CELEX: C2002/182A/01
Language: en
Date: 2002-07-31 00:00:00
Title: Guide to candidates taking part in an open competition

31.7.2002             EN                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                  C 182 A/1
                                                                       III
                                                                    (Notices)
                                                     COURT OF JUSTICE
                                   OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                            GUIDE TO CANDIDATES TAKING PART IN AN OPEN COMPETITION
                                                               (2002/C 182 A/01)
              A.    INTRODUCTION
              B.    NOTICE OF COMPETITITION AND APPLICATION FORM
                    1. General conditions
                    2. Knowledge of languages
                    3. Education and diplomas
                    4. Experience
                    5. Signing of application form
                    6. Submission of application form and supporting documents
              C.    COMPETITION PROCEDURE
                    1. Organisation
                    2. General procedure
                    3. Procedure after submission of applications
                    4. Written tests
                    5. Oral test
                    6. Reserve list
              D.    CAREER PROGRESSION AND WORKING CONDITIONS
                    1. Categories of post
                    2. Remuneration and other special conditions
                      A.   INTRODUCTION                                         If you decide to enter, you should read this guide very
                                                                                carefully as it tells you:
1.   Open competitions for the recruitment of officials of the
     European Union are organised in accordance with the
     Staff Regulations of officials of the European Communi-                    —    how to complete the application form correctly and
     ties. Before a competition is held, a notice of competition                     what other documentation you need to provide,
     is published in the Official Journal of the European Communi-
     ties.                                                                      —    how competitions are organised,
2.   Only applications submitted for a special competition                      —    what kinds of job are available and what working
     will be accepted.                                                               conditions are like in the institutions of the European
                                                                                     Union.
3.   This copy of the Official Journal includes the notice of
     competition and the application form as well as this
     guide for candidates taking part in an open competition                    However, this guide is for information only. The only
     for a post at the Court of Justice of the European                         text binding on the selection board in the course of its
     Communities.                                                               proceedings is the notice of competition.
 ---pagebreak--- C 182 A/2              EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                    31.7.2002
    B.     NOTICE OF COMPETITION AND APPLICATION FORM                    2.   Knowledge of languages
Please read this carefully before completing your appli-                      (a) All candidates for a post in an institution of the
cation form.                                                                      European Union must have a thorough knowledge
                                                                                  of one of the official languages of the European
                                                                                  Union (Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French,
                                                                                  German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and
                                                                                  Swedish) and a satisfactory knowledge of a second
1.     General conditions                                                         official language to the extent necessary for the
                                                                                  performance of the duties attaching to the post in
       (a)  You must read the competition notice carefully so                     question.
            as to make absolutely sure that you fulfil the basic
            conditions for admission to the competition, in                       Candidates take the written tests in their main
            particular those relating to:                                         language (this may or may not be their mother
                                                                                  tongue). If the competition notice so provides, they
            —     nationality (1),                                                may have to take written tests in the second language
                                                                                  of their choice.
            —     age,
                                                                              (b) Some competitions, such as those for lawyer-lingu-
                                                                                  ists, interpreters and secretaries, are organised for
            —     education, and
                                                                                  candidates of a particular language.
            —     any experience required.                                        It is very difficult for candidates, even those who
                                                                                  consider themselves bilingual, to succeed in a com-
            The selection board has to take those conditions                      petition which is not in their main language.
            into account when deciding whether or not candi-
            dates are to be admitted to the competition.                          Candidates are therefore advised in such cases to
                                                                                  decide which is their main language and to apply
       (b) Candidates must use the application form for the                       only for competitions held in that language.
            appropriate competition contained in the Official
            Journal. Only the form bearing the number of the
            competition may be used. Since this is the basic
            document used by selection boards when they
                                                                         3.   Education and diplomas
            decide which candidates to admit to the competition,
            it needs to be filled in extremely carefully.
                                                                              (a) As the notice of competition published in the
            Candidates are also asked to enclosed their curricu-                  Official Journal is addressed to nationals of the
            lum vitae supplementing or providing further details                  15 Member States, it has to cover all the education
            of the information given in the application form.                     systems at the various levels and cannot therefore
                                                                                  be geared to the subtleties of each individual system.
