Access to European Union law
<a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/content/help/eurlex-content/experimental-features.html" target="_blank">More about the experimental features corner</a>
Choose the experimental features you want to try
EUR-Lex
Access to European Union law

This document is an excerpt from the EUR-Lex website

You are here
Use quotation marks to search for an "exact phrase". Append an asterisk (*) to a search term to find variations of it (transp*, 32019R*). Use a question mark (?) instead of a single character in your search term to find variations of it (ca?e finds case, cane, care).
Search tips
Need more search options? Use the Advanced search

Document C2015/166A/01

Notice of open competitions — EPSO/AD/304/15 — Bulgarian-language (BG) lawyer-linguists (AD 7) — EPSO/AD/305/15 — Spanish-language (ES) lawyer-linguists (AD 7) — EPSO/AD/306/15 — French-language (FR) lawyer-linguists (AD 7) — EPSO/AD/307/15 — Italian-language (IT) lawyer-linguists (AD 7)

OJ C 166A, 21.5.2015, p. 1–9 (BG, ES, CS, DA, DE, ET, EL, EN, FR, GA, HR, IT, LV, LT, HU, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SK, SL, FI, SV)

21.5.2015   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CA 166/1

NOTICE OF OPEN COMPETITIONS

EPSO/AD/304/15 — Bulgarian-language (BG) lawyer-linguists (AD 7)

EPSO/AD/305/15 — Spanish-language (ES) lawyer-linguists (AD 7)

EPSO/AD/306/15 — French-language (FR) lawyer-linguists (AD 7)

EPSO/AD/307/15 — Italian-language (IT) lawyer-linguists (AD 7)

(2015/C 166 A/01)

Deadline for registration: 23 June 2015 at 12.00 (midday), Brussels time

The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) is organising open competitions, based on qualifications and tests, to draw up reserve lists from which the Court of Justice in Luxembourg will recruit new members of the civil service as lawyer-linguists (function group AD).

This Notice of Competition, together with the General Rules governing Open Competitions published in Official Journal of the European Union C 70 A of 27 February 2015 (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:C:2015:070A:TOC), forms the legally binding framework for this selection procedure.

Number of successful candidates sought:

EPSO/AD/304/15 — BG: 10

EPSO/AD/305/15 — ES: 15

EPSO/AD/306/15 — FR: 15

EPSO/AD/307/15 — IT: 12

This notice covers several competitions and you may only apply for one of them. You must make your choice when you apply online and you will not be able to change it after you have confirmed and validated your online application form.

WHAT TASKS CAN I EXPECT TO PERFORM?

The general role of lawyer-linguists at the Court of Justice is to translate legal texts into the language of the competition from at least two of the other official EU languages and to provide legal analysis in cooperation with the Registries and the other departments of the Court of Justice.

Please see ANNEX I for more information about the typical duties to be performed.

AM I ELIGIBLE TO APPLY?

You must meet ALL of the following conditions when you validate your application:

General conditions

—

Enjoy full rights as a citizen of a Member State of the EU.

—

Meet any obligations imposed by national laws on military service.

—

Meet the character requirements for the duties concerned.

Specific conditions: languages, qualifications and work experience

Please see ANNEX II for the language combinations and qualifications sought per competition.

These competitions are intended for candidates who have a perfect command, both written and spoken, of the language of the competition (mother tongue or equivalent). If you are not up to this standard, we would strongly advise you not to apply.

—

The diploma required for the competition as described in ANNEX II must be awarded by 31 July 2015 at the latest.

For details on diplomas see Annex I to the General Rules governing Open Competitions ( http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:C:2015:070A:TOC ).

—

No professional experience required.

Please see ANNEX III for additional information on languages in EU competitions.

HOW WILL I BE SELECTED?

1.    Pre-selection based on qualifications

First the eligibility requirements will be checked on the basis of the data provided in the candidates’ online application for all candidates. If the number of candidates found to satisfy the admission conditions is less than 20 times the number of successful candidates sought per competition, a pre-selection based on qualifications will not take place and all eligible candidates will be invited to take the preliminary tests.

If the number of candidates found to satisfy the admission conditions is equal to or higher than 20 times the number of successful candidates sought per competition, the selection board will screen the applications of all the eligible candidates who validated their application form by the deadline.

The selection based on qualifications will be carried out using the information provided by the candidates in the application form’s Talent Screener tab. The selection board will assign each selection criterion a weighting that reflects its relative importance (1 to 3) and each candidate’s responses will be awarded between 0 and 4 points.

