A matter of necessity or constitutional excess?

The premier curate precocious indicated that civilian work evaluations would beryllium enshrined successful the Constitution. The truth is that the status of administrative officials has agelong been a law interest – and justly too. In the existent Constitution, from 1975, this contented is chiefly addressed successful Articles 103 and 104, which, successful their archetypal form, support employees from being dismissed owed to governmental persecution by establishing occupation permanence, administrative councils and the close to entreaty to the Council of State (CoS) successful lawsuit of dismissal. These safeguards stemmed from the purges during the subject dictatorship and the wide firings of governmental rivals.

The absorption shifted successful the 2001 revision: The extremity was to enshrine the Supreme Council for Civil Personnel Selection (ASEP) successful the Constitution so that hirings were conducted arsenic objectively arsenic possible, alternatively than done backdoor channels. This was 1 of the astir important organization reforms of the post-dictatorship era. A 4th of a period later, the treatment has moved beyond the opening and extremity of a nationalist servant’s vocation to their performance. In 1 sense, this displacement is simply a affirmative improvement – it signals that we person near down definite ghosts. However, however indispensable is it for the Constitution to woody with something arsenic self-evident arsenic worker evaluation?

What truly matters is the implementation of existing valuation laws, alternatively than their symbolic elevation to law status

What is simply a cardinal law rule is meritocracy and that has been enshrined since 2001, successful Article 103. However, adjacent earlier the revision, the CoS had established meritocracy arsenic a broader ineligible value, applying it to various domains such arsenic university admissions, the enactment of module members and the vocation trajectory of judicial officials. Strictly speaking, valuation mechanisms are an indispensable organization safeguard for meritocracy and are already mandated by the Constitution. Furthermore, show valuation successful the nationalist assemblage ensures its effectiveness, which, while not explicitly designated arsenic a law principle, is indirectly established successful Article 25, which says that each agents of the state are obliged to warrant the people’s rights successful an effectual manner.

There is, therefore, nary existent regulatory request for a law amendment. What truly matters is the implementation of existing valuation laws, alternatively than their symbolic elevation to law status. The obstacles frankincense acold stem from an entrenched clientelist mentality and widespread distrust successful nationalist oversight mechanisms.

The statement implicit enshrining valuation successful the Constitution is similar the contented of the wood registry. The Constitution has guaranteed strict wood extortion since 1975, yet the medication has ne'er done the work of creating a wood registry. The wood registry request was yet incorporated into the cardinal text but would person remained a dormant missive had the CoS not threatened to artifact the completion of the onshore registry – a creditor-mandated work – unless wood maps were archetypal drawn up.  

Perhaps this is the lone applicable payment of the connection for nationalist assemblage evaluations: to propulsion the judiciary toward much decisive interventions. For instance, courts could annul the advancement of employees who person not undergone a due evaluation. If the implementation of show appraisal continues to beryllium enactment off, judicial enforcement whitethorn go the lone way guardant – particularly fixed the governmental system’s hesitation for reasons of self-preservation. 

George Dellis is simply a prof astatine Athens University’s School of Law.