Legal Consultant

About CPI

Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) works to improve the most important energy and land use policies around the world, with a particular focus on finance. CPI supports decision makers through in-depth analysis on what works and what does not. CPI works in places that provide the most potential for policy impact, including Brasil, Europe, India, Indonesia, Kenya and the United States. Our work helps nations grow while addressing increasingly scarce resources and climate risk. This is a complex challenge in which policy plays a crucial role. CPI is a small but dynamic organization, with a global reach and an entrepreneurial culture. We work hard to maintain an idea-driven, collaborative environment across all our teams.

The Brazil office works in partnership with PUC-Rio and runs a number of economic and legal research initiatives that focus on helping increase the protection of natural resources and food production in Brazil. More information about the Climate Policy Initiative in Brazil can be found at http://climatepolicyinitiative.org/brazil.

About the Position

The illegal occupation of public lands is one of the biggest land problems in Brazil. This phenomenon is not new, it is a characteristic of the process of territorial occupation of the country, especially the Amazon. The grabbing of public lands is a land problem that goes beyond the legal scope, generating social, economic and environmental costs. In addition to fraud in real estate records, land grabbing is also carried out through fraud in various land registries, such as the Rural Environmental Registry - CAR, for the violent and illegal occupation of areas of traditional peoples and communities and for the occupation of public lands not destined with the objective of regularizing them through an administrative process.

Faced with this complex scenario, the fight against land grabbing depends on coordinated actions in multiple instances and on the participation of different private and public actors in the three spheres of public power. The Judiciary has an important role, whether in the administrative control of notaries and registry activities, or in the resolution of land disputes. To strengthen the role of the Judiciary in this agenda and expand the use of litigation as a strategy to combat land grabbing, it is necessary to understand what is already being done, the main barriers and opportunities to move forward.

This consultancy will support the research project on land litigation to combat land grabbing of public lands in the Amazon and aims to understand the role of litigation as an instrument to combat land grabbing through the mapping and analysis of land conflicts and related jurisprudence.

Responsabilities:

• Conduct a survey of judicial litigation instruments to combat land grabbing in the Amazon
• Mapping of the main actors and areas involved in land conflicts over public lands in the Amazon
• Conduct a survey of initiatives to resolve land conflicts over public lands in the Amazon
• Conduct a survey and analysis of judicial jurisprudence related to land grabbing of public lands in the Amazon

Qualifications and Competencies:

• At least 5 years of relevant professional experience in agrarian/land/real estate law;

• Bachelor of Laws is mandatory, postgraduate or master's degree in agrarian/land/real estate law is desirable;

• Experience in litigation and analysis of agrarian/land/real estate law jurisprudence is mandatory;

• Experience in academic research is desirable;

• Experience in information requests based on the Access to Information Law (LAI) is desirable;

• Curious, creative and able to process, analyze and organize a lot of information;

• Verbal and written communication skills;

• Capacity of synthesis and organization of reasoning.

Compensation and Benefits

CPI is hiring for a consultancy for 3 to 4 months (September to December 2022), to work remotely. CPI offers competitive salary commensurate with experience.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should click here to submit their CV and application letter outlining why you want to work with CPI and how your skills and experience align with the above requirements no later than August 29, 2022. Application letters should be written in Portuguese and should include a brief description of the candidate’s academic and professional experience, as well as of the candidate’s professional aspirations.

Please note that only short-listed candidates will be contacted for the next phase of the selection process.

If you have any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of application. We will then work with you to identify the best way to assist you through the recruitment process.

We strongly encourage applications from women, racial and ethnic minorities, and other individuals who are under-represented in the profession, across color, creed, race, ethnic and national origin, physical ability, gender and sexual identity, or any other legally protected basis.