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2007 Assessment

Ukraine: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Ukraine: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Civil Service Regulations
Indicators		Score
41	Are there national regulations for the civil service encompassing, at least, the managerial and professional staff?	75
42	Is the law governing the administration and civil service effective?	33
43	Are there regulations addressing conflicts of interest for civil servants?	17
44	Can citizens access the asset disclosure records of senior civil servants?	67

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Are there national regulations for the civil service encompassing, at least, the managerial and professional staff?

41a: In law, there are regulations requiring an impartial, independent and fairly managed civil service.

Score:

YES

Comments: According to the Law "On Civil Service," the civil service must be based on the following fundamental principles: serving the people of Ukraine, democracy and rule of law, humanism and social validity, priority to the human and citizen rights, professionalism, competence, initiative, honesty, commitment to his activity, personal accountability for exercising his official duties and discipline. A civil servant is prohibited to show any bias or partiality to any enterprise, organization, entity, public association or any concrete person.

The Main Department of Civil Service of Ukraine became very active in 2005 in issuing guidance to prevent and detect corrupt behavior, for example, guidance for state and local self-governance institutions on setting up corruption prevention frameworks, guidance on drafting professional responsibilities for public servants to prevent abuses, and guidance on monthly compliance reporting with anticorruption regulations. All these documents attempt to establish better control over corrupt practices in the civil service system at all levels and jurisdictions. However, there is no evident attempt to establish indicators to measure the effectiveness of these measures and to monitor implementation.

A new draft Good Practices Code was developed by the Ministry of Justice to address the weaknesses of the current system.

References: Law on Civil Service; Art. 3, 5 the "General Rules of Public Servants" Conduct' (2000) adopted by Main Civil Service Department ; draft Good Practices Code; new Law of Ukraine on the Prevention and Fight against Corruption, developed by the Ministry of Justice; Law on Public Procurement, adopted on 17 March 2006; The Anti-Money Laundering legislative;

41b: In law, there are regulations to prevent nepotism, cronyism, and patronage within the civil service.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law on Civil Service (33724-XII ( 3724-12 ) on 16.12.93, 1993, N 52, AB.491 ) (art 12); Labor Code; Law "On Fighting Corruption," Art. 5

41c: In law, there is an independent redress mechanism for the civil service.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there is a mechanism to which civil servants and applicants for the civil service can take grievances regarding civil service management actions. Civil servants are able to appeal the mechanism\'s decisions to the judiciary. NO: A NO score is earned if no such mechanism exists.$

Comments:

References: Law on Civil Service. Labor Code

41d: In law, civil servants convicted of corruption are prohibited from future government employment.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law on Civil Service

Is the law governing the administration and civil service effective?

42a: In practice, civil servants are protected from political interference.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: www.pravda.com ua.

Peer Review Comments: More research is necessary to illustrate this issue better.

42b: In practice, civil servants are appointed and evaluated according to professional criteria.

Score:

100

Comments: Weak professionalism and low integrity are the main problems of civil service in Ukraine. The need for civil service reform is widely acknowledged, a number of conceptual proposals were developed, but remained unimplemented. The Current Law on Civil Service, passed in 1993, is largely outdated.

Current regulations about the rights and duties, recruitment, promotion, performance appraisal and discipline remain vague and allow for wide arbitrariness, applied on a case-by-case basis. The new draft Law on Civil Service was prepared, and is seen as a move in the right direction, even though some of its provisions require further improvements. The Main Civil Service Department is making efforts to lead the reform of public administration; these efforts need to take the central role in the government, and should focus on policy tasks, rather than case management.

Despite a thin veil of merit-based competition for civil service and judicial recruitment and appointments, there are extensive corruption-prone problems in the selection process.

References: Monitoring report Adopted at the 6th Monitoring Meeting of the Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan on Dec. 12, 2006 at the OECD Headquarters in Paris Interviews with government officials - Katerina Levchenko - MP, July 6, 2007

42c: In practice, civil service management actions (e.g. hiring, firing, promotions) are not based on nepotism, cronyism, or patronage.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Korrespondent (www.korrespondent.net) Obozrevatel (www.obozrevatel.com.ua) Ukrainian Pravda (www.pravda.com.ua)

42d: In practice, civil servants have clear job descriptions.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: Civil servants almost always have formal job descriptions establishing levels of seniority, assigned functions, and compensation. Job descriptions are a reliable means to map positions to both human capital requirements (including the position\'s authority and responsibilities) and base pay. 50 Score Criteria: Civil servants often have formal job descriptions, but exceptions exist. Some civil servants may not be part of the formal assignment of duties and compensations. Some job descriptions may not map clearly to pay or responsibilities in some cases. 0 Score Criteria: Civil servants do not have formal roles or job descriptions. If they do, such job descriptions have little or nothing to do with the position\'s responsibilities, authority, or pay.$

Comments: The Main Civil Service Department adopted the General Rules of Public Servants Conduct in October 2000 in order to provide a general guide to improve ethical standards in civil service.

However, this document is unknown in many departments of public administration or is understood as a mere internal document and thus not applicable or enforceable in other bodies. Some bodies or professional groups have their own codes of conduct or ethical guidelines. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of such tools is generally recognized as poor. A comprehensive and more proactive move towards a citizens-oriented culture is needed. A new draft Good Practices Code was developed by the Ministry of Justice to address the weaknesses of the current system. If adopted, it can become a turning point in this issue. To ensure that this Code is adopted and effectively implemented, it should be part of an action plan against corruption and be backed by an intensive training program and a proactive communications strategy.

