The Junior Professionals Programme: the Assistant Lawyers’ scheme

The Assistant Lawyers’ Scheme opens the doors of the European Court of Human Rights to legal professionals at the start of their career, giving them an opportunity to gain experience working within this European institution. They will benefit from regular working contact with experienced case lawyers, senior managers and the judges themselves. While dealing with individual applications originating from their own legal system and assisting senior colleagues in handling more complex applications, assistant lawyers benefit from the Registry’s in-house training programme and deepen their knowledge of the functioning of the European Court of Human Rights and the Convention case-law.

The Scheme serves the twofold objective of bringing new talent to the Registry and contributing to greater awareness and understanding of the Convention in the legal profession throughout Europe as assistant lawyers advance in their careers elsewhere. Employment under the scheme is therefore of limited duration.

Job mission

The principal duties of an assistant lawyer consist of assisting more senior members of staff in the preparation of correspondence with applicants and draft decisions in standard form cases.

Under the authority of the Registrar of the European Court of Human Rights and of a Head of a Division, the incumbent will be responsible for the following:

• examines and deals with applications in prima facie inadmissible cases and in cases which can be dealt with in a standard manner;
• drafts decisions, minutes, reports, notes and other documents;
• advises applicants, in correspondence or, if necessary, in interviews, on the conditions of admissibility of applications;
• attends the Court’s sessions and presents applications;
• assists one or more experienced case-lawyers, where necessary, in the preparation of Chamber cases for examination by the Court.

Please note that the incumbent may be required to perform other duties not listed in the vacancy notice.

Only applicants who best meet the following criteria will be considered for shortlisting. Criteria marked with an asterix (*) are statutory requirements.

• Qualifications:
o higher education degree* in law of a standard permitting access, either on the basis of qualifications or after passing a competitive examination, to the judicial administration or legal professions in Bulgaria;
o thorough knowledge of the Bulgarian legal system and ability to handle cases arising in other jurisdictions;
o knowledge of constitutional and of international law.
• Experience: Minimum six months professional experience acquired in the legal field in Bulgaria;
• Language requirements:
o very good knowledge of one of the two official languages of the Council of Europe (English, French) and ability to draft legal texts therein clearly and precisely;
o excellent knowledge of Bulgarian (mother tongue level).
• Nationality*: open to nationals of Council of Europe member states.
• Age*: under 35 years of age at the closing date of the vacancy notice.

• Professional and technical competencies:
o ICT skills: ability to use current ICT tools;
o planning and work organisation.
• Interpersonal skills: team work and co-operation.
• Personal attitudes: initiative, sense of responsibility, concern for quality, efficiency and accuracy. 
• Personal values: integrity, loyalty and conscience; discretion; independence and confidence; respect for diversity; commitment to the judicial independence of the Court.

For more information, please refer to the competency inventory of the Council of Europe.

Applications

Applications must be made in English or French using the Council of Europe on-line application system.  By connecting to our website www.coe.int/jobs you can create and submit your on-line application.  Applications must be submitted at the latest 13 October 2014 (midnight Central European Time).

The selection procedure consists of a shortlisting based on candidates’ applications and may include a job related written exam, situational exercises, language tests and/or interviews.

Only candidates who best match the requirements of the job vacancy will be shortlisted and invited to test or a written exam. Tests or written exams will be eliminatory, and only candidates who succeed in the tests will be invited for interview. Depending on the number of applicants, the length of the professional experience considered for shortlisting may be increased from that indicated in the vacancy notice.

Following this competition, a list of eligible candidates, in order of merit, may be established. This list will be valid for two years with the possibility of extending it to a maximum of four years. During the period of validity of the list, candidates on the list may be offered employment of fixed term duration. It should be noted that placement on this list does not give candidates the right to an appointment within the Council of Europe. The choice of candidates from a reserve list is not made solely according to the order of merit, but also takes into account the requirements of the position to be filled and the qualifications of the candidates.

The first two years of employment will constitute a probationary period. Provided the staff members’ work is considered satisfactory, he/she may be offered a contract of fixed term duration. The total length of employment under the Junior Professionals Programme/Assistant Lawyers’ scheme at the European Court of Human Rights will not exceed four years. The staff member so recruited shall not be eligible for any subsequent internal competition, promotion or transfer to a post, or for secondment.

Details on conditions of employment including salaries, allowances, pension scheme and social insurance can be consulted on our recruitment website.

Under its equal opportunities policy, the Council of Europe is aiming to achieve parity in the number of women and men employed in each category and grade. In the event of equal merit, preference will therefore be given to the applicant belonging to the under-represented sex.

The Council of Europe welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates, irrespective of gender, disability, marital or parental status, racial, ethnic or social origin, colour, religion, belief or sexual orientation.

During the different stages of the recruitment procedure, specific measures may be taken to ensure equal opportunities for candidates with disabilities.

The Organisation

The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading organisation in the protection of human rights, democracy and rule of law. It was founded in 1949 in order to promote greater unity between its members  and  now includes 47 member states, all having signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights.

By Statute, the Council of Europe has two constituent organs: the Committee of Ministers, composed of the member States’ Ministers for Foreign Affairs, and the Parliamentary Assembly, comprising delegations from the national parliaments. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe represents the entities of local and regional self-government within the member States. The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent and impartial institution within the Council of Europe mandated to promote the awareness of and respect for human rights in member states.

The European Court of Human Rights is the judicial body which oversees the implementation of the Convention in the member states. Individuals can bring complaints of human rights violations to the Strasbourg Court once all possibilities of appeal have been exhausted in the member state concerned.

The Council of Europe has its permanent headquarters in Strasbourg (France) and in addition it maintains external presence in more than twenty countries. More information about the Council of Europe external presence.

External recruitment procedure organised in accordance with Article 16 of the Regulations on Appointments.