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Tailor-made laws in the Western Balkans and Turkey

Amendments to the Law on Civil Service - Tailor-made laws in the Western Balkans and Turkey

Amendments to the Law on Civil Service

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Introduction

The Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina proposed amendments to the Law on Civil Service in October 2015. The amendments, which were adopted using an urgent parliamentary procedure, changed the definition and categories of civil servants and expanded the categories of politically appointed employees in the state administration. These amendments were designed to benefit those in the civil service who are affiliated with the ruling political parties.

Country
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sector
Public institutions

Description of the law

The Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina proposed amendments to the Law on Civil Service in October 2015. The amendments, which were adopted using an urgent parliamentary procedure, changed the definition and categories of civil servants and expanded the categories of politically appointed employees in the state administration. These amendments were designed to benefit those in the civil service who are affiliated with the ruling political parties.

High and middle management positions were no longer civil servants (Article 1). Instead, they became directly appointed. Ministry officials at this level were nominated by ministers and approved by the government. The tenure of managers in the civil service was directly tied to the government’s term and they were discharged when the government was no longer in office (Article 11a).

However, in December 2016, the Constitutional Court of FBiH declared the amendments unconstitutional (see here and here). The adopted amendments would have given the government more power over political appointments in FBiH.

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