CELEX: C2000/348A/01
Language: en
Date: 2000-12-05 00:00:00
Title: Guide to candidates taking part in an open competition

5.12.2000             EN                   Official Journal of the European Communities                                      C 348 A/1
                                                                  III
                                                               (Notices)
                                                COURT OF JUSTICE
                                  OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                            GUIDE TO CANDIDATES TAKING PART IN AN OPEN COMPETITION
                                                         (2000/C 348 A/01)
             A. INTRODUCTION
             B. NOTICE OF COMPETITION AND APPLICATION FORM
                  1. Main 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                   —    how to complete the application form correctly and
     Staff Regulations of Officials. Before a competition is                    what other documentation you need to provide,
     held, a notice of competition is published in the Official
     Journal of the European Communities.                                  —    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
3.   This copy of the Official Journal includes the notice of                   Union.
     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 348 A/2              EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                    5.12.2000
       B.  NOTICE OF COMPETITION AND APPLICATION FORM                             Union (Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French,
                                                                                  German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and
Please read this carefully before completing your appli-                          Swedish) and a satisfactory knowledge of a second
cation form.                                                                      official language to the extent necessary for the
                                                                                  performance of the duties attaching to the post in
                                                                                  question.
1.    General conditions
                                                                                  Candidates take the written tests in their main
      (a)   You must read the competition notice carefully so                     language (this may or may not be their mother
            as to make absolutely sure that you fulfil the basic                  tongue). If the competition notice so provides, they
            conditions for admission to the competition, in                       may have to take written tests in the second language
            particular those relating to:                                         of their choice.
            —     nationality (1),                                            (b) Some competitions, such as those for lawyer-
                                                                                  linguists, interpreters and secretaries, are organised
            —     age,                                                            for candidates of a particular language.
            —     education, and
                                                                                  It is very difficult for candidates, even those who
                                                                                  consider themselves bilingual, to succeed in a com-
            —     any experience required.
                                                                                  petition which is not in their main language.
            The selection board has to take those conditions
            into account when deciding whether or not candi-                      Candidates are therefore advised in such cases to
            dates are to be admitted to the competition.                          decide which is their main language and to apply
                                                                                  only for competitions held in that language.
      (b) Candidates must use the application form for the
            appropriate competition contained in the Official            3.   Education and diplomas
            Journal. Only the form bearing the number of the
            competition may be used. Since this is the basic                  (a) As the notice of competition published in the
            document used by selection boards when they                           Official Journal is addressed to nationals of the
            decide which candidates to admit to the competition,                  15 Member States, it has to cover all the education
            it needs to be filled in extremely carefully.                         systems at the various levels and cannot therefore
                                                                                  be geared to the subtleties of each individual system.
            Candidates are also asked to enclosed their curricu-
            lum vitae supplementing or providing further details              (b) Candidates educated in non-member countries
            of the information given in the application form.                     should provide a certificate of national equivalence,
                                                                                  issued by the Member State of which they are
      (c)   The name under which you apply must be used in all                    nationals, for diplomas and certificates obtained
            correspondence in connection with the competition                     outside the European Union to enable the selection
            even if you subsequently change your marital status.                  board to assess the level of their studies.
      (d) Candidates are urged to provide their permanent
                                                                              (c) Educational qualifications will be checked and as-
            address where they can be contacted at any time
                                                                                  sessed by the selection board and, where necessary,
            during the duration of the procedure. They must
                                                                                  by persons with an expert knowledge of your
            notify the recruitment section without delay of
                                                                                  country’s education system.
            any change of address in order to ensure the safe
            arrival of communications concerning the compe-
            tition.                                                               It is very important that you give the precise dates
                                                                                  and details of the different stages and levels of your
      (e)   Candidates seeking exemption from the age limit                       education on your application form.
            must fill in the appropriate part of the application
            form and enclose supporting documents.                                In the case of technical or vocational training and
                                                                                  specialist or refresher training, you should specify
                                                                                  whether the course was full-time or part-time or an
2.    Knowledge of languages                                                      evening course, what subjects were covered and
                                                                                  how long the course lasted.