The selection board will then multiply the points by the weighting for each criterion and add these to identify those whose profiles best match the duties to be performed. If you score one of the highest total marks at the pre-selection based on qualifications you will be invited to the preliminary tests.

Please see ANNEX IV for the list of criteria.

2.    Preliminary tests: translations

A maximum of 20 times the number of successful candidates sought per competition will be invited to this phase. Candidates invited to the preliminary tests will take two computer-based translation tests without the help of a dictionary :

(a)

translation into the competition language (language 1) of a legal text drafted in your language 2;

(b)

translation into the competition language (language 1) of a legal text drafted in your language 3.

Each test lasts 110 minutes and each will be marked out of 80 (pass mark 40/80). If you fail test (a), your test (b) will not be marked.

The marks obtained in these tests, together with the marks obtained during the Assessment Phase, will count towards the final mark.

3.    Assessment Phase

A maximum of 4,5 times the number of successful candidates sought per competition will be invited to this phase. If you scored one of the highest total marks at the preliminary tests, you will be invited to attend an Assessment Phase for 1,5 days, most probably in Luxembourg , where you will take tests held in your language 1 .

The Assessment Phase is comprised of a series of computer-based multiple-choice questions and competency-based tests as indicated below:

Tests

Language

Questions

Duration

Pass mark

Verbal reasoning

Language 1

20 questions

35 min

No minimum pass mark required

Numerical reasoning

Language 1

10 questions

20 min

Abstract reasoning

Language 1

10 questions

10 min

One point is attributed per question and the overall score will be out of 40. The marks obtained in these tests will count towards your final mark.

Eight general competencies and the specific competencies required for these competitions will be tested during the Assessment Phase through three tests (general and specific competency-based interviews and group exercise) as described in the following matrices:

Competency

Tests

1.

Analysis and problem solving

Group exercise

2.

Communicating

General competency-based interview

3.

Delivering quality and results

Group exercise

4.

Learning and development

Group exercise

5.

Prioritising and organising

Group exercise

6.

Resilience

General competency-based interview

7.

Working with others

General competency-based interview

8.

Leadership

General competency-based interview

Pass marks

3/10 per competency and 40/80 in total


Competency

Test

Specific competencies

Specific competency-based interview to assess your specialist knowledge and command of the language in the field of national law and European Union law. During the interview, you will be asked to give an oral presentation

Pass mark

10/20

The marks scored in the translation tests will be added to those scored during the Assessment Phase to give candidates their overall score.

4.    Reserve list

After checking candidates’ supporting documents, the selection board will draw up a reserve list per competition of the eligible candidates who obtained the highest marks following the Assessment Phase until the number of successful candidates sought is reached. Names will be listed alphabetically.

WHEN AND WHERE CAN I APPLY?

Apply online on the EPSO website http://jobs.eu-careers.eu by:

23 June 2015 at 12.00 (midday), Brussels time.

ANNEX I

DUTIES

The Court of Justice recruits highly qualified lawyers, who must be able to translate often complex legal/legislative texts into the language of the competition from at least two other languages. The work of a lawyer-linguist involves the use of IT and other office tools.

The duties involve translating legal texts (judgments of the Court of Justice, General Court and Civil Service Tribunal, opinions of the Advocates-General, written pleadings of the parties, etc.) into the language of the competition from at least two of the other official languages of the European Union, and providing legal analysis in cooperation with the Registries and the other departments of the Court of Justice.

End of ANNEX I, click here to return to main text

ANNEX II

QUALIFICATIONS AND LANGUAGE COMBINATIONS

EPSO/AD/304/15 — Bulgarian-language (BG) lawyer-linguists (AD 7)

1.    Qualifications

You must have a level of education corresponding to completed university studies attested by one of the following qualifications in Bulgarian law:

Удостоверява се с българска диплома за завършено висше юридическо образование ‘магистър по право’.

To determine whether a candidate has attained a level corresponding to completed university studies, the selection board will take into account the rules in force at the time when the diploma was awarded.

2.    Knowledge of languages

Language 1:

Perfect command (minimum level C2) of Bulgarian

Language 2:

Minimum level C1 in French

Language 3:

Minimum level C1 in German, English, Spanish or Italian

For details on language levels, see the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (https://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/en/resources/european-language-levels-cefr).

