Notice of open competitions — Danish-language (DA), German-language (DE), English-language (EN), Irish-language (GA) and Dutch-language (NL) Lawyer-linguists (AD 7)
Date: 2013-11-07
Institutions: European Personnel Selection Office
Subjects: Denmark, EPSO, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, United Kingdom, competition (EU)








CA2013321EN.01000101.xml










7.11.2013   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 321/1






NOTICE OF OPEN COMPETITIONS

Danish-language (DA), German-language (DE), English-language (EN), Irish-language (GA) and Dutch-language (NL) Lawyer-linguists (AD 7)
(2013/C 321 A/01)
The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) is organising open competitions, based on qualifications and tests, to establish a reserve pool from which to recruit lawyer-linguists (1) (AD 7).






 



EPSO/AD/271/13 — Danish-language (DA) Lawyer-linguists











 



EPSO/AD/272/13 — German-language (DE) Lawyer-linguists











 



EPSO/AD/273/13 — English-language (EN) Lawyer-linguists











 



EPSO/AD/274/13 — Irish-language (GA) Lawyer-linguists











 



EPSO/AD/275/13 — Dutch-language (NL) Lawyer-linguists





The purpose of these competitions is to draw up reserve lists from which to fill vacant posts in the European Parliament and the Council.


Before applying, you should carefully read the Guide to open competitions published in Official Journal of the European Union C 270 A of 7 September 2012 and on the EPSO website.




That guide is an integral part of the competition notice and will help you to understand the rules governing the procedure and how to apply.


CONTENTS






I.



GENERAL BACKGROUND











II.



DUTIES











III.



ELIGIBILITY











IV.



LANGUAGE AND TRANSLATION TESTS











V.



ASSESSMENT CENTRE











VI.



RESERVE LISTS











VII.



HOW TO APPLY





I.   GENERAL BACKGROUND












1.


Number of successful candidates sought per competition







DA — 10


DE — 10


EN — 10


GA — 10


NL — 10











2.


Remarks






This notice covers several competitions. You may not apply for more than one.
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.

These competitions are intended for candidates who have a perfect command (2), 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.





II.   DUTIES
The European institutions recruit highly qualified lawyers, who must be able to revise legal/legislative texts in the language of the competition from at least two other languages and provide advice on legislative drafting in order to ensure the quality of drafting of European legislation. The work of a lawyer-linguist involves the use of standard IT and other office-technology tools.
Lawyer-linguists follow legislative procedures throughout the process and act as advisers, checking the quality of drafting and compliance with the formal rules on presentation of legislative texts. Furthermore, they check the linguistic and legal consistency of legislative texts (which have already been translated and revised) in the language of the competition against other language versions of those texts. The nature of their duties means that there is frequent contact with the various participants in the legislative procedure.
III.   ELIGIBILITY

On the closing date for online applications, you must fulfil all the following general and specific conditions:














1.


General conditions














(a)


You must be a citizen of one of the Member States of the European Union.










(b)


You must enjoy your full rights as a citizen.










(c)


You must have fulfilled any obligations imposed on you by the laws on military service.










(d)


You must meet the character requirements for the duties involved.














2.


Specific conditions








2.1.


Qualifications
DA
You must have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a degree in Danish law.

Ansøgerne skal have en afsluttet uddannelse i dansk ret på universitetsniveau [juridisk kandidateksamen (cand.jur.) eller den erhvervsøkonomiske-erhvervsjuridiske kandidateksamen (cand.merc.jur.)]

DE
You must have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by the ‘Erste juristische Prüfung/Erste Prüfung’ degree in German law or by the ‘Magister der Rechtswissenschaften’ degree in Austrian law.

Juristische Ausbildung, die im deutschen Recht mit der Ersten juristischen Prüfung/Ersten Prüfung bzw. im österreichischen Recht mit dem Magister der Rechtswissenschaften abgeschlossen wurde.

EN

You must hold a degree in law awarded in the United Kingdom or Ireland or have qualified as a barrister, advocate or solicitor in the United Kingdom or Ireland. Candidates who followed a three-year degree course must also have obtained at least one year's appropriate professional experience.

GA
You must have completed a suitable course in law in Ireland or the United Kingdom, i.e. hold a degree in law attesting completion of at least three years' university study or have obtained a qualification as a barrister, advocate or solicitor in Ireland or the United Kingdom. Candidates who followed a three-year degree course must also have obtained at least one year's appropriate professional experience.

Ní mór duit cúrsa oiriúnach sa dlí a bheith críochnaithe agat in Éirinn nó sa Ríocht Aontaithe, i.e. céim sa dlí a bheith agat, ar céim í a fhianaíonn go bhfuil staidéar ollscoile trí bliana ar a laghad críochnaithe agat, nó cáilíocht mar abhcóide nó aturnae a bheith bainte amach agat in Éirinn nó sa Ríocht Aontaithe. Maidir le hiarrthóirí a rinne cúrsa céime trí bliana, ní mór dóibh taithí ghairmiúil iomchuí aon bhliana amháin ar a laghad a bheith faighte acu freisin.

