40. (1) Subject to subsection (2), a person is an eligible person where—

(a) in the case of the judicial office of Chief Justice, the President of the Court of Appeal and the President of the High Court, he or she is qualified for appointment in accordance with section 5 or 45A of the Act of 1961 in relation to the judicial office concerned,

(b) in the case of an appointment to the office of ordinary judge of the Supreme Court, ordinary judge of the Court of Appeal or ordinary judge of the High Court, he or she is qualified for appointment in accordance with section 5(2), (4), (5), (6) or (7) or 45A of the Act of 1961,

(c) in the case of an appointment to the office of judge of the Circuit Court, he or she is qualified for appointment in accordance with section 17(2), (2A), (2B), (2C) or (3) or 45A of the Act of 1961,

(d) in the case of an appointment to the office of specialist judge of the Circuit Court, he or she is qualified for appointment in accordance with section 17(4) of the Act of 1961,

(e) in the case of an appointment to the office of judge of the District Court, he or she is qualified for appointment in accordance with section 29(2) or (3), 35(1) or 45A of the Act of 1961,

(f) in the case of a nomination for appointment to be a judge of the Court of Justice, an Advocate General of the Court of Justice or a judge of the General Court, he or she is qualified for appointment in accordance with the requirements of the TFEU,

(g) in the case of nomination for election by the Parliamentary Assembly to be a judge of the European Court of Human Rights, he or she satisfies the criteria for office under Article 21 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and

(h) in the case of nomination for election to be a judge of the International Criminal Court, he or she is qualified having regard to the eligibility requirements of that Court set out in Article 36 of the Rome Statute.

(2) For the purposes of the Commission satisfying itself, in accordance with section 46(1)(a)(i), that a person is an eligible person—

(a) a reference in section 5(2)(a) of the Act of 1961 to immediately before such appointment shall be construed as a reference to immediately before the relevant date,

(b) a reference in section 5(2)(b) of the Act of 1961 to immediately before the appointment shall be construed as a reference to immediately before the relevant date, and

(c) a reference in section 45A(1) and (3) of the Act of 1961 to immediately before such appointment shall be construed as a reference to immediately before the relevant date.

(3) In this section—

“Parliamentary Assembly” means the Consultative Assembly established by Article 10 (ii) of the Statute of the Council of Europe done at London on 5 May 1949;

“relevant date” means the latest date on which an application under section 43 may, in respect of a particular vacancy in a judicial office, be made.