Court Delays Assessor

Vacancies

Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates who possess the relevant expertise and experience for the role of Court Delays Assessor. This is an excellent opportunity for successful candidates to work in conjunction with the Chief Court Delays Assessor in relation to the provisions of the Act.

The Role

The Court Delays Assessor will receive administrative assistance in their work from a small team of Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration staff (known as Designated Officers under the Act).

The amount of time that will be required to carry out the role of Court Delays Assessor (while adhering to the timelines set out in the Act) on an annual basis will be dictated by the number and type of claims received.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

The principal duties of the Court Delays Assessor include the following:

• Assessing applications made by parties to proceedings in the Irish Courts claiming a breach to their right to have such proceedings concluded within a reasonable timeframe, including for the purpose of their examination of an assessment application, such information or documents as provided for under the Act as are specified by them that, in their opinion, is or are reasonably required for the purposes of their examination of the application.
• Preparing a written assessment consisting of a declaration as to whether the applicant’s right for proceedings to be concluded within a reasonable time has or has not been breached, and to include reasons for these conclusions as provided by section 11 of the Act.
• Providing a copy of the assessment to both the Minister and the applicant and seeking confirmation of acceptance in the prescribed form under the Act.
• Where the provision of compensation to the claimant is deemed appropriate by the Assessor, assessing the level of compensation the basis for which as is provided for under the Act (see assessment process above).
• Where an assessment is rejected by either the applicant or the Minister, or deemed rejected by the applicant, issuing the applicant with an authorisation to initiate proceedings in the Circuit Court.
• Carrying out all the stages of the assessment process within the timeframes as set down in the Act.
• Liaising as appropriate and necessary with the Chief Court Delays Assessor in the carrying out of their duties including attending joint meetings and assisting the Chief Court Delays Assessor in their completion of reports to the Minister, as provided for under the Act.
• In the performance of their functions under the Act, processing personal data, including special categories of personal data, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018 and any related regulations.

Please note that the above is a general guide to the principal duties and responsibilities of the role and is not an exhaustive description. Other duties and responsibilities appropriate to the role may be assigned from time to time.

Working Environment and Location

Given the nature of the role, the main functions of the Assessor can be carried out remotely. However, it is intended that an office space and the necessary secretariat support for the Assessors will be provided in the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration offices in Dublin 2 (city centre). The exact location is to be confirmed.

Vacancies and Panel

There are currently four vacancies.

A panel will be formed from this competition to fill current and any future vacancies that may arise. It is not expected that appointments will be made from this panel after June 2028.

Qualifications and Experience Requirements

Essential

Candidates must, on or before Thursday 9th April 2026:

Candidates must also be able to demonstrate:

Desirable

• A thorough knowledge and understanding of the Courts Proceedings (Delays) Act 2024 and the obligations placed on the Chief Delays Assessor and other Delays Assessors under its provisions.
• Demonstrable experience, specialist knowledge and expertise of the ECHR (Arts 6.1 and 41 in particular) and the jurisprudence of the ECtHR and the Irish Courts in relation to same.
• Experience of the application of evidence-based decision-making practices and methodologies.
• Experience of assessing levels of compensation, where applicable, in a fair and consistent manner on the basis of the principles and practices applied by the European Court of Human Rights.
• Leadership and management skills with a demonstrated ability to lead and maximise the contribution of a team to achieve overall objectives.

Please note:

Qualifications / eligibility may not be confirmed until the final stage of the process. Therefore, those candidates who do not possess the essential requirements on or by the dates as specified and proceed with their application are putting themselves to unnecessary effort / expense and will not be offered a position from this competition.

The onus is on the candidate to ensure they fulfil the eligibility requirements as set out. publicjobs reserves the right to deem an applicant ineligible at any stage if it is apparent that the candidate does not hold the required eligibility / qualifications, e.g. from the submitted application form.

Candidates who are unable to demonstrate that they hold / will hold the required qualification(s) / membership(s) etc. by the deadline specified may be withdrawn from the competition at any stage. An invitation to tests, interview or any element of the selection process is not acceptance of eligibility.

Candidates who are placed on a panel and come under consideration for a position will be required to provide documentary evidence of their eligibility, including qualifications (where applicable). Please be aware a transcript of results may be required; therefore, the onus is on candidates to have this information available if requested by publicjobs.

Eligibility to Compete and Certain Restrictions on Eligibility

Eligible candidates must be:

a) A citizen of the European Economic Area (EEA). The EEA consists of the Member States of the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway; or

b) A citizen of the United Kingdom (UK); or

c) A citizen of Switzerland pursuant to the agreement between the EU and Switzerland on the free movement of persons; or

d) A non-EEA citizen who has a Stamp 4 permission1 or a Stamp 5 permission.

1 Please note that a 50 TEU permission, which is a replacement for Stamp 4EUFAM after Brexit, is acceptable as a Stamp 4 equivalent.

Terms of Appointment

(1) Subject to the Act, the Court Delays Assessor shall hold office for 5 years from the date of their appointment.

(2) The Court Delays Assessor, whose term of office expires by the effluxion of time, shall be eligible for re-appointment.

The position of the Court Delays Assessor is a statutory position created under the Court Proceedings (Delays) Act 2024 and is appointed by the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, following a public competition held by publicjobs, in accordance with the 2024 Act.

The Court Delays Assessor is independent in the performance of their functions under the Act and is not an employee of the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.

Fee payments

The Court Delays Assessor will be paid on a case-by-case basis at €250 per case in cases wholly directly by them. Such fees are payable subject to compliance with the One Person One Salary (OPOS) principle in respect of serving public sector employees and are subject to taxation.

Though travel is unlikely to be a necessary requirement of appointees in carrying out their role(s), should this be required, travel and subsistence reimbursement in accordance with rates published by the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation from time to time for the civil service will be provided for essential travel.

Resignation, removal, disqualification, ineligibility for office of the Court Delays Assessor

Section 7 of the Act sets out the conditions and circumstances governing the resignation, removal, disqualification, and ineligibility for the office of the Court Delays Assessor.