       (c)  The name under which you apply must be used in all
            correspondence in connection with the competition                 (b) Candidates educated in non-member countries
            even if you subsequently change your marital status.                  should provide a certificate of national equivalence,
                                                                                  issued by the Member State of which they are
       (d) Candidates are urged to provide their permanent                        nationals, for diplomas and certificates obtained
            address where they can be contacted at any time                       outside the European Union to enable the selection
            during the duration of the procedure. They must                       board to assess the level of their studies.
            notify the recruitment section without delay of
            any change of address in order to ensure the safe                 (c) Educational qualifications will be checked and as-
            arrival of communications concerning the compe-                       sessed by the selection board and, where necessary,
            tition.                                                               by persons with an expert knowledge of your
                                                                                  country’s education system.
       (e)  Candidates seeking exemption from the age limit
            must fill in the appropriate part of the application                  It is very important that you give the precise dates
            form and enclose supporting documents.                                and details of the different stages and levels of your
                                                                                  education on your application form.
                                                                                  In the case of technical or vocational training and
(1) The Member States of the European Union are: Austria, Belgium,                specialist or refresher training, you should specify
    Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxem-             whether the course was full-time or part-time or an
    bourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United                evening course, what subjects were covered and
    Kingdom.                                                                      how long the course lasted.
 ---pagebreak--- 31.7.2002           EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                      C 182 A/3
     (d) Photocopies of the diplomas or certificates                       (e)    Photocopies of statements from previous
         required for admission to the competition must                           employers and from your present employer
         be enclosed with your application form.                                  confirming your experience must be enclosed
                                                                                  with your application form.
         Candidates who fail to submit copies of their
         diplomas or certificates will not be admitted to                         If you are unable to provide a statement from
         the competition.                                                         your present employer, you may send a photo-
                                                                                  copy of your contract or of your first and your
                                                                                  latest payslips instead.
                                                                                  Candidates who fail to provide the necessary
                                                                                  supporting documents in respect of their pro-
4.   Experience                                                                   fessional experience will not be admitted to the
                                                                                  competition.
     (a) A minimum number of years’ experience is required
         for many competitions. This part of the application
         form should be filled in extremely carefully.
                                                                      5.   Signing of application form
     (b) You should specify the exact date when you took up
         or left a post, describe your duties and the kind of
         work involved and give precise details of your                    It is compulsory to sign the completed application form.
         responsibilities and of your salary.                              In signing you are declaring on your honour that the
                                                                           information provided is true and complete, and clearly
                                                                           indicating your intention to take part in the competition.
         Simply to say ‘manager’ or ‘office worker’ is not
         sufficient and may result in exclusion from the
         competition on the grounds that there is no evidence
         that you have the required experience.                            An unsigned application will be considered void and
                                                                           will be rejected without being forwarded to the
                                                                           selection board.
         It is in your interest to provide full details of the
         posts your have held. If necessary, you should attach
         additional sheets to your application.
                                                                      6.   Submission of application form and supporting docu-
     (c) Where professional experience is specified in the                 ments
         notice of competition, it is counted only from
         the time the candidate obtained the certificate or
         diploma required for admission to the competition.                (a)    Each applicant’s file consists of the official appli-
                                                                                  cation form, which must be signed, together with
         Any experience gained prior to this will not be                          supporting documents.
         counted by the selection board.
                                                                           (b) The official application form, together with photo-
         By providing clear and correct details of your                           copies of supporting documents, must be sent,
         experience, you place the selection board in the best                    preferably by registered post, by the deadline speci-
         possible position to decide whether or not to admit                      fied in the notice of competition, as evidenced by
         you to the competition.                                                  the postmark.
                                                                                  Application forms and photocopies of support-
     (d) Since further training courses leading to a certificate                  ing documents lodged after the deadline will
         or diploma and duly attested periods of specialist or                    be rejected without being forwarded to the
         refresher training count as professional experience,                     selection board.
         provided that they are relevant to the duties specified
         in the notice of competition, full supporting docu-
         mentation must be provided.                                       (c)    Candidates may not refer to documents, application
                                                                                  forms or information sheets submitted in connec-
         The exact dates (day, month, year) when each period                      tion with previous recruitment procedures.
         began and ended must be specified.
                                                                           (d) Documents enclosed with the application form will
         Without this information, the selection board will                       not be returned. Candidates are recommended to
         be unable to determine how much experience to                            send copies of their certificates and diplomas and of
         credit you with.                                                         documents relating to their professional experience.
