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Tenders are invited for Classifying Court Cases in Federal Iraq to Identify Systemic Barriers to Accessing Social Security Benefits and Entitlements. Closing Date: 6 Apr 2025 Background Social protection is a crucial policy tool for realizing human security and promoting equity and social justice for all. It plays a significant role in reducing poverty, managing lifecycle risks, enhancing productivity, supporting fair and inclusive economic growth, formalizing the informal economy, and facilitating the transition from public to private sector employment. These efforts collectively drive economic growth and create decent employment opportunities. In Iraq, the commitment to establishing a comprehensive social protection system is evidenced by the ratification of the ILO Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102), through Law No. 3 of 2021, published in the Official Gazette. With this ratification, Iraq has a legal obligation to comply with the Conventions normative framework. Legislative reforms extending social security coverage to private-sector workers have become essential, especially given that effective social security coverage in Iraq remains limited. For many years, the Law on Workers Pension and Social Security No. 39 of 1971 (Law No. 39) served as a cornerstone of Iraqs legislative framework, establishing the provisions for social security and pension benefits for workers in the private sector. It laid down the foundations for private sector workers entitlements to old-age pension, disability allowance and survivors benefits as well as compulsory contributions to the national social security fund from employers and workers. However, both legal and effective coverage of Law No. 39 has been limited. In November 2023, Federal Iraq adopted the Law on Retirement and Social Security for Private Sector Workers No. 18 (Law No. 18) to better align its social security legislative framework with the ILO International Labour Standards. Law No. 18 represents a significant advancement in the countrys social protection system. The new law significantly broadens social security coverage for private sector workers in Federal Iraq, extending its reach to include informal workers, the self-employed, and contributing family members. It also introduces additional entitlements, such as maternity, unemployment, and health insurance benefits, ensuring that a greater number of workers and their families receive comprehensive protection and support. 2. Assignment objective In Federal Iraq, there is limited understanding of the systemic challenges that private sector workers face in accessing their social security benefits and enjoying their right to social security, including issues related to grievances. The ILO aims to build a strong evidence base on these challenges by studying social security cases that were not resolved through grievance and complaint systems and were later taken to court. Thus, the objectives of this quantitative classification exercise is: To examine all social security cases from the Karkh and Russafa Labour Courts in Baghdad over the past three and half years (2022-mid 2025), develop a methodology to create complaint categories for classification, classify all cases based on this method and categories, and report on the number of cases in each category along with any additional analytical insights that may arise. 3. Scope of assignment and tasks Quantitative Classification Exercise Objective: Classify all social security cases and provide a detailed analysis of trends and insights. Task 1: Data Collection and Review o Coordinate with Karkh and Russafa Labour Courts to access all social security case files (for private sector workers) from 2022-mid 2025. o Review each case to gather essential information, such as complaint type, social security benefit/right disputed, outcomes, timelines, etc. Task 2: Developing Classification Methodology o Analyze the types of complaints in sample cases to identify recurring themes. o Establish a set of complaint categories (e.g., eligibility disputes, coverage disputes, benefit calculation and payment disputes, contribution disputes and administrative and procedural disputes, other) o Create a coding system for efficient tagging and classification of each case, including stakeholders (e.g. worker or beneficiary, employer or business representative, social security department, administrative and judicial bodies), neighbourhood or locality under each court, status of cases, occupational sector, gender and age, etc. Task 3: Case Classification o Classify all cases based on the established categories, apply the categories defined under activity 1.2. to each case, use a coding system to tag each case by category for consistent classification. Some cases may involve multiple issues. In such instances, classify these as mixed and identify the primary and secondary issues. Task 4: Quantitative Data Analysis o Generate statistics on the number of cases: Count by Category: Tally the number of cases in each category to identify the most common types of social security grievances. Temporal Trends: Assess whether certain categories have seen changes over time (e.g., increase in benefit denial cases). Resolution Rates: Examine the resolution rates within each category to determine where successful resolutions occur most and least often. o Draft a summary report with analytical observations, including case trends, processing times, and notable bottlenecks. Each of the activities is expected to be conducted in close consultation with the ILO. 4. Deliverables, Duration and Payment Schedule # Deliverable Working days Tentative deadline Payment Deliverable 1 Inception report: a concise report describing methodology for the assignment, information on the existing primary and secondary resources (social security legal cases, their number, accessibility, length, etc), stakeholders, timeline and workplan plan for implementation. The inception report should also document coordination arrangement with different stakeholders, including with Karkh and Russafa Labour Courts on accessing the legal database, and other relevant stakeholders. 5 working days 4 weeks after the contract start 10% Deliverable 2 Data Collection and Review Report and Classification methodology: a brief report summarizing details of accessed social security legal cases for 2022- mid-2025, including the number of cases, complaint types, disputed benefits/rights, timelines and outcomes (2022- mid-2025). Classification methodology should provide a detailed explanation of established complaint categories (e.g., eligibility disputes, coverage disputes, calculation and payment disputes, contribution disputes and administrative and procedural disputes) as well as coding system created for tagging and classification, ensuring consistency across cases. 10 working days 8 weeks after the contract start 15% Deliverable 3 Case Classification Database: Structured database or spreadsheet (Excel preferred) of all reviewed cases. Each case is tagged and classified by the established categories, with mixed cases marked and primary/secondary issues identified. 35 working days 14 weeks after the contract start 50% Deliverable 4 Quantitative Analysis Report: The quantitative analysis report should include a summary statistical analysis of the classified cases. Breakdown of cases by category, including counts and trends. Analysis of temporal trends (e.g., changes in the frequency of certain complaint types over time). Resolution rates within each category, highlighting areas with high/low resolution success. Additional observations on case trends, processing times, frequency of specific cases in certain sectors/occupations/geographical areas, bottlenecks in the grievance process, etc. 10 working days 17 weeks after the contract start 25% 60 working days 18 weeks 100% (4 payments) Each deliverable is expected to be submitted for ILO approval before considered final. The ILO will review initial drafts before finalization and onward continuation with the exercise. The deliverables will also be reviewed and validated by relevant stakeholders, including the Departments of Social Security. It is expected that a national consultant will address and integrate comments and suggestions received from the ILO and other relevant stakeholders to the deliverables. All the deliverables are expected to be produced in English. Certain deliverables are also expected to be produced in Arabic, as specified above. 5. Qualifications, experience and requirements The contract shall only be awarded to a qualified national legal consultant with the following skills and qualifications: Relevant qualifications in labour/social security or administrative law, social protection, social policy, or other related fields. A minimum of seven years of proven experience in the field of social security and/or labour law in Iraq, including but not limited to conducting legal analyses of social security cases, laws and regulations, providing consultancy and advisory services on social protection and labour law in Iraq, and/or representing workers in social security or labour litigations across various court instances. Extensive knowledge of social security legislation and policy framework in Iraq, with a strong understanding of the ILOs approach to social protection, including ILO Convention on Social Security (Minimum Standards) No. 102 and ILO Social Protection Floor Recommendation No. 202. Excellent analytical skills, demonstrated through prior engagements in legal analyses and/or other pieces of quantitative and qualitative research. Proficiency in English, both written and oral, is required. An applicant must be a native Arabic speaker. Applicants lacking proficiency in Arabic and English will not be considered. Strong IT skills, including proficiency i Tender Link : https://reliefweb.int/job/4141350/classifying-court-cases-federal-iraq-identify-systemic-barriers-accessing-social-security-benefits-and-entitlements
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