Lecture 2: Public Service - Russia PDF

Lecture 2 The nature and essence of public service The concept of \"service\" has several meanings. This may be a type of social activity of people; work, occupation of an employee, his place of work; a specific attitude to the case, etc. As a rule, service refers to a relationship of duty, loyalt...

Lecture 2 The nature and essence of public service The concept of \"service\" has several meanings. This may be a type of social activity of people; work, occupation of an employee, his place of work; a specific attitude to the case, etc. As a rule, service refers to a relationship of duty, loyalty, devotion, and willingness to protect someone\'s interest. The purpose of the service is connected with the creation of conditions for the normal functioning of society, providing other types of social activities. The service may relate to the socio-cultural services of people, the implementation of management activities, ensuring the activities of public authorities, etc. A special type of service is public service. The historical place of public service is inextricably linked with the historical place of the state and law. The state cannot exist without a specially created apparatus, without an effective system of public service. Currently, there is no single point of view on the content of the concept of \"public service\". In a broad sense, it is a type of work carried out on a professional basis by employees of state bodies in order to fulfill the tasks and functions of the state. The Law of the Russian Federation \"On the Fundamentals of the Civil Service of the Russian Federation\" of 1995 establishes an activity---based approach, suggesting that public service is a \"professional activity to ensure the execution of the powers of state authorities\". This approach makes it possible to study the goals and functions of the civil service, technologies for collecting and processing information, developing and organizing the execution of decisions, etc. However, it is not enough to establish the essence of public service, and such a formulation is justly criticized. With this approach, service to the state is reduced to service to a public authority, as a result of which the problems of using the prerogatives of state power by public services, the implementation of state laws, as well as the social tasks of public service remain aside. Currently, many scientists consider the civil service more broadly --- as a state-legal and social institution. Such an understanding requires an integrated approach, extensive use of knowledge of philosophy, political science, sociology, economic theory, macro- and microeconomics, social management, public and municipal administration, corporate culture, etc. Only with the support of such a theoretical base can one begin to master practical skills, specific technologies of management activities, methods of analysis and solving specific problems of public authorities. When studying the basics of public service, one should also take into account the point of view that interprets public service as a system of public-law relations between the state and an employee based on subordination and having mandatory activities on behalf of the state and aimed at fulfilling a state task. This approach allows us to fully take into account the managerial, organizational, economic, legal, psychological and many other aspects of public service, to understand the essence of bureaucracy as a professional and social stratum of society, a civil servant as a citizen and a person, etc. Professor G.V. Atamanchuk gives the following definition of public service: \"\... public service is the practical and professional participation of citizens in the implementation of the goals and functions of the state through the performance of public positions established in state bodies\"3. The execution of a public office is a concrete implementation of public relations, which the state power, through the Constitution, laws, and legal statuses of bodies, has assigned to this position. Thus, public service can be considered in many aspects, including: --- socially --- as a professional exercise of useful activities on behalf of the company by persons holding positions in government organizations; --- in political terms --- as an activity for the development and implementation of public policy, regulation of relations between the main social groups and classes of society; --- in legal terms --- as a system of legal norms establishing public positions and their functions, regulating the procedure for entering public service, its passage and termination, outlining the rights, duties and responsibilities of civil servants, etc.; --- in organizational terms --- as a set of organizational norms, methods, procedures, rules, standards and traditions of streamlining, regulation and coordination of the joint activities of civil servants, making the interaction of the components of the civil service consistent in order to achieve its goals; --- in sociological terms, as a practical implementation of the functions of the state, the competence of state bodies. 1.2. Goals, objectives and functions of the civil service The question of the goals and objectives of the civil service, despite its importance, is largely staged. The fact is that the methodology of goal-setting in management in general and in public administration in particular is the least developed. The goals of public service can be considered as a form of awareness and consolidation by state bodies in relevant regulatory legal acts of socially significant topical issues. Currently, Russia does not have a well-defined \"goal tree\". There are few theoretical developments in this regard, besides they often contradict each other. Thus, Yu.N. Starilov believes that the main purpose of public service is the practical implementation of the functions of the state, solving its tasks, ensuring the welfare of society, satisfying public interests based on the principles and the provisions established in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, federal laws and laws of the subjects of the Federation. In turn, A.F. Nozdrachev identifies the following goals of public service: --- streamlining the work of the state apparatus; --- establishment of requirements for functions and competencies for public positions; --- determination of the competence and professional training of civil servants; --- regulation of methods and procedures for analyzing and evaluating the effectiveness of the functioning of the state apparatus; --- formation of conditions for the provision of civil servants, including material, social and legal guarantees of public service5. It is easy to see that in the latter approach to defining the goals of public service, government officials focus mainly on hardware needs, and the needs and interests of people come into the background. The goals of public service can be classified: 1\) according to the degree of public importance: strategic, related to the quality of life of society, its preservation or transformation; tactical, defining specific actions in time and space to achieve strategic goals; 2\) according to the results: final; intermediate; 3\) by time: long-term; medium-term; short-term; 4\) by spheres of public life: economic; political; social; spiritual. When we talk about the work of civil servants, we need to remember that they help to make laws and programs that tell us how the country should be run. They also help to change how government works and how people get services from the government. So, the main jobs of civil servants are: --- to keep the country safe; --- think about how the country can be better; --- find people who can help make the country better; --- make the government work well; --- decide what is important for the country; --- help people get their rights. To make the government work, we need to do two things. First, we need people who will help the leaders of the country. Second, we need people to study problems and interests of all people. Service as one of the types of socially useful activity is characterized by the following features: 1\. In the process of work, employees do not directly create material values, but provide conditions for their production. 