Amendments to the Law should terminate illegal practice

On the occasion of amendments to the Law on State Servants and Law on State Administration

Transparency Serbia (official chapter of Transparency International) delivered draft amendments that should contribute to specifying procedure of appointing acting persons in state administration to deputy groups. With those amendments our organization intended, in deadline shorter than envisaged by the law, to terminate illegal practice of appointing and dismissing of officials without organizing of open call and to provide full transparency of data on recent practice and current status of appointing officials.

In days of temptation for promised depolitization through introducing of call for election of public enterprise directors in compliance with the Law from 2012, we recognized proper occasion to remind to the law that was adopted along with similar promises in late 2005, but hasn’t been implemented in practice so far. Law on State Servants (2005) should provide calls for positions even for most important state administration officials (e.g. Minister’s Assistants) to be appointed through open calls. Its implementation was constantly delayed, but the final deadline expired on 31.12.2010. Instead of termination of positions by law for those that were at the time "officials in position" without being appointed through an open call, they continued working. Moreover, government unfortunately continued to dismiss and to appoint servants "in compliance with previous regulations" (article 179). From the beginning of 2011 to the end of coalition Government mandate from 2008, appointing without open calls represented more than 50% out of total number. In the first year of Government to follow (established in 2012), besides promises on profesionalization of public services, that trend not only that it hasn’t been stopped, but its even reinforced (as much as three quarter of total number appointed).    

Current draft amendments to the Law on State Servants introduce new rules and deadlines. It will organize appointing of acting servants, that current law doesn’t deal with, as well as new deadlines for calling for positions. However, deadlines are too long – as much as 90 days for choosing of acting servants, and after those 30 days for calling for positions. TS proposed amendments that should provide calling for post in more reasonable deadline - 45 days with automatic shifting of "appointed persons" to acting servants by the end of call for positions. Besides we proposed that the Government should publish in 15 days deadline list of all positions it appoints, and information on whether they were appointed in compliance with the law or "in compliance with previous regulations". That list TS tried to reach for more than three years through free access to information of public importance and lawsuits before Administrative Court, but as much as it sounded incredible, we were left without clear answer on whether such list exists or not.

We feel that changes of other provisions of this Law should be crucial (that weren’t comprehended with current proposition), primarily those that represent powerful asset for political influence in the hands of Government, and that discourage candidates without political ties to even participate in open calls when they are being organized. Namely, according to that Law, Government can choose between three candidates proposed by the Selection Committee, one who suits it best or not to choose anyone if among candidates there is no „political favorite“, even if they fulfill conditions for positions. The same flawed mechanism was placed in Law on Public Enterprises.

Amendments to the Law on State Administration envisage formal shifting of Chiefs of Administrative Districts from professional to political officials. Elaboration of such measure is that their status of state servant "does not provide with necessary support for implementing Government’s policy". However, if we wish Serbia to have rule of law – which the Government confirmed its intentions on several occasions, proceeding and thinking should go in completely opposite direction: establishing of system in which state institutions will cooperate among themselves and perform jobs from their jurisdiction precisely because it is their job, and not because they are being contacted by official who has strong political background.

Transparency – Serbia,

Belgrade 21. August 2014