      (a)   All candidates for a post in an institution of the
            European Union must have a thorough knowledge
                                                                              (d) Photocopies of the diplomas or certificates
            of one of the official languages of the European
                                                                                  required for admission to the competition must
                                                                                  be enclosed with your application form.
(1) The Member States of the European Union are: Austria, Belgium,
    Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxem-             Candidates who fail to submit copies of their
    bourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United                diplomas or certificates will not be admitted to
    Kingdom.                                                                      the competition.
 ---pagebreak--- 5.12.2000           EN                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                      C 348 A/3
4.   Experience                                                                  Candidates who fail to provide the necessary
                                                                                 supporting documents in respect of their pro-
                                                                                 fessional experience will not be admitted to the
     (a) A minimum number of years’ experience is required                       competition.
         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               It is compulsory to sign the completed application form.
         or left a post, describe your duties and the kind of             In signing you are declaring on your honour that the
         work involved and give precise details of your                   information provided is true and complete, and clearly
         responsibilities and of your salary.                             indicating your intention to take part in the competition.
         Simply to say ‘manager’ or ‘office worker’ is not                An unsigned application will be considered void and
         sufficient and may result in exclusion from the                  will be rejected without being forwarded to the
         competition on the grounds that there is no evidence             selection board.
         that you have the required experience.
                                                                     6.   Submission of application form and supporting docu-
                                                                          ments
         It is in your interest to provide full details of the
         posts your have held. If necessary, you should attach            (a)    Each applicant’s file consists of the official appli-
         additional sheets to your application.
                                                                                 cation form, which must be signed, together with
                                                                                 supporting documents.
     (c) Where professional experience is specified in the
         notice of competition, it is counted only from                   (b) The official application form, together with photo-
         the time the candidate obtained the certificate or                      copies of supporting documents, must be sent,
         diploma required for admission to the competition.                      preferably by registered post, by the deadline speci-
                                                                                 fied in the notice of competition, as evidenced by
                                                                                 the postmark.
         Any experience gained prior to this will not be
         counted by the selection board.                                         Application forms and photocopies of support-
                                                                                 ing documents lodged after the deadline will
         By providing clear and correct details of your                          be rejected without being forwarded to the
         experience, you place the selection board in the best                   selection board.
         possible position to decide whether or not to admit
         you to the competition.                                          (c)    Candidates may not refer to documents, application
                                                                                 forms or information sheets submitted in connec-
                                                                                 tion with previous recruitment procedures.
     (d) Since further training courses leading to a certificate
         or diploma and duly attested periods of specialist or            (d) Documents enclosed with the application form will
         refresher training count as professional experience,                    not be returned. Candidates are recommended to
         provided that they are relevant to the duties specified                 send copies of their certificates and diplomas and of
         in the notice of competition, full supporting docu-                     documents relating to their professional experience.
         mentation must be provided.
         The exact dates (day, month, year) when each period                                C. COMPETITION PROCEDURE
         began and ended must be specified.
                                                                     1.   Organisation
         Without this information, the selection board will
         be unable to determine how much experience to                    (a)    In the case of competitions run by the Court
         credit you with.                                                        of Justice, candidates will be dealing throughout
                                                                                 exclusively with the Recruitment Section of the
                                                                                 Personnel Division of the Court of Justice.
     (e) Photocopies of statements from previous
         employers and from your present employer
         confirming your experience must be enclosed                      (b) All correspondence should be sent to the following
         with your application form.                                             address:
                                                                                     Court of Justice of the European Communities
         If you are unable to provide a statement from                                    Personnel Division — Recruitment
         your present employer, you may send a photo-                                             L-2925 Luxembourg
         copy of your contract or of your first and your                                       Telephone (352) 43 03-1
         latest payslips instead.                                                               Fax (352) 43 03-27 10
 ---pagebreak--- C 348 A/4                EN                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                     5.12.2000
      (c)   The Court of Justice applies a policy of equal                     (e) after considering the files, the selection board draws
            opportunity and of selection according to merit by                     up a list of candidates who meet the conditions set
            means of fair competitions open to all. All such                       out in the notice of competition:
            steps as shall be considered reasonable will be taken
                                                                                   —     for competitions based on tests, all candidates
            to ensure that handicapped persons can take part in
                                                                                         on the list are admitted to the tests,
            competitions on an equal footing with the other
            candidates.                                                            —     for competitions based on qualifications and
                                                                                         tests, the selection board first establishes the
            In accordance with the code of good conduct in                               criteria on the basis of which it will assess the
            force at the Court of Justice, handicapped persons                           candidates’ qualifications and then decides on
            are requested to specify, in their application form,                         the basis of the list, after examining the qualifi-
            the equipment they consider necessary for their                              cations, which candidates are to be admitted to
            participation in the tests. Everything will be done to                       the tests,
            ensure that they are treated equally with the other                    —     for competitions based on qualifications, the
            candidates and all reasonable arrangements request-                          selection board establishes the criteria on which
            ed by them will be made.                                                     it will examine the qualifications of candidates