References: Interview with spesialist the department of Interanl Policy, Kharkov State Administration, July 6, 2007, Kharkov

42e: In practice, civil servant bonuses constitute only a small faction of total pay.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: Civil servant bonuses constitute no more than 10% of total pay and do not represent a major element of take-home pay. 50 Score Criteria: Civil servant bonuses are generally a small percentage of total take-home pay for most civil servants though exceptions exist where some civil servants\' bonuses represent a significant part of total pay. 0 Score Criteria: Most civil servants receive bonuses that represent a significant amount of total take-home pay. In some cases bonuses represent the majority of total pay to civil servants.$

Comments:

References: Interview with officials from Kharkov local administration.

42f: In practice, the government publishes the number of authorized civil service positions along with the number of positions actually filled.

Score:

100

Comments: Hiring is regulated by the Civil Service Law and regulations developed by the Main Department of the Civil Service of Ukraine. The Department has issued guidance on hiring procedures, but nepotism and favoritism remain a common practice to fill open positions.

A new Draft Civil Service Law was discussed with the international community at a June 2005 conference, and with the public via discussions at the administration's Public Collegia. The principal objective of this new law is to bring Ukraine into compliance with EU standards. However, the problem lies not so much in the law but in the way it is implemented.

References: Civil Service Law Corruption Assessment: Ukraine, research of USAID

42g: In practice, the independent redress mechanism for the civil service is effective.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: korrespondent (www.korrespondent.net), Obozrevatel (www.obozrevatel.com.ua)

42h: In practice, in the past year, the government has paid civil servants on time.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: www.ukrstat.gov.ua

42i: In practice, civil servants convicted of corruption are prohibited from future government employment.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Koviazina G. National Institute for Strategic Studies, head of Finasial Department, Kiev. July 10, 2007

Are there regulations addressing conflicts of interest for civil servants?

43a: In law, there are requirements for civil servants to recuse themselves from policy decisions where their personal interests may be affected.

Score:

YES

Comments: There is no particular law on conflict of interest (COI), though COI provisions can be found in the Civil Service Law and the Main Rules of Civil Servant Conduct (both are applicable to career civil servants and local public officials, but not to officials at the ministerial level), the Ukrainian Constitution, the Law on Public Deputies of Ukraine, and some other pieces of legislation. These provisions generally interpret conflicts of interest in a very limited fashion. They prohibit public officials and civil servants from being involved in any business activities or holding any other office and restrict them from supervising or being supervised by a family member. There are no policies or procedures for resolving conflicts of interest once detected. Rather, current provisions stipulate that these conflicts should be dealt with prior to taking public office otherwise the official will be subject to the Law of Ukraine on Fighting Corruption or other enforcement laws.

As for high-level public officials in the executive branch, the only law that regulates them is the Constitution. The Law on Public Deputies of Ukraine has a very brief article on Deputies ethics. All existing legislative documents are very vague about COI provisions and not very practical. A Draft Code of Conduct of Public Officials was developed by the Ministry of Justice and is posted on their website for public comments.

This draft discusses, with some specificity, the conduct of public officials, conflicts of interest, employment upon retirement, and other issues. In addition, the Draft Law on Administrative Procedures is being developed by the MOJ and is supposed to define the administrative procedures and responsibilities of public officials and civil servants clearly.

References: Constitution of Ukraine Law on Civil Service The General Rules of Public Servants Conduct Law on Public Deputies of Ukraine A Draft Code of Conduct of Public Officials

43b: In law, there are restrictions for civil servants entering the private sector after leaving the government.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there are regulations restricting civil servants\' ability to take positions in the private sector after leaving government that would present a conflict of interest, including positions that directly seek to influence their former government colleagues. NO: A NO score is earned if no such restrictions exist.$

Comments: There are no restrictions for civil servants entering the private sector after leaving the government.

References: Labor Code

43c: In law, there are regulations governing gifts and hospitality offered to civil servants.

Score:

YES

Comments: A new draft of the Law "On Civil Service" would prohibit civil servants of any rank from receiving any gifts or services from persons or legal entities, but it has not yet been adopted.

References: Law "On Civil Service," Art. 16

43d: In practice, the regulations restricting post-government private sector employment for civil servants are effective.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: n/a

43e: In practice, the regulations governing gifts and hospitality offered to civil servants are effective.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: A new draft of the Law "On Civil Service" would prohibit civil servants of any rank from receiving any gifts or services from persons or legal entities, but it has not yet been adopted.

43f: In practice, the requirements for civil service recusal from policy decisions affecting personal interests are effective.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interview with expert

Can citizens access the asset disclosure records of senior civil servants?

44a: In law, citizens can access the asset disclosure records of senior civil servants.

Score:

YES

Comments: Several laws require financial disclosure for candidates and holders of public office and for civil servants and their immediate families. Only information on candidates running for elected office is available to the public. Financial disclosure information for public officials and civil servants is not publicly available due to privacy and personal safety restrictions. However, there is much skepticism about how these requirements are implemented in practice and how they can be used to control corruption.

References: Law "On Election of the President of Ukraine," Art. 22, 29 Law on Civil Service (# 3724-XII ( 3724-12 ) on 16.12.93, 1993, N 52, AB.491) Art. 13

44b: In practice, citizens can access the asset disclosure records of senior civil servants within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: These records, if published, are available immediately. For most civil servants, this information is not available.

References: Interview with expert

44c: In practice, citizens can access the asset disclosure records of senior civil servants at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: If these records are published, the public access (through mass media or the Internet) is free. For most civil servants, this information is not available.

References: Interview with expert