Call for Expression of Interest – Development of Handbook and Code of Conduct for Managing the External Access to Justice Partners

FIDA-Kenya is a non-profit, non-partisan, and non-governmental membership organization committed to creation of a society free of all forms of discrimination against women by promoting women’s individual collective power to claim their rights in all spheres of life. The organization supports access to justice by providing legal aids services, education and awareness creation, public interest litigation, mediation, psychosocial counseling, and legal and policy advocacy programs that positively impact structural, institutional, and legal reforms within Kenya to ensure gender sensitivity and responsiveness.

To realize its objective, FIDA-Kenya works in partnership with various actors under the Access to Justice Program to secure and protect women’s and girls’ rights. Amongst the partners are; pro-bono lawyers, paralegals, mobilizers, facilitators, the council of elders, and mediators.

Background Information

Access to justice is one of the critical components to the realization of the rule of law in any society. This is reflected under Article 48 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 which enshrines the right of all citizens to access justice. Justice must be delivered impartially and in a timely manner and must be accessible to all.

In furtherance of the realization of access to justice as stipulated under Article 48 of the Constitution, FIDA-Kenya has tailored various intervention and approaches to increase access to justice for women. These approaches include providing free legal advice and representation to women, training women on self-representation in court, and establishing the Pro bono lawyers scheme, which aims to increase and expedite quality access to justice by assisting FIDA-Kenya legal counsels to attend to more clients. Pro-bono lawyers volunteer their services, especially in hard-to-reach areas.

FIDA also employs Alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to enhance access to justice for women and girls. This is mainly through and engagement with the Councils of elders through the Traditional Justice System. Most of the matters handled through alternative dispute resolution mechanisms include family disputes on land (women’s land rights), wife and widow eviction, maintenance, custody of minors, and child protection.

Against this backdrop, the FIDA-Kenya seeks to strengthen partnerships with pro-bono lawyers, paralegals, mobilizers, facilitators, the council of elders, and mediators.

Why the Handbook and Code of Conduct?

The FIDA-Kenya seeks to strengthen its partnership with pro-bono lawyers, paralegals, mobilizers, facilitators, the council of elders, and mediators by developing a handbook and code of conduct. The handbook and code of conduct shall set out the partners’ standards of professional conduct to articulate the values the FIDA-Kenya through its external partners wishes to foster to improve service delivery to women and girls in Kenya.

FIDA-Kenya, therefore, seeks to engage a consultant who shall develop a Handbook & code of conduct for Pro-bono lawyers, mobilizers, facilitators, the council of elders, and mediators.

Scope of Consultancy

It is expected that the selected consultant will develop a model code of conduct and the handbook to be adapted for use and implementation by the Pro-bono lawyers, paralegals, mobilizers, facilitators, the council of elders, mediators. The handbook and conduct of code shall align and adhere to the existing national laws and policies, the FIDA-Kenya Constitution, and other relevant operational documents.

Objectives

• The handbook and code of conduct will clarify the standards of professional conduct for the target partners, articulate the FIDA-Kenya values, and improve service delivery to the women and girls of Kenya.
• To provide an authoritative guide to the target partners with FIDA-Kenya.
• To serve as a principal instrument of self-regulation of our target partners under the access to justice program.
• To articulate principles, rules, and standards of professional practice and ethical conduct expected of the target partners in performing their duties and functions.

Deliverables and Output

The consultant is expected to complete the following main outputs and tasks:

• Inception report, including tools to be applied to successfully execute the assignment;
• Draft the outline of the handbook and code of conduct in close consultation with the relevant stakeholders.
• Draft the handbook and code of conduct which covers information on the obligations in line with the national laws and policies as well as information on international ethical standards.
• Present the draft handbook and code of conduct to relevant stakeholders.
• Finalize the l handbook and code of conduct.
• Facilitation of Validation Meeting and Launch of the handbook and the code of conduct.

Indicative Time frame

It is expected that the whole task should be finished within 30 calendar days from the starting date.

Reporting and Communication

During this assignment’s execution, the consultant will work closely with FIDA-Kenya’s Senior Legal Counsel- Nairobi (and the Deputy Executive Director/Head of Programmes).

Expected Qualifications of the Consultant(s)

• Bachelor’s degree in law, social science, or gender studies. A master’s degree in the above will be an added advantage.
• A minimum of 10 years of experience undertaking research in the areas related to the consultancy assignment.
• Evidence of undertaking of similar works in the last five years.

EOI Submission Requirements

Interested individuals, companies, or research firms should submit a detailed expression of interest (technical and financial proposal):

• The technical proposal should include an interpretation of the objectives of the consultancy, a detailed methodology, and an elaborate work plan, organization/individual capacity statement, experience, and activities related to this assignment, CVs of the consulting team, and their roles in the assignment’s achievement; names, addresses, and telephone numbers of three professional referees.
• The financial proposal should include a detailed budget proposal, a detailed profile of the firm, including contact and physical address, telephone numbers, and a copy of the registration certificate, VAT, and PIN where applicable