NORMATIVE FRAMEWORK

TRUST FUND PROJECT FORMAT

(for a legal project/component)

"Improving the Legal Framework for Food and Agriculture,
with special reference to [insert subject area]"

(PART II: PROJECT DESIGN)

Explanatory Note: The following normative framework is intended to provide guidance to project formulators in preparing the various sections of Part II of the standard Government Cooperative Programme/Trust Fund (GCP/TF) project format for projects that focus in whole or in part on legal aspects. It is not a substitute for Trust Fund Guidelines nor for the requirements of specific donor governments, and project formulators should take care to ensure that all such requisites are fulfilled.

1. The document can be used for a wide variety of legal subject areas. Technical assistance in law is a cross-cutting activity that is potentially relevant to any of the subject areas within FAO’s mandate. Depending on a member country’s specific needs, FAO may be called upon to provide assistance in food law, animal law, plant law, fisheries law, water law, land law, forestry law, trade law, biodiversity and wildlife law, environmental law, laws concerning rural institutions, marketing and credit, legal aspects of gender and numerous other related specialities. This document, therefore, does not focus on a specific substantive area of law. It has been drafted so that it can be adapted to whatever sub-category of food and agriculture law is the subject of a country’s particular request.

2. The document can be used for formulating projects in which legal technical assistance is the main activity, or for formulating the legal component of multi-disciplinary projects. The emphasis that project design gives to legal technical assistance will vary from project to project. In some cases, legal technical assistance will be the primary focus. In other cases, it may be only one of several components. For example, a project on policy or institutional reform in a particular sector may include components that focus on economics, biology and institutional strengthening, as well as a component that examines the opportunities and constraints posed by the legal framework.

This document is intended for use in such situations as well. It may, in other words, be used for formulating the legal component of projects in which legal analysis and advice is only one of several activities. For example, for a multi-component project, the guidelines below on how to formulate the "Background", "Objectives" or other sections should be used to draft those portions of the respective sections dealing with legal aspects. Other non-legal portions of those sections would be derived from other specialized normative frameworks.

It should be noted that whether or not law is the principal focus of a project, legal technical assistance usually requires a multi-disciplinary approach, combining the efforts of legal experts with technical experts in the specific sector. Thus, even in "stand alone" legal assistance projects, legal experts will often work side by side with other types of specialists to ensure that legal recommendations are technically well-grounded.

3. The document can be used for formulating projects of a regional nature. Legal technical assistance projects may on occasion have a regional focus. For example, governments may request assistance in drafting regional agreements on a particular subject, or in harmonizing national legislation between countries to promote regional objectives (e.g., for the management of water, fisheries, forestry or wildlife resources.) This document may be easily modified to accommodate such projects as well.

A. GENERAL BACKGROUND

This section provides a general background of the project and should reflect major elements of the social, economic, policy, institutional and technical environment facing the sector and/or sub-sector.

Data Needs:

• Major economic and social indicators of the country concerned (average annual income per caput; size, growth and average density of population; share of population living below poverty line; indicators on education and public health).
  
• Relevant features of the policy and institutional environment/Government development objectives/policy; roles of public and private sectors.
  
• Size, structure, role in the economy of the sector/sub-sector concerned (share in agricultural GDP, contribution to income, employment, and generation of foreign exchange).
  
• Main elements of the country's legal framework of relevance to the sector/sub-sector.
  
• Origin of the project, type of assistance requested, institutions involved.

Data Sources:

• FAO web site (www.fao.org)
  
• FAOSTAT
  
• FAO Legal Office web site "Legal Advisory Services"
  
• The World Bank (www.worldbank.org/data)
  
• Ministry of Agriculture/Legal Department
  
• Ministry of Planning/Economic Cooperation
  
• Office of FAO Representative concerned

B. PROJECT RATIONALE-JUSTIFICATION

This section focuses on the analysis of the specific problems to be addressed by the project and the approach adopted to deal with these problems.

