Parliament lawyers say proposed civil service safeguards violate Constitution

Lawyers at Lithuania’s parliament say a proposal to introduce new safeguards against political favouritism in the civil service may violate the Constitution, LRT reported on Monday.

The parliament’s Legal Department reached the conclusion after reviewing amendments to the Civil Service Law proposed by MP Arvydas Anušauskas.

The amendments would state that work experience gained while temporarily performing duties in a position filled through competition would not meet the work-experience requirement if that requirement was introduced or amended after the person began temporarily holding the position.

Anušauskas prepared the proposal in response to public discussion surrounding an LRT investigation into employment in Kaunas district. He says it would prevent people from “creating” the work experience needed to qualify for a position.

However, the parliament’s lawyers said the Constitution guarantees all citizens the right to enter the civil service on equal terms. They argued that the proposal would impose a restriction on a specific group of citizens.

“The proposed regulation would mean that people who meet the special requirements for a position and have sufficient knowledge and abilities, but gained their work experience while temporarily performing duties, would lose the opportunity to enter the civil service on equal terms,” the Legal Department said.

It added that eligibility to take part in a competition would depend not on a person’s competence, knowledge or personal qualities, but on when the work-experience requirement was introduced or amended. That timing, the lawyers said, could not depend on the person temporarily holding the position.

According to the department, there would be no legal difference between this group and other citizens seeking to become civil servants through a competition. It said the proposal therefore conflicted with the principle of equality established in Article 29 of the Constitution and with the right of all citizens, set out in Article 33, to enter Lithuania’s civil service on equal terms.

The Legal Department also questioned Anušauskas’ proposal to classify a competition for a career civil service position as high-risk if only one candidate took part.

The lawyers also said a provision requiring the legality of the selection and its objectivity to be checked under procedures set by the government before the winner was determined was open to question. They noted that the law already requires civil service competitions to be organised according to procedures set by the government, while a government-approved description sets out detailed procedures and requirements for organising competitions and appointing civil servants.

The lawyers added that the law already includes measures intended to ensure the legality of competitions and the objectivity of selections.