Pravni okvir procesa zapošljavanja u državnoj upravi Srbije – novine i izazovi

Abstract

The paper analyses key provisions related to recruitment and selection in the Serbian civil service and challenges in their implementation. Civil service legislation in Serbia was adopted in 2005 and substantively revised in 2018, when the competency model was introduced in the process of recruitment and selection and merit- based selection significantly strengthened. Although the legal framework is generally solid, there are various challenges which have remained in its implementation, such as complex and lengthy selection procedures and insufficient effectiveness of standardized competency testing. Furthermore, although there is a general rule that the civil service is entered on the basis of the competition, there are also exceptions with regard to temporary employment to civil service posts, which is usually carried out without a competition procedure. Competitions (internal or external) for senior civil service positions are established by law as the only way of accessing the senior civil service, with the exception of acting senior civil servants, who can be appointed without a competition, and should serve for a limited period of time. In reality, there is an excessive number of “acting” senior managerial civil servants, as only one half of all senior managerial positions have been appointed on the basis of the competition. This anomaly has become a perennial problem in the Serbian civil service system and constitutes a clear example of the supremacy of the politics over the law.