European Court of Human Rights (Hansard, 19 December 2003)

§ Mr. McNamara
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will publish the(a) procedures and (b) timetables being followed by the Government to produce the list of nominees for election by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe as United Kingdom Judge on the European Court of Human Rights; and whether the list will include at least one man and one woman. [142453]
73W

§ Mr. Rammell
[holding answer 18 December 2003]: The procedures adopted by the Government for the nomination of candidates for the position of UK judge at the European Court of Human Rights follow those used previously for this and other international judicial appointments. The timetable is as follows: 11–16 November 2003: advertisement of position in national press 28 November 2003: closing date for written applications December 2003: panel meets to select candidates for interview January 2004: panel interviews potential candidates and recommends three nomination list By 30 January 2004: list of three nominees to be approved by UK Ministers 30 January 2004: transmission of list to the Council of Europe
In view of the above procedure, it is not possible at this stage to comment on the composition of the list of three candidates to be nominated at the end of January.

§ Mr. Kevin McNamara
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many senior appointments in the administration of the European Court of Human Rights are unfilled; and for how long the vacancies have been unfilled. [142454]

§ Mr. Rammell
[holding answer 18 December 2003]: There is one senior appointment in the administration of the European Court of Human Rights which is unfilled. This vacancy has existed since November 2002. The UK Government hopes this position can be filled in the near future.

§ Mr. McNamara
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps he has taken to resolve the outstanding difficulties relating to the pensions and social security rights of judges of the European Court of Human Rights; and when he expects the matter to be concluded. [142455]

§ Mr. Rammell
[holding answer 18 December 2003]: The UK is currently waiting to see an actuarial review of the proposals made in relation to improving the benefits package for judges at the European Court of Human Rights. Once this has been published the Committee of Ministers will then be in a position to assess the feasibility of the schemes proposed. Publishing of the actuaries" report is expected in early 2004, with a decision on a package to be taken later in the year.