Illegal Dismissals and Failure to Execute Civil Service Commission Decisions for Resumption of Jobs Violate Human Rights

 Tirana, January 9, 2006

The Albanian Helsinki Committee has received these past two months complaints from several individuals claiming to have been unjustly dismissed from their jobs. They also claimed that they were not granted the opportunity to provide clarifications or defend themselves regarding the disciplinary measure undertaken toward them.

The AHC suggested to these individuals to file complaints with the relevant bodies within legal deadlines. However, independently from the fact whether their claims were founded or not, the AHC considered the issue to be related to respect for human rights. For that reason and in order to obtain more accurate and more complete information, the Committee addressed the Civil Service Commission, which, as is known, is an independent institution appointed by the Assembly of Albania and is assigned specifically to address complaints by civil service employees.

AHC representatives became familiar with complaints filed with this Commission and it resulted that, during December, out of 34 decisions issued by the Civil Service Commission, 30 of them dealt with the customs' administration, and out of these 19 individuals had been dismissed for participation in political activity. On these 19 cases, the Commission was not supplied with any evidence whatsoever to prove that such participation was in contravention of any law or sublegal act. Four others had been dismissed for having been voting center commission members in the last July 3rd  elections.

The Civil Service Commission, finding the dismissals in the above-mentioned cases unfounded, decided to authorize their resumption of their jobs.

AHC representatives were also notified that the public administration had refused to implement many such Civil Service Commission decisions authorizing the return of these individuals to their jobs.

While the AHC does not prejudge the potential decisions that might be issued by courts on these issues, it deems it necessary to highlight the fact that the refusal to execute Civil Service Commission decisions for return to previously-held jobs constitutes a legal violation.

The Committee notes the above because article 8, Item 3, of the Law No. 8549, dated 11.11.1999 “Civil Servant Status", notes expressedly that "Decisions of the Civil Service Commission…are compulsory for local and national public administration institutions."

Something else also draws the attention of the AHC: the relatively large number of Civil Service Commission decisions authorizing the return to previously-held jobs of individuals in comparison to addressed and resolved cases.

In closing, the AHC deems it necessary to emphasize that in the cases of undertaken disciplinary measures mentioned above, two principles sanctioned in the law on the "Civil Servant Status" were not considered as necessary: article 3 notes, "The Civil Service is built and acts on the basis of professionalism, independence, and integrity, political neutrality, transparency, service to the public, continuity of career, responsibility and correctness in enforcing legislation in force," as well as article 25, item 2 that requires the public administration to guarantee to the civil servant who may be subjected to disciplinary measures the right to be informed, to be heard, to protect himself/herself, and to complain.

The failure to rigorously enforce the above legal provisions violates citizens' rights and that harmful consequences ensue.