NL
You must have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a degree in Dutch law or in Belgian law awarded by a Dutch-language university.

Voltooide juridische studie, afgesloten met een diploma Nederlands recht (doctorandus of master) of Belgisch recht (licentiaat of master), afgegeven door een Nederlandstalige rechtenfaculteit.

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 degree was awarded.




2.2.


Knowledge of languages


In the light of the judgment given by the Court of Justice of the European Union (Grand Chamber) in Case C-566/10 P, Italy v Commission, the EU institutions wish to state the reasons for limiting the choice of the second language in this competition to a small number of official EU languages.




Candidates are therefore informed that the second language options in this competition have been defined in line with the interests of the service, which require new recruits to be immediately operational and capable of communicating effectively in their daily work. Otherwise the efficient functioning of the institutions could be severely impaired.




It has long been the practice to use mainly English, French and German for internal communication in the EU institutions, and these are also the languages most often needed when communicating with the outside world and handling cases. Moreover, English, French and German are the most common second languages in the European Union and the most commonly studied as a second language. This confirms what is currently expected of candidates for European Union posts in terms of their level of education and professional skills, namely that they should be proficient in at least one of these languages. Consequently, in balancing the interests and needs of the service and the abilities of candidates, and given the particular field of this competition, it is legitimate to organise tests in the three languages in order to ensure that all candidates are able to work in at least one of them, whatever their first official language. Assessing specific competencies in this way allows the institutions to evaluate candidates' ability to be immediately operational in an environment that closely matches the reality they would face on the job.




For these same reasons, it is reasonable to limit the language of communication between candidates and the institution, including the language in which application forms are to be drafted. Furthermore, this ensures uniformity when comparing candidates and checking their application forms.




To ensure equal treatment for all candidates, everyone, including those whose first official language is one of the three, must take this test in their second language, chosen from among these three.




None of this affects the possibility of later language training to enable staff to work in a third language, as required under Article 45(2) of the Staff Regulations.



The official languages of the European Union are:





BG (Bulgarian)
CS (Czech)
DA (Danish)
DE (German)
EL (Greek)
EN (English)
ES (Spanish)
ET (Estonian)


FI (Finnish)
FR (French)
GA (Irish)
HR (Croatian)
HU (Hungarian)
IT (Italian)
LT (Lithuanian)
LV (Latvian)


MT (Maltese)
NL (Dutch)
PL (Polish)
PT (Portuguese)
RO (Romanian)
SK (Slovak)
SL (Slovenian)
SV (Swedish)





Language 1




Main language

A perfect command of the language of the competition





Language 2




First source language (must be different from language 1)

A thorough knowledge of English, French or German





Language 3




Second source language (must be different from languages 1 and 2)

A thorough knowledge of English, French, German, Italian, Polish, or Spanish

Except for competition EPSO/AD/273/13 (EN), either language 2 or language 3 must be English.






N.B.




Please note that tests (f) and (g) on your general competencies will be carried out in English, French, or German (which must be different from language 1).





IV.   COMPUTER-BASED LANGUAGE AND TRANSLATION TESTS
The language and translation tests are computer-based and are organised by EPSO. The selection board decides on their level of difficulty and approves their subject matter on the basis of proposals made by EPSO.












1.


Invitation






You will be invited to sit the language and translation tests if you have validated your application on time (see Section VII).

Important:







1.


By validating your application you declare that you meet the general and specific conditions listed in Section III.










2.


To sit the language and translation tests, you must reserve a date. This must be done by the deadline notified to you via your EPSO account.














2.


Language test












(a)


Test comprising multiple-choice questions to assess your general aptitudes and competencies as regards language comprehension.

Marking: Marked out of 20


Pass mark: 12


Time allowed: 25 min.


Language of the test: language 2

Test (a) is eliminatory but the marks will not be added to the marks from the translation test in order to identify the candidates to invite to the assessment centre.














3.


Translation test












(b)


Translation into the language of the competition (language 1) of a legal text in language 2, without a dictionary.


Marking: Marked out of 80


Pass mark: 40


Time allowed: 2 hours.


If you fail test (a), test (b) will not be marked.

The marks obtained in this test will count towards the final result together with the marks obtained in the tests held at the assessment centre.








V.   ASSESSMENT CENTRE















1.


Invitation






You will be invited to the assessment centre






—


if you obtain the pass mark and one of the highest marks in the translation test,
and










—


if checks on the information given in your online application (3) show that you fulfil the general and specific conditions listed in Section III.