This section (or in the case of multi-component projects, that portion of this section dealing with the legal component) should briefly describe existing weaknesses in the country's legal framework with respect to the sector in question. It should indicate specifically how these legal weaknesses are related to specific problems within the sector, and how they act as serious constraints to the solution of those problems.

The relevant legal weaknesses to be highlighted in this section will take different forms, depending on the country and the overall substantive focus of the project. Examples, one or more of which may apply in a given context, may include concerns that existing legislation:

- is outdated and no longer reflects government policy objectives or modern approaches to development within the sector;
- is poorly drafted, confusing and contradictory, undermining effective implementation;
- is poorly synchronized with legislation of other sectors, leading to confusion about institutional mandates and to poor coordination between sectors;
- cannot be effectively implemented because it is not supported by needed subsidiary legislation;
- is unnecessarily complex and establishes cumbersome regulatory and enforcement mechanisms that are costly to implement and that inhibit important activities;
- acts as a constraint to the implementation of specific development projects;
- fails to provide a secure legal framework for appropriate and sustainable investment in the sector or creates inappropriate barriers to trade;
- does not reflect international best practice;
- does not incorporate accepted international standards and/or does not adequately address the country's obligations under international agreements;
- is inadequately understood within government agencies, the judiciary and civil society.

Legal weaknesses may also be of a regional nature. Examples include weak or non-existent regional legal mechanisms for ensuring coordinated management of transboundary or shared resources, or individual national laws on such resources that are poorly harmonized with one another.

For each legal weakness that is identified, a brief description of the impact of that weakness on the sector should be included.

Under this section the relationship, and particularly the complementarity of the project with other relevant activities completed, on-going or planned, should be also highlighted. Specifically, the section should describe what efforts government has taken or is taking with respect to addressing the above-identified legal weaknesses in the sector. This should include, if applicable, reference to any recent, on-going or planned legislative drafting, legal training or law related capacity-building activities within the sector, whether funded by the Government or international donors, and how FAO assistance would be expected to build upon or complement such activities.

In light of the problems identified, the section should describe why international intervention is important. In particularly, it should explain what gap in expertise FAO would be expected to fill. In legal technical assistance projects or components, the relevant gap in expertise may take several forms, depending on the particular country and the issues involved. In most cases, national expertise in a specialized area of law may be weak. FAO's assistance may be critical in strengthening national capacity to draft laws that reflect a thorough technical understanding of the sector, and that take into account recent international techniques or strategies that have direct relevance for a country's problems. It may also provide specialized expertise to adjust national laws to reflect new obligations assumed under international or regional agreements in a particular sector.

The potential impact of the project on the environment, women and other target groups, should be included under this section. This impact will of course vary depending on the sector and technical subject area covered by the project. In broad terms, however, it is likely to be the case that more effective laws and legal institutions, and the strengthened capacity of stakeholders to understand and take advantage of the opportunities thereby provided, will be important tools in rationalizing the effect of sectoral activities on the environment. They will also be important components in constructing an enabling framework that empowers specific target groups, including women.

The likely sustainability of results achieved should be discussed, including the potential need for further external assistance. Sustainable results from this type of project requires broad-based understanding and support amongst government institutions and affected sectors of civil society. Thus, it is important that the project include a commitment on the part of government to a genuinely participatory, consultative approach to the formulation of project recommendations, in order to ensure a wide base of support for the final output. With respect to follow-up, depending on the scope of the project, additional assistance may be needed to develop and test implementation modalities for any new laws or legal strategies adopted under the project.

It is also important to provide an assessment of the institutional framework; and host government commitment and capacity to provide inputs and support to the project. Government contribution and supporting arrangements will differ from project to project. One very important aspect in most legal technical assistance projects is a commitment on the part of the government to ensure that a working group or similar body is constituted to work with project experts, including representatives from all concerned agencies and, where appropriate, from civil society.

