Republic of Moldova

National consultant to support the National Anticorruption Centre in drafting an analytical study on the examination of active corruption cases in judicial practice and application of sentences the period 2016-2017.

Vacancy Number: Pr17/01565

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	27 Jun 2017, 16:00 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	03 Jul 2017
Reference to the project:	Strengthening the corruption prevention and analysis functions of the National Anticorruption Center Project
Expected Duration of Assignment:	July 2017 - January 2018
Submission Instructions: Proposals should be submitted by June 27, 2016, 16 pm EET. Requests for clarification must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail olga.crivoliubic@undp.org. UNDP will respond by standard electronic mail and will send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all applicants.
Supporting Documents: Individual Consultant Procurement Notice Terms of Reference Personal History Form (P11) UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract

Contacts:

Ms. Olga Crivoliubic.

olga.crivoliubic@undp.org

Background

Corruption is acknowledged as a major obstacle for the reform process in Moldova, while various international rankings testify the high levels of perceptions of corruption. The Parliament, acknowledging the need to fight corruption, adopted the National Integrity and Anticorruption Strategy (NIAS) 2017-2020. Pillar III of the NIAS Justice and Anticorruption Authorities, recognizes insufficient or disproportionate sanctions applied for corruption cases, such as a low proportion of sanctions with real deprivation of freedom and low proportion of deprivations of the right to hold certain positions or to perform certain activities; the lack of a deterring nature of the pecuniary sanctions in case of corruption crimes; disproportionate amount of the applied criminal fines comparing to the values of the requested or received bribe; rare application of confiscation and lack of practice in applying the extended confiscations. In spite of the ambitious justice sector reform started in late 2011, adopted as a precondition for signing the EU-Moldova Association Agreement, these persistent practices continue to generate an uneven jurisprudence and the lack of consistent and coherent actions to punish persons guilty of committing corruption offenses. These practices lead to the low level of trust for justice sector, attested by the national and international surveys, and the perception of justice sector as one of the most corrupted in the public sector.

A study on corruption cases archived in the courts for the period of 1 January 2010 to 30 June 2012, developed by the NAC with the support of the Supreme Court of Justice in October 2013, showed a series of abuses committed by the courts in the process of individualisation and application of punishments. In particular, courts used in excess certain provisions of the Criminal Code that allowed considerable easing of the positions of the defendants/convicts, including exemption from the criminal liability and subjection to administrative liability; applying a plea bargain agreement and reducing the maximum sentence; and applying suspended execution of the punishment.

It was also determined that the courts did not convict and sanction the acts of passive corruption, committed in other forms that receiving of undue remuneration. The same was the situation with the abuse of power, inflicting considerable damages to public interest – crimes of this kind, committed against public interest, were not considered. The courts never confiscated the results of corruption crimes, limiting themselves to granting only the amounts of money transmitted under control during the crimes of flagrante delicto that is the money offered also by the state.

To support the NAC Analytical Department in analysing the latest trends and practices applied by courts in corruption cases, the Project is seeking to engage the services of a local consultant to provide a thorough analysis of the examination of corruption cases in judicial practice and application of sentences in these cases for the period 2016-2017.

Scope of work

Main objective of the assignment is to draft an analytical study on the examination of corruption cases in judicial practice and application of sentences in these cases for the period 2016-2017 (11 months).

Key Responsibilities

• In close collaboration with the National Anticorruption Centre’s Corruption Analysis Unit to analyse the examination of corruption cases in judicial practice and application of sentences in these cases for the period 2016-2017 (11 months);
• The analysis will include examination of criminal cases relating to Articles 191 (1) letter d) and paragraph (4), 256, 324, 325, 326, 327, 330, 333 and 334 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Moldova;
• Analyse practices and trends in observing the Reccomendation 61/2013 of the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) on some Issues regarding Individualization of Penal Punishment for Corruption Cases and the Decision 11/2014 of the SCJ Plenary on applying legislation on criminal liability for corruption offences;
• Describe all amendments of the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code during the period 2013-2017 that influenced judicial practice on corruption cases;
• The research will include the analysis of the court judgements on corruption cases delivered during the referred period of time; a desk review of the legal background documents and the most relevant strategic documents in the field of anticorruption;
• Elaborate recommendations for improving the practice and the relevant legal framework;
• Throughout the assignment transfer specific analytical skills to the staff of the Corruption Analysis Unit through on-job training methods;
• Validate findings of the report and recommendations with NAC and main stakeholders.
• Present the results of the study in a public event organized by the UNDP and NAC.

Requirements for experience

Academic Qualifications 

• A Masters’ Degree in Public and/or Criminal Law or similar. A Bachelor’s Degree in the same areas combined with 9 years of experience in the sector will serve in lieu of a Master’s Degree.

 Years and sphere of experience 

• At least 7 years of proven experience of working with judiciary and the law-enforcement authorities in the Republic of Moldova;
• Proven professional experience linked to anti-corruption policies and capacity building in justice and law enforcement areas is a strong asset.

 Competencies

•  Proven knowledge of criminal legislation of the Republic of Moldova and international anti-corruption standards;
• Proven report writing and analytical skills;
• Previous research on the analysis of judicial practice in Moldova is a strong advantage;
• Previous successful experience in development assistance or related work for a donor organization, in particular UNDP, governmental institutions, NGO/think-tank or consulting firm is a strong advantage; 
• Fluency in Romanian and Russian languages, Knowledge of English is an advantage;

 Personal qualities

• Proven commitment to the core values of the United Nations; in particular, is respectful of differences of culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, language, age, HIV status, disability, and sexual orientation, or other status;
• Responsibility, flexibility, punctuality.

 

Documents to be included

1. Proposal: explaining why they are the most suitable for the work and providing a list of relevant publications;
2. Financial proposal in lump sum, USD;
3. Personal CV including past experience in similar assignments, the duly filled Personal History Form (P11) and at least 3 names for a reference check.

 

Financial proposal

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables. Payment will be made upon the successful completion of the tasks assigned and submission of the assessment report.  Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals the financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including fee, taxes, communication costs, travel, per diems, and number of anticipated working days).

Travel

 All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel. In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

 In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

 No travel is envisaged under this assignment.

 

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