration of contract: 30 working days

Start Date: July 2021

Summary

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is seeking qualified applicants to conduct a final evaluation for its project, Strengthening the Rule of Law in Zimbabwe and protection of human rights for all.

Overview of the ICJ

Composed of 60 eminent judges and lawyers from all regions of the world, the ICJ promotes and protects human rights through the rule of law, by using its unique legal expertise to develop and strengthen national and international justice systems. Established in 1952 and active on the five continents, the ICJ aims to ensure the progressive development and effective implementation of international human rights and international humanitarian law; secure the realization of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights; safeguard the separation of powers; and guarantee the independence of the judiciary and legal profession.

Project Background

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) in collaboration with the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) has implement a three year development programme with the Overall Objective to “strengthen the rule of law for the protection and promotion of human rights for all, especially women and other vulnerable groups as enshrined in the Constitution of Zimbabwe.” The programme addresses resource and technical gaps in the implementation of the JSC strategic plan, infusing in the process international best practice, standards and norms. It also supports the development of the capacity of ancillary institutions to respond to the development agenda envisaged by the JSC. The rule of law is the vehicle for the promotion and protection of human rights in any country. It provides a structure through which the exercise of power is subjected to agreed rules, guaranteeing the protection of all human rights. This intervention proceeds on the premise that there is no rule of law within a society if human rights are not protected and vice versa; human rights cannot be protected in society without a strong rule of law. A competent and independent judiciary is essential for the preservation of the rule of law and by extension the protection of fundamental rights. The Specific Objective of this programme is therefore “to enhance the independence, accountability, competence and integrity of the judiciary to effectively work to improve access to justice for all, especially victims of human rights violations, women and vulnerable groups.

The key stakeholder groups are: The JSC, created in terms of section 189 of the constitution. The JSC is with the duty to promote and facilitate the independence and accountability of the judiciary and the efficient, effective and transparent administration of justice in Zimbabwe. The activities proposed are based on the JSC strategic plan and were conceived following a consultative process. The JSC is in full support of the interventions. The legal profession is a key stakeholder in the justice delivery chain. The action supports interventions with practicing lawyers and with law students. The intervention with students builds on previous ICJ work with the universities, global trends in legal education and requests from the universities. The ICJ will work with all sector actors on corruption and justice sector integrity. This work will build on the activities under the Against Corruption Together (ACT) platform. Although the ACT platform is not formally constituted the ICJ has endeavoured to draw up activities from the ACT actors, which feed into the project’s objectives. This has been achieved through consultation with the ACT actors collectively and draws from individual aspirations as expressed in the various strategic plans that deal with corruption. It is currently not possible to measure the impact of ACT, beyond the launch, as little that has been done under the platform. The ICJ with the support of the EU has supported the establishment of a special court dealing with corruption cases. However, this is still in the inception phase. The work that is proposed by the ICJ under this action will ensure that the platform is better structured and works in a more systematic manner. One potential challenge with ACT work is the varying levels of commitment of the sector actors to the fight against corruption.