The number of candidates to be invited to the assessment centre will be at most four times the number of successful candidates sought per competition indicated in this notice, and will be published on EPSO's website (http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/eu-careers.info/). Where a number of candidates tie for the last available place, they will all be invited to the assessment centre.










2.


Assessment centre






You will undergo three types of assessment:






—


reasoning ability: (a), (b) and (c)










—


specific competencies: (d) and (e)










—


general competencies: (e), (f) and (g)





Your reasoning ability
 (4) will be assessed by means of (5):






(a)


a verbal reasoning test










(b)


a numerical reasoning test










(c)


an abstract reasoning test.





Your specific competencies in the field will be assessed by means of (5):






(d)


a summary in the language of the competition of a text in language 3










(e)


an oral presentation (6) on your competencies in the field.





Your general competencies
 (7) will be assessed by means of (5):






(e)


an oral presentation










(f)


a structured interview










(g)


a group exercise.




You will be assessed, probably in Brussels, during a one and a half day session.

Each general competency will be tested as follows:





 


Oral presentation
(e)


Structured interview
(f)


Group exercise
(g)




Analysis and problem-solving


x


 


x




Communicating


x


x


 




Delivering quality and results


x


x


 




Learning and development


 


x


x




Prioritising and organising


x


 


x




Resilience


x


x


 




Working with others


 


x


x




Leadership


 


x


x










3.


Language of tests






(a), (b), (c), (d) and (e): language 1
(f) and (g): English, French or German (must be different from language 1)










4.


Marking






Reasoning ability








(a)


:


verbal


:


Marked out of 20
Pass mark: 10




(b)


:


numerical


:


Marked out of 10




(c)


:


abstract


:


Marked out of 10
Aggregate pass mark for tests (b) and (c): 8





Tests (a), (b) and (c) are eliminatory, but the marks will not be added to the marks for the other assessment centre tests.

Specific competencies






(d)


Marked out of 60
Pass mark: 30










(e)


Marked out of 40
Pass mark: 20




General competencies ((e), (f) and (g))
Marked out of 80 for all competencies (10 per competency)
Pass mark:






 


3 per competency and










 


an aggregate of 40 for all eight general competencies.








VI.   RESERVE LISTS












1.


Candidates placed on the reserve lists (8)







The selection board will place your name on the reserve list (9) (see number of successful candidates sought, Section I.1)






—


if you passed the tests with one of the highest aggregate marks in the translation test and the other assessment centre tests,










—


and if your supporting documents show that you meet all the eligibility requirements.




Supporting documents will be verified in descending order of merit until the number of candidates who can be placed on the reserve list and who actually fulfil all the conditions for admission reaches the threshold.
The files of candidates below the threshold will not be examined. If verification shows that the information (10) given in your online application form is not borne out by appropriate supporting documents, you will be disqualified from the competition.










2.


Classification






Names will be listed in alphabetical order for each competition.




VII.   HOW TO APPLY












1.


Online application






You must apply online, following the instructions on the EPSO website and particularly in the online application manual.

Deadline (including validation): 10 December 2013 at 12.00 (midday), Brussels time.










2.


Submission of application files







If you are invited to the assessment centre, you must bring your full application file (signed copy of your online application form and supporting documents) with you (11).

Procedure: see point 6.1 of the Guide to open competitions.






(1)  Any reference in this notice to a person of the male sex must be deemed also to constitute a reference to a person of the female sex.

(2)  Please consult the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) —
(http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/europass/home/hornav/Downloads/CEF/LanguageSelfAssessmentGrid.csp) — minimum level required: Language 1 = C2, Language 2 = C1, Language 3 = C1.

(3)  This information will be verified against the supporting documents before the reserve list is drawn up (see Section VI.1 and Section VII.2).

(4)  Organisational constraints may make it necessary to conduct the reasoning tests in test centres in the Member States, separately from the other assessment centre tests. They are computer-based and are organised by EPSO. The selection board decides on the difficulty of the tests and approves their subject matter on the basis of proposals made by EPSO.

(5)  The content is validated by the selection board.

(6)  Please note that the oral presentation will be used to assess both your specific and general competencies.

(7)  More information on these competencies can be found in point 1.2 of the Guide to open competitions.

(8)  On 2 July 2013 the European Parliament voted to approve a compromise text for revision of the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants. However, this text will not become final at first reading until the Council formally approves the European Parliament's vote. If it is approved, the main changes will relate to the careers and types of posts occupied by officials and other servants. Successful candidates in this competition could be recruited on the basis of the new Staff Regulations once they are finally adopted by the legislator, which may also entail other legal and financial consequences.

(9)  Where a number of candidates tie for the last available place, they will all be placed on the reserve list.

(10)  The information relating to the general conditions is verified by EPSO, while the information relating to the specific conditions is verified by the selection board.

(11)  You will be notified in good time via your EPSO account of the date when you have to attend.