Data Needs:

• Inventory of existing relevant legislation, including dates of origin.
  
• List of specific problems to be addressed.
  
• Major weaknesses in the country's legal framework of relevance to the sector/sub-sector.
  
• Legal weaknesses acting as constraints to overcome specific problems within the sector/sub-sector.
  
• Existing gaps in relevant legal expertise.
  
• Strengths and weaknesses of the institutions concerned.
  
• Recent, on-going or planned legislative drafting, legal training or law-related capacity-building activities.
  
• Expected impact of the technical assistance to be provided.

Data Sources:

• Ministry of Agriculture/Legal Department
  
• Office of FAO Representative concerned
  
• FAO Legal Office

C. DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVE

This section should concisely explain how the project (or component) is expected to contribute to the realization of the sectoral or sub-sectoral development goals. In many legal technical assistance projects, the overall objective is to promote good governance and effective implementation of government policies and strategies in support of food security and sustainable development, through the improvement of the legal framework for the sector in question.

Data Needs:

• See Section B. "Project Rationale-Justification".

Data Sources:

• Ministry of Agriculture/Legal Department
  
• Ministry of Planning
  
• Team Leader

D. IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVE(S), OUTPUTS AND ACTIVITIES

Under "Immediate Objectives", this section should define clearly what specific aims the project should have achieved by its terminal date as a direct consequence of the production of outputs and their use by the beneficiaries. This section also deals with project outputs and activities which should be presented under each immediate objective.

Objectives, outputs and activities will vary significantly from project to project, and special care should be taken to ensure that these are designed with close attention to the particular needs of the country or countries and the sector involved. In typical legal technical assistance projects, objectives, outputs and activities may include one or more of the following:

Immediate objective 1: To undertake a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the existing legal framework, with detailed identification of significant weaknesses [see Section B. above for discussion of typical types of "legal weaknesses" encountered].

Possible Outputs:
- a written in-depth analysis of the existing legal framework, including any international obligations of the country with respect to the sector;
- a written in-depth analysis of institutional, policy and technical issues affecting the sector and having particular relevance to the design of legal reform proposals;

Possible Activities:
- collection and review of existing and proposed legislation, regulations, case law, customary law, international agreements, etc. directly or indirectly affecting the sector in question;
- consultations with relevant government institutions and civil society stakeholders to assess existing mechanisms and capacities for implementing relevant laws and to assess the actual effects of those laws on the ground;
- field work as may be needed and appropriate to assess the operation of law on a site-specific basis, including its interaction with local practices and customary rules.
- simultaneous analysis of relevant institutional, policy and technical issues to serve as inputs into the assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the legal framework, and as inputs into the formulation of recommendations for legislative reform.
- preparation of a first report setting forth the results of the above analyses, and presenting recommendations or options for addressing the issues identified.
- submission of the first report to government, and circulation for discussion and comments among relevant agencies and stakeholders;
- collection of reaction to the report, by way of written comments, interviews and/or one or more public meetings.

Immediate objective 2: To develop specific recommendations for addressing the identified weaknesses (including, as appropriate, draft legislation, regulations and/or other legal instruments), drawing as appropriate on international "best practices" tailored to local needs.

Possible Outputs:
- draft legal instruments, in the form of proposed legislation, regulations and/or other instruments as may be appropriate to address the identified weaknesses in the legal framework;
- consultative process designed and put in place.

Possible Activities:
- on the basis of the recommendations set forth in the report, as modified in light of the comments received, the preparation of draft legislation, regulations and/or other legal instruments as may be appropriate in the circumstances;
- submission of legal drafts (with accompanying commentary) to government and circulation among relevant agencies and other stakeholders;
- public workshop(s) to present and discuss proposed legal drafts and to elicit input from concerned stakeholders within government and civil society;
- finalization of proposed legislation, regulations and/or other legal instruments in light of comments received, including the recommendations of workshop(s).

Immediate objective 3: To enhance national capacities for formulating and implementing legal reform within the sector.

