New code abolishes exams for acting officials in Azerbaijan

The draft of the new Civil Service Code of Azerbaijan does not include a requirement to pass an examination to obtain a subsequent certificate for the purpose of continuing civil service employment.

As reported by BAKU.WS, this was stated to APA by Haji Mirgashim Seid, Head of the Department of State Building, Administrative and Military Legislation of the Milli Majlis.

According to the department head, in the new Civil Service Code, the certificate requirement is retained exclusively for hiring, while a certificate will no longer be required for continuing civil service employment.

"The performance of civil servants will be assessed through evaluation under a new procedure," he added.

It should be noted that Article 28-1 of the currently effective law "On Civil Service" defines the procedure for continuing civil service employment. According to this article, a person wishing to continue their employment as a civil servant is required, in the last year of the certificate's validity but no later than its expiration date, to participate in examinations conducted by an institution established by the relevant executive authority and obtain a new certificate.

The current system also provides for a mechanism of an indefinite certificate: if a person admitted to civil service based on a certificate subsequently passed recertification twice successfully, the last certificate was issued indefinitely, and such a servant was no longer required to take any examinations.

The draft of the new Civil Service Code does not contain a provision on passing an examination to continue civil service employment. Instead of the mechanical recertification procedure, a system for evaluating the performance effectiveness of civil servants is being introduced.

It should be recalled that a draft of a new Civil Service Code has been prepared in Azerbaijan. The document is extensive: it consists of 15 chapters and 94 articles.

Upon the Code's entry into force, six currently effective laws will be repealed at once: "On Civil Service," "On Reduced Working Hours for Certain Categories of Civil Servants," "On Approval of the Regulation on the Civil Service Management Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan," "On Establishing Local Coefficients to the Official Salaries of Civil Servants," "On Establishing an Increasing Coefficient to the Official Salaries of Civil Servants in State Bodies Where Service Conditions Are Dangerous to Life and Health or Are Particularly Arduous," and "On the Rules of Ethical Conduct of Civil Servants." Thus, six disparate normative acts will be consolidated into a single codified document.

The draft Civil Service Code was adopted in the first reading at a plenary session of the Milli Majlis held on September 30.