In relation to the issue that arose due to the decision of the Deputy Minister of Tourism to appoint a 19-year-old student as his Advisor/Associate, we note the following:
[A] It is well known that the advertisement of public positions is required, in general, to ensure equality and equity, but also for reasons of public interest related to the meritocratic staffing of the Public Service. The appointment and promotion of the most deserving and competent candidates is of vital importance for the public good. Excellent staffing of the Civil Service directly promotes the public interest. Unqualified criteria for staffing the Civil Service not only do not promote but harm the public interest.
As has been repeatedly emphasised in a number of judicial decisions, the appointment of officials to the Civil Service is a purely administrative act. The President of the Republic (the President of the Republic) or the Council of Ministers or the Ministers or Members of Parliament have no power to appoint officials to the Civil Service. The Constitution precludes the involvement of any organ of political power from exercising the function of staffing the Public Service.
On the basis of the above, our Service has already since 2014 expressed strong concerns in relation to appointments of officials as associates of the President of the Republic, Ministers and Members of Parliament. Realizing, however, the need to employ competent and trustworthy persons to accompany these officials, we agreed to an exceptional procedure for political appointments of such associates, which, however, would be enshrined in law, and in any case would be applied sparingly and on the basis of strict conditions.
[C] On 16.10.2014, the Presidency replied to us that it had proceeded with the preparation of terms of service for advisers to the President of the Council of State and Ministers, in order to ensure uniformity and to avoid different interpretations of the terms of their contracts.
Finally, a note and a model contract were included in the 2016 State Budget, but without defining criteria and terms of employment.
[D] Unlike the Government, the House of Representatives accepted our position to legislate on the employment of parliamentary assistants and passed the Parliamentary Assistants and Related Matters Act, 2019 (Act. 41(I)/ 2019).
(e) Following the enactment of the above Act, we returned to the Government on 13.3.2019 and recommended the following. [*]In the explanatory memorandum to the Budget, the Presidency should determine its needs for advisers, the amount of their remuneration according to the duties of the post and the necessary qualifications. It shall then proceed to purchase services to meet these needs on the basis of defined procedures. [*]For the purposes of transparency, the names, qualifications, position and remuneration of the consultants selected should be made public.
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The above is published in our Special Report no. PM/01/2019 and date. 17.7.2019.
(f) The Presidency of the Republic rejected our recommendations on the grounds that such a framework would add too much inflexibility, a position with which we do not agree. At the same time, however, we were informed that the Cabinet of Ministers, by a Decision taken on 27 March 2019, approved a comprehensive framework for the employment of such Consultants. Based on this framework, the Consultants must have attained the twenty-first (21st) year of age and hold a university-level degree recognized in the Republic.
(g) The importance of such positions of Advisers to the President of the Council of Europe and Ministers is also evidenced by the fact that the GRECO Committee of the Council of Europe, as well as the European Commission, consider the position of Adviser to be a position of influence and therefore request that the holders of such a position make a declaration of whereabouts.
On the basis of the above, we consider that hiring as a consultant a person who is 19 years old and does not have a university degree would be manifestly illegal and abusive. It is therefore our recommendation to the Secretary of State not to implement such a plan and to disengage himself from such a commitment. In the event that expenditure is made against such an appointment, we will submit a complaint to the Independent Anti-Corruption Authority for consideration of the possible commission of the offence of abuse of power.
Our Office will request details of all Consultants engaged by the PM, Ministers and Deputy Ministers and will make public as much of this information as is permissible to give. The Commissioner for Personal Data Protection will be consulted for this purpose.
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