Possible Outputs:
- training material produced to assist a various stakeholders (public and private) in understanding and applying the law within their respective areas of competence;
- government officials, judges, legal experts and other relevant persons trained in relevant areas of law;
- administration/implementation strategies designed for implementing proposed legal reform.

Possible Activities:
- production of training material;
- training courses organized and carried out, including as appropriate, seminars, workshops and study tours;
- in-depth study and programme prepared for possible implementation strategies for proposed legal reforms.

Immediate objective 4: Note: in the case of regional projects, many of the objectives, outputs and activities listed above will also be relevant. In addition the following objective could be considered -- To develop regional agreements and harmonized national legislation concerning shared or transboundary resources or issues of regional significance.

Possible Outputs:
- draft regional agreements or other legal instruments as appropriate;
- draft proposals for harmonizing national legislation;
- enhanced national capacity in international law, including the negotiating of international agreements;
- regional compendia of relevant national and international legislation, agreements, and related instruments.

Possible Activities:
- coordinated analysis and legal drafting activities involving legal experts from all involved countries;
- regional training activities, including training to enhance negotiating skills and understanding of international law.

Data Needs:

• See Section B. "PROJECT RATIONALE-JUSTIFICATION".

Data Sources:

• Ministry of Agriculture/Legal Department
  
• Team Leader

E. INPUTS

This section covers the essential inputs to be provided by the host (recipient) government and the donor for project implementation. (The annotated format is self-explanatory.)

With respect to inputs in the form of expertise, the following considerations may be relevant.

Typically, the project consulting team will consist of both international legal experts (international consultants, FAO staff or partnership programme experts) and national legal experts.

The purpose of international expertise is to ensure that member countries have exposure to international best practice in the particular field of law, and access to the comparative lessons provided by the experiences of as many other similarly situated countries as possible. Frequently, wide-ranging knowledge of international experience in specialized fields of law is not available in-country.

National expertise, in the form or one or more legal experts from the country, will help ensure that FAO's advice is tailored to the specific traditions and requirements of the country's legal and political systems. Collaboration between international and national experts will also provide a mechanism for strengthening local capacities in highly specialized areas of law.

The balance between international and national personnel needs will vary from project to project, depending on the extent to which there is existing local expertise in a particular field, and the extent to which the country wishes to have access to specialized international learning. In some cases, even where the legal profession is relatively advanced, an absence of national expertise in the particular area of law will necessitate a greater emphasis on international input. In others, a greater existing level of national expertise may make a more limited international input appropriate. In all cases, supervision of both international and national experts by FAO staff legal experts is important.

In addition to legal expertise, there will usually be a need for one or more experts (international or national) specializing in policy, institutional, economic or other aspects of the particular subject area. This is needed to ensure that legal recommendations are based upon a sound understanding of the relevant technical issues facing the sector in question.

Data Needs:

• Details of services to be provided (nature and length of period).
  
• Details of personnel (national/international, specialization, duration).

Data Sources

• Ministry of Agriculture/Legal Department

F. RISKS

This section provides an assessment of risks that may arise. These risks refer to the probability of external factors/events affecting adversely project implementation. (Guidance on the identification of risks is provided in the annotated format.)

Data Needs:

• Type of risks that may arise.

Data Sources:

• Ministry of Agriculture/Legal Department
  
• Office of FAO Representative concerned
  
• FAO Legal Office
  
• Team Leader

G. PRIOR OBLIGATIONS AND PREREQUISITES

This section deals with actions and measures which as such are not part of the project but should be undertaken by the government normally prior to project implementation. In the case of prior obligations, they have to be met to FAO's satisfaction before assistance is provided. In the case of prerequisites, it is sufficient that they are likely to be fulfilled for the assistance to be started. If they are not fulfilled during project implementation, FAO keeps the option of suspending assistance. It should be noted that commitments by the parties regarding the agreed inputs to the project are not generally considered as "risks" since project design should have been based on a realistic assessment of the host government's capacity to provide the necessary counterpart staff and funds; they may, however, be classified as a prior obligation or pre-requisite (e.g. the establishment of the project implementation unit), depending on how crucial these commitments are to effective project implementation.

