The Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina's progress in 2012, prepared by the European Commission, in the part which is treating a political criteria,and in the scope of democracy and human rights, is also focusing on the segment of Public Administration. With the view to that, the Report gives the evaluation and states the progress achieved by BiH in the process of Public Administration Reform.
A complete Report can be retrieved at the web page of the Directorate for European Integrations of Bosnia and Herzegovina . The part which is covering Public Administration Reform is highlighted as it follows:
Public Administration
Little progress has been made in the area of public administration reform.
The Public Administration Reform Coordinator’s Office (PARCO) revised the 2006 Action Plan under the Public Administration Reform (PAR) Strategy, providing a framework for reforms over the next five years. The public administration reform process lacks the necessary political support.
There has been little progress in strengthening administrative capacity for legal harmonisation and implementation of the acquis. The issue of financial sustainability of public administration at all levels needs to be addressed.
With regard to appointments to State-level bodies, the directors of the Indirect Taxation
Authority (ITA), the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) and the State
Veterinary Office have been appointed. The members of the Central Election Commission were re-appointed. Appointments to some key agencies are still awaited, in particular the Communications Regulatory Agency, the State Aid Council, and the electricity transmission company TRANSCO. These agencies still lack the necessary resources and political support to become fully operational in line with EU requirements. The State-level Law on Civil Servants has been amended to allow the Civil Service Agency to handle civil servants’ personal data and thus make use of the human resources management information system. There has been no improvement in recruitment procedures that would ensure the application of objective and merit-based criteria for appointments.
Civil service systems have been amended in different directions across the country. In the
Federation, amendments to the Law on the Civil Service were adopted, aligning it with the FBiH Constitutional Court decisions and ensuring compliance with the Bologna Process on recognition of diplomas. Republika Srpska amended its Law on Civil Servants, clarifying conditions for appointments and setting retirement age for civil servants at 65. The Brcko District has prepared a set of amendments to the Law on Civil Servants. There has been very little coordination between the State level, the Entities and the Brcko District when preparing amendments to their legislation to ensure a more harmonised approach.
Following a decision by the Federation Constitutional Court, a framework law harmonizing the Cantonal legislation was drafted. The adoption in two Cantons of separate laws on the civil service, which are not fully in line with the framework law, contributed to the fragmentation of the civil service system and the establishment of separate civil service agencies at Cantonal level.
The Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina has issued reports to the UN and the
Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the status of human rights in the
country and on the implementation of the anti-discrimination law. Several of the
recommendations, e.g. regarding the judiciary, access to information and discrimination, have not been implemented due to weak enforcement capacity and a lack of political support. The reduction in funding had a negative impact on the functioning of the Ombudsman.
Overall, little progress was made in the area of public administration reform. The Action Plan under the PAR Strategy was revised, providing a framework for reforms over the next five years. The coordinating structures at Entity and Cantonal level remain insufficient.
The cut in budgetary resources hampered the functioning of the Ombudsman. Fragmentation and politisation continued to hamper the establishment of a professional, accountable, transparent and efficient civil service based on merit and competence.