                                                                                         on the list, gives marks for the qualifications
                                                                                         and draws up a list of suitable candidates in
2.    General procedure                                                                  order of merit.
      The Staff Regulations provide for three different types of          3.   Procedure after the submission of applications
      competition.                                                             (a) The safe arrival of your application form will
                                                                                   be acknowledged by the Personnel Division. This
      As a general rule, staff are recruited to the Court of Justice               acknowledgement does not necessarily mean that
      by means of competitions based on qualifications and                         you will be admitted to the competition.
      tests. In exceptional cases, competitions may be based on                (b) When it has examined all the application forms, the
      qualifications only.                                                         selection board will inform candidates by letter
                                                                                   whether or not they have been admitted to the
      The competition procedure is as follows:                                     competition.
                                                                               (c) In the letter stating that they have been admitted to
      (a)   candidates must complete and sign the official                         the competition, candidates will be asked to attend
            application form. It is essential that they provide                    the tests; the date and the venue for the tests will be
            copies of supporting documents and any necessary                       specified in the letter.
            additional information by the deadline specified in
            the notice of competition;                                         (d) Candidates not admitted to the tests will be told
                                                                                   why.
      (b) a selection board is set up for each competition; it                     Candidates who feel that a mistake has been made
            consists of members designated by the appointing                       regarding eligibility have 30 days from the date
            authority and by the Staff Committee; since selection                  postmarked on the letter stating that they have been
            board members are not released from their usual                        excluded from the competition in which to ask for
            duties, a certain amount of time will necessarily                      their application to be reconsidered.
            elapse before the names of candidates admitted to                      The selection board will then reconsider the appli-
            the tests and the results of the tests are known;                      cation and decide whether the complaint is justified.
                                                                               (e) Most applications are made by candidates who
      (c)   the proceedings of the selection board are secret;                     omitted to enclose supporting documents relating
            candidates are not entitled to contact it or to see                    to their professional experience or who enclosed
            their papers after they have been marked;                              insufficiently detailed evidence to enable the selec-
                                                                                   tion board to assess how much, what kind or what
      (d) the appointing authority draws up a list of candi-                       level of experience they possessed. A curriculum
            dates who satisfy the general conditions laid down                     vitae is not regarded as a supporting document.
            in the Staff Regulations (1) and submitted their
                                                                               (f) The fact that a candidate has not been admitted to a
            application in time, and sends it to the selection
                                                                                   given competition does not prevent his candidature
            board with the candidates’ files;
                                                                                   from being taken into consideration for another.
                                                                          4.   Written tests
(1) In order to qualify for appointment as an official in an institution
    of the European Union, you must be a national of one of
                                                                               (a) The organisation of the written tests depends on the
    the Member States (unless the appointing authority makes an                    examination rooms available in the various Member
    exception in your favour) and enjoy your full rights as a citizen.             States. The place where candidates are invited to
    You must also have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the laws               attend depends on their country of residence. Some-
    concerning military service and meet the character requirements                times, however, the tests are held only in Luxem-
    for the duties involved.                                                       bourg or in some other convenient place.
 ---pagebreak--- 5.12.2000            EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                      C 348 A/5
     (b) Candidates invited to attend the written tests are                  (b) Candidates are informed by letter whether or not
         given full details of the date, time and place of the                    they have been placed on the list of suitable
         tests.                                                                   candidates.
