SPECIFIC TERMS OF REFERENCE
FWC BENEFICIARIES 2009 - LOT 7
Drafting the next phase (2012-14) of the justice sector reforms in Armenia
EuropeAid/127054/C/SER/multi
1. BACKGROUND
Following the constitutional reform of 27.11.2005, which among other things called for
reforms to secure real independence of justice and to restore the trust of the population
towards the courts and judges, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) took a lead in initiation and
implementation of a big scale reform of the whole chain of Justice.
Regulating structures such as the Justice Council of RA, Judicial Department and
Council of Court Chairmen were formally enforced. Furthermore on 7 April 2007 the
adoption of a new Judicial Code of RA paved the way for further reforms, including
reorganization of the courts and revision of specialized court’s jurisdiction, introduction
of judicial precedent law principles in Armenia, formulation of process of and the
eligibility criteria for the assignment of judges, establishment of a special law
enforcement body – Judicial Enforcement Service, etc. The other big block of the justice
reform concerns the Penitentiary System that was transferred from ex-ministry of
Internal Affairs to the jurisdiction of MoJ. Furthermore, other legal acts/normative, such
as the Professional Code of Conduct of Judges, as well as the Public Prosecution
Service Act established a favorable environment for further developments of new
reforms.
The importance of successful reform of Justice and the Government’s commitment was
stressed in the PRSP, 2007–2009 Medium–Term Public Expenditure Framework, and
EU/Armenia ENP Action Plan. It was reflected also in the Government Action Program.
Furthermore, the consultations and meetings with key stakeholders such as MoJ,
Cassation Court (CC), Council of Justice (CoJ), National Coordination Unit (NCU),
Chamber of Advocates and General Prosecutor office confirmed the Armenian
commitment to pursue further reforms in judiciary.
The sector policy was outlined in the “Strategic Program of actions to be taken by the
Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia aimed at the Legal and Institutional
Reforms” dated 20 February 2008. However, since justice reform covers a larger scope
than the responsibility of MoJ, including issues concerning the prosecution, judges,
advocates, fight against corruption etc., some relevant aspects of reform were not
covered in the Program. Ideally the Justice reform of this scope assumes a centralized
JLS approach strategy that covers all aspects of different branches of justice
implementation. That kind of approach would make possible elaboration of specific
budget that is linked with the sector and not with MoJ activities.
Therefore, the MoJ on 22 December 2008 held round table with all relevant interlocutors
and came up with a joint strategy document. The Presidential decree which approves
the strategy and that establishes the special Working Group controlling the Justice
Reform progress was issued in 2009.
The reform has been ongoing for nearly two years and important progress has been
made. The existing reform document establish that at the end of 2010 a strategy
covering the period 2012 to 14 will be elaborated.
Preparation for this job will start in November this year with a lesson learnt and planning
work shop for the sector institution.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE ASSIGNMENT
Global objective
The objective with this mission is to support the justice institutions in designing a reform
program for the period 2012-14 in the justice sector which will produce more relevant,
effective and efficient policies and institutions in line with European standards.
Specific objective(s)
To assist the Justice sector institutions in Armenia to produce an updated Justice
Reform Strategy and action plan.
Requested services
Consultancy support to assist in producing:
 An analysis of the present situation in the justice system compared to European
standards and benchmarks
 A strategy for reforms of the justice sector, including legislation and institutions with
a focus on services delivered to citizens and due attention to human rights issues
 An updated action plan for the reforms in the sector with identification of
performance indicators, timelines, costs and possible funding sources
 At least two workshops with stakeholders where challenges in the sector and reform
options are consulted.
Required outputs
The consultants are supposed to have meetings with all interlocutors and in broad consultation
with sector institutions undertake an analysis of the situation in the sector compared to
European standards and with due attention to Human Right issues. This analysis should
cover:
o Criminal justice, including crime levels, sentences practice including
alternative sentences, situation in prisons, probation practices, legal aid,
juvenile justice etc.
o Civil justice.
o Commercial justice and arbitration.
The analysis should also have an institutional dimension covering the areas of MOJ,
Prosecution and Judiciary.
Experts are requested to:



