Legal Counselor

CONTEXTUAL BACKGROUND

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933, the IRC offers life-saving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in more than 40 countries and in 22 cities in the United States, the IRC restores safety, dignity, and hope to millions of vulnerable individuals who are uprooted by conflict or disaster. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

In Lebanon, the IRC implements programs in the education, protection, women’s empowerment and protection, economic recovery and development, and child protection sectors. In child protection, one of the IRC’s main objectives is to strengthen the national child protection system to provide a quality response to children and families facing protection issues both during and outside of emergencies. To reach this objective, the IRC partners with local child protection actors to build their capacities.

In Lebanon, Syrian and Palestinian refugee and/or stateless children who require protection, such as adolescent boys working on the street  have been referred to the judicial system as they have been  perceived as children in conflict within the law and.. Whilst humanitarian agencies aim to ensure basic services for the most vulnerable children and their families, these interventions are not able to protect Syrian and Palestinian children from harm which may result from a child in contact with the judicial system and  may experience the following:

• Aggressive interview techniques used by front line investigators.
• Late forensic testing for sexual assault without an explanation of the procedure. Detention rather than protection due to the General Prosecutors interpretation in cases of begging or sexual exploitation.
• Prolonged periods of detention due to arbitrary administrative procedures
• Procedures that are not child friendly during the actual investigation and trial.
• Decisions taken regarding cases may not reflect the best interest of the child.

Job Overview/Summary: The main objective of this ToR is to hire a Legal Counselor in Tripoli who will be  responsible of representing complex juvenile cases in the judicial system, pursuing justice against perpetrators of violence and working closely with the caseworker for the best interest of children.

The Legal counselor will facilitate access to services for working Syrian and Palestinian children, as well as vulnerable Lebanese children who are in need of judicial protection and are in conflict or contact with the law in in Tripoli (including Beddawi and other associated Palestinian camps) and advocate for their rights.

Major responsibilities:

• The Legal counselor will be responsible for representing complex cases in the judicial system, pursuing justice against perpetrators of violence. This will include day-to-day follow up in coordination with the Child Protection Systems Strengthening Deputy Manager, court representation, identification of relevant legal trends and issues of concern.
• The legal counselor needs to build strong relationships and network with the police stations, municipalities, leaders and community members
• The legal counselor will be responsible of home visits with the caseworker to visit the child and  families that he/she represents them in the court.
• The legal counselor will be a strong ally to the child and his/her family, and strongly advocate for the child’s rights in the court.
• The legal counselor should support the legal manager in facilitating legal trainings and discussion sessions that will be held with judges and legal prosecutors. 
• The legal counselor should consult the legal manager for all the cases handled.
• The legal counselor will be responsible to report on violations and lack of transparency.
• The legal counselor will be responsible to inform the security team of any potential risks.
• The legal counselor should be open to any other work related requested by the manager.
• The legal counselor should identify gaps and challenges regarding children accessing to justice and feed into plans of address those challenges.
• Reporting and documentation

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to:  Legal manager
Position directly supervises:  N/A

Indirect reporting: Child Protection case worker, street and working children case management senior officer.

Job Requirements:

• Education degree: Bachelor degree in Law.
• Registered in Beirut Bar Association.
• At least 3 years of prior professional experience.

• Prior experience and knowledge of law 422, 293, terrorism law, criminal issues.
• Strong knowledge in the juvenile and judicial system, procedures, police and legal prosecutor reporting.
• Experience in working with judicial, security and government authorities.
• Strong knowledge in child protection.
• Fluency in written and spoken Arabic and English.
• Staunch advocate of child protection and child rights.