Judicial Expert Trainers – AU
ABOUT THE IIJ
The International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ), located in Malta, has a mission to deliver innovative and sustainable capacity-building through the implementation of counterterrorism-related, rule of law-based good practices developed by the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) and other international and regional fora.
Since its inauguration in 2014, the IIJ has trained more than 8,500 criminal justice practitioners through its interactive capacity-building workshops – in Malta and abroad – that enhance the competencies of parliamentarians, judges, prosecutors, police, prison and other criminal justice practitioners to address terrorism and related transnational criminal activities within a rule of law framework. The IIJ delivers capacity-building training tailored to the needs of the regions it serves, including North, West and East Africa; the Middle East; and select engagement in the Balkans, and Central, South and Southeast Asia. For more information on the IIJ, please visit the IIJ’s website at http://www.theiij.org.
In 2020, the IIJ launched an Academic Unit to provide in-depth courses to criminal justice practitioners aimed at filling critical knowledge gaps necessary for successfully countering terrorism and transnational crime.
The IIJ is seeking applications from qualified French-speaking practitioners (at least one trial judge and one lawyer, with Civil Law Background) to support the delivery of its Academic Unit’s innovative and ground-breaking new Counter-Terrorism Academic Curriculum (CTAC) course for Trial judges.
The CTAC course has been offered previously to mid and senior-level investigators, prosecutors and examining judges for proactive and reactive investigations and successful prosecutions from Africa, Southeast Asia and Middle East and North Africa, in French, English and Arabic. The IIJ Academic Unit is now expanding its course to Trial judges. The in-person component of this new course is designed to be delivered to French-speaking trial judges from West Africa and the Sahel to accommodate their unique needs. By the end of the course, participants will have enhanced knowledge for the successful adjudication of terrorism cases in their respective jurisdictions.
This pilot in person component of this course is scheduled to take place from 16 – 20 October 2023 in Valletta, Malta.
The Trial Judges’ CTAC course is designed to increase judges’ capacities[1] for adjudicating terrorism-related cases and focuses on the unique needs and roles of trial judges in counterterrorism proceedings, including analysing the collection of evidence, ensuring the protection of human rights and the rights of the accused, adjudicating terrorism trials, and determining sentencing. The proposed course will include materials on judicial independence and ethics, as well as good practices for protecting victims, witnesses and court staff, managing information and communications technology, ensuring that cases are adjudicated in a timely and continuous fashion, and protecting the rights of the accused. This in-person, one-week component of this course focuses on participant-based learning which directly involves the participant in the learning process and includes a simulated CT case, as well as interspersed lectures or discussions
Key tasks and deliverables
The Consultant is expected to facilitate and adapt exercises and deliver modules/sessions for selected Trial judges based on the course’s curriculum, already developed for and by the Academic Unit in French. This delivery is expected to be in-person in Valletta, Malta throughout the course from 16 – 20 October 2023. Consultant will be expected to be in Malta in advance of the course to coordinate with the IIJ’s faculty team.
During the course and in coordination with the IIJ’s faculty and other external experts, the Consultant will facilitate discussions and provide brief presentations to advance the course’s learning objectives.
In addition, the Consultant and the IIJ’s Resident Fellow and Director of the Academic Unit will rely on simulated cases for the exercises, where participants must deal with a number of challenges that often arise in terrorist and other complex criminal cases. The one-week (five day) course revolves around a complex, simulated cross-border terrorist plot, replete with suspects, planned or completed attacks, and challenges. Participants will draw upon a large body of mock evidence, witness statements, police statements, and financial records – already designed by the IIJ – to complete the CTAC’s assignments.
The Consultant will adapt, moderate, and evaluate these exercises according to criteria pre-established by the Academic Unit, in order to strengthen the practitioners in the knowledge and skills required to deal with terrorist cases.
The Consultant’ services will entail the following tasks:
Delivery of the course and reporting (7 days maximum)
Following the delivery of the course, the Consultants must submit a post-training report, using the IIJ’s template. The reports must be submitted in either English or French.
Timeframe for product delivery
CONSULTANT CRITERIA & QUALIFICATIONS
Two different profiles are required: one Civil law trial judge and one Civil Law lawyer with the following qualifications:
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
All interested applicants meeting the qualifications below are invited to submit a cover letter and CV to the IIJ Executive Secretariat at HR@THEIIJ.ORG by no later than 02 October 2023 with “AU_Trial Judges’s CTAC Judicial Expert Trainer” in the subject line.
[1] In, inter alia: Benin, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, and Senegal.