Legal Adviser (P-4)

Organisational Context

The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) investigates and prosecutes genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression committed by nationals of or an the territory of a State Party under the Court's jurisdiction on or after 1 July 2002.

The Legal Advisory Section (LAS) combines a commitment to legal excellence with a result-oriented and policy- friendly approach in delivering legal services. The LAS operates as a dynamic and multifaceted international law practice in anticipation of and in response to client requirements, in both operational and policy matters.

The LAS provides legal advice to the Prosecutor, the Deputy Prosecutors and other components of the OTP on issues related to the activities and administration of the OTP involving international and national law, including public, private, procedural, and administrative law. The LAS supports the performance of the OTP’s functions under the Court’s legal framework including in particular Rome Statute, Rules of Procedure and Evidence, Regulations of the Court, Regulations of the Office of the Prosecutor, Financial Regulations and Rules, Staff Rules and Regulations and other legal instruments governing the ICC.

The Section provides a broad range of legal services including drafting, negotiating, advising and litigating.

The LAS is headed by the Senior Legal Adviser who reports to the Prosecutor, and together with the Prosecutor, the Deputy Prosecutors and other senior officials of the OTP, is a member of the OTP Management Team.

The Legal Adviser reports to the Senior Legal Adviser.

Duties and Responsibilities

Within this framework, and under the supervision of the Senior Legal Adviser, the incumbent will perform the following duties:

• Deputizes in the absence of the Senior Legal Adviser, both on matters of substance and as Chief of Section including advising the Prosecutor, the Deputy Prosecutors and other components of the OTP, and actively participating in high level meetings and negotiations;
• Serves as the lead and supervisory lawyer in complex legal matters arising under public international law, international criminal law, international administrative law and international institutional law affecting the OTP, including advice, research, analysis, drafting, policy, strategy and dispute settlement;
• Advises on matters of liability and international administrative law; Provides legal advice to and serves as (alternate) member, including as Chair, on various committees and boards;
• Leads and participates in inter-organ working groups on matters within substantive and managerial fields of responsibility;
• Assists in planning and implementing the LAS annual programme of work;
• Assists in managing the day-to-day operations of the Section including budget, reporting, statistics and human resources (recruitment, retention, motivation, development, performance management, conflict prevention and informal resolution);
• Develops the operational framework for delivery of legal services; Manages and supervises (associate) legal advisers in the LAS; and
• Performs other or additional duties as assigned by the Senior Legal Adviser.

Essential Qualifications

Education:

Advanced university degree in law with specialisation in international law. A first level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience is accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Bar admission or equivalent (e.g. solicitor), with substantial post-qualification experience, is desirable.

Experience:

A minimum of seven years (nine years with a first level university degree) of progressively responsible professional experience in a legal environment relevant to the work of the Court, and to the aforementioned duties and responsibilities, including management of legal teams.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Extensive knowledge of the law applicable to the Court: public international law, international criminal law, international administrative law, international institutional law and the law of contracts. Strongly developed legal skills, including excellent drafting (concise, well-reasoned, persuasive, and legally and factually correct) and research skills;
• Strong analytical skills, and effective communication, negotiation, diplomatic and advocacy skills, combined with interpersonal skills and political sensitivity;
• Theoretical and practical knowledge of the legal, political, administrative, financial and procedural framework of the Court or other international organisations in both operational and policy matters;
• Highly developed management and project management skills to ensure consistent and timely legal services;
• Effective coordination and delegation of work; ability to motivate staff, promote well-being and engagement, and support professional development; ability to conduct performance appraisal, assess, provide feedback, coach and mentor;
• Knowledge of relevant electronic document and information management systems. Demonstrated experience in managerial and leadership positions relevant to international organisations;
• Proven ability to supervise, provide direction, plan and establish priorities to ensure an effective work structure to maximize productivity;
• Possesses sound judgment; ability to drive innovation and eliminate barriers to effective and efficient work practices;
• Proven track record of good customer service by providing policy-friendly advice and support services within an international organization and a complex multi-cultural environment. Excellent decision-making skills, with the ability to balance interests and translate the general strategic plans of senior management (including Senior Legal Adviser) into concrete strategies. Operates with professionalism and integrity.

Knowledge of languages:

Proficiency in either of the working languages of the Court (English and French) and working knowledge of the other is required. Knowledge of another official language of the Court (Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Spanish) would be considered an asset.

ICC Leadership Competencies
Purpose
Collaboration
People
Results

ICC Core Competencies
Dedication to the mission and values
Professionalism
Teamwork
Learning and developing
Handling uncertain situations
Interaction
Realising objectives

Learn more about ICC leadership and core competencies.

General Information

• Candidates appointed to posts at a P-5 grade or in the Director category are subject to a maximum aggregate length of service of seven years. This is pursuant to a decision of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP Resolution ICC-ASP/23/Res.2) to implement a tenure policy at the Court as of 1 January 2025.

• The selected candidate will be subject to a Personnel Security Clearance (PSC) process in accordance with ICC policy. The PSC process will include but will not be limited to, verification of the information provided in the personal history form and a criminal record check.

• Applicants may check the status of vacancies on ICC E-Recruitment web-site.

• Post to be filled by a national of a State Party to the ICC Statute, or of a State which has signed and is engaged in the ratification process or which is engaged in the accession process. This is pursuant to a decision of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP Resolution ICC-ASP/23/Res.3) to introduce a moratorium on the recruitment by the ICC of staff of non-States Parties’ nationality.

• In accordance with the Rome Statute, the ICC aims to achieve fair representation of women and men for all positions, representation of the principal legal systems of the world for legal positions, and equitable geographical representation for positions in the professional category.

• Applications from female candidates are particularly encouraged.

• Personnel recruited at the General Service level are not entitled to all of the benefits granted to internationally-recruited staff;

• The International Criminal Court applies the Inter-Organization Mobility Accord and can support secondment of staff from organizations of the United Nations Common System.