New Laws for Better Administration
10 January 2012, Aleksandar RadosavljevićThe Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, Public Administration and Local Self-Governments is one of the key partners of EU PROGRES – European Partnership with Municipalities Programme which is, inter alia, helping the implementation of state administration reforms at the local level.
This is why I am taking this opportunity to present to laws that are being prepared and that will significantly (positively) affect these reforms: the Law on Civil Servants in Local Self-Government Units and the Law on Referendum and Civil Initiatives.
The Draft Law on Civil Servants in Local Self-Government Units had been publicly debated until 11 November 2011. The Ministry has carefully analysed all the submitted proposals and suggestions to the text of the Draft. The Draft Law will definitely be submitted to the Government of Serbia for endorsement by the end of this year, just as Minister Markovic suggested.
This law is the last in a series of reform laws necessary to carry out a comprehensive reform of the state administration. The status of staff in local self-government units is now governed by the 1991 Law on Employment in State Authorities. This is precisely why local self-government units have faced numerous problems regarding training, allocation of staff, management, merit-based bonuses and promotions. The Draft Law devotes particular attention to these issues, to human resources. Its authors have also aimed to match the staff size and qualifications with the volume and complexity of their duties, to ensure the delivery of best quality, prompt and most cost-effective services.
This is the first time a separate law will govern the status of local self-government unit staff and distinguish between civil servants and state employees working in local administrations. Civil servants shall comprise all staff performing professional duties within the remit of the local self-government unit or related general legal, IT, material-financial, accounting and administrative duties. State employees shall comprise staff employed in the self-government unit and performing auxiliary, technical and support duties.
The Draft Law highlights that the work of the local administrations shall be based on the principles of depoliticisation and professionalisation, which are prerequisite for a strong and well-organised local self-government. Employment of staff on grounds of their political affiliation or links has additionally burdened the work of local self-government units in the past.
The new legal provisions will directly contribute to the development of a merit-based career system in the local self-government units. Competence, knowledge and qualifications shall be the only criteria applied in hiring and promoting staff. Furthermore, the Draft Law provides for mandatory probationary periods and testing. The knowledge and skills of first-time job applicants will be tested during the recruitment period.
The Draft Law devotes a lot of attention to strengthening work discipline and provides for a more efficient disciplinary accountability system, as well as safeguards against unfair punishment.
The Draft Law envisages the following elements: accountability, efficiency, clear and simple procedures that will guarantee the quality performance of the local administrations.
The Ministry is completing another extremely important piece of legislation which it will submit to the Government for consideration – the Draft Law on Referenda and Civil Initiatives. The law currently in effect was adopted back in 1994 and its provisions are restrictive, obsolete and are not in compliance with the Constitution and the relevant Council of Europe recommendations. It does not enable the citizens to effectively exercise their right to participate in government via civil initiatives and referenda. Its provisions have proved to be seriously deficient in practice, which is why the institutes of referenda and civil initiatives have rarely been applied. The Venice Commission has issued its opinion on the Ministry’s Draft Law.
Under the Draft Law, referendum may be organised at the republican, provincial and local levels (by the area at which they are organised); they may be mandatory (in cases laid down in the Constitution, law or the statute of a province or a local self-government) or optional (at the request of most deputies or a specific number of citizens). With respect to the time it is called, a referendum may be preliminary (to obtain a preliminary vote on an issue) or subsequent (to vote in an adopted enactment). Furthermore, a referendum may be advisory in character (to obtain the citizens’ opinion on a decision yet to be taken). A decision shall be taken at a referendum in the event it was upheld by the majority of the voters that turned out (general rule) or by another majority laid down in the Constitution, law or the statute of a province or local self-government.
The Draft Law lays down the special requirements for each type of referendum, details the content of the decision calling the referendum, the authorities charged with conducting it and governs other issues of relevance to referendum – provisions on polling stations, voter registers, the dates and times of the referendum, referendum campaigns, referendum questions, ballots and procedures for voting and establishing the results.
Aleksandar Radosavljević
Adviser to the Minister for Human and Minority Rights,
Public Administration and Local Self-Governments