“Legal and institutional framework on training of civil servants in Albania - developments over the years”

Abstract

The civil service system is relatively new in Albania. Its normative origin dates back to 1996, when the civil service was for the first time established and regulated by law. This law aimed to regulate the work relations of the employees of the public administration, central and local, at the same time institutions that function based on an annual budgetary provided by the State. In 1998 was adopted the Constitution of the Republic of Albania, which includes a speciic provision on civil servants. Following the entrance into force of the Constitution, a new law on civil servants was adopted in 1999, which guaranteed the protection of civil servants rights as employees of public administration from State institutions in the role of the employee the civil service law by establishing speciic protection mechanisms. According to the Civil Service Law of 1999 the recruitment process is based totally on individual merits and is carried out through an open competition. Among the rights of civil servants is the right to be trained for the tasks they are expected to perform even when probation period. In addition, civil servants should be offered continuous and paid training activities in connection to their job position. The institution that offered such training and was responsible for the initial and continuous training of civil servants was TIPA, under the supervision of the Department of Public Administration. In June 2006, Albania signed in Luxemburg a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU members. The co-operation between the EU and Albania in the framework of the SAA shall focus on the implementation of transparent and impartial procedures of recruitment, human resource management, and career development in the public service both in the central and local public administration. As part of the national plan for the implementation of the SAA in public administration a new civil service law was approved in May 2013, which became effective recently. The new law provides for a School of Public Administration which will provide better quality training to civil servants aiming at increasing the skills of civil servants of various categories. Thus, this paper will present an historical overview of developments in civil service in Albania by focusing on the training element of civil servants, its achievements over the years, but also problematic issues observed. The authors will analyze the legal, sub legal and institutional framework in place and will present their conclusions by making reference to regulation of training activities for civil servants in some European countries legislation with a longer legacy in civil service. Furthermore, the authors will present their opinion on how should the legal framework should be improved in this area.