 ---pagebreak--- C 182 A/4             EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                          31.7.2002
               C.    COMPETITION PROCEDURE                                    (c)   the proceedings of the selection board are secret;
                                                                                    candidates are not entitled to contact it or to see
                                                                                    their papers after they have been marked;
1.  Organisation                                                              (d) the appointing authority draws up a list of candi-
                                                                                    dates who satisfy the general conditions laid down
    (a)   In the case of competitions run by the Court                              in the Staff Regulations (1) and have submitted their
          of Justice, candidates will be dealing throughout                         application in time, and sends it to the selection
          exclusively with the Recruitment Section of the                           board with the candidates’ files;
          Personnel Division of the Court of Justice.
                                                                              (e)   after considering the files, the selection board draws
    (b) All correspondence should be sent to the following                          up a list of candidates who meet the conditions set
          address:                                                                  out in the notice of competition:
            Court of Justice of the European Communities                            —     for competitions based on tests, all candidates
                  Personnel Division — Recruitment                                        on the list are admitted to the tests,
                          L-2925 Luxembourg
                            Tel. (352) 43 03-1                                      —     for competitions based on qualifications and
                          Fax (352) 43 03-27 10                                           tests, the selection board first establishes the
                                                                                          criteria on the basis of which it will assess the
    (c)   The Court of Justice applies a policy of equal                                  candidates’ qualifications and then decides on
          opportunity and of selection according to merit by                              the basis of the list, after examining the qualifi-
          means of fair competitions open to all. All such                                cations, which candidates are to be admitted to
          steps as shall be considered reasonable will be taken                           the tests,
          to ensure that handicapped persons can take part in
          competitions on an equal footing with the other                           —     for competitions based on qualifications, the
          candidates.                                                                     selection board establishes the criteria on which
                                                                                          it will examine the qualifications of candidates
          In accordance with the code of good conduct in                                  on the list, gives marks for the qualifications
          force at the Court of Justice, handicapped persons                              and draws up a list of suitable candidates in
          are requested to specify, in their application form,                            order of merit.
          the equipment they consider necessary for their
          participation in the tests. Everything will be done to
          ensure that they are treated equally with the other           3.    Procedure after the submission of applications
          candidates and all reasonable arrangements request-
          ed by them will be made.                                            (a)   The safe arrival of your application form will
                                                                                    be acknowledged by the Personnel Division. This
                                                                                    acknowledgement does not necessarily mean that
                                                                                    you will be admitted to the competition.
2.  General procedure
                                                                              (b) When it has examined all the application forms, the
                                                                                    selection board will inform candidates by letter
    The Staff Regulations provide for three different types of
                                                                                    whether or not they have been admitted to the
    competition.
                                                                                    competition.
    As a general rule, staff are recruited to the Court of Justice            (c)   In the letter stating that they have been admitted to
    by means of competitions based on qualifications and                            the competition, candidates will be asked to attend
    tests. In exceptional cases, competitions may be based on                       the tests; the date and the venue for the tests will be
    qualifications only.                                                            specified in the letter.
                                                                              (d) Candidates not admitted to the tests will be told
    The competition procedure is as follows:                                        why.
    (a)   candidates must complete and sign the official                            Candidates who feel that a mistake has been made
          application form. It is essential that they provide                       regarding eligibility have 15 days from the date
          copies of supporting documents and any necessary                          postmarked on the letter stating that they have been
          additional information by the deadline specified in                       excluded from the competition in which to ask for
          the notice of competition;                                                their application to be reconsidered.
    (b) a selection board is set up for each competition; it
                                                                        (1) In order to qualify for appointment as an official in an institution
          consists of members designated by the appointing                  of the European Union, you must be a national of one of
          authority and by the Staff Committee; since selection             the Member States (unless the appointing authority makes an
          board members are not released from their usual                   exception in your favour) and enjoy your full rights as a citizen.
          duties, a certain amount of time will necessarily                 You must also have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the laws
          elapse before the names of candidates admitted to                 concerning military service and meet the character requirements
          the tests and the results of the tests are known;                 for the duties involved.
 ---pagebreak--- 31.7.2002            EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                     C 182 A/5
         The selection board will then reconsider the appli-           5.   Oral test
         cation and decide whether the complaint is justified.
