Head, Judicial Operations Unit (P-3)

Head, Judicial Operations Unit (P-3)

ICC – International Criminal Court

The Hague, Netherlands

Organisational Context

The Court Management Section (CMS) is in the Division of Judicial Services within the Registry. CMS has the Registry’s delegated responsibility to provide support to core processes of the Court’s judicial proceedings, in particular for the court operations and judicial information management. This includes (i.a) representing the Registrar during the court proceedings, supporting the current court applications and keeping a full and accurate record of all proceedings before the Chamber. Furthermore the Section is responsible for the receipt, processing and distribution of the official court filings, production of transcripts and the audio-visual recording of the proceedings. Additionally, CMS is the Registry’s designated custodian of the record of proceedings and is therefore responsible for the management of judicial records and information, both in original form as well as in their electronic format.

The Head, Judicial Operations Unit reports directly to the Chief, Court Management Section.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Chief, Court Management Section, the incumbent will perform the following duties:

• Manages the Judicial Operations Unit: ALO/courtroom officers, court clerks, court records assistants, transcript coordinators and court reporters; compose teams according to experience and availability; manage the schedule and roster (in light of leave, recuperation, shift hours, etc.) to maximise efficient provision of services; recruit and supervise the training of new staff members as well as the cross-training within the Unit/Section where applicable; assess performance of all subordinates, as 1st or 2nd reporting officer; quality control and training: monitor the quality and consistency of the work processed by staff of the Unit, during or outside of hearings; trouble shooting: identify problems arising in the provision of services under the Unit’s mandate and resolve them; proactively identify creative solutions, both on a technical level and on a policy/work processes level to improve the efficiency of the Unit; under exceptional circumstances, act as s courtroom officer and represent the Registrar during proceedings (in accordance with regulation 40 of the Regulations of the Registry);
• Provides legal and policy advice and assistance to the Chief of Section in the context of judicial operations. Drafting of regulations, including with a view to increase consistent practices in relation to procedural aspects of proceedings, draft and finalise for approval by the Chief of Section rules pertaining to the judicial operations duties under the Unit’s mandate, as well as on judicial/procedural matters within CMS mandate in coordination with other senior members of the Section; draft and finalise rules related to the interaction between the Unit’s staff and clients (participants to proceedings) as well as other sections of the Registry; oversee judicial developments in all situations and cases before the Court, and with regards to judicial operations and support within CMS mandate, anticipate and plan the required provision of services and ensure that the relevant business units involved are timely notified of developments foreseen; coordination of and contribution to draft filings, memoranda and other judicial documents in relation to legal procedures within the Registry; participate in relevant working groups;
• Creates strategy and planning for hearing operations support, maintain an updated court calendar, in consultation with Chambers; ensure appropriate communication of updates to business units involved in supporting hearings for their planning; in anticipation of judicial/hearing activity, re-assign Unit’s resources for optimal use; recommend solutions to the Chief in light of unresolved conflicting requirements for hearing support, which entails partial fulfilment of services;
• Controls budgets related to the Unit’s activities; prepares the yearly budget for the Unit, plans and monitors the efficient administration of the budget;
• Contribution to and coordination of support by reporting teams, in the context of upgrading electronic systems supporting the judicial processes, in particular in relation to the development of the Judicial Workflow Platform.

Essential Qualifications

Education:

• Advanced university degree in law, preferably criminal or international law or other related field is required. A first-level university degree, in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience is accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• A minimum of five years (seven years with a first level university degree) of progressively responsible relevant experience in a legal environment, preferably international is required;
• Experience in an international setting is required;
• Experience in litigation support is required;
• Experience in training others is required;
• Experience in contributing to/supporting systems/applications/software changes is required;
• Experience in managing budgets is desirable.

Knowledge, skills, and abilities:

• Legal/judicial: advanced knowledge of international legal instruments, in particular relevant to the ICC, legal texts of the ICC, knowledge about the courtroom procedures and the roles of all involved (inside and outside the hearings) as well as knowledge about the registration rules;
• Knowledge of administrative procedures and staff rules: recruitment and performance management;
• Knowledge of e-court applications and office computer applications;
• Organisational skills, teamwork;
• Tact and discretion, interpersonal and management/leadership skills;
• Ability to adjust to diverse audiences;
• Analytical and communication skills.

Knowledge of languages:

• Proficiency in one of the working languages of the Court, English or French, is required. Working knowledge of the other is an asset. Knowledge of another official language of the Court (Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Spanish) would be considered an asset.

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