2\) Setting goals. One of the most important (first) things managers do. It means to find out how society should work or how it should be in the future. 3\) Predicting and making models of how society and government will be. This is based on how society is changing. It\'s about knowing what will happen in society and with government because of things that happen or are done on purpose. Good predictions are very expensive. They help you be ready for what is most likely to happen. But it\'s also important to remember that not many people in Russia understand how to predict political and economic things. 4\) Information for the work of government. We get, read, think about information that is needed for government work. 5\) Plans. We make plans for what to do and when. We decide what is good for society. 6\) Organize. We organize people and things so that everything works well. We want society to be good.7) Control. Checking if the society and the government are good or bad. 8\) Counting. Counting how many things happen in society and the government. 9\) Working together. Making the government work together to do good things. The government does things like teach people, help people be healthy, and keep people safe. So the government makes things for people. Also, the government teaches people to be nice to each other and to respect the government and the laws. The civil service has an important role in society. It helps to make rules and to control how people act. There are three main jobs for civil servants: making laws, following laws, and making sure people follow the laws. Making laws means making new rules for people to follow.\ Civil servants help to write new laws and change old ones. Following laws means doing what the law says. Civil servants make sure that people follow the rules. Making sure people follow laws is called law enforcement. The work of civil servants is written in rules for government offices and jobs. They do their work with laws, money, organization, and how people feel. The main function of both state and municipal services is to serve society (for this it is created), to ensure a stable connection between the state and society, the state and its citizens, to implement democratic principles in practice, to expand the conditions for the creation of a civil society, to motivate the development of its self--governing activities by means of professional managerial work, to delegate the functions of public administration as much as possible institutions, citizens, - in short, to develop and support their free life activity on the basis not only of law, but also of those spiritual and moral principles and values that are decisive for national identity. Therefore, service in state and municipal government is not only a socio-legal institution of society, but also its intellectual center, designed by managerial means to move society towards the practical realization of its goals: social justice and a decent life for its members, the development of democratic institutions, the formation of high spirituality of each member, the development of science, culture, education. The key to the performance of a state civil position and a municipal position is not only the high professionalism of the employee, but his personal qualities, civic position, high morality and the ability to serve his Fatherland. The organization of state and municipal service means its formation for activity and includes a wide range of issues: the establishment of job titles and the definition of powers for each position, the development of rules for admission to state and municipal service, training and professional development, rules for promotion, the application of incentives and measures of disciplinary and other responsibility, the rules of service and termination of official relations and some other rules. 1.3. Principles of Public Service The principles of public service enshrine the requirements of society and other subjects of public service management for the civil service and civil servants. They implement the legislator\'s ideas about the legal, social, federal, and democratic character of the Russian state. All federal and state authorities of the subjects of the Russian Federation are obliged to implement these principles, and civil servants, in turn, are obliged to be guided by them in their work. The principles of public service regulate the following range of legal relations: between a civil servant and the state, between a civil servant and citizens, between persons, bodies and organizations of public service of different levels and types. The basic principles of the construction and functioning of the civil service system are enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation and Article 3 of the Federal Law \"On the Civil Service System of the Russian Federation\". Thus, the principles of public service are divided into constitutional principles, enshrined directly in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and organizational and functional principles formulated in the legislation on public service. The constitutional principles of public service include: --- the principle of federalism; --- the principle of legality; --- the principle of priority of human and civil rights and freedoms; --- the principle of equal access to public service. The principle of federalism ensures the unity of the public service system and compliance with the constitutional differentiation of subjects of competence and powers between federal government bodies and public authorities of the subjects of the Russian Federation. The principle of federalism means that the civil service is a system of positions established in a single system of state bodies. Federalism in relation to public service has several aspects: normative, organizational, functional, and financial. The normative aspect is the constitutional and legislative division of competence in the field of public service between the Russian Federation and the subjects of the Russian Federation. The organizational aspect is the observance of the principle of federalism in the construction of the civil service, