Legal Advisor - Litigation, administrative law and institutional matters
Strasbourg
- Organization: COE - Council of Europe
- Location: Strasbourg
- Grade: Junior level - A1/A2 -Mid Level - Administrators - International recruitment
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Occupational Groups:
- Operations and Administrations
- Legal - Broad
- Legal - International Law
- Democratic Governance
- External Relations, Partnerships and Resource mobilization
- Closing Date: 2026-01-05
General Information
Description & Requirements
The Directorate of Legal Advice and Public International Law (DLAPIL) provides legal advice and assistance on all legal matters to the Organisation’s management, entities, institutions and organs. DLAPIL is looking to recruit a Legal Advisor to work in its Legal Advice and Litigation Department, Litigation Division, with a focus on litigation, international civil service law/administrative law, institutional law of the Organisation and privileges and immunities.
As a Legal Advisor - Litigation, administrative law and institutional matters, you will:
- draft responses to formal complaints lodged by staff members and other entitled persons, as well as submissions before the Administrative Tribunal of the Council of Europe;
- provide legal advice on the interpretation and application of the Organisation’s internal legal framework, in particular with respect to the Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and other norms relating to the management of staff;
- review and provide legal advice on draft legal instruments before their adoption;
- provide legal advice on matters involving the privileges and immunities of the Organisation and its staff, and draft related Notes Verbales or other correspondence as required;
- draft legal opinions, observations, legal briefs, studies, correspondence, etc., on other legal matters affecting the Organisation, including those relating to the law of the host state.
You must:
- hold a higher education degree or qualification equivalent to a master’s degree () in law permitting access to legal professions;
- have at least four years of professional experience acquired in legal matters relevant for this position, preferably in an international environment;
- have a very good knowledge of English and, preferably, also a very good knowledge of French.
You must also:
- be a citizen of one of the member states of the Council of Europe and fulfil the conditions for appointment to the civil service of that state;
- have discharged any obligation concerning national service (military, civil or comparable);
- not be the parent, child, stepchild or grandchild of a serving staff member of the Council of Europe;
- be under the age of 65 years.
Your application must demonstrate to what extent you have the competencies listed below. To help you doing so, feel free to consult our .
- Operational - Analysis and problem solving
- Operational - Drafting skills
- Operational - Concern for quality
- Interpersonal - Teamwork and co-operation
- Interpersonal - Resilience
- Professional and technical expertise:
- proven practical experience in litigation in one or more of the following legal areas: international civil service law, law of international organisations, administrative law or labour law;
- ability to produce high-quality legal advice in a timely and effective manner to address client’s needs;
- ability to work autonomously and independently;
- confirmed experience in legal drafting in English;
- capacity to analyse, structure and synthetise information to identify key issues.
- Interpersonal - Communication
- Interpersonal - Adaptability
- Interpersonal - Initiative
- Professional and technical expertise:
- experience in the legal department of an international organisation;
- expertise in advising on employment law, dispute resolution, and privileges and immunities of international organisations;
- proven ability to work collaboratively in a multicultural environment and build effective working relationships with clients and colleagues.
This job vacancy is for an international external recruitment. You can consult the conditions of employment (salaries, allowances, pension scheme, social insurance, etc.) on the webpage .
For more information on how we recruit, you can consult the page . This recruitment is carried out in accordance with . The deadline for applications is indicated in the General information section of this vacancy notice (see above) and is fixed at 23:59:59 (CET/CEST). When applying, make sure your motivation shows how your competencies make your profile the best for the role.
As an equal opportunity employer, the Council of Europe welcomes applications from all suitably qualified people, irrespective of sex, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic or social origin, disability, religion or belief. Under its equal opportunity policy, the Council of Europe is aiming to achieve gender parity in staff employed in each category and grade. At the time of appointment, preference between suitable people shall be given to the person of the gender which is under-represented in the relevant grades within the category to which the vacancy belongs.
Applicants with specific needs are encouraged to request reasonable accommodations at any stage during the recruitment process. Please contact us at , we will ensure that your request is handled.
The information published on the CoE’s careers website regarding working conditions is correct at the time of publication of the vacancy notice. Any changes to these conditions during the recruitment process will be updated on our Portal and will apply at the time of the job offer. Our career's website is not intended to be exhaustive and may not address all questions you would have. Should you have remaining questions, please contact us at .
Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.