Civil Servants Law
Course type
Study programme and level
Language
slovenščina
Lectures | Seminar | Tutorial | Druge oblike študija | Individual Work | ECTS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
30 | 120 | 6 |
Study programme and level | Study field | Academic year | Semester |
II. level | Law | 1/2 | 1/2 |
Course Type
Elective
Workload | Lectures (h/semester) | Seminar
(h/semester) |
Tutorial
(h/semester) |
Individual Work (h/semester) | ECTS |
30 | 120 | 6 |
Lecturer
assoc. prof. dr. Slobodan Dujić
Language
English
Prerequisites
Knowledge of complex legal concepts (within the curricula of colleges and faculties);
A high level of general comprehension and the ability to understand complex social phenomena and concepts.
Content (Syllabus outline)
Introductory notions in the field of the civil servant system (civil servants, public tasks, tasks of exercising authority, the pursuit of public interest, official, expert-technical civil servants, functionary, staffing plan, position, function, title, seniority, period of employment, length of service, personnel information system, the organization and systematisation of jobs, employer, legal public entity, state body, administrative body, judicial authority, local authority, etc.).
The development of the concept and status of civil servants throughout history. Differentiation on the basis of the division of labour in the so-called pre-state (“natural”) state; the differentiation of roles after the transition to the “state of the state”; the division of labour and the transition from ‘personal relationships in organizational roles; bureaucratic organization and impersonal (functional) relationships within the organization; Max Weber. The post-absolutist state and the development of the idea of democracy and human rights; the transition to a modern system of civil servants; people as the most important factor for success in the modern organization.
System aspects of the functioning of the civil servant system. System theory and the civil servant system; the personnel system of civil servants as “a system of cooperation between people.” The categories of public servants: officials and professional technical civil servants in Slovenia. Some comparative systems: e.g. German (Beamten, Angestellte, Arbeiter), English (civil servants), etc. The position and role of the public servant in the administrative-political process (the relationship between politics and profession, systemic regulation of the civil servant system in a modern state). Career systems and jobs (“Positioning Systems”); the combination of the two systems in a modern state.
The normative regulation of the civil servant system in Slovenia. Legal regulation of the status of civil servants in the first Yugoslavia; World War II and the transition to socialism; former regulation of the situation of “workers in state bodies”; attempts to equalize the legal status of employees in the economy and the so-called “Public sector” during self-managed socialism; the transition to a new political system in the 1990s and the “renaissance” of
public law in the civil servant area; the new legal regulation; the Civil Servants Act and regulations; social partnership and collective bargaining; the relationship between the general labour law and civil servant law (subsidiarity and complementarity); the principles of the new civil servant system; regulatory and autonomous arrangements of the civil servant system. The de lege ferenda regulation of this area.
Human resource planning. Human resource plans. The Act on the organization and systematization of jobs; linking human resources and financial planning in the system of civil servants; employment procedures. Phases of employment in the public service; special features of the procedure for the highest category of officials in the state administration; the role of the Council of Officials in the process of recruiting the highest categories of officials in the Slovenian clerical system; the conclusion of contracts of employment (contract or decision, or both?); employment contracts for an indefinite period and for a limited time; the de lege ferenda regulation of this area.
The rights and obligations of public servants. Legal proceedings until the finality of the decision on the rights and obligations of civil servants; the Board of Appeal; remedies for the finality of the decision on the rights and obligations of civil servants – judicial procedures (the protection of rights against social and labour courts and protecting the rights of the Administrative Court – administrative dispute); titles and positions in the civil servant system; the acquisition and loss of title; disciplinary and damage liability of civil servants; the right to trade union association; strikes and the limitation of strikes in the public sector.
Assessment and promotion. The basis of assessment; the basis for promotion; the process of assessing officials. Horizontal and vertical progression (progression in the workplace and promotion to a higher title).
The temporary and permanent transfer of public servants – personnel mobility in public administration; relocation with or without the consent of the public servant.
The education, training and advanced training of civil servants and professional exams in the administration. Different systems of education and training and retraining of civil servants depending on the nature of the civil servant system (career, position, combined); specific training institutions and the training of civil servants and systems without special institutions in this field; professional exams in public administration;
Termination of employment. Termination of the employment contract; consensual termination of employment; termination by the employer; the finding of incompetence; commercial reasons and reorganization; other reasons for the termination of employment.
The wage system in the public sector. The concept of the wage system. A single wage system in the public sector; the remuneration system for officials and civil servants; the basic salary; contingent fees. Other wage premiums. The de lege ferenda regulation of this area.
Comparative civil servant systems in the Member States of the European Union. The concept of comparative law. Comparative civil servant systems. Civil servant systems based on a system of career; civil servant systems based on a system of positions (jobs); the combined civil servant system (the combination of career and job systems). Selected aspects of the comparison between different civil servant systems in the Member States of the European Union (selection process, right to union organization and strikes, the right to education, etc.).
Study Literature
- Dujić, Civil Service System of the Republic of Slovenia, International Symposium on the Development of Public Administration in South East (SE) Europe, Ljubljana 2008.
- Preparing Public Administrations for the European Administrative Space, Sigma Papers No. 23, SIGMA, OECD, Paris 1998.
- The status of public officials in Europe, Council of Europe, 2000.
- Woodhouse, In Pursuit of Good Administration: Ministers, Civil Servants and Judges, Clarendon Press, 1997.
- C. Neuhold, S. Vanhoonacker, L. Verhey (eds.), Civil Servants and Politics: A Delicate Balance, Palgrave Schol, 2013.
New legal regulations in the field of civil law.
- At least one legal source indicated in the recommended literature (chosen by the student).
Objectives and competences
The subject deals with the current development of the system of civil servants in Slovenia and is (in part) comparative. At the forefront is an overview of the legislative reform (notably the Civil Servants Act and the Public Sector Wages Act, as well as the general work code). It is also important to establish a link between the content of this subject and some of the other most important areas in the curriculum of this faculty (at the undergraduate level, mainly with the following subjects: public administration, administrative substantive and administrative procedural law, and at the postgraduate level with the subjects of the modernization of public administration and administrative procedural law).
Intended learning outcomes
- Comprehensive, critical thinking, the ability to analyse, synthesize and anticipate solutions in the field of civil servant systems, public administration and other social sciences (interdisciplinarity);
- The ability to creatively use knowledge in the legal and business environments;
- A knowledge and understanding of the history of the civil servant system development and the processes of modernization of these systems;
- The ability to solve concrete work problems using scientific methods and procedures in the field of civil servants;
- The ability to place new information and interpretations into the context of the public administration system and civil servant systems.
Students will develop subject-specific knowledge and understanding:
- An understanding of the civil servant system and its main problems, as well as the reform processes in this field (in particular with regard to the gradual convergence between staff and general labour law);
- The ability to solve complex professional problems in the field of civil servant systems;
An understanding of the Slovenian civil servant system, as well as the latest developments of these systems in Slovenia, and comparatively (de lege lata and de lege refernda).
Learning and teaching methods
- Frontal form of teaching;
- Explanation;
- Talk / discussion / debate;
- Work with text;
- Other types of student performances;
- Use of the PowerPoint projector for presentations.
Assessment
Written or oral exam.
Lecturer’s references
Defined in the habilitation documentation.