Recruitment of Professional Civil Servants
A unified standard for hiring professional civil servants guarantees and upholds the principle of equality. The primary objective of regulating civil service recruitment is to ensure a transparent and merit-based employment process.
The basic requirements for admission to the civil service, along with the rules governing recruitment are determined by the Law of Georgia on Public Service and Decree No. 204 of the Government of Georgia on the Rules for Conducting Competitions in the Civil Service.
The appointment of a person to the position of a professional civil servant implies their permanent appointment in a civil service staff position.
The legislative framework for hiring civil servants is structured into three parts:
- Primary requirements established for civil servants
- Special requirements
- Additional qualification requirements
The differentiation is based on the principles of separation of competences and the hierarchy of normative acts.
The law establishes the primary requirements, which are universally applicable to the entire civil service system and any individual wishing to hold a civil servant position. According to the law, a Georgian citizen may be eligible for a civil servant position if they are capable, proficient in the state language, and at least 18 years old.
The law also defines the circumstances under which an individual may not be appointed as a civil servant. These include:
- Being convicted of an intentional crime
- Dismissal from civil service due to a disciplinary offense, if less than one year has passed since the dismissal
- Failure to provide a drug test certificate in the prescribed form, or submission of a certificate indicating drug use
- Legal deprivation of the right to hold a relevant position in civil service by a court, or recognition as a recipient of support unless otherwise determined by a court decision.
The Government of Georgia through a subordinate normative act establishes special requirements.
The head of a public institution through an individual administrative-legal act establishes additional qualification requirements.
Appointment to a professional civil servant position may occur through open, closed or internal competition. An open competition is held for the lowest, fourth-rank positions, and any interested candidate who meets the basic requirements set by law is eligible to participate.
A civil servant is appointed to a higher (third, second, or first) rank civil servant position through an internal or a closed competition. A closed competition is announced throughout the civil service system and involves the selection of a suitable candidate from among current civil servants, civil servants enrolled in the civil service reserve, and persons employed under labor contract. Individuals employed under labor contracts have the right to participate in a closed competition if they have been working in the civil service system for at least 1 year. This approach serves the principle of civil servant career development, ensuring that opportunities for advancement to higher positions are primarily granted to civil servants already employed within the system.
An internal competition is held to fill a vacant professional civil servant position within a public institution or its system, and any civil servant employed in that institution or its system is eligible to participate in it.
A transitional period has been established until January 1, 2025, for the full enactment of the Law of Georgia on Public Service. During this period, public institutions may announce open, closed, or internal competitions.
The law also establishes the procedure for forming a competition commission, defining its scope of activities, decision-making procedure and associated deadlines.
A public institution announces a competition through the unified website HR.GOV.GE, administered by the Civil Service Bureau. The procedures and conditions for conducting a competition in the civil service are determined by Decree No. 204 of the Government of Georgia on the Procedure for Conducting Competitions in the Public Service.
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