The status of state officials and civil servants in Croatia is regulated by three laws:

• Procedure of the transfer of power after the parliamentary elections is regulated by the Act on the Transfer of Power (Official Gazette, No. 94/04 and 17/07);
• The status of state officials is regulated by the Act on the Obligations and Rights of State Officials (Official Gazette, No. 101/98, 135/98, 105/99, 25/00, 73/00, 30/01, 59/01, 114/01, 153/02, 163/03, 16/04, 30/04, 121/05, 151/05, 141/ 06, 17/07, 85/07 and 107/07);
• The status of civil servants is regulated by the Civil Service Act (Official Gazette, No. 92/05, 142/06, 77/06, 107/07).

After recent parliamentary elections in Croatia, which took place on 25 November 2007, change of Government has become a very important issue in the sense of depoliticization of civil service as, upon formal assumption of office of the Government, around 200 posts of state officials will become posts of civil servants.

State officials whose status becomes status of civil servants

Those civil servants and governmental employees employed in the civil service on the date of entry into force of Civil Service Act shall continue to work at their former posts and retain their salaries and other rights under previous decisions, pending the issuance of the decision on assignment to posts in compliance with the regulations on internal organisational structure and staff regulations and rules harmonised with the provisions of the Civil Service Act.

However, the status of certain state officials will change. Upon formal assumption of office of the Government after the parliamentary elections held on 25 November 2007, the posts of Ministry Secretary, Director in a Ministry, Deputy Secretary of the Government, Chief of Staff of the Government office, Deputy State Secretary of a central State Administrative Office and Deputy and Assistant Director of State Administrative Organisations shall be accorded the status of civil servants, whereas the current post of Assistant Minister shall be abolished.

Persons occupying the abovementioned posts shall continue to perform their duties and shall be entitled to salaries based on previous decisions until assignment to said posts on the basis of a vacancy announcement in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Service Act and thereafter, if they are not reappointed, the Government shall decide to relieve them of duty.

The vacancy announcement for appointment to these posts will be announced not later than 60 days after formal assumption of office by the Government.

The relieved official who was a civil servant prior to appointment to such office will be entitled to assignment, without undergoing competition procedure, to the state body in which he/she was in the civil service prior to appointment to office or to another state body, if there is an available post for which he/she is qualified. The relieved official shall submit the request for assignment to the head of the body in which he/she served prior to appointment not later than 30 days after the date of his/her being relieved.

The relieved official who was not a civil servant prior to appointment and the relieved official who does not submit a request for assignment to the state body in which he/she served prior to appointment, will exercise the entitlement to compensation in compliance with the Act on the Obligations and Rights of State Officials.

State officials whose status remains official status

Mandates which will be put at disposal to the Government according to the Act on the Transfer of Power and Act on the Obligations and Rights of State Officials upon formal assumption of office of the new Government are: Government Secretary, State Secretaries, Director of State Administration Organisations, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Director of Government Agencies and Director of Government Institutions.

The new Government has 60 days after formal assumption of office to suspend and reaffirm these officials, and until that decision present officials continue to perform their duties.

Relieved official, who prior to appointment to such office was a civil servant, is entitled to assignment, without undergoing competition procedure, to the state body in which he/she was in the civil service prior to appointment to office or to another state body, if there is an available post for which he/she is qualified. The relieved official shall submit the request for assignment to the head of the body in which he/she served prior to appointment not later than 30 days after the date of his/her being relieved.

Relieved official who prior to appointment to such office worked outside of civil service, has the right to return to previous job. Relieved official has to submit his/her return request no later than 30 days after the date when he/she was relieved.

If relieved official does not realise these rights, he/she has the right to use salary compensation according to the Article 15 of the Act on the Obligations and Rights of State Officials (full salary of a state official at the position he/she held for the first six months and 50% of that amount in the following six months except in cases if he/she finds another job or retires).

Provided by Adela Golub, December 2007
Source: Informator, 17 Nov 07