National Consultant – Gap Analysis and Roadmap on harmonization of BiH environmental legislation and criminal codes with the EU environmental acquis

The goal of the project Strengthening Environmental Rule of Law in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SERL) is to strengthen institutional capacities to tackle environmental crime in Bosnia and Herzegovina, by a) approximating national legislation with the EU acquis, b) advancing national curriculum for judges and prosecutors to include environmental criminal law training, and c) improving overall public trust and discourse, as environmental human rights violations would be adequately mapped, reported and scrutinised by relevant authorities.

The Project has the following components:

Improving legislative framework
Supporting evidence-based policy making and institutional and operators’ procedures
Strengthening enforcement capacities
Enabling access rights
Increasing public awareness and tailored education

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) faces several systemic, social and political challenges that are negatively impacting the quality of the environmental rule of law in the country. The environmental competencies lie with the entity and cantonal levels of government, with cumbersome liaison and bridging arrangements, while central level jurisdiction rests with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations (MOFTER). With the signing of the EU Stabilisation and Association Agreement in 2008, BiH committed to approximating with the EU environmental acquis, however the level of alignment with the acquis is unclear, or how well the concept of ‘environmental crimes’ are defined in BiH criminal legislation. On the other hand, there is a clear lack of expert knowledge and staff capacity of the various environmental inspectorates and law enforcement agencies to address the escalating pressures on the environment.

To ascertain the level of alignment of the national legislation with the EU acquis, the project foresees an engagement of a National Consultant to develop a Roadmap report, comprised of a gap analysis and recommendations for the necessary amendments to the relevant legislation.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Consultant is to carry out an overview of the existing legal framework pertaining to the environmental legislation and criminal codes in BiH, including the entities (FBiH and RS) and Brcko District, identifying gaps in alignment with the EU environmental acquis. This includes, but is not limited to, the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of the environment through criminal law and replacing Directive 2008/99/EC.[1] The Consultant will propose remedial actions and recommendations on how to bridge those gaps through amendments of the relevant legislation.

The Consultant is expected to work together with all relevant stakeholders or any official that needs to be consulted in this process. The Consultant is also expected to present the findings and recommendations of the Roadmap at an official event. The Consultant is expected to work effectively with UNDP staff and collect/coordinate information to ensure high quality outputs. The Consultant is expected to conduct research on the given topic and comprehensively present the findings. The Roadmap is expected to clearly identify all stakeholders within BiH that recommended actions should be presented. UNDP will provide comments/feedback, which the consultant is expected to consider/incorporate to the extent possible.

Specifically, the Consultant is expected to:

(1) Present a draft Roadmap to UNDP, including

- Gap Analysis of the existing legislation – outlining the rationale for EU acquis alignment, outline national approaches, and present challenges

- Ensure multi-stakeholder consultations on research results

- Recommend concrete proposals on legislation amendments

Expected duration should not exceed 12 expert days.

(2) Present a final Roadmap to UNDP

- Including incroporated feedback from the conslutations and comments from UNDP

Expected duration should not exceed 3 expert days.

Deliverables/outputs

#

Deliverables / Outputs

# of Days per Task

Due Date

Percentage

1.

Draft Roadmap – draft version of the report with detailed analysis and recommendations submitted to UNDP Project Team for comments and verification

12

March 7, 2023

80%

2.

Final Roadmap - Final report with detailed analysis and recommendations completed and verified by the UNDP Project Team

3

March 14, 2023

20%

[1] https://commission.europa.eu/document/950a9dd4-84ce-4163-8c0d-8357ccbadf9d_en

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
Treats all people fairly without favouritism;
Fulfils all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment

Functional competencies:

Strong interpersonal skills, communication and diplomatic skills, ability to work in a team
Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback
Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations
Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities
Excellent public speaking and presentation skills

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications/Education

University degree in Law, Environmental Management, Environmental Policy or similar

Experience

Minimum 3 years of experience in the field of environmental law/policy
Experience in development of legislative analysis/gap analysis including recommendations for legislative amendments.
Strong understanding of relevant EU environmental acquis and best practices in this field;
Prior UNDP project experience and knowledge of UNDP procedures and guidelines is an advantage
Experience with drafting/preparing research and analytical papers/technical reports (in English) is required

Languages Requirements

Fluency in both written and spoken English and BiH languages

Other Requirements

Excellent computer skills (MS Office applications) and ability to use information technologies as a tool and resource

Longlisting/Shortlisting Criteria

Qualifications as stated in the ToR

Criteria:

Points

Relevant Education

max 20 points
15 points allocated for BA/BSc degree
+ 2.5 points for MSc/MA
+ up to 2.5 points for PhD

Relevant professional experience

max 50 points

Prior work experience with UNDP/UN Agencies

max 10 points

Knowledge of English

max 10 points - will be assessed as:
10 points for fluency and the points decrease as per the level mentioned in the CV:
good - 8 points;
fair/upper intermediate – 6 points;
intermediate - 4 points;
beginner - 2 point.

Computer Skills (MS Office applications)

max 10 points (as per the level mentioned in the CV)

Technical Evaluation Criteria

Criteria:

Points

Rating based on Qualifications

30%

Experience in development of legislative analysis/gap analysis including recommendations for legislative amendments.

20%

Experience with drafting/preparing research and analytical papers/technical reports (in English) is required

20%

Submitted methodology

30%

Evaluation

Individual will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis

When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the candidate whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

b) Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

* Technical Criteria weight-70%

* Financial Criteria weight- 30%

Interested candidated must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

Explaining why they are the most suitable for the work
Provide a brief methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work;
Personal CV/P11, including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references.

Please scan all above mentioned documents and upload as one attachment only online through this website.

Note:

For an assignment requiring travel, consultants of 65 years or more require full medical examination and statement of fitness to work to engage in the consultancy.
Due to large number of potential applicants, only competitively selected candidates will be contacted for remaining steps of the service procurement process.