     (c) A flat-rate contribution is made towards the travel-                (c)  Candidates should note that inclusion on the
         ling expenses of candidates who have to travel                           reserve list does not necessarily lead to appoint-
         further than 300 kilometres (one way) to the exam-                       ment.
         ination centre. It is stressed that this is a flat-rate
         contribution and not full reimbursement of the                           The list is known as the ‘reserve list’ because it is on
         travelling expenses.                                                     the basis of that list that successful candidates may
                                                                                  be offered a post. Offers are made depending on
     (d) The written tests will take place simultaneously for                     requirements and the availability of posts commen-
         all candidates at all the centres on the date indicated                  surate with the qualifications of the successful
         in the letter of invitation to attend. No exception to                   candidates.
         this can be allowed.
     (e) Irrespective of the type of diploma or certificate                       However, in view of budgetary and operational
         required for admission to a given competition,                           constraints, successful candidates should note that
         candidates should note that the written and oral                         some time many elapse between being placed on
         tests presuppose a thorough knowledge of the                             the reserve list and receiving a definite job offer.
         subject(s) or area(s) described in the notice of
                                                                                  In addition, reserve lists may be used to take
         competition (Section I. Nature of duties). The
         specialised knowledge needed to pass the tests                           on temporary or auxiliary staff depending on the
         should not therefore be underestimated.                                  budgetary funds available.
     (f) The test papers are not identified by the candidates’               (d) Successful candidates must also undergo a medical
         names and so there is no possibility of candidates’                      examination as laid down in the Staff Regulations in
         being identified by the examiners or the selection                       order to make sure they are physically fit to perform
         board.                                                                   the duties in question.
     (g) After the written and/or typewritten tests have been                (e)  Before the successful candidates are appointed as
         marked, the selection board draws up the list of                         probationary officials, a check will be carried out to
         candidates who are to be invited to attend for the                       ensure that they:
         oral test.
                                                                                  —    are nationals of one of the Member States of
5.   Oral test                                                                         the European Union and enjoy their full rights
                                                                                       as citizens,
     (a) Candidates are given details of the date, time and
         place of the oral test in the letter inviting them to                    —    have fulfilled any obligations imposed on them
         attend. Oral tests are normally held in Luxembourg.                           by the laws concerning military service in the
         Candidates will be given a contribution towards their                         country of which they are nationals,
         travelling and subsistence expenses as determined by
         the rules applicable to the Court.                                       —    meet the character requirements for the duties
                                                                                       involved,
     (b) Most of the interview will be conducted in the
         candidate’s main language and simultaneous                               —    satisfy the requirements as to physical fitness
         interpretation is available if necessary.                                     for the duties to be performed (medical examin-
         The purpose of the oral test is to assess, first, the                         ation),
         candidate’s professional knowledge and, secondly,
                                                                                  —    have produced the originals of their diplomas
         his fitness to carry out in an institution of the
                                                                                       or certificates.
         European Union the duties attached to the category
         of post for which the competition was held.
     (c) During the test, the selection board will also assess            D.    CAREER PROGRESSION AND WORKING CONDITIONS
         knowledge of other official languages of the Euro-
         pean Union by asking the candidate to reply to
                                                                       1.    Categories of post
         questions in a language or languages other than
         his/her main language.
                                                                             All posts in the institutions of the European Union,
6.   Reserve list                                                            whether permanent or temporary, are classified as fol-
                                                                             lows:
     (a) Once the selection board has completed its deliber-
         ations, it draws up a list of candidates deemed                     (a)  Category A: staff who have completed a course
         suitable for the posts to be filled. In accordance with                  of university education and obtained a degree or
         the Staff Regulations every attempt is made to                           diploma, engaged in administrative and advisory
         ensure that the number of candidates on the list                         duties in areas of activity falling within the com-
         exceeds the number of posts available.                                   petence of departments of the institutions.
 ---pagebreak--- C 348 A/6            EN                       Official Journal of the European Communities                                    5.12.2000
         Category A runs from grade A 8 up to A 3 and is                          The period is nine months for officials in category A,
         divided into four career brackets: A 8 (Assistant                        the Language Service and category B, and six months
         Administrator), A 7/6 (Administrator), A 5/4 (Prin-                      for other officials.
         cipal Administrator) and A 3 (Head of Division).
