RFQ: Consultancy to Develop a Commonwealth Access to Justice Needs Assessment Tool

Background to the assignment

The purpose of the assignment is to support the Commonwealth Declaration and Action Plan on Equal Access to Justice in the delivery of activities.

People-centred justice is a rule of law approach that relies on the perspectives, needs, strengths, and expectations of the justice user to improve the type and quality of justice and reduce barriers to service delivery. It is an approach designed to fill the gaps of traditional, institution-focused programming that leaves many behind, including vulnerable persons, women and children. People centred justice is an approach that places the needs of these constituents at the centre of any legal frameworks, initiatives or interventions developed.

It is a data driven process, therefore the identification, measurement and mapping of the legal needs of individuals, families, communities is critical. People-centred justice will be unique from member state to member state, tailored to meet the actual legal needs of people.

The Secretariat intends to develop a justice needs tool to assist member states to pivot their justice systems more firmly towards delivering access to justice for their citizens by measuring their justice needs. The instrument will address the types of legal problems that people encounter, the resolutions they achieve, how they seek legal information and advice, which dispute resolution mechanisms they engage, and how they experience the resolution process and the outcomes.

Expected Output:

The Consultant is expected to:

1. Develop a user-friendly and comprehensive assessment tool designed to evaluate access to justice and justice needs in the Commonwealth member countries. The tool should include:

1. A survey/questionnaire covering various aspects of access to justice such as affordability, physical accessibility, procedural accessibility, linguistic accessibility, and legal representation;
2. a scoring mechanism to quantify the level of access to justice based on the responses gathered through the assessment tool and ensure the scoring system is transparent, adaptable to different jurisdictions, and capable of providing actionable insights;
3. guidance on how to interpret the results and identify areas for improvement in access to justice;
4. a stakeholder engagement plan to ensure buy-in and participation from key stakeholders, including judges, lawyers, court staff, government officials, civil society organizations, and the general public, including marginalized communities; and
5. a report template for summarizing the findings of the access to justice assessment, including key metrics, analysis, and recommendations.

All materials should be customizable to reflect the unique context of each jurisdiction.

By delivering these outputs, the consultant will contribute significantly to enhancing access to justice and the delivery of justice services in the Commonwealth through the promotion of fairness, equality, and accountability in legal systems.

Qualifications/expertise sought (required educational background, years of relevant work experience, other special skills or knowledge required):  

• Minimum of master’s degree in law, public policy, international development or another relevant field,
• Minimum of seven (7) years of professional expertise at the national or international level in strengthening access to justice;
• Demonstrable track record in the conduct of sector-level assessments or similar assignments in developing countries (ideally in a Commonwealth member country);
• Proven ability to work well under pressure and meet strict deadlines;  
• Fluency in English required. 

This consultancy assignment is expected to require a Consultant at Band C of the

Secretariat’s Technical Assistance Consultants: Corporate Fee Band Table (see Annex 1 Below). 

Please apply for this contract by submitting Technical and Commercial proposals to [email protected] by 13 March 2024. Applicants must also complete the Quote Submission Documents attached to the Request for Quotation (RFQ) document.

 Prices quoted should include VAT but must indicate clearly where VAT is applicable and where items might be zero-rated.

Evaluation will be based on both competency and cost.