Evaluation of the impact of the Bangkok General Guidance on Judiciaries

Job location: Home based with regional travel

Target dates: April to June 2024

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is a worldwide organization of judges and lawyers united in affirming international law and rule of law principles that advance human rights. Its strategic goals for 2021-2025 are: (1) to develop, defend, and strengthen international institutions, instruments, and standards on rule of law and human rights; (2) to improve domestic implementation of, and compliance with, international law and standards; (3) to bolster the effectiveness and independence of judges and lawyers; and (4) to improve access to justice for all and accountability. With its Headquarters based in Geneva, Switzerland, ICJ has a presence in Africa, Latin America, Asia & the Pacific, Europe & Central Asia, and the Middle East.

We are seeking a qualified applicant to conduct evaluation of the impact of the Bangkok General Guidance on Judiciariesfor its project, Enhancing Access to Justice for Women in Asia and the Pacific Project (WA2J)

PROJECT BACKGROUND

The Project “Enhancing Access to Justice for Women in Asia and the Pacific: Bridging the gap between formal and community-based systems through women’s empowerment and reduction of gender biases” is a five-year programme that began in May 2018, with financial support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

The project aims to strengthen the gender-responsive people-centred justice, and eliminate gender discriminatory laws and practices to improve women’s use, access to and participation in justice systems. This is aligned with the gender justice concept, which considers women in legislative frameworks, but also promotes women as active citizens, with the right to live a life free from violence, fully participate in decision making, enjoy their rights, and have responsive avenues for redress if their rights are violated.

In realizing the goal, the project partners – UN Women, ICJ, and OHCHR, both the regional offices of Southeast Asia and the Pacific (OHCHR) – focus on achieving three outputs:

1. Domestic laws adopted and court decisions are consistent with international human rights law and standards, including CEDAW.
2. Gender discriminatory attitudes and stereotyped behaviours towards women by formal and community justice providers are addressed.
3. Grassroots women’s organizations and community-based women’s organizations are empowered and well-positioned to document, monitor, liaise and facilitate interactions with justice providers.

The project results are based on the theory of change that if: (i) A legal enabling environment for women to access gender-responsive justice is created by advocating for laws and court decisions that are consistent with international human rights law and standards, including the CEDAW; and, (ii) Community-based justice systems are gender-responsive and have an increased understanding and awareness of women’s rights; and, (iii) Grassroots women’s organizations, community-based women’s organizations, and communities are empowered and well positioned to document, monitor, liaise and facilitate interactions with justice providers; then, women’s access to justice will be enhanced in the Asia Pacific region.

The project is implemented in the sub-regional level: Southeast Asia (SEA), South Asia (SA) and the Pacific Islands, with a specific focus on Indonesia, the Philippines, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste and Solomon Islands. The project is designed to work towards that all women will be beneficiaries, without leaving anyone behind, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

A Mid-Term Review of the programme was undertaken in June 2022. The project ended on 30 June 2023.

OBJECTIVES OF THE JUDICIAL IMPACT EVALUATION

The overall objective of the judicial impact evaluation is to assess progress made over the project period towards the attainment of the intended outcome, “Enhanced utilization of gender-responsive and people-centred approaches in central and community-based justice mechanisms in Asia and the Pacific, that enabled and empowered women, in all their diversity, to equally access justice for the realization of their rights”

The general objective is to assess the effectiveness and impact of the project as well as the sustainability of the achieved outcomes in the following areas:

• Adoption of the Bangkok General Guidance (BGG) by both focus countries of the project and other countries in Southeast and South Asia.
• Effectiveness of the network of judicial “champions” advocating for the adoption of the BGG in their respective countries
• Commitment of judges to implement the BGG in their courts.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the direct supervision of the ICJ, the Consultant holds the following responsibilities:

• Perform desk review of the project’s key documents including Program Document, Annual Work Plans and, all progress reports, outcome documents from all conferences and workshops that have been conducted within the framework of the project and relate to the work with the judiciary.
• Prepare a brief Inception Report detailing the evaluation team’s understanding and develop an interview plan based on the report and the key questions as listed above.
• Collect data and information through individual interviews and FGDs with the staff members of the judiciary, justice providers and judiciary training institutes.
• Present the preliminary findings to the ICJ to validate and integrate feedback in the draft report.
• Prepare a draft evaluation report and integrate feedback received from UN Women
• and the ICJ into the final evaluation report not exceeding 15 pages.
• Prepare a presentation of the final evaluation conclusions and recommendations.

The deliverables for this evaluation will include:

• An inception report. The inception report detailing the evaluators’ understanding of what is being evaluated and why, showing how each evaluation question will be answered by way of: proposed methods; proposed sources of data; and data collection procedures. The report should also include a proposed schedule of tasks, activities, and deliverables, designating a team member with the lead responsibility for each task or product. A detailed plan on how protection of subjects and respect for confidentiality will be guaranteed; The evaluators should develop a sampling frame.
• Debriefing on data collected through interviews and field visits.
• *A draft evaluation report:*The draft evaluation report will synthesize the key findings into numbered statements, conclusions that are based on the findings, and the recommendations based on the conclusions; it will also include a summary of lessons learned, recommendations should be focused on actions to be taken by the Joint implementing partners: UN Women and the ICJ.
• *A final evaluation report.*The final report should include an executive summary. The report will incorporate comments from all stakeholders and an analytical and comprehensive final evaluation report not exceeding 15 pages to be submitted.

PROFILE

The successful candidate will have:

Education & Experience

• Master’s degree in relevant discipline or bachelor’s degree + 2 additional years of relevant work experience (e.g., law, international development, gender studies, etc.);
• A minimum of 5 years of experience leading evaluations in a Team Leader position, including evaluations of multi-stakeholder projects for multilateral organizations is required;
• Experience of gender justice, gender equality and human rights work within development cooperation required.

Essential Skills

• Extensive knowledge of qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods is required;
• Knowledge in results-based programming in support of gender justice and human rights is highly desirable;
• Proven experience in drafting and writing to produce and present concise and analytical reports;
• Working experience in the Asia and the Pacific is required;
• Knowledge on gender and justice in targeted countries is an asset;
• Experience working with the UN system a strong asset;
• Excellent English writing and communication skills are required.

Other competencies:

• Awareness and sensitivity regarding gender issues;
• Creative problem solving and effective communication;
• Inclusive collaboration and stakeholder engagement;
• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the United Nations’ values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of the UN and UN Women;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Ability and willingness to work as part of a team to meet tight deadlines and produce high quality work.