Development of a Bench Book on Family and Personal Laws Consultant

Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

Equality in law is crucial to achieving gender equality and influencing multiple development outcomes. It can sustain efforts towards just, peaceful, and inclusive societies; environmental and climate justice; equal participation in decision-making at all levels; universal access to essential public services; and economic prosperity for all. Yet, discriminatory legislation remains in all regions of the world, limiting the potential of billions of women and girls and often excluding them from the benefits of development.

UN Women, the African Union, the Commonwealth, Inter-Parliamentary Union, and other partners, jointly initiated “Equality in law for women and girls by 2030: A multi-stakeholder strategy for accelerated action” (the Strategy) to tackle persistent discrimination in national laws. The Strategy calls for action to fast track the repeal of discriminatory laws in thematic areas including-

• women’s economic empowerment;
• minimum age of marriage provisions;
• nationality rights;
• discriminatory rape laws; and
• family and personal status law.

It is on this premise that the UN Women and International Development Law Organisation (IDLO) conducted a study whose objective was to identify and critically analyze the provisions in laws of Kenya that are discriminatory towards women and girls or which occasion discriminatory outcomes, as well as gaps in the law that result in discrimination or disempowerment of women and girls. The assessment observed that a total of 9 laws or provisions must be repealed in whole or in part; 17 laws must be revised or amended, and new laws must be enacted in seven thematic areas to bring Kenya’s legislative framework in line with its regional and international obligations on GEWE.

The promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, ushered in transformative principles of equality, non-discrimination, and recognition of diverse family forms. Over the last decade, reforms through the Marriage Act, Matrimonial Property Act, and Protection Against Domestic Violence Act, among others, have significantly reshaped family and personal law. However, inconsistent interpretation of these laws has resulted in conflicting jurisprudence, undermining predictability and coherence in judicial decision-making. This gap was highlighted in the Eliminating Discriminatory Law (EDL) Report (2024), post- enactment evaluations conducted by the KLRC, and subsequent dialogues with key stakeholders including the Judiciary, the Law Society of  Kenya,  and  CSOs,  convened  by  the  Kenya  Law  Reform  Commission  (KLRCand UN  Women.

To address these challenges, the Judiciary, in collaboration with partners, seeks to develop a comprehensive Family Law Bench Book. The Bench Book will provide judicial officers with a definitive, user-friendly reference that strengthens consistency, integrates constitutional and human rights standards, and safeguards the rights of women and children in line with Kenya’s international and regional commitments.

Objective of the Consultancy

The objective of this consultancy is to develop a publication-ready Family Law Bench Book that serves as a practical, authoritative, and accessible tool for judicial officers. The Bench Book will include clear guidance, case law digests, checklists, and other practical tools to support efficient, gender-sensitive, and rights-based adjudication of family law cases. Specifically, the consultancy aims to:

1. Support the drafting, consolidation, and structuring of the Bench Book content in line with constitutional principles, statutory provisions, jurisprudence, and international standards.
2. Ensure inclusion of practical tools (e.g., checklists, case law summaries, reference frameworks) to guide judicial officers in adjudication of family law matters.
3. Facilitate expert consultations, technical working group sessions, and validation workshops.
4. Produce a finalized Bench Book ready for review, publication, and dissemination

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

Under the supervision of the UN Women Team Lead, EVAW and the Presiding Judge of the Family Division of the High Court, and working in close collaboration with the Judiciary Technical working group. The Consultant will be responsible for the following:

• Conduct comprehensive desk research and literature review on Kenya’s family law statutes, case law, and comparative jurisprudence - including outcomes of the various policy dialogues with the Judiciary and LSK, wherein conflicting court decisions and emerging issues were highlighted.
• Draft and structure clear, well-referenced chapters covering key areas such as marriage, divorce, custody, succession, adoption, and protection against domestic violence and emerging issues.
• Integrate case law analyses, practical checklists, and international/regional human rights standards into the draft text.
• Work with the technical working group and subject matter experts to harmonize inputs.
• Present draft sections during validation workshops with Judiciary, KLRC, FIDA, LSK, civil society, and other stakeholders.
• Revise and finalize the Bench Book based on feedback

Deliverables

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy with consultants expected to be physically present at the various consultative meetings/convenings to be held in Nairobi.

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

• A good grasp and personal experience around the area of family and personal law through litigation, and research.
• Practical knowledge of conflicting court decisions on matters family and personal law.
• A good understanding of the Intersectionality of Culture, Religion, Personal and Family Laws

Required Qualifications

Education and Certification:

• Master’s Degree in Law or relevant Social Sciences with a bias to human rights or gender and development studiesor a related field is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. 
• Advocate of the High Court of Kenya

Experience:

• At least 7 years’ post admission experience in family, marriage and divorce, succession and inheritance matters in Kenya.
• Demonstrable experience in family law research, teaching/academia and legal practice in family, marriage and divorce, succession and inheritance matters in Kenya
• Experience in the development of practical tools and resources for the Judiciary or other justice actors, and facilitating High-Level consultative forums with justice actors and other key stakeholders.
• Knowledge and appreciating of the law reform process and the key stakeholders engaged therein.

Languages:

• Fluency in English and Kiswahili is required.
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).

Statements :

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.