Judges' job ad is put in classifieds

A CLASSIFIED job advert appealing for court judges in Orleans has had its desired effect, after the Tribunal de Grande Instance (TGI) said it would appoint two judges to sit in the city.

Lawyers posted ironic advert yesterday on the popular online “petites annonces” website leboncoin.fr in protest at the backlog of cases in the French city caused by a shortage of judges.

It said that judges were needed to absorb “a slight delay of almost 100 decisions pending for the month of November 2013 involving at least 200 individuals and many children”.

A day after the advert was posted, the TGI released a statement saying that two judges will be appointed from May 5.

There are supposed to be 26 principal judges in Orleans, but one position is currently vacant and two of the city’s four family judges are absent on sick leave and maternity leave.

The advert was taken down from the website following the TGI’s announcement.