RS Civil Service Agency violated the law

Based on a complaint received through its Centre for Legal Aid, Transparency International BiH determined that the Civil Service Agency of Republika Srpska violated the law during the recruitment procedure for employment in the Republic Hydrometeorological Institute of RS, reports the Patria News Agency.

Namely, in addition to announcing a competition for employment in the Republic Hydrometeorological Institute of RS to hire a civil servant who had already worked in that position, TI BiH determined that the Civil Service Agency exempted the mentioned candidate from taking the professional exam, although it had no legal basis for doing so.

During the competition procedure, TI BiH requested the minutes of the commission that reviewed the candidates' applications from the Institute, and determined that the candidate, who was already employed in the mentioned institution, was exempted from taking the professional exam for working in administrative bodies by a decision of the RS Civil Service Agency.

The professional exam is one of the conditions for employment in the civil service, and it is taken before the Agency, and only in certain cases can the Agency exempt a candidate from taking it - e.g., if the candidate has passed the judicial exam, if they have a master's degree in law, or if they have passed a professional exam in another field. This candidate did not meet these conditions, so TI BiH asked the Agency for an explanation of the legal basis on which they were exempted from taking the exam, especially due to suspicions that this particular candidate would be selected in the competition.

The Agency responded that the candidate was exempted from taking the professional exam based on passing the public exam at the state level of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This does not constitute a basis for exemption from the professional exam, and TI BiH warned the Agency about this. Despite the warning, the Agency appointed the candidate as a civil servant in the Republic Hydrometeorological Institute of Republika Srpska. TI BiH reported this to the Administrative Inspector of Republika Srpska, who conducted an inspection, found irregularities, and ordered the Agency to annul the decision exempting the candidate from taking the professional exam.

The Agency refused to comply with the inspector's order and instead filed an appeal with the Ministry of Administration and Local Self-Government, seeking to protect the selected candidate at all costs. TI BiH also contacted the Ministry, as well as the Institution of the Ombudsman for Human Rights of BiH, pointing out that the competition selected a candidate who not only was already employed in the institution but also had not passed the professional exam, while candidates who met all legally prescribed conditions were rejected.

Following these appeals, the Agency annulled the decision exempting the candidate in question from taking the professional exam, thereby finally admitting that it was a precedent that had no legal basis.

TI BiH considered it insufficient for the case to end there and requested the Administrative Inspectorate to annul the disputed employment, as it would be unfair for a candidate who did not even meet the conditions to apply for the job to end up being employed by subsequently passing the professional exam, at the expense of other candidates who met all the conditions. Acting on TI BiH's request, the RS Administrative Inspectorate ordered the Republic Hydrometeorological Institute of RS to terminate the employment of the candidate in question.

Furthermore, the Institution of the Ombudsman for Human Rights of BiH issued a Recommendation in this case, ordering the Republic Hydrometeorological Institute and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of RS to annul the disputed decision on employment.

The Republic Hydrometeorological Institute finally informed TI BiH that it had acted on the inspector's order and determined the termination of employment for the civil servant.

The described case showed that through persistent insistence and the use of all legal means, it is possible to prevent abuses in the area of employment. TI BiH will continue to insist that one of the other candidates who met the conditions when applying be hired for the vacant position. Also, given that this is not the only case of illegal exemption from taking the professional exam, TI BiH will insist on reviewing all similar cases in order to put an end to circumventing regulations and favoritism in public administration employment in this manner, it was announced from TI BiH.