The European Court of Human Rights is hiring a French Language Translator for its Registry in Strasbourg, on a fixed term international appointment, with applications closing on 22 September 2026. At Youth Works Hub, we worked through the vacancy notice so you can see the exact language bar, the experience threshold and what the Language Department expects beyond translation itself.
If you translate legal English into French and you want the source texts to be judgments of a human rights court rather than corporate contracts, this is the post.
The French Language Divisions
The team is one of the two French Language Divisions of the Court's Language Department. The Divisions perform language checking, translation, revision and linguistic assistance in response to requests from judges or members of the Court's Registry.
📜 They ensure the linguistic quality of the French versions of documents produced by the Court.
⚖️ Those documents include judgments and decisions, judges' opinions, press releases, case law guides, manuals and internal communications.
What You Would Translate
🔁 Translating documents of a primarily legal nature from English into French, drafted by Judges of the Court and members of its Registry.
🧾 The material is the Court's own output, so the register is judicial and the terminology is that of the European Convention on Human Rights system.
Language Checking and Terminology Support
🔍 Ensuring the linguistic quality of legal documents drafted in French by non native speakers, which the notice calls language checking.
📖 Providing linguistic and terminological assistance to colleagues who need it.
This is the part that distinguishes an institutional translator from a freelance one: a large share of the value is in correcting and supporting the French of other people's drafting.
Translation Tools
🛠️ Contributing to testing and enhancing new translation and editing tools and exploiting their full potential.
💡 The ability to work with new translation and editing tools, meaning testing, improving and using them, is written into the requirements rather than treated as a bonus.
Confidentiality
🔒 Keeping all assignment related information strictly confidential is listed as a duty of the post, which follows from working on judgments and decisions before publication.
Requirements
🎓 A higher education degree or qualification equivalent to a master's degree in the second cycle of the Bologna framework, preferably in translation or law.
🕓 At least four years of professional experience in the translation of legal documents, obtained after the qualification, preferably in an international context.
🗣️ A first language level of French and an excellent level of English.
🖥️ The ability to work with new translation and editing tools.
Administrative Conditions
🛂 Being a citizen of one of the member States of the Council of Europe and fulfilling the conditions for appointment to the civil service of that state.
🎖️ Having discharged any obligation concerning national service, military, civil or comparable.
👪 Not being the parent, child, stepchild or grandchild of a serving staff member of the Council of Europe.
🔞 Being under the age of 65.
Competencies and Assets
🧭 Key competencies: planning and work organisation, drafting skills, concern for quality, teamwork and co-operation, and communication.
🌱 Desirable competencies: results orientation, learning and development, and service orientation.
📚 Professional and technical expertise: legal studies would be an asset, along with a good understanding of the legal terminology used in the Court's judgments and decisions.
According to Youth Works Hub's review of this notice, the phrase "legal studies would be an asset" is the opening for translators without a law degree: the mandatory qualification can be in translation, and the legal depth can come from four years of legal translation practice.
Contract and Terms
📑 The vacancy is an international external recruitment on a fixed term appointment.
🏷️ The grade is L1/L2 and the vacancy number is 1099/2026, posted on 1 September 2026.
💼 No salary figure is published in the notice. Salaries, allowances, pension scheme and social insurance are set out on the Council of Europe's conditions of employment page.
How the Recruitment Runs
📅 The deadline is 22 September 2026, fixed at 23:59:59 CET or CEST.
📘 The recruitment is carried out in accordance with Article 490 of the Council of Europe Staff Rules.
✍️ The notice asks you to make your motivation show how your competencies make your profile the best for the role. For a translator post, the French of that letter is itself evidence.
Equal Opportunity
⚖️ 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.
👥 It aims for gender parity in each category and grade, and at appointment gives preference between suitable candidates to the person of the under represented gender in the relevant grades.
♿ Applicants with specific needs are encouraged to request reasonable accommodations at any stage of the process.
How to Apply
The application goes through the Council of Europe recruitment portal against this vacancy number. Because the role combines translation, language checking and tool development, an application that evidences all three lines rather than translation volume alone matches the notice more closely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a law degree?
No. A master's level qualification preferably in translation or law is required, and legal studies are described as an asset. What is mandatory is four years of legal translation experience.
Which language combination is used?
You translate from English into French. French must be at first language level and English at an excellent level.
Is the work only translation?
No. It also covers language checking of French drafted by non native speakers, linguistic and terminological assistance, and contributing to testing and improving translation and editing tools.
What kind of documents are involved?
Judgments and decisions, judges' opinions, press releases, case law guides, manuals and internal communications produced by the Court.
What grade is this post?
Grade L1/L2, on a fixed term international external recruitment.
Is confidentiality part of the contract?
Yes. Keeping all assignment related information strictly confidential is one of the listed duties.
Deadline
⏳ 22 September 2026
Applications close at 23:59:59 CET or CEST on the day. Find more opportunities like this, explained in plain language, on Youth Works Hub.
