TI BiH sent comments on changes to the Law on Civil Service: This solution will not ensure depoliticization and restore citizens’ trust

Banjaluka, January 29, 2024 – Transparency International in BiH (TI BiH) sent a letter to the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina together with comments on the proposed changes to the Law on Civil Service in the Institutions of BiH, which has numerous shortcomings, although the goals of these changes should have been depoliticization and reorganization of the civil service within the framework of fulfilling one of the 14th priorities from the opinion of the European Union.

If the proposed changes are adopted, advisers to the members of the Presidency, the chairman, ministers in the Council of Ministers, the governor and vice-governor of the Central Bank will be persons without a required university degree and citizenship of BiH, and persons who have obtained the legal conditions for pension will also be able to do these jobs. Civil servants already working in institutions will not be obliged to do a trial period in the event of a workplace change , and will be evaluated only once a year, which is a “backward step” in relation to the current law.

In addition, the proposed changes do not address the issue of employment and selection of civil servants at all, and the opportunity to improve merit in employment is missed, as it is not ensured that the appointment of civil servants is made on the basis of the results of a public competition, with the obligation to appoint the most successful candidate to the position civil servant. TI BiH receives daily reports from citizens who point out irregularities related to the conduct of public competitions and has been pointing out for years that the institute of public competition is meaningless, at all levels of government, because there is no obligation to select the civil servant who achieved the highest number of points in the selection process. In addition, the changes do not address the key issues of the responsibility of civil servants, and the rationalization and efficiency of work.

It should also be emphasized that the condition that no criminal proceedings are being conducted against the candidate and that he or she has not been convicted of a criminal offense should be presented as a general condition, precisely because of numerous examples of employment of convicted persons, as well as cases of corruption involving civil servants.

Although the proposed changes imply the establishment of a register of employees in BiH institutions, which has been awaited for years and should introduce greater transparency in this segment, it is important to draw attention to the fact that the recommendations of the Agency for the Protection of Personal Data have not been followed and if the proposed provision is adopted, it will not be in accordance with the General Regulation on the Protection of Personal Data, as the Agency warned the law’s proponent twice.

TI BiH recently published a survey showing that as many as 68.8% of BiH citizens do not trust the work of employees in the public administration, and almost four fifths of respondents (78.6%) believe that jobs in this sector are obtained “through connections”. That is why TI BiH believes that the adoption of amendments to the Law on the Civil Service of BiH, as well as other reforms at all levels, must ensure depoliticization and professionalization of public administration, which is the first step towards restoring citizens’ trust in institutions.