EU seeking Proposals for “Consolidation of the Justice System in Armenia”

Deadline: 23 September 2019

The European Union (EU) is currently accepting proposals from eligible organizations for its program entitled “Consolidation of the Justice System in Armenia”.

Objectives

• The global objective of this call for proposals is to strengthen the independence, quality, efficiency, accountability and public trust in the Armenian judicial system in line with priorities as identified by the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and EU’s best practices.
• The specific objectives of this call for proposals are:
  • To implement the Strategy on Judicial and Legal Reforms 2019-2024 through improving the independence, transparency, quality, management, efficiency and effectiveness of the Armenian judiciary, including courts, the Academy of Justice and of the Prosecution systems.
  • To improve the legislation related to civil and administrative justice to assist in de-blocking the system through increase in alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, adequate court fee structures and rules for admissibility of cases in first instance and for appeals.
  • To improve the planning, budgeting, case management, analytical and statistical, organizational and HR management capacities (including strategy implementation and monitoring capacities) of the MOJ, the Supreme Judicial Council (and its Judicial Department), penitentiary and probation systems, the Prosecution and training institutions in order to improve efficiency and transparency of the systems.

Size of Grants

Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:

• Minimum amount: EUR 2,200,000
• Maximum amount: EUR 2,200,000

Duration

The initial planned duration of an action may not exceed 24 months.

Location

Actions must take place in the following country: Armenia.

Eligibility Criteria

• Lead applicant
  • In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
    • be a legal person and
    • be non-profit-making and
    • be a specific type of organisation such as: a competent Government Department, Public body, or relevant mandated body of a Government Department or public body authority of a European Union Member State in the fields related to this action, and
    • be established in a Member State of the European Union
      • ‘For British applicants: Please be aware that eligibility criteria must be complied with for the entire duration of the grant. Unless sector-specific eligibility rules provide otherwise , if the United Kingdom withdraws from the EU during the grant period without concluding an agreement with the EU ensuring in particular that British applicants continue to be eligible, applicants will cease to receive EU funding (while continuing, where possible to participate) or will be required to leave the project on the basis of Article [insert reference to the Article allowing termination of the grant agreement (change of the legal situation of the beneficiary)] of the grant agreement’ and
    • be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), not acting as an intermediary.
• Co-applicant(s)
  • Co-applicants participate in designing and implementing the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the lead applicant.
  • Co-applicants must satisfy the eligibility criteria as applicable to the lead applicant himself.
• Affiliated entities
  • The lead applicant and its co-applicant(s) may act with affiliated entity(ies).
  • Only the following entities may be considered as affiliated entities to the lead applicant and/or to co-applicant(s):
    • Only entities having a structural link with the applicants (i.e. the lead applicant or a co-applicant), in particular a legal or capital link.
    • This structural link encompasses mainly two notions:
      • Control, as defined in Directive 2013/34/EU on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings:
        • Entities affiliated to an applicant may hence be:
          • Entities directly or indirectly controlled by the applicant (daughter companies or first-tier subsidiaries). They may also be entities controlled by an entity controlled by the applicant (granddaughter companies or second-tier subsidiaries) and the same applies to further tiers of control;
          • Entities directly or indirectly controlling the applicant (parent companies). Likewise, they may be entities controlling an entity controlling the applicant;
          • Entities under the same direct or indirect control as the applicant (sister companies).
      • Membership, i.e. the applicant is legally defined as a e.g. network, federation, association in which the proposed affiliated entities also participate or the applicant participates in the same entity (e.g. network, federation, association,…) as the proposed affiliated entities.

How to Apply

• The application procedure consists of two phases:
  • Concept notes
  • Full applications
• The concept note together with the declaration by the lead applicant must be submitted at the address given on the website.

For more information, please visit https://bit.ly/2N0Nm46 and download the guidelines.