United Nations Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals
Technical expert in management of digital judicial records
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS : 03 March 2015
DATE OF ISSUANCE : 17 February 2015
ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT : Registry, Immediate Office of the Registrar
REFERENCE NUMBER : 2015/MICT/REG/IOR/007-P
The UNMICT seeks qualified applicants for a Consultancy to investigate and recommend options for a unified judicial database that will consolidate the digital judicial records of the ICTR, ICTY, and the Mechanism
Only candidates under consideration will be contacted for an interview. The selected candidate will be offered a consultant’s contract.
Terms of Reference for Consultant
Purpose
The Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals requires an expert consultant to undertake a technical
investigation into the existing databases in use by the ICTY and the ICTR, to determine to what extent either of
them meet the functional requirements for a unified judicial database for the Mechanism, and whether possible
additional options exist for acquiring a new replacement system. The technical investigation is the second stage of the Unified Judicial Database Project, and will form the basis of the evaluation leading to a selection of the preferred system in stage three.
Background
The Mechanism was established by Security Council Resolution 1966 on 22 December 2010 to take over the
continuing functions of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). It has two branches, in Arusha and The Hague, which began functioning on 1 July 2012 and 1 July 2013 respectively.
The Mechanism requires an electronic system for receiving, storing and managing its own judicial records, as well as access to the judicial records of the ICTR and ICTY. These records include:
• Over 2.15 million pages, including filings, transcripts and exhibits created or admitted into evidence in
proceedings before the ICTR, and up to 50,000 hours of audio-visual recordings of proceedings.
• Over 5.26 million pages, including filings, transcripts and exhibits created or admitted into evidence in
proceedings before the ICTY, and up to 160,000 hours of audio-visual recordings of proceedings.
• In the first two years of operations, nearly 23,500 pages have been filed with the Mechanism, as well as
transcripts and audio-visual recordings of the two hearings conducted by the Mechanism to date.
In the ICTR they are stored in the ICTR’s TRIM database.
In the ICTY, they are stored in an in-house designed database (the Judicial Database, or JDB). The JDB is integrated with a number of court management applications such as a witness database, e-court (an evidence management application), NEMS (an electronic court minutes application), a translation tracking system, and NEF (for automatic notification of electronic filings).
The Mechanism has adopted an interim solution with its judicial documents being filed in duplicate in both the ICTR and ICTY’s systems. (This interim solution is partly designed to address the lack of a unified IT network. With the pending launch of an integrated network unifying the two branches, all staff will be able to access both systems.)
The Mechanism needs to be able to access all three sets of records, while ensuring continued access by ICTY and ICTR staff, as well as ensuring the ability of the ICTY to maintain its on-going trial management functions.
The interim solution does not meet the long term needs of the Mechanism because it is inefficient, requiring double processing of documents in two different systems. It also introduces a risk of inconsistencies developing over time between the two sets of records.
Terms of reference for a consultant
The Mechanism requires an expert consultant in the management of electronic judicial records to assess the ability of the ICTY and ICTR judicial databases to meet the requirements of the Mechanism, and to compare these with possible replacement options that may be available on the market.
The consultant must have demonstrable experience of, and expertise in, the acquisition and/or development of ICT systems for the digital management of judicial records, and experience in key business processes relating to the management of judicial records.
The consultant must be independent of any commercial vendor of court management or document management systems.
The consultant must be familiar with good practice in domestic and/or international courts in the management of judicial records.
A) Outputs:
The tangible outputs of the consultancy are:
·
A report assessing to what extent the existing judicial records databases in use by the ICTR and the ICTY meet the functional requirements of the Mechanism.
·
An assessment of additional possible viable options, based on up to date international best practice, such as to build or acquire a new system that would replace the existing databases, or work in conjunction with them to
create a single user interface.
·
For each of the options, a detailed assessment identifying:
•
In the case of the existing systems, any modification costs to upgrade them to meet the Mechanism’s
requirements, and in the case of any potential new systems, the acquisition costs.
•
An assessment of any on-going support costs needed to support each of the options, including staff
support requirements, licensing fees, training costs, etc.
•
A projected time table for the acquisition, upgrade, or modification.
•
To what extent each of the options meets the functional requirements.
•
To what extent each of the options are compatible with the ICTY/Mechanism ICT Strategy, the UN ICT
Strategy and any relevant governance documents on information classification and security.
•
To what extent each of the options are in compliance with UN record keeping requirements.
•
An assessment of the major risks entailed with each of the options.
·
A set of evaluation criteria for the ICT Committee to use in evaluating which of options is the preferred option.
The evaluation criteria should enable a ranking of the options to be prepared.
·
The development of a set of technical requirements, such as capacity, performance, scalability, maintainability,
and a licensing model, which can be used in the preparation of UN procurement documentation, if needed.
B) Language
English and French are the working languages of the Mechanism. For this consultancy, fluency in oral and written
English is required, and the report should be in English.
C) Timing
The consultancy is for a period of two months, in the first half of 2015, preferably as soon as possible.
D) Location
The consultant may work off-site, but must be available for travel to both branches of the Mechanism, in Arusha and The Hague, for research, in addition to possible site visits.
E) Consultancy Management
This consultancy will be managed by the Immediate Office of the Registrar in The Hague, but the consultant will need to work closely with the Chief of ITSS, ICTY, the Chief of ITSS, ICTR, and the Mechanism Archives and Records Section. In the Immediate Office of the Registrar, the project manager will:
·
Brief the consultant and provide relevant Mechanism information and documents (including the Unified Judicial
Database project brief, high level business case, and statement of functional requirements);
·
Guide and support the consultant’s work and monitor progress;
·
Review and approve all deliverables.
F) Quality Criteria
To be considered successful and acceptable, the consultant’s report must:
·
Be filed on time on an agreed date;
·
Identify viable options, clear evaluation criteria, and specific cost and time estimates for each option;
·
Be based on a wide knowledge of international court management systems and of what is available on the
commercial market, and not contain any bias in consideration of technical options;
·
Enable the ICT Committee to make a recommendation with confidence to the Registrar, based on evaluation
criteria that will enable a clear ranking of the options.
How to Apply
Qualified candidates who are able to work on short notice in The Hague, Netherlands, are invited to submit their
application and their UN Personal History Form (PHP), to RMrecruitment@icty.org attention to Ms. Ruth-Anne
Young, Head, Recruitment and Training Unit quoting the Reference No. 2015/MICT/REG/MARS/007-P in the
APPLICATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE DEADLINE
APPLICATIONS RECEIVED AFTER THE DEADLINE WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.
Unified Judicial Database for the Mechanism for International Criminal
Tribunals
Options Evaluation Matrix
Example
Option 1
Configure HP
Records
Manager 8 to
meet the
MICT’s
functional
requirements
Example
Option 2
Continue to use
and/or modify
the ICTY’s
Judicial
Database
Example
Option 3
Acquire or build
a new system
Example
Option 4
Leave the
existing
databases in
place, but
create a unified
user interface
1:
Acquisition,
modification, or
upgrade costs
2:
On-going support
costs
3:
Expected completion
date
4:
Assessment of
extent to which user
requirements are met.
5:
Assessment of
compatibility with the
ICT strategy and other
relevant governance
documents.
6:
Assessment of
compatibility with UN
record keeping
requirements.
7:
Assessment of risks
associated with each
option.
OPTION RANKING:
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