Data Needs:

• List of actions and measures to be taken by the Government prior to project implementation.

Data Sources:

• Ministry of Agriculture/Legal Department
  
• Ministry of Economic Cooperation
  
• Office of FAO Representative concerned

H. PROJECT REPORTING, REVIEWS AND EVALUATION

This section contains information on project reporting, reviews and evaluation. It describes detailed requirements for an effective monitoring and evaluation system, inter alia project progress reports, technical reports and terminal reports as well as reviews and evaluations to be undertaken. While it is recognized that provisions for monitoring and evaluation must reflect the requirements of individual donors, the principal elements of the general FAO system outlined should be adhered to the maximum extent. (More details are provided in the annotated format/guidelines.)

Data Needs:

• Actual implementation of activities as compared to work plan.
  
• Project expenditures.

Data Sources:

• Project records
  
• Project staff
  
• Ministry of Agriculture/Legal Department

I. BUDGET (PLAN OF EXPENDITURE)

Using the Oracle framework, specify the budget by component and time including also the project support cost and inflationary factor, (see annotated format/guidelines for more details).

Data Needs:

• Personnel (number of person-months and unit costs for national professional and support staff, and for international and national consultants).
  
• Travel (number, itinerary and traveler specifications).
  
• Costs of domestic and international travel, incl. DSA.
  
• Miscellaneous/General Operating Expenses (a fixed rate).
  
• Contractual Services (details, duration). Equipment (quantities and unit cost).
  
• Supplies and Materials (quantities and unit cost of stationery and supplies).
  
• Premises (description of location and current state).
  
• Training (summary training needs by categories, numbers, levels, discipline, location, and cost per unit).
  
• FAO support cost (fixed rate, which varies by type of project).

Data Sources:

• Team Leader, plus national and international project staff
  
• Ministry of Agriculture/Legal Department
  
• Office of FAO Representative concerned
  
• Office of UNDP Representative concerned
  
• Equipment suppliers
  
• Travel agents

J. ANNEXES

Annex I: Work Plan

This Annex provides a detailed project work plan or plan of activities to be implemented during the entire project period. Work plans should be prepared by the project formulators for the first twelve months of project operations with an indicative plan for subsequent years.

Data Needs:

• Detailed listing of activities.
  
• Project reporting, reviews and evaluation requirements.
  
• Phasing/timeframe of project activities.

Data Sources:

• Main body of project document
  
• Team Leader
  
• Ministry of Agriculture/Legal Department

Annex II: Training Programme

This Annex presents the training programme, for which details of the planned activities should be provided, particularly in cases where a complex training programme is envisaged under the project.

Data Needs:

• Detailed quantitative estimates of training needs, numbers, level, subject, location, duration, and cost.

Data Sources:

• Ministry of Agriculture/Legal Department
  
• Team Leader
  
• FAO Legal Office

Annex III: Equipment and Supplies

This Annex should be prepared only when equipment and supplies components exceed 10% of the total cost of the project or US$ 200,000, or more.

Data Needs:

Nature and specification, quantity and unit cost of individual items.

Data Sources:

Assessment of availability and needs
Ministry of Agriculture/Legal Department
Team Leader
Local suppliers
On-going development projects
Office of FAO Representative concerned

Annex IV: Job Description

This Annex provides detailed terms of reference or job descriptions for international as well as national experts, UNVs, APOs, consultants, TCDCs to be involved in the implementation of the project.

Data Needs:

• Detailed listing of project personnel, indicating expertise required, location and duration of assignment.

Data Sources:

• Ministry of Agriculture/Legal Department
  
• Team Leader
  
• FAO Legal Office