Luxembourg, 07/02/2006 (Agence Europe) - Judges are responsible for the quality of the European Court of Justice judgements. They should not give free reign to their legal secretaries, some of whom have a tendency to write their judgements in their place. This is the general thrust of Danish judge, Claus Gulmann, in a speech made last January when he left the European Court of Justice after 15 years of exemplary and loyal service as Advocate General and then as a judge.
In a declaration to his colleagues he explained that “it is certainly useful that deliberations are well prepared by written notes…however, these should never replace the free and frank exchange during deliberations of arguments among judges each having an equal responsibility for reaching the best possible result”… It goes without saying that he or she will have to work on each case not only to form his or her own opinion but also to be in a position to contribute effectively and constructively to the deliberations… However important the work, at the end of the day, the quality of the jurisprudence is dependant on the efforts of each individual judge”.
The criticism made by the Danish judge can be added to that made by the French judge, Hubert Legal, at the Court of First Instance. Judge Legal wrote in a French journal that that a substantial part of real power in the making of decisions at the Court was in the hands of the legal secretaries, young, ambitious people who believe it is their duty to influence the judge employing them (EUROPE 8979).
This reputation of the men and women working in the shadows is a result of the fact that they are appointed by the Court at the entire discretion of the judges who select them on the basis of personal criteria over which the administration has no control at all. Legal secretaries are legal experts but no statute stipulates this as an essential requirement. There have been some cases, rare, it is true, where in the past they were not legal experts at all. There are 189 legal secretaries today: three per judge at the Court of Justice and First Instance and one per judge at the EU Civil Service Tribunal. There are a number of readers of judgements (specialist legal proof readers) working for the Advocates General.
The number has quadrupled over the last fifteen years. The reason: the setting up of the Court of First Instance (1989), the EU Civil Service Tribunal (2005) and the gradual accession of new Member States. In 1989, the Court, the only European jurisdiction, consisted of 13 judges.
Legal secretaries are employed on three year renewable contracts that correspond to the mandates of the judges (6 years). They enjoy all the benefits and pay of the civil service on a provisional basis. The specific status is due to the fact that they are paid according to the criteria of age and not on the criteria of professional abilities. On a pay scale that goes from A16, the highest grade, to A8, include: grade A8 for those under 26 (EUR 5,500 on figures for 2004); A9 at 26; A10 at 30 (EUR 7100; A12 at 38 (EUR 9100) etc. They move up this ladder each time they reach the set age for promotion but can also remain on a “waiting list” if there are too many of the same age. The number of years required at the Court of First Instance and the EU Civil Service Tribunal for obtaining the same grades is higher than at the Court of Justice.
In 2006 at all the different legal institutions: the Court of Justice; the Court of First Instance and the EU Civil Service Tribunal there were 8 aged under twenty six; 26 aged over twenty six; 31 aged over thirty; 34 aged over forty (A11); 50 aged over 38 (A12) and 40 aged over 44 (A13).
At the end of a judge's mandate, legal secretaries can stay at the same cabinet: Bernard Wieier, Gianfranco Gori and Jesper Svenningsen are working for the new Danish judge Lars Bay Larsen. When a new judge reshuffles his team and does not employ the members of the old team, a legal secretary can try his or her luck elsewhere. After 14 years working for the first Portuguese judge, Maria Eugénia Martins Ribeiro entered the cabinet of the president of the Court of First Instance Bo Vesterdorf. This legal secretary, together with some others, therefore used the fast-track to obtain the post of judge. After three years working for the president of the Court of First Instance, Ms Martins Ribeiro is now the Portuguese judge at this very same court. Sean Van Raepenbusch, legal secretary at the European Court of Justice from 1994-2005 for judges Joliet, Wathelet and Schintgen became the new Belgian judge at the EU Civil Service Tribunal in 2005. Hubert Legal, entered the cabinet of the Judge of the Court of Justice, Jean-Pierre Puissochet in 1997 and was appointed judge at the Court of First Instance in 2001. He then chose Stéphane Gervasoni for his cabinet, who is now the French judge at the EU Civil Service Tribunal. Legal secretaries also work for the private sector: Philippe Emannuel Partsch, who acquired tax experience working for Belgian judge Wathelet, set up a financial services consultancy firm in Luxembourg. Some come and go: Rita Ciccone followed Advocate General Tesauro to the Italian Competition Office when Tesauro was its president and then she went back to Luxembourg where she's currently legal secretary for judge Maria Eugenia Martins Ribeiro, after being an unsuccessful candidate for the post of judge at the EU Civil Service Tribunal (EUROPE 8986).
Finally, some legal secretaries go back to the institutions they were working before they left for Luxembourg.
Some of them meet up at a social group for legal secretaries (http: //http://www.amicuria.org ), which brings together former and current legal secretaries. Their web-page does not provide much information but we do, nevertheless, learn that its governing board is chaired by Pierre Mathijsen, former legal secretary, lawyer, former Director General at the Commission and current president of an association involved in setting up economic and trade networking in the business world.