         Language service (LA): Staff who have completed a               2.   Remuneration and other special conditions
         course of university education and obtained a degree
         or diploma, working as translators and/or                            (a) Salary: the basic monthly salary for the career
         interpreters; the LA structure corresponds to grades                     bracket covered by the competition is given in
         A 8 to A 3 of category A above.                                          the notice of competition. The basic salary varies
                                                                                  according to step classification on recruitment.
         The Language Service comprises four career
         brackets: LA 8 (Assistant translator, Assistant                      (b) Allowances: in addition to basic salary, the person
         interpreter), LA 7/6 (Lawyer-linguist/interpreter),                      appointed will receive the allowances to which
         LA 5/4 (Reviser, Principal Lawyer-linguist, Principal                    he/she is entitled under the Staff Regulations. These
         interpreter) and LA 3 (Head of Translation or                            may include the following:
         Interpretation Division).
                                                                                  1.   daily subsistence allowance (payable for a lim-
         NB: The linguistic duties specified above require a                           ited period);
         perfect command of mother tongue or main
         language and a good knowledge of at least two other                      2.   expatriation allowance or foreign residence
         official languages of the European Union.                                     allowance equivalent to 16 % and 4 % of basic
                                                                                       salary respectively;
    (b) Category B: staff who have completed a course of
         advanced secondary education and obtained a final
         certificate or diploma, engaged in executive duties                      and the following family allowances:
         (comparable with those performed by an executive
         officer, administrative assistant, etc.).                                1.   household allowance equivalent to 5 % of basic
                                                                                       salary;
         Category B runs from grade B 5 up to B 1.
                                                                                  2.   monthly dependent child allowance;
         Category B breaks down as follows: B 5/4 (Adminis-
         trative assistant), B 3/2 (Senior administrative assist-                 3.   education allowance equal to actual education
         ant), and B 1 (Principal administrative assistant).                           costs incurred, with a monthly ceiling, for each
                                                                                       dependent child.
    (c)  Category C: staff who have completed a course of
         secondary education and/or a course of vocational
                                                                              (c) Deductions: officials qualify for a pension scheme
         education at secondary level and obtained a certifi-
                                                                                  and sickness and accident insurance. Officials’ con-
         cate or diploma, engaged in clerical duties (compar-
                                                                                  tributions to these schemes are deducted from their
         able with those performed by a secretary, filing
                                                                                  remuneration.
         clerk, technician, etc.).
         Category C runs from grade C 5 up to C 1.                            (d) Taxes: the remuneration of officials of the European
                                                                                  Communities is subject to a tax deducted at source.
         Category C breaks down as follows: C 5/4 (Clerical                       The proceeds of the tax are paid into the budget of
         assistant, Typist), C 3/2 (Clerical officer, Secretary/                  the European Union.
         typist), and C 1 (Executive secretary, Principal sec-
         retary, Principal clerical officer).                                     The overall amount of the tax raised reduces the
                                                                                  financial contribution of the Member States to the
    (d) Category D: staff who have completed the basic                            budget of the European Union accordingly. For that
         course of ‘compulsory’ and/or vocational education                       reason, under Article 13(2) of the Protocol on
         and obtained a certificate or diploma, engaged                           the Privileges and Immunities of the European
         in manual or service duties (messenger, driver,                          Communities, remuneration is exempt from
         storeman, workshop staff, etc.).                                         national tax.
         Category D runs from grade D 4 up to D 1.
                                                                              (e) Social environment: there are European Schools at
         Category D breaks down as follows: D 4 (Unskilled                        most of the main places of activity of the Com-
         employee, Unskilled worker), D 3/2 (Skilled                              munity institutions, providing primary and second-
         employee, Skilled worker), and D 1 (Head of Unit).                       ary education up to the level of the European
                                                                                  baccalaureate. The schools, which have sections for
    (e)  Officials other than those in grades A 1 and A 2                         each of the main teaching languages, are recognised
         serve a probationary period, which must be satisfac-                     by all 15 Member States. There are also crèches for
         torily completed before they can be established.                         children under school age.