Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 January 2018
127. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the selection procedure he plans to use to select a suitable person for nomination by Ireland as an advocate general of the Court of Justice of the European Union in 2018; and the timeframe for same. [2416/18]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, Ireland is to nominate a candidate to serve as an Advocate General to the Court of Justice of the European Union for the period October 2018 to October 2024.
Article 253 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU sets out the criteria for appointment of an Advocate General as 'persons whose independence is beyond doubt and who possess the qualifications required for appointment to the highest judicial offices in their respective countries or who are jurisconsults of recognised competence...'
Member States are free to adopt their own domestic process for selecting a nominee to serve as an Advocate General. It has been agreed that a similar process to that undertaken for both the appointment of a Judge of the General Court of the European Union in 2016 and a Judge of the European Court of Justice in 2015 be used for this appointment.
This process will involve:
- Establishing an independent expert panel to assist in the identification of persons suitable for appointment as an Advocate General to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
- The Panel to invite expressions of interest by public advertisement.
- The Panel to consider written expressions of interest and to recommend suitable candidates to the Government for decision of the Government.
The process is currently underway to establish the independent expert panel, which will comprise three independent experts. It is envisaged that the selection procedure to nominate a candidate to serve as an Advocate General to the Court of Justice of the European Union will be completed by end of April 2018.