Develop a strategy for the period 2012-14 On the basis of a logical framework
approach, with perspectives to 2016, covering the above mentioned areas but
divided according to the institutional divisions, i.e. MoJ controlled area,
Prosecution, Judiciary, where necessary with crosscutting programs across this
division. The strategy will define:
o Overall objectives of the reform
o Specific purposes of the reform for each area and if relevant for each legal
area (i.e. criminal justice etc.)
o Broad result areas for each specific purpose
On the basis of the defined strategies develop a detailed action plan for each
reform area and result area including
o defining broad activities,
o performance indicators,
o important milestones,
o targets for indicators,
o costing of the reform
o outline of funding of the reform
Consult the reform broadly, primarily and in first instance within the justice
institutions, and in second instance with the broader government, international
partners and civil society representatives. In this connection it is envisaged to
undertake at least two workshops/retreats to consult stakeholders in the process.
3. EXPERTS PROFILE or EXPERTISE REQUIRED
Team Leader/Public sector reform specialist. (estimated number of working days: 40)
General professional experience:

Minimum 10 years in the field of institutional capacity building and/or reforms in the
public sector, and a minimum of 5 years in providing consultancy services to
governments and/or international donors in transition countries or EU member states;

Experience in working in ENP or CIS countries would be an advantage.
Qualifications and skills

Minimum Master's Degree in Political science/economics or more than 10 years relevant
professional experience;

Excellent communication skills;

Fluent in English, both oral and written; knowledge of Armenian and/or Russian would
be an advantage;
Specific professional experience




Experience in at least one Public sector reform project of a similar scale for a public or
international organization during the last 5 years;
Experience in at least one project related to reforms in the justice sector during the last 5
years;
Experience in analysis of sector strategies and evaluation of implementation of sector
policies, including planning and Log frame methodology experience (e.g. work with
performance indicators)
Experience in the South Caucasus region would be an asset.
Senior legal expert (estimated number of working days: 50)
General professional experience:

Minimum 10 years in the field of institutional capacity building and/or reforms in justice
sector, and a minimum of 5 years in providing consultancy services to governments
and/or international donors in transition countries or EU member states;

Experience in working in ENP or CIS countries would be an advantage.
Qualifications and skills

Minimum Master's Degree in law or more than 10 years relevant professional
experience;

Excellent communication skills;

Fluent in English, both oral and written; knowledge of Armenian and/or Russian would
be an advantage;
Specific professional experience




Experience in at least one Justice sector reform/capacity building project of a similar
scale for a public or international organization during the last 10 years;
Experience with European integration/approximation processes
At least 5 years experience from legal sector work covering knowledge to the different
institutions and different legal areas
Solid understanding of human right issues

Experience in the South Caucasus region would be an asset.
Junior Justice EXPERT (estimated number of working days: 100)
General professional experience:

Minimum 5 years experience in Justice institutional capacity building and/or reforms in
ENP or CIS countries; a relevant experience in Armenia would be an asset;

Experience in at least one project with budget of not less than 200000 Euro.
Qualifications and skills

Minimum Master's Degree in law or 8 years relevant professional experience;

Good communication skills;

Fluent in English, both oral and written. Knowledge of Armenian and/or Russian would
be an asset.
Specific professional experience

Experience in acting as liaison between Government bodies (Justice field) and
programming team to define customer needs;

Experience in drafting reform matrix/strategy/proposal in at least one branch of justice
chain;

Knowledge of the current Justice Reform strategy in Armenia would be an advantage;
4. LOCATION AND DURATION
Indicative starting period of the assignment is January 2011. The assignment will have an
overall duration of 5 calendar months. The Team Leader will provide an indicative total of 40
working days, the Senior legal expert 50 and the Junior Justice expert an indicative total of 100
working days over a total period of maximum 5 calendar months.
The main location of the assignment will be Yerevan, capital of the Republic of Armenia. If
justified, up to 15% of the experts time can be spent at the consultant’s home base.
The first 20 days will be an inception period where the methodology and outputs as stipulated
above will be discussed and amended if necessary and where a detailed work plan is
established.
5. REPORTING
The Contractor shall submit 3 copies of their reports in English to the EU Delegation (Project
Manager). The reports should be in accordance with EU standards.
Reporting will be in English with Armenian translation
Furthermore, an electronic version of the Reports as well as the Strategy and Action Plan will be
provided to the EU Delegation (Project Manager).
The submission procedure for the reports, containing a clear analysis of progress and
recommendations is as follows:

Inception report: within the first 20 days of project start, which shall contain:
o Updated methodology and outputs based on discussions with the main
stakeholders and detailed work approach covering the list of tasks that have
been agreed with the key players during the inception phase;
o An overall work-plan for the remaining duration of the assignment.

Final report: will have to be produced at least 20 days before the end of the assignment
and should contain:
o A final review of the progress made;
o All outputs described in section 2, paragraph "Required outputs";
o All relevant technical papers/reports/documents prepared from the start until the
end of the assignment, as annexes.
Approval of the reports is a sole responsibility of the EU Delegation.
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
This is a global price contract with a maximum budget of EUR 185,000.