Call for Consultants: Researcher to draft legal training manual

The Media Legal Defence Initiative is organising a four-day litigation and advocacy workshop in The Gambia in November 2017, and is seeking a researcher to assist in drafting a training manual that will be used in the delivery of this training.

Training Manual on ECOWAS Community Court of Justice

MLDI will be holding a training workshop in The Gambia between 10 and 13 November 2017 that will develop lawyers’ knowledge of the principles underpinning the right to freedom of expression, and the procedure for taking cases to the regional human rights fora (e.g. African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice). The training will mix lecture-style sessions with interactive workshopping classes, allowing participants to immediately put in practice the theory that they have been presented with. The participant lawyers will also workshop Gambian freedom of expression cases, and will develop a litigation strategy on the basis of this “workshopping”.

To assist with this training, MLDI will commission a consultant to draft a training manual on the procedure for taking freedom of expression cases before the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice. The manual will cover the following subject matters:

• The jurisdiction of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice;
• The admissibility criteria that need to be met to bring a case before the ECOWAS Court;
• The requirements for representing applicants before the ECOWAS Court;
• The relevant human rights arguments that can be considered by the ECOWAS Court (e.g. including how to make freedom of expression arguments before the ECOWAS Court);
• The procedure for filing submissions on behalf of applicants before the ECOWAS Court;
• The procedure for submitting amicus briefs to the ECOWAS Court;
• The relief/remedies that can be requested from the ECOWAS Court; and
• The advantages and disadvantages for litigating before the ECOWAS Court.

Consultant Specifications

MLDI is looking for a Researcher who will be responsible for drafting this manual who has:

• A law degree and at least three years’ legal experience;
• Experience in drafting at least one training manual for lawyers;
• Demonstrated knowledge and/or experience in litigating cases before the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice;
• Demonstrated knowledge and/or experience in litigating cases involving the right to freedom of expression (desirable).

How to apply

To apply for the Researcher role, please send a CV and cover letter, including a quote in GBP to Padraig.Hughes@mediadefence.org by 1 September 2017.