OF COMPETITION AND WERE IN NO WAY INTENDED TO ESTABLISH THE ' PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE ' OF THE CANDIDATES . FURTHERMORE , THE MANNER IN WHICH THE WRITTEN TEST WAS ORGANIZED , AS EXPLAINED BY THE COMMISSION , WAS NOT IMPROPER IN ANY WAY AND WAS NOT LIKELY TO PREJUDICE THE CANDIDATES .
20 SECONDLY , THE APPLICANTS ARGUE THAT WHAT THEY CALL THE ' SECOND TEST ' , THAT IS TO SAY , THE SECOND PAPER , 95 MINUTES LONG , WAS DISRUPTED FOR A PERIOD OF ABOUT 10 MINUTES BECAUSE OF A TRANSLATION ERROR IN THE GERMAN VERSION OF THE TEST AND THE RESULTING CONFUSION . AS THE APPLICANTS THEMSELVES STATE IN THEIR REPLY , THEY DO NOT DISPUTE THE MARKING METHOD USED IN ORDER TO COMPENSATE FOR THE FACT THAT GERMAN-SPEAKING CANDIDATES WERE PLACED AT A DISADVANTAGE . THEY SIMPLY ARGUE THAT THE FACT THAT THE SECRETARY OF THE SELECTION BOARD , PRESENT DURING THE TEST , WAS OBLIGED HURRIEDLY TO OBTAIN THE CORRECT TEXT OF THE GERMAN VERSION OF ONE OF THE 60 QUESTIONS IN THE SECOND PAPER RESULTED IN NOISE AND DISTURBANCE INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE CONCENTRATION NECESSARY FOR THE PROPER CONDUCT OF THE TEST AT THE EXAMINATION CENTRE IN LUXEMBOURG .
21 AS THE COMMISSION ADMITS , THERE WAS INDEED AN ERROR IN ONE OF THE QUESTIONS IN THE GERMAN VERSION OF PART D OF THE WRITTEN TEST . REGRETTABLE THOUGH IT MAY BE , THE SLIGHT DISTURBANCE WHICH THAT INCIDENT MAY HAVE CAUSED CANNOT IN THIS CASE BE REGARDED AS HAVING BEEN OF SUCH A NATURE AS TO INVALIDATE THE TESTS . THE ERROR WAS COMMITTED IN ALL THE EXAMINATION CENTRES AND WAS RAPIDLY DISCOVERED ; DURING THE FEW MINUTES NECESSARY TO AMEND THE INCORRECT QUESTION , THE CANDIDATES WERE ABLE TO CARRY ON WITH THE NUMEROUS OTHER QUESTIONS SET . FURTHERMORE , IT DOES NOT APPEAR FROM THE DOCUMENTS BEFORE THE COURT THAT THE CANDIDATES WHO SAT THE TESTS IN LUXEMBOURG WERE PLACED AT A DISADVANTAGE IN RELATION TO THOSE WHO SAT THE TESTS IN THE OTHER EXAMINATION CENTRES .
22 FINALLY , THE APPLICANTS ARGUE THAT THE WRITTEN TEST WAS CONDUCTED IMPROPERLY SINCE NO MEMBERS OF THE SELECTION BOARD WERE PRESENT ; THE SELECTION BOARD WAS REPRESENTED ONLY BY ITS SECRETARY AT THE TESTS ADMINISTERED IN LUXEMBOURG . THE PRESENCE OF A MEMBER OF THE SELECTION BOARD WOULD HAVE MADE IT POSSIBLE TO AVOID THE DISRUPTIONS OF THE TEST WHICH PARTICULARLY AFFECTED THAT CENTRE .
23 IT MUST BE EMPHASIZED IN THAT REGARD , AS THE COMMISSION HAS CORRECTLY ARGUED , THAT NO PROVISION OF THE STAFF REGULATIONS OR GENERAL PRINCIPLE OF LAW REQUIRES THAT A MEMBER OF THE SELECTION BOARD SHOULD BE PRESENT DURING THE WRITTEN TESTS OF A COMPETITION . FURTHERMORE , DESIRABLE THOUGH IT MAY BE FOR A MEMBER TO BE PRESENT , THAT WOULD IN PRACTICE BE DIFFICULT OR EVEN IMPOSSIBLE WHERE , AS IN THIS CASE , THE COMPETITION IS ORGANIZED IN SEVERAL GEOGRAPHICALLY DISTANT CENTRES . CONSEQUENTLY