EPSO/AD/305/15 — Spanish-language (ES) lawyer-linguists (AD 7)

1.    Qualifications

You must have a level of education corresponding to completed university studies attested by one of the following qualifications in Spanish law:

Una formación universitaria completa en Derecho español acreditada por el título de ‘Licenciatura en Derecho’ o ‘Grado en Derecho’.

To determine whether a candidate has attained a level corresponding to completed university studies, the selection board will take into account the rules in force at the time when the diploma was awarded.

2.    Knowledge of languages

Language 1:

Perfect command (minimum level C2) of Spanish

Language 2:

Minimum level C1 in French

Language 3:

Minimum level C1 in German, English, Danish, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Dutch, Polish or Swedish

For details on language levels, see the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (https://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/en/resources/european-language-levels-cefr).

EPSO/AD/306/15 — French-language (FR) lawyer-linguists (AD 7)

1.    Qualifications

Une formation juridique complète suivie dans un établissement d’enseignement supérieur belge, français ou luxembourgeois où les enseignements sont dispensés en langue française et sanctionnée par un diplôme correspondant au minimum, pour les diplômes obtenus avant l’entrée en vigueur de la réforme de 2004 harmonisant les diplômes d’enseignement supérieur en Europe, au niveau de la maîtrise en droit française (quatre années d’études) ou de la licence en droit belge (cinq années d’études) et, pour les diplômes obtenus après l’entrée en vigueur de ladite réforme, au niveau du master 2 (cinq années d’études).

To determine whether a candidate has attained a level corresponding to completed university studies, the selection board will take into account the rules in force at the time when the diploma was awarded.

2.    Knowledge of languages

Language 1:

Perfect command (minimum level C2) of French

Language 2:

Minimum level C1 in Czech, German, Greek, Spanish, Croatian, Polish or Portuguese

Language 3:

Minimum level C1 in English or German, must be different from language 2

For details on language levels, see the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (https://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/en/resources/european-language-levels-cefr).

EPSO/AD/307/15 — Italian-language (IT) lawyer-linguists (AD 7)

1.    Qualifications

You must have a level of education corresponding to completed university studies attested by one of the following qualifications in Italian law:

Formazione universitaria completa in diritto italiano sancita da uno dei seguenti diplomi:

—

Laurea quadriennale in giurisprudenza (vecchio ordinamento)

—

Laurea specialistica in giurisprudenza (classe 22/S)

—

Laurea magistrale in giurisprudenza (LMG-01).

To determine whether a candidate has attained a level corresponding to completed university studies, the selection board will take into account the rules in force at the time when the diploma was awarded.

2.    Knowledge of languages

Language 1:

Perfect command (minimum level C2) of Italian

Language 2:

Minimum level C1 in French

Language 3:

Minimum level C1 in German, Polish, Greek, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Dutch, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Finnish, Hungarian or Swedish.

For details on language levels, see the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (https://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/en/resources/european-language-levels-cefr).

End of ANNEX II, click here to return to main text

ANNEX III

LANGUAGES

The Court of Justice is a multilingual institution and the language rules under which it operates are defined in its Rules of Procedure.

The language options for the translation tests reflect the needs of the service and in particular the language coverage requirements of the translation units for which these competitions are being held. Given the large volume of translations required from French, one of the two compulsory translation tests must be from that language. The language options open to candidates for the French-language competition and for the second test depend on the specific needs of the language units concerned.

Because of the specific nature of these competitions, candidates’ general competencies (see point 3) will be assessed in the language of the competition (language 1 of the translation tests). This is by way of an exception to the language options that normally apply to the Assessment Phase (English, French or German). Owing to the constraints on lawyer-linguists’ work at the Court of Justice, it is reasonable to allow candidates to take the general competency tests in the language of the competition, as this offers a better guarantee that the candidates recruited will be of the highest calibre in terms of ability and efficiency.

End of ANNEX III, click here to return to main text

ANNEX IV

SELECTION CRITERIA

1.

Professional experience in the field of legal translation.

2.

Professional experience of drafting legal texts.

3.

Professional legal experience acquired in a law firm, as an in-house lawyer in a business, in a national administration, in an international organisation or in a university.

4.

Diploma/certificate/qualification in translation or linguistic/language studies in relation to the languages required for the competition (language 1, 2 or 3).

5.

Proven knowledge of additional official languages of the European Union other than the languages required for the competition.

End of ANNEX IV, click here to return to main text

Top