Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs on Tuesday promulgated amendments to the Civil Service Law, with the legislation entering into force the day after its publication.
As previously reported, on 18 June the Latvian Parliament (Saeima) adopted coalition-backed amendments allowing the appointment of heads of government institutions without an open competition in certain cases.
The amendments remove a provision requiring an open recruitment process when the head of an institution leaves office by mutual agreement.
According to the authors of the amendments, the previous rules sometimes limited the government’s ability to fill senior vacancies quickly and ensure continuity in the management of public institutions. They also argued that prolonged vacancies could negatively affect the functioning of institutions and decision-making processes.
At the same time, the law retains the principle that an open competition remains the standard procedure for filling civil service positions, with the new exemptions applying only in specific circumstances.
The amendments also allow the Prime Minister to appoint the Director of the State Chancellery without holding an open competition.
Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs has previously argued that lengthy recruitment procedures can hinder the effective management of state institutions, while maintaining that he generally supports open competitions as the standard approach.
Meanwhile, the parliamentary group of The Progressives urged the President not to promulgate the amendments, expressing concern that they could increase the risk of political influence over senior appointments.
Experts from the public policy think tank Providus also argued that the amendments do not create an entirely new problem but rather expand an existing practice that already lacks sufficient transparency. For that reason, they said, the changes should not be viewed merely as a technical solution for ensuring continuity of leadership.
According to Providus, the amendments should be assessed in the broader context of a system where appointments through transfers to senior civil service positions are already widely used, while the public has limited ability to understand why a transfer was chosen instead of an open competition.
The organisation believes the real issue lies elsewhere: Latvia should undertake a comprehensive review of its civil service system, clearly defining the boundaries between the professional independence of the civil service and political accountability.
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