Job Description
Democracy International (DI) is seeking to hire a short-term
Legal Editor consultant for the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho signed a Financing Agreement with the European Commission on 8th September 2020 to implement a program titled “Support for the Reform and Strengthening of Governance in Lesotho” with financial support from the 11th European Development Fund (EDF). The program intends to support the supply and demand side of the justice and governance sectors, through the strengthening of the country’s institutional and legal frameworks. The program also intends to reinforce the capacity of justice sector actors to ensure improved service delivery, increasing the provision of legal assistance for people living in poverty and persons in vulnerable situations. On the demand side of governance, the program aims to empower the citizens to seek redress or remedial action once their rights have been violated and support the reforms and operational tasks of oversight institutions to play their meaningful role.
This will be a short-term consultant position based in Maseru, Lesotho, and will be open to both expatriates and Lesotho citizens.
The program’s overall objective is to foster the rule of law, good governance, human rights, and gender equality in Lesotho.
The mandate of the Lesotho Law Reform Commission (LLRC) is to review the laws of Lesotho with a view to the systematic development and reform of the law, including in particular the modernization of the law by bringing it into accord with current conditions which include among others, the elimination of defects in the law, the simplification of the law and the adoption of new or effective methods for the administration of the law.
In 2019, the Lesotho Law Reform Commission published the Index of Laws of Lesotho consisting of laws from 1800 to 2018. The Lesotho Law Reform Commission continues to update the Index with laws as they are newly enacted by the Parliament of Lesotho. The updates to the 1800/2018 Index are intended to constitute a second edition to be referred to as “Laws of Lesotho Index 1800-2023”. This edition is estimated to be published in August 2024.
The rationale for updating this index is that the index of laws allows for the compilation of laws in one document, which will enable easy identification and access to laws for all people. The exercise also enables the elimination of anomalies, such as putting the accurate status of the laws of Lesotho, which will ensure that relevant laws are being applied, by the general public, the courts of laws, and all relevant sectors of the government sector. The index also ensures that the laws of Lesotho are stored systematically, allowing for an established database of laws for the country.
This assignment calls for thorough background knowledge of the statute book of Lesotho, in-depth analysis of Lesotho laws and policies, and interpretation and indexing of the laws of Lesotho. As a result, the LLRC requires two experts who are conversant with the indexing of laws. In particular, the experts must have the credentials and prior experience to effectively carry out the editing of the Index of Laws of Lesotho and creating a database of laws on a minor and large scale. It is preferable for the incumbents to be Lesotho-based professionals with sufficient background and knowledge of Lesotho laws and history, particularly having prior proven experience of indexing of Laws of Lesotho. The magnitude of indexing requires two experts as there will be a need for checks and balances for a quality product.
The Consultant shall report to the Director of Revision who will work closely with the Law Reform Counsel or their representatives. All the reporting will be done in English Language. The consultant is expected to work closely with LLRC and the selected technical committee which will be responsible for evaluating product deliverables. This consultancy’s Level of Effort (LOE) will be up to 20 days.
Objectives of the Assignment:
The assignment is intended to achieve the following objectives:
- Editing of the updates of the 2018-2023 Index of Laws of Lesotho to align such updates to the existing 1800- 2018 Index of Laws of Lesotho. This will also enable the identification and correcting of anomalies or inaccuracies in the existing 1800-2018 Index of Laws of Lesotho
- Validate the 1800 to 2023 Index of Laws of Lesotho to be referred to as the Index of Laws of Lesotho 1800 to 2023. The validation will be done in collaboration with the technical Committee for the Index of Laws.
Essential Job Duties:Working in collaboration with the program Coordination Unit (PCU), the Law Reform Commission, will ensure that the experts perform the following activities:
- The experts are required to analyze the inventory of laws printed by the government printer to verify whether updates constitute a total number of laws that have been enacted and repealed by the Parliament since 2018.
- Analyze specific statutes in relation to;
- Verifying content of updates made to the historical index, subject, chronological, and alphabetical index by proofreading the updated indices.
- Verify the status of laws affected by the updates.
- Edit the updated indices.
- Make and submit a preliminary report on the findings.
- Validate the 1800-2023 Index of the Laws of Lesotho with the LRC Technical Committee.
- Submit a Final Report with the Index.
Deliverables:
- Editing of Lesotho updates to the 1800-2023 Index of Laws of Lesotho Volume
- Historical index (5 days)
- Subject Index (4 days)
- Chronological Index (3 days)
- Alphabetical Index (3 days)
- Validation with the LRC Technical Committee (2 days)
- Final report (2 days)
- Validation report (1 day)
Qualifications:
- Qualification of LLM from a recognized institution of higher learning with eight years working experience, or LLB from a recognized institution of higher learning with ten years’ experience;
- Excellent verbal and written communication and presentation skills.
General Professional Experience:
- At least Eight (8) years’ working experience in the law review process
- Experience of conducting extensive legal research;
Specific Professional Experience:
- Minimum of five years’ experience of successfully indexing statutory laws;
- Experience in undertaking indexing of laws at minor and major scales;
Application Process:
Interested applicants
MUST submit a cover letter and CV. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the position will be filled as soon as a qualified candidate is identified. DI will only contact candidates of interest.
About the Organization
DI provides technical assistance, analytical services and project implementation for democracy, human rights, governance and conflict mitigation programs worldwide for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. State Department and other development partners. Since its founding in 2003, Democracy International has worked with civil society organizations, political parties, election-management bodies, government agencies, legislatures, justice-sector institutions, and others in 80+ countries.
DI welcomes and supports a diverse and inclusive work environment. We are committed to equal employment opportunities (EEO) for all applicants seeking employment and for DI employees. DI makes employment decisions based on organizational needs, job requirements and individual qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, personal appearance, military status, gender identity or expression, genetic information, political affiliation, educational status, unemployment status, place of residence or business, source of income, or reproductive health decision making. Additionally, harassment or discrimination based on these characteristics will not be tolerated at DI. To perform the essential functions of this position, reasonable accommodations are available to qualified individuals with disabilities.