                                                                            (a) Candidates are given details of the date, time and
     (e) Most applications are made by candidates who have                      place of the oral test in the letter inviting them to
         omitted to enclose supporting documents relating to                    attend. Oral tests are normally held in Luxembourg.
         their professional experience or who have enclosed                     Candidates will be given a contribution towards their
         insufficiently detailed evidence to enable the selec-                  travelling and subsistence expenses as determined by
         tion board to assess how much, what kind or what                       the rules applicable to the Court.
         level of experience they possess. A curriculum vitae
         is not regarded as a supporting document.                          (b) Most of the interview will be conducted in the
                                                                                candidate’s main language and simultaneous
     (f) The fact that a candidate has not been admitted to a                   interpretation is available if necessary.
         given competition does not prevent his candidature
         from being taken into consideration for another.                       The purpose of the oral test is to assess, first, the
                                                                                candidate’s professional knowledge and, secondly,
                                                                                his fitness to carry out in an institution of the
                                                                                European Union the duties attached to the category
                                                                                of post for which the competition was held.
4.   Written tests
                                                                            (c) During the test, the selection board will also assess
     (a) The organisation of the written tests depends on the                   knowledge of other official languages of the Euro-
         examination rooms available in the various Member                      pean Union.
         States. The place where candidates are invited to
         attend depends on their country of residence. Some-
         times, however, the tests are held only in Luxem-
         bourg or in some other convenient place.
                                                                       6.   Reserve list
     (b) Candidates invited to attend the written tests are                 (a) Once the selection board has completed its deliber-
         given full details of the date, time and place of the                  ations, it draws up a list of candidates deemed
         tests.                                                                 suitable for the posts to be filled. In accordance with
                                                                                the Staff Regulations every attempt is made to
     (c) A flat-rate contribution is made towards the travel-                   ensure that the number of candidates on the list
         ling expenses of candidates who have to travel                         exceeds the number of posts available.
         further than 300 kilometres (one way) to the
         examination centre. It is stressed that this is a flat-            (b) Candidates are informed by letter whether or not
         rate contribution and not full reimbursement of the                    they have been placed on the list of suitable
         travelling expenses.                                                   candidates.
     (d) The written tests will take place simultaneously for               (c) Candidates should note that inclusion on the
         all candidates at all the centres on the date indicated                reserve list does not necessarily lead to appoint-
         in the letter of invitation to attend. No exception to                 ment.
         this can be allowed.
                                                                                The list is known as the ‘reserve list’ because it is on
     (e) Irrespective of the type of diploma or certificate                     the basis of that list that successful candidates may
         required for admission to a given competition,                         be offered a post. Offers are made depending on
         candidates should note that the written and oral                       requirements and the availability of posts commen-
         tests presuppose a thorough knowledge of the                           surate with the qualifications of the successful
         subject(s) or area(s) described in the notice of                       candidates.
         competition (Section I. Nature of duties). The
         specialised knowledge needed to pass the tests                         However, in view of budgetary and operational
         should not therefore be underestimated.                                constraints, successful candidates should note that
                                                                                some time many elapse between being placed on
                                                                                the reserve list and receiving a definite job offer.
     (f) The test papers are not identified by the candidates’
         names and so there is no possibility of candidates’                    In addition, reserve lists may be used to take
         being identified by the examiners or the selection                     on temporary or auxiliary staff depending on the
         board.                                                                 budgetary funds available.
     (g) After the written and/or typewritten tests have been               (d) Successful candidates must also undergo a medical
         marked, the selection board draws up the list of                       examination as laid down in the Staff Regulations in
         candidates who are to be invited to attend for the                     order to make sure they are physically fit to perform
         oral test.                                                             the duties in question.
 ---pagebreak--- C 182 A/6                EN                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                      31.7.2002
      (e)   Before the successful candidates are appointed as                  (b) Category B: staff who have completed a course of
            probationary officials, a check will be carried out to                 advanced secondary education and obtained a final
            ensure that they:                                                      certificate or diploma, engaged in executive duties
                                                                                   (comparable with those performed by an executive
            —     are nationals of one of the Member States of                     officer, administrative assistant, etc.).
                  the European Union and enjoy their full rights
                                                                                   Category B runs from grade B 5 up to B 1.
                  as citizens,
                                                                                   Category B breaks down as follows: B 5/B 4
            —     have fulfilled any obligations imposed on them                   (Administrative assistant), B 3/B 2 (Senior adminis-
                  by the laws concerning military service in the                   trative assistant), and B 1 (Principal administrative
                  country of which they are nationals,                             assistant).
            —     meet the character requirements for the duties               (c) Category C: staff who have completed a course of
                  involved,                                                        secondary education and/or a course of vocational
                                                                                   education at secondary level and obtained a certifi-
            —     satisfy the requirements as to physical fitness                  cate or diploma, engaged in clerical duties (compar-
                  for the duties to be performed (medical examin-                  able with those performed by a secretary, filing
                  ation),                                                          clerk, technician, etc.).
