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| Joint Legal Service | Kenya Security Coordination |
Whereas the provision of common services to offices of UN Funds, Programmes and Agencies in or operating from Kenya has led to the establishment of a constructive relationship between offices of UN Funds, Programmes and Agencies in or operating from Kenya. Whereas UNON and offices of UN Funds, Programmes and Agencies in or operating from Kenya have jointly assessed the benefits and costs associated with the establishment and provision of joint legal services and have found that a common service in this area would work in their best interest. Whereas the United Nations General Assembly and Secretary-General have stressed the importance of common services as a way to achieve further administrative and technical uniformity, ensure the most efficient use of personnel and resources and avoid establishment and operation of competitive or overlapping facilities and services. NOW THEREFORE, the signatories of this Agreement agree as set out below. 1. The objective of this Agreement is to establish the terms and conditions of the services to be provided by the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) (service manager) through the Joint Legal Service (JLS) to (name of office of UN Fund, Programme or Agency in or operating from Kenya), relating to overall management including administrative and budgetary matters as agreed in a cost sharing mechanism and the obligations of both parties. 2. The services shall be available to offices of UN Funds, Programmes and Agencies in or operating from Kenya that have approved the "Guidelines on the Provision of Common Services to offices of UN Funds, Programmes and Agencies in or operating from Kenya" and have signed this Agreement (service users). This Agreement shall be the basis for all funding commitments and transactions incidental to the services provided. Subsequent detailed procedures, arrangements and commitments will be set forth in an amendment or supplement and may be added to this Agreement as a result of periodic review provided for in Section V below. Such additional arrangements and/or commitments will be documented, sequentially numbered, and signed by parties to this Agreement and attached to the present Agreement as an integral part thereof. III Nature and Scope of Services 3. JLS is situated at the UN complex in Nairobi. In order to perform its functions JLS will be staffed with lawyers, as well as administrative and other support staff. Administratively, JLS forms part of the Office of the Director-General, UNON. JLS is headed by a Chief JLS/Senior Legal Adviser who will have functional accountability to the Director-General UNON and the Resident Coordinator in Kenya and will maintain close liaison with the Office of Legal Affairs at UN Headquarters in New York, Legal Departments of UN Funds, Programmes and Agencies and relevant Kenyan authorities. The following services will be made available by JLS to service users: i. Principal Advisor to Director-General, Resident Coordinator and Heads of offices of service users on request on general legal issues. ii. Provision of legal advice and assistance to service users on the interpretation of Agreements and Conventions, which affect the relationship between these Organizations and the Republic of Kenya. iii. Identification of common legal problems encountered by the UN system vis-à-vis the Host Country and plan, coordinate and negotiate solutions to these problems. iv. Examination of specific legal cases and preparation of legal opinions on problems arising in connection with the application of the Staff Regulations and Rules and in that respect establish guidelines to ensure a common UN system approach to the problems and legal issues with respect to third parties. IV Management Structure and Oversight Mechanism 4. The governance functions with respect to administrative aspects of functioning of JLS will be performed by the Inter-Agency Administrative Coordination Committee (IAACC) being the only UN inter-agency body in Kenya that includes representatives of all offices of UN Funds, Programmes and Agencies in or operating from Kenya. For this purpose, meetings of IAACC will be conducted periodically, at least once a year, at the level of Heads of offices of UN Funds, Programmes and Agencies in or operating from Kenya. IAACC may establish subcommittees, task forces and working groups as appropriate for the purpose of oversight of JLS. IAACC will approve the annual work plan and budget for the JLS. The work plan and budget will include both operating expenses and capital improvements. IAACC will review on a periodic basis as determined by IAACC, progress made in implementing the annual work plan and expenditures as shown in financial statements. IAACC will periodically, at least once a year review JLS, relevant annual activity reports and user satisfaction with the services. 5. While UNON is the service manager for JLS, the day-to-day management of JLS will be performed by the Chief JLS/Senior Legal Adviser, under supervision of the Director-General UNON in close consultation with the UN Resident Coordinator. The Chief JLS/Senior Legal Adviser will also serve as the Focal Point on behalf of the service manager for the service users. The Focal Point for (name of office of UN Fund, Programme or Agency in or operating from Kenya) is: (Name, Title). 