Senior Legal Expert

UN Development Programme

Position Information • VA No.: UNDP/LBN/VA26/083 • Position Title: Senior Legal Expert • Duty Station: The assignment is primarily home-based, with some activities to be held in Hotel Conferences (in Beirut),the Ministry of Justice (in Beirut), and/or the UNDP office in Beirut. • Duration: 6 months (without exceeding 11 days per month) • Vacancy Date of Issue: 02 June 2026 • Vacancy Closure Date: 09 June 2026 • National or International consultancy: National consultancy BACKGROUND As part of its commitment to strengthening the independence, effectiveness, accountability and accessibility of Lebanon s justice institutions, UNDP Lebanon is looking to recruit a Senior Legal Expert to technically support the nationally steered multi-stakeholder process on the reform of the justice sector: the Justice Forum **.** Led by the Ministry of Justice, the Parliamentary Administration and Justice Commission of Parliament, and the High Judicial Council/State Council, and supported by UNDP, the Justice Forum is articulated around thematic groups with the objective of comprehensively assessing the various challenges facing justice institutions and justice service delivery and developing a national roadmap for the reform of the sector. The process is articulated around thematic groups with the objective of comprehensively assessing the various challenges facing justice institutions and justice service delivery and identifying ways forward. The findings of each group will be synthesized along with relevant amendment tables and will feed into a national roadmap for the reform of the sector, which will be progressively developed as the final output of the forum. Since its launch, the Forum has demonstrated its effectiveness as the primary vehicle for broad and inclusive justice sector reform. At this current juncture, efforts seek to ensure both the completion and expansion of the Justice Forum architecture, and the translation of endorsed reform priorities into practical, sequenced, and nationally owned implementation pathways. This includes support not only to the development and endorsement of Lebanon s first nationally anchored justice sector reform roadmap, but also to the promotion of the establishment of an accompanying monitoring and follow-up mechanism. SCOPE OF WORK, RESPONSIBILITIES AND DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ANALYTICAL WORK Under the guidance and supervision of the Rule of Law and Governance Chief Technical Advisor, and taking into account and complementing previous and ongoing UNDP led efforts, including the Justice Forum , the key responsibilities and scope of work include, but are not limited to, the following four technical workstreams: 1.Technical support on draft laws governing the independence of the judiciary Judiciary and Administrative. • Provide expert technical assistance to support ongoing efforts to review and update the draft law on the independence of the administrative judiciary, as well as efforts to update Law 36/2026 following its February 2026 annulment by the Constitution Council. This includes the preparation of analytical notes to ensure its alignment with international standards and best practices, specifically integrating recommendations from the EU TAIEX functional review and relevant Venice Commission opinions, as well as participation in key stakeholders review meetings. 2.Technical support provided to the establishment and holding of a new thematic group on Constitutional Justice • Provide substantive and organizational support to the thematic group by undertaking the following: • Preparation: Developing core meeting documents, including targeted agendas and the overall structural framework for each session. • Research & Documentation: Conducting specialized legal and institutional research to draft background papers, briefing notes, and supporting documents that inform and steer the thematic group s deliberations. • Facilitation & Reporting: Steering and facilitating working group meetings, capturing technical discussions, and drafting official meeting minutes. • Follow-up: Preparing post-meeting action documents and conducting necessary follow-up consultations with key national stakeholders. • Coordination: Actively participating in all preparatory, coordination, and debriefing meetings with the UNDP technical team to ensure strategic alignment. 3.Justice Forum roadmap development and follow-up mechanism • Synthesize the technical findings, discussions, and conclusions emerging from the Justice Forum's thematic groups and translate them into concrete, actionable and sequenced policy recommendations. • Draft, structure, and finalize a comprehensive strategic roadmap for the Justice Forum based on the priorities and outputs identified by the thematic groups, ensure strategic sequencing. • Develop recommendations and action plan on the establishment of an accompanying monitoring and follow-up mechanism for the roadmap. 4. Analysis of Justice Sector Reform file vis vis Justice Forum current thematic scope • Conduct a strategic assessment of the broader justice sector reform landscape to evaluate the Justice Forum's current thematic coverage. This entails analyzing whether the existing working groups have adequately addressed all critical aspects of justice reform, identifying any remaining gaps, and comprehensively recommending emerging areas of discussion to be integrated into the Forum s workplan.