                                                                                   Category C runs from grade C 5 up to C 1.
            —     have produced the originals of their diplomas
                  or certificates.                                                 Category C breaks down as follows: C 5/C 4 (Clerical
                                                                                   assistant, Typist), C 3/C 2 (Clerical officer, Secretary/
                                                                                   typist), and C 1 (Executive secretary, Principal sec-
                                                                                   retary, Principal clerical officer).
   D.     CAREER PROGRESSION AND WORKING CONDITIONS
                                                                               (d) Category D: staff who have completed the basic
                                                                                   course of ‘compulsory’ and/or vocational education
                                                                                   and obtained a certificate or diploma, engaged
1.    Categories of post                                                           in manual or service duties (messenger, driver,
                                                                                   storeman, workshop staff, etc.).
      All posts in the institutions of the European Union,                         Category D runs from grade D 4 up to D 1.
      whether permanent or temporary, are classified as fol-
      lows.                                                                        Category D breaks down as follows: D 4 (Unskilled
                                                                                   employee, Unskilled worker), D 3/D 2 (Skilled
      (a)   Category A: staff who have completed a course                          employee, Skilled worker), and D 1 (Head of Unit).
            of university education and obtained a degree or
            diploma, engaged in administrative and advisory                    (e) Officials other than those in grades A 1 and
            duties in areas of activity falling within the com-                    A 2 serve a probationary period, which must be
            petence of departments of the institutions.                            satisfactorily completed before they can be estab-
                                                                                   lished.
            Category A runs from grade A 8 up to A 3 and is
            divided into four career brackets: A 8 (Assistant                      The period is nine months for officials in category A,
            Administrator), A 7/A 6 (Administrator), A 5/A 4                       the Language Service and category B, and six months
            (Principal Administrator) and A 3 (Head of Division).                  for other officials.
            Language service (LA): staff who have completed a
            course of university education and obtained a degree
            or diploma, working as translators and/or                     2.   Remuneration and other special conditions
            interpreters; the LA structure corresponds to grades
            A 8 to A 3 of category A above.                                    (a) Salary: the basic monthly salary for the career
                                                                                   bracket covered by the competition is given in
            The Language Service comprises four career brack-                      the notice of competition. The basic salary varies
            ets: LA 8 (Assistant translator, Assistant interpreter),               according to step classification on recruitment.
            LA 7/LA 6 (Lawyer-linguist/interpreter), LA 5/LA 4
            (Reviser, Principal Lawyer-linguist, Principal
            interpreter) and LA 3 (Head of Translation or                      (b) Allowances: in addition to basic salary, the person
            Interpretation Division).                                              appointed will receive the allowances to which he/
                                                                                   she is entitled under the Staff Regulations. These
            NB: The linguistic duties specified above require a                    may include the following:
            perfect command of mother tongue or main
            language and a good knowledge of at least two other                    1.    daily subsistence allowance (payable for a lim-
            official languages of the European Union.                                    ited period);
 ---pagebreak--- 31.7.2002           EN                   Official Journal of the European Communities                                 C 182 A/7
         2.   expatriation allowance or foreign residence                    The proceeds of the tax are paid into the budget of
              allowance equivalent to 16 % and 4 % of basic                  the European Union.
              salary respectively;
         and the following family allowances:                                The overall amount of the tax raised reduces the
                                                                             financial contribution of the Member States to the
         1.   household allowance equivalent to 5 % of basic                 budget of the European Union accordingly. For that
              salary;                                                        reason, under Article 13(2) of the Protocol on
                                                                             the Privileges and Immunities of the European
         2.   monthly dependent child allowance;                             Communities, remuneration is exempt from
         3.   education allowance equal to actual education                  national tax.
              costs incurred, with a monthly ceiling, for each
              dependent child.
                                                                         (e) Social environment: there are European Schools at
     (c) Deductions: officials qualify for a pension scheme                  most of the main places of activity of the Com-
         and sickness and accident insurance. Officials’ con-                munity institutions, providing primary and second-
         tributions to these schemes are deducted from their                 ary education up to the level of the European
         remuneration.                                                       baccalaureate. The Schools, which have sections for
                                                                             each of the main teaching languages, are recognised
     (d) Taxes: the remuneration of officials of the European                by all 15 Member States. There are also creches for
         Communities is subject to a tax deducted at source.                 children under school age.