6. This Agreement is subject to review at any time upon written request of service manager or service users, but will be reviewed on an annual basis in order to: i. Determine the need for its continuation, modification or termination; ii. Review performance and performance standards to evaluate the quality and timeliness of the services, monitor user satisfaction, and to make any needed changes in performance standards; iii. Make adjustments in any of the areas covered in the terms of this Agreement; iv. Review present and projected costs, including the cost sharing mechanism. 7. The budget proposals for JLS will be prepared on an annual basis in line with established UN regulations, rules and procedures by the JLS in close consultation with the Office of the Director General and the Office of the Resident Coordinator and under the guidance of the Coordinator, UN Common Services in Kenya. The proposed budget for a calendar year together with a cost-sharing proposal will be submitted to IAACC for approval in the forth quarter of the preceding calendar year. Based on the approved budget and cost sharing mechanism, UNON will invoice service users. 8. The cost sharing mechanism shall be based on actual number of staff of each service user. The Office of the Coordinator, UN Common Services in Kenya will conduct a survey of the actual number of staff of offices of UN Funds, Programmes and Agencies in or operating from Kenya as of 30 November of each year. The number so established will be used for calculation of service users' part of the costs for the following year. Invoices will be prepared in July and December based on staff statistics and approved budget estimates of JLS. Final adjustments to the service users' shares will be made based on actual costs incurred for the operation of JLS for January - December of the year in question in February of the next year and these adjustments will be applied to the invoices for the subsequent year. 9. UNON will provide offices of UN Funds, Programmes and Agencies in or operating from Kenya with financial statements relating to the operation of JLS on a yearly basis. VII Obligations 10. General terms and conditions as outlined in the "Guidelines on the Provision of Common Services to Offices of UN Funds, Programmes and Agencies in or operating from Kenya" will apply. i. UNON, subject to timely payment in full by service users will ensure that the approved staffing, property, equipment and logistical resources are available to provide service users with the services specified in Section III above; ii. (Name of office of UN Fund, Programme or Agency in or operating from Kenya) will pay its share of the costs of the JLS in accordance with Section VI above. iii. Service users may be required to contribute to the procurement of capital assets required to establish JLS. Such contributions will be apportioned to each service user as mutually agreed. Offices of UN Funds, Programmes or Agencies in or operating from Kenya that decide subsequently to participate may be requested to make a capital contribution as mutually agreed by service users. Such contributions may be distributed as credits to service users in proportion to their original contribution. iv. (Name of office of UN Fund, Programme or Agency in or operating from Kenya) will settle UNON's invoices not later than 30 working days following receipt thereof. VIII Effective Date, Duration Changes and Termination 11. This Agreement will enter into force as of the date of the signature by UNON and (name of office of UN Fund, Programme or Agency in or operating from Kenya) and will remain in effect until terminated. Changes to this Agreement resulting from reviews called by service manager, service users or at scheduled intervals will be documented as described in Section II and V above. The approval authorities for UNON and (name of office of UN Fund, Programme or Agency in or operating from Kenya) concerning these changes will be the following: On behalf of UNON: Mr. Amedeo Buonajuti, Chief, Office of the DG/UNON On behalf of (name of office of UN Fund, Programme or Agency in or operating from Kenya): (Name, Title) 12. This Agreement may be terminated in whole or in part, as follows: i. At the initiative of UNON with six months advance notification to (name of office of UN Fund, Programme or Agency in or operating from Kenya). ii. At the initiative of (name of office of UN Fund, Programme or Agency in or operating from Kenya) with six months advance notice to UNON. If six month's notice is not provided for, an amount equivalent the budgeted financial contribution of (name of office of UN Fund, Programme or Agency in or operating from Kenya) for the next six months period will be charged. IX
Accountability X Verification of Records 14. UNON will provide information and documentation as requested by service users. UNON will also make available accounts records as well as financial statements, which will be audited in accordance with the standards and the frequency of UNON, as indicated in Section VI above. XI. Disputes 15. Disputes that cannot be resolved between UNON and the (name of office of UN Fund, Programme or Agency in or operating from Kenya) will be referred to IAACC. If IAACC is not able to resolve such disputes, IAACC will appoint three arbitrators. The Parties will be bound by any arbitration award rendered as a result of such arbitration as the final adjudication of any dispute. |
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