Sectoral experts on judiciary to support the development of Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Strategy and Program for the period of 2026-2029 (3 positions)

Background and context:

The EU Anti-Corruption Initiative (EUACI) is the flagship EU program in Ukraine funded by the EU, co-funded and implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. The EUACI’s strategic objectives are: corruption in Ukraine is reduced; Ukraine advances with anti-corruption reform; and the reconstruction in war-affected areas of Ukraine is implemented within a framework that incorporates transparency, accountability, and integrity. Among its activities, the EUACI is providing support to Ukrainian partners in the field of EU integration and accession.

According to Articles of 18 and 18¹ of Law of Ukraine “On Corruption prevention”, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP, Agency) is responsible for the following:

• Development of the new  Anti-corruption Strategy (Strategy) no later than 1 August of the last year of validity period of existing one; and
• Development of State Anti-corruption Program (SACP) aimed at the Strategy’s implementation no later than one month before the deadline for its approval by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

Current Strategy and SACP were previously developed for the period through 2025. Considering this, the NACP has already started the development of new Strategy and SACP for the period of 2026-2029.

In this context, based on Indicators for Ukraine Facility Plan 2024-2027, it is expected that the new Strategy and SACP would be adopted by the Parliament and the Government of Ukraine respectively no later than in 2 Quarter of 2026.

To support the Agency in achieving this goal, the EUACI launches this tender to identify a pool of experts that will analyse corruption risks in the judiciary and provide recommendations on how to address those in the relevant parts of the future Strategy and SACP.

Objectives:

To provide the NACP with sectoral expertise in the sphere of judiciary to better equip the NACP in preparation of the new Strategy and the SACP based on evidence-based policy analysis.

Scope of work and deliverables:

The assignment includes the following key tasks:

Under the guidance of the NACP, to jointly prepare an analytical report on the existing corruption risks in the judiciary (covering key i.e., processes such as court formation and liquidation, main judicial governance activities, organizational and financial support for courts, and mechanisms to ensure the integrity, independence and professionalism of judges and judicial candidates etc.) by the end of May 2025;

• Under the guidance of the NACP, to jointly prepare first drafts of structured proposals for related parts of the new Strategy and SACP (based on the findings of expert analytics) by the end of May 2025;
• To jointly prepare a document with updates of structured proposals for related parts of the new SACP after the approval of the new Strategy;
• To provide expert input and consultations regarding related parts of the new Strategy and SACP in oral and written format upon the request of the NACP;
• To participate in public expert discussions of related parts of the new Strategy and SACP based on request of the NACP.

When carrying out these tasks, experts should avoid assessment of Ukraine’s fulfillment of its EU and other international obligations and commitments. Experts can make an overview of decisions of relevant EU and other institutions on such commitments.

Electronic copies of the deliverables made should be sent in Ukrainian by email to the designated EUACI contact person.

Timeline:

The intended commencement date is the date of signature of contracts with the selected service provider(s). The minimum number of days for delivering of consultancy services is 30 days for each expert with the total duration of the contract till 30 June 2026.

Requirements to the Service Provider/s:

The contract can be awarded to the three experts meeting the following criteria:

• Private entrepreneurs under Ukrainian legislation;
• Experience of analytical work (such as conducting studies and research, policy analysis, policy advise, etc.) in the sphere of the judiciary and/or anti-corruption with at least 5 years of the relevant experience;
• Experience in implementing or participating in international donor-funded projects or activities related to the judiciary will be considered an advantage;
• Profound sense and personal culture of integrity.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in Ukrainian.

Special requirements:

By signing the contracts, the contractors agree to hold in trust and confidence any information or documents (“confidential information”), disclosed to the contractor or discovered by the contractor or prepared by the contractors in the course of or as a result of the implementation of the contracts and agrees that it shall be used only for the purposes of the contract implementation and shall not be disclosed to any third party without EUACI and NACP authorisation.

Contractors will report to the EUACI. Contractors shall de-brief the EUACI prior to finalising the assignment.

Bidding details:

The bidder or team of bidders must submit the following information to be considered:

• CV (max. 3 pages);
• A list of assignments related to the sphere of research executed during the last five years.
• At least one example of analytical paper, study, report or other similar document prepared by experts on the sphere of the judiciary.
• A financial offer (including experts’ fees per day and number of days for each expert).

Budget:

The total contract budget for 3 experts cannot exceed EUR 30,000, with approximate budget for each expert is EUR 10 000

How to apply:

The deadline for submitting the proposals is 07 February 2025, 18:00 Kyiv time.

The proposals shall be submitted within the above deadline to [email protected] and [email protected]  indicating the subject line “Tender: “Sectoral experts on judiciary”.

The applicant will receive an auto-reply from [email protected] when the application is received.              If an auto-reply is not received, please contact the EUACI.

Bidding language: English.

Any clarification questions for the bid request should be addressed to [email protected] and [email protected], no later than 05 February 2025, 18:00 Kyiv time.

Evaluation criteria:

Bids will be evaluated under the criteria provided below: