Legal Expert - Bosnia and Herzegovina

Since 1996, ABA ROLI has worked with a diverse group of beneficiaries to build stronger institutions, train justice sector actors to more effectively uphold the rule of law and provide essential access to justice for the most vulnerable citizens in BiH. ABA ROLI is currently implementing the Program on Legislative Assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Criminal Procedure Codes, that seeks to update and harmonize the Criminal Procedure Codes (CPCs) of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).

JOB SUMMARY

Reporting to the Sarajevo-based Program Coordinator and US-based Legal Specialist, the local Legal Expert will conduct legal research and share research materials with a Working Group consisting of prominent justice sector professionals. The Working Group is tasked with revising BiH Criminal Procedure Codes (CPCs), with legislative drafting support for CPCs revision to be conducted by the Legal Expert.

The consultant will ideally be a senior national/regional practitioner with previous experience in comparative criminal/criminal procedure law research activities. The expert will work in close collaboration with pro bono short-term legalist specialists. The expert will be supported by law students participating in an ABA ROLI online course, who will provide legal research assistance to the program.

Total engagement: 16 days max (mid-March 2021 – April 30, 2021)

Scope of Work:

Deliverables:

1. Draft an update of “Comparative analysis of the criminal procedure code in BiH with a proposal for harmonization” (2016) (3 days max)

2. Develop a catalogue to compare criminal procedure legal instututes from the list created by the Program Working Group in Criminal Procedure Codes across BiH, Serbia, Croatia, and one or more countries of the European Union with similar legal tradition (5 days max)

3. Produce a compilation of relevant BiH Constitutional Court and European Court of Human Rights decisions and their linkages to specific criminal procedure legal institutes determined by the Program WG and contained in the CPCs in BiH. (5 days max)

4. Produce a finalized version of the catalogue and compilation inclusive of ABA ROLI’s Legal Specialists’ comments (3 days max, April 2021)

II. Selection Criteria

Education, Skills & Experience:

· Law degree;

· At least 5 years of experience as a legal practitioner or experience serving as Law Faculty member at an institution in the Bosnian/Croat/Serb language-speaking countries in the Western Balkans region;

· Extensive knowledge of criminal procedure codes in BiH;

· Excellent knowledge of applicable legislative framework, including relevant international legal provisions;

· Ability to comprehensively present complex legal topics;

· Excellent communication skills;

· Excellent writing skills;

Interested applicants may submit their cover letter and CV to ee-recruitment@abaroli.org . Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis with an application deadline of March 5, 2021. Due to the high volume of applications, only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

About the Organization

The Rule of Law Initiative is a public service project of the American Bar Association dedicated to promoting legal reform efforts in over 40 countries around the world. The Rule of Law Initiative believes that rule of law promotion is the most effective long-term antidote to the most pressing problems facing the world community today, including poverty, economic stagnation, and crippling levels of corruption. The Rule of Law Initiative concentrates its technical legal assistance efforts in the following substantive areas: 1) Anti-corruption & public integrity; 2) Criminal law & combating trafficking in persons; 3) Gender issues; 4) Human rights & conflict mitigation; 5) Judicial reform; 6) Legal education reform; and 7) Legal profession reform. The Rule of Law Initiative enlists talented individuals who possess the skills and commitment necessary to effectively promote the rule of law in our host countries. We regularly seek experienced attorneys, judges, and law professors interested in lending their expertise to our programs for both long- and short-term pro bono assignments overseas. For more information please visit our website at www.abarol.org.

How to apply:

Interested applicants may submit their cover letter and CV to ee-recruitment@abaroli.org . Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis with an application deadline of March 5, 2021. Due to the high volume of applications, only short-listed candidates will be contacted.