Notice of open competitions — EPSO/AD/288/14 — finnish-language (FI) lawyer-linguists (AD7) — EPSO/AD/289/14 — french-language (FR) lawyer-linguists (AD7) — EPSO/AD/290/14 — portuguese-language (PT) lawyer-linguists (AD7) — EPSO/AD/291/14 — romanian-language (RO) lawyer-linguists (AD7) — EPSO/AD/292/14 — slovak-language (SK) lawyer-linguists (AD7)
Date: 2014-10-16
Institutions: European Personnel Selection Office
Subjects: EPSO, Finland, France, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, administrator, competition (EU), legal profession








CA2014366EN.01000101.xml










16.10.2014   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 366/1





NOTICE OF OPEN COMPETITIONS
EPSO/AD/288/14 — FINNISH-LANGUAGE (FI) LAWYER-LINGUISTS (AD7)
EPSO/AD/289/14 — FRENCH-LANGUAGE (FR) LAWYER-LINGUISTS (AD7)
EPSO/AD/290/14 — PORTUGUESE-LANGUAGE (PT) LAWYER-LINGUISTS (AD7)
EPSO/AD/291/14 — ROMANIAN-LANGUAGE (RO) LAWYER-LINGUISTS (AD7)
EPSO/AD/292/14 — SLOVAK-LANGUAGE (SK) LAWYER-LINGUISTS (AD7)
2014/C 366 A/01
 
The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) is organising open competitions, based on qualifications and tests, to draw up reserve lists from which to recruit lawyer-linguists (administrators) (1) to fill vacant posts in the European Parliament and the Council.


Before applying, you should carefully read the General rules governing open competitions published in Official Journal of the European Union 
C 60 A of 1 March 2014 and on the EPSO website.




These rules are an integral part of the competition notice and will help you to understand the procedure and how to apply.


CONTENTS






I.


GENERAL BACKGROUND










II.


DUTIES










III.


ELIGIBILITY










IV.


LANGUAGE AND TRANSLATION TESTS










V.


ASSESSMENT CENTRE










VI.


VERIFICATION OF THE INFORMATION GIVEN BY CANDIDATES










VII.


RESERVE LISTS




I.   GENERAL BACKGROUND













1.


Number of successful candidates sought per competition







FI — 12


FR — 12


PT — 12


RO — 12


SK — 12











2.


Remarks






This notice covers several competitions. You cannot 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.











3.


How to apply?






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

Deadline (including validation): 18 November 2014 at 12.00 midday, Brussels time.




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.
The lawyer-linguists follow legislative procedures throughout the process and act as advisers, checking the quality of drafting and compliance with the formal rules on the presentation of legislative texts. Furthermore, they check the linguistic and legal consistency of legislative texts (already translated and revised) in the language of the competition with the other language versions of the 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


FI

You must have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by one of the following diplomas in Finnish law:

Hakijalla on oltava hakemuksen viimeiseen jättöpäivään mennessä suoritettuna valtioneuvoston asetuksen 794/2004 mukainen suomenkielinen oikeustieteen maisterin tutkinto tai aikaisempi oikeustieteen kandidaatin tutkinto.

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.

FR

You must have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of five years’ duration attested by a diploma in either French law or Belgian law awarded by a French-language university.

Un niveau d’enseignement correspondant à un cycle complet (cinq années) d’études universitaires sanctionné soit par un diplôme en droit français, soit par un diplôme en droit belge délivré par une université francophone.

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.

PT

You must have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least four years’ duration attested by a diploma in Portuguese law (Licenciatura em Direito).

Os candidatos devem ter concluído um curso superior sancionado por um diploma de quatro anos ou mais ‘Licenciatura em Direito’ atribuído por uma universidade portuguesa.

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.

RO

You must have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least four years’ duration attested by a diploma in Romanian law (diplomă de licență).

Un nivel de studii care să corespundă unui ciclu complet de cel puţin patru ani de studii universitare în dreptul român atestat printr-o diplomă de licenţă.

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.

SK

You must have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma in Slovak law giving access to post-graduate study.

Stupeň vzdelania zodpovedajúci ukončenému magisterskému štúdiu v odbore právo na právnickej fakulte vysokej školy/univerzity akreditovanej v Slovenskej republike, ktorý umožňuje pokračovať vo vzdelávaní v doktorandskom študijnom programe.

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.





2.2




Knowledge of languages






Language 1




Main language (minimum level required: C2)

A perfect command of the language of the competition.





Language 2




First source language — must be different from language 1 (minimum level required: C1)

A thorough knowledge of English, French or German





Language 3




Second source language — must be different from languages 1 and 2 (minimum level required: C1)

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

Language 2 or language 3 must be English, otherwise you will be disqualified.


The language options for the translation tests reflect the operational needs of the service. Documents drafted in English account for a very large proportion of the documents handled by the services concerned.





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 set out below the reasons for limiting the choice of the second language in this competition to a small number of official EU languages.
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 frequently 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 of the service and the abilities of candidates, and given the particular field of this competition, it is legitimate to organise tests in these three languages so as 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 these three — must take some tests in their second language, chosen from among these three.
None of this affects the possibility of subsequently undertaking language training to enable staff to work in a third language, as required under Article 45(2) of the Staff Regulations.
IV.   COMPUTER-BASED LANGUAGE AND TRANSLATION TESTS

The computer-based language and translation tests (as described in the table below) will be 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.












1.


Invitation






You will be invited to sit the language and translation tests if you have validated your application on time (see Section I.3).

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: out of 12
Pass mark: 7
Time allowed: 25 minutes
Language of the test: language 2




Test (a) is eliminatory but the marks will not be added to the marks from the translation test for the purpose of identifying the candidates who will be invited 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: 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 test (b) 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 pass the translation test with one of the highest marks,
and










—


if it is checked on the information given in your online application and shown 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 4 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.


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 (3).

Details: See point 2.1.7 of the General rules governing open competitions.










3.


Assessment centre






You will sit three types of assessment tests, the content of which is validated by the selection board.






—




Your reasoning ability

 (4) will be assessed by means of:






(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:






(d)


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










(e)


an oral presentation (5) on your competencies in the field.














—




Your general competencies

 (6) will be assessed by means of:






(e)


an oral presentation;










(f)


a structured interview;










(g)


a group exercise.








You will, most likely, be assessed in Brussels, during a one-and-a-half-day session.





Each general competency will be tested as follows:









 



Oral presentation




Structured interview




Group exercise





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




















4.


Language of the tests






(a), (b), (c), (d) and (e): language 1
(f) and (g): language 2 (English, French or German — must be different from language 1)










5.


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.   VERIFICATION OF THE INFORMATION GIVEN BY CANDIDATES

Following the assessment centre test results, the information given by candidates in their online applications will be verified against the supporting documents they have provided; this will be done by EPSO for the general conditions, and by the selection board for the specific conditions.
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 given in your online application form is not borne out by appropriate supporting documents, you will be disqualified from the competition.
VII.   RESERVE LISTS













1.


Candidates placed on the reserve lists






The selection board will place your name on the reserve list (7) (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 in the other assessment centre tests,
and










—


if your supporting documents show that you meet all the eligibility requirements (see Section III).














2.


Classification






Names will be listed in alphabetical order for each competition.






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

(4)  Organisational constraints may make it necessary to hold 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 subjectmatter on the basis of proposals made by EPSO.

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

(6)  More information on these competencies can be found in point 1.2 of the General rules governing open competitions.

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