Employment and traineeships

Responsive Image

Recruitment at the Court


All vacancy notices for the different parts of the Council of Europe, including the Court’s Registry, are published on the website of the Council of Europe’s Human Resources Directorate.

Responsive Image

Traineeships at the Court


Legal professionals with a university degree in law and a sound knowledge of human rights issues, particularly in the context of the Convention, may apply for a traineeship at the Court.

Traineeships within the official programme (following an online application via the Council of Europe’s official website) mainly involve work carried out in close cooperation with one of the Judges of the European Court of Human Rights. In other cases traineeships and study visits may be undertaken in one of the departments of the Court’s Registry, for example in one of the case-processing units, in the Jurisconsult’s Directorate or in the Communication Department.

Responsive Image

Assistant lawyers’ scheme


The assistant lawyers’ scheme is open to law graduates and gives legal professionals at the start of their career who are nationals of one of the member States of the Council of Europe the opportunity to work at the Court for a fixed period, processing individual applications relating to their own country’s legal system. Posts are filled by means of competitive examinations which are advertised on the website of the Council of Europe’s Human Resources Directorate.