Purpose

The IRC’s Access to Justice (A2J) programming is housed within the Protection & Rule of Law (PRoL) stream of the Violence Prevention and Response Unit (VPRU). The IRC defines A2J as the ability of clients, community members and state actors to understand their rights and responsibilities and to be able to demand and deliver justice services in formal and informal settings that meet peoples’ human rights and justice needs, including the rights of the most marginalized and at-risk groups.

A key focus of the IRC’s strategic priorities for Syria in 2024 and 2025 is to support people we work with to access remedies to legal and administrative problems, while ensuring that clients gain the information and support they need to access justice and exercise their rights, now and in the future. Importantly, issues within the rule of law are a core component in determining the extent to which durable solutions are achieved for Syrian IDPs and other at-risk populations, namely access to documentation, safety and security; restoration of housing, land and property; and access to effective remedies and justice. Despite this, the provision of legal services continues to be a challenge in the NWS and NES contexts due to politically related issues, operational capacity, and funding. The effective mitigation of protection risks requires an increased and tailored legal response to statelessness, HLP related issues, freedom of movement, child protection and GBV related issues, and civil documentation, including birth, custody, marriage, and inheritance, which are among the main legal needs.

To better understand and address barriers to A2J and deliver safe and contextualized legal and protection services for those at most risk of rights violations, IRC Syria Team is seeking a consultant to assess the legal environment in Syria to identify programmatic gaps, risks, and opportunities, and support in identifying potential and applicable responses for each hub (NES & NWS).

The specific objectives of this legal consultancy is three-fold:

1. Assess and analyze justice systems and legal needs from clients in the Syrian context (NES & NWS), including how conflicts and disputes are settled, the available legal systems (formal and informal), and the opportunities, barriers, and risks of these systems. 

2. Based on objective 1, provide recommendations for strategic direction of IRC legal programming in Syria (prevention and response A2J approaches that are context sensitive). 

3. Lead on developing an A2J strategy implementation workplan and roadmap, in collaboration with key IRC staff and partners.

This information will support our ability to better program around legal services for people inside Syria that we are currently accessing with protection, livelihood, and health programs.  The outcome of this assessment will provide IRC with the needed information and evidence of the feasibility of undertaking activities related to specialized legal services (legal information, counseling, assistance, representation, and justice system strengthening), and clear recommendations about the most appropriate approach to do so if deemed possible. The consultant will ensure that this assessment is fit for the purpose of informing design and delivery of access to justice services and aligned with the IRC’s Access to Justice through Legal Empowerment approach.

Scope of Work

The consultant will be expected to work with the Syrian Team, IRC partner organizations & IRC PRoL Technical Advisor to refine the methodology for the legal assessment, lead on its implementation, analysis of findings, and then support in the development of an IRC A2J Strategy in Syria. 

The consultancy should start by engaging with IRC technical and programmatic staff to gain a comprehensive understanding of the context, legal landscape, key protection risks, and legal barriers to reduce those risks. This will be followed by a desk review of existing legal assessments which have already taken place on the Syrian context, including applicable legal framework (informal & formal systems). Based on initial findings, the consultant should then develop the assessment methodology, adapting and contextualizing existing IRC legal assessment tools and analytical frameworks, ensuring a participatory approach. The assessment will require consultation with the affected population, and will gather and analyze information from legal, human rights, humanitarian, and development actors, as well as authorities. IRC protection and legal staff will be trained in the contextualized tools and methodology for the assessment, and the consultant will oversee implementation, and lead on the data analysis. The final legal analysis will be drafted in a report and should provide related recommendations on feasibility for the IRC, and strategic approach (legal priority needs & gaps; related legal interventions; key stakeholders for collaboration; and IRC added value & risks for each legal area and type of intervention). Before finalizing the legal report, the consultant will hold a workshop with IRC staff, partner specialized teams to share the preliminary findings and recommendations for consultation and feedback. Based on the legal analysis report, and recommendations for strategic direction, the consultant will then support IRC in developing an A2J strategic implementation roadmap. 

Deliverables

1. Priority protection risks and related A2J barriers identified through consultation with Syria staff (PRoL, Child Protection & Women’s Protection & Empowerment) and PRoL TA. A desk review of legal assessments that already took place in NES and NWS conducted.
2. Existing legal assessment tools and legal framework analysis tools reviewed and adapted (from the IRC Legal Analysis Toolkit) to NES and NWS. A legal analysis toolkit is adapted and contextualized, including a reporting template. Assessment methodology and tools will be developed in a participative way with protection and legal team’s, and affected populations feedback.
3. IRC protection and legal staff and partners are trained on the toolkit for quality implementation of the legal assessment. Training will be provided through working and coaching sessions on tools, data collection, and data review.
4. Data is collected using the legal analysis toolkit. Data collection is monitored for quality assurance.
5. Data analysis is conducted, and a draft qualitative legal analysis report on the assessment findings is developed with the support and in coordination with in-country legal team, including recommendations on next steps for an IRC A2J program in Syria, and feasibility of options.
6. A presentation of findings to be delivered to IRC staff and partner specialized legal teams. Feedback from staff incorporated into a final legal analysis report (not longer than 20 pages).
7. An A2J strategic implementation roadmap for Syria is developed, in collaboration with IRC Syria staff, partners, and the PRoL TA. This will include priority legal issues, gaps and challenges; IRC’s added-value to resolve these legal barriers; strategic actions and legal interventions including advocacy for legal reforms or policy changes, when appropriate and necessary; roles & responsibilities, and time frame for implementation of interventions. 

Timeline

Payment

The payment is calculated at $400/day to a maximum of 60 working days as described above in the timeline and totaling to $25,000. The payment will be transferred in three instalments as follows: 

• First instalment: upfront payment - 10% of total amount.
• Second instalment: after the completion of deliverable package 1 – 40% of the total amount.
• Third instalment: after the completion of deliverable package 2 - 50% of the total amount. 

Management of the Consultant

The consultant will be contracted by the IRC and will be managed by both Integrated Protection Coordinators from both NES and NWS hubs. He/she will be expected to work in close coordination with the PRoL Senior Managers in Syria, Syria Senior Integrated Protection Coordinator, IRC legal partners, and the PRoL Technical Advisor for the MENA region. The consultant will also work closely with IRC Syria field management, humanitarian access team, and other operational units.   The IRC will provide support for in-country contacts, travel arrangements, in-country transportation, and for office space, when applicable.

Eligibility Requirements

The preferred candidate should meet the following criteria: 

• Bachelor of Law. Master’s degree in law, humanitarian law, International Law, or political sciences. Additional experience in lieu of postgraduate degree is possible.
• Able to travel to NES and Gaziantep required. Ability to travel to NWS desirable.
• At least five years of experience implementing protection programming in humanitarian contexts, preferably within an NGO setting.
• Technical experience in developing Access to Justice strategy for a humanitarian or development organization.
• Experience developing and providing technical support and capacity building to field and country team.
• Previous experience working on the Syria crisis, good understanding of the context and of the developments in the response are strong assets.
• Expert communication skills (written and verbal) in English, with a demonstrated ability of data collection, analysis and report drafting, in a cross-cultural environment.
• Excellent interpersonal and cultural skills.
• Flexibility to adapt to changing requirements.
• Excellent English writing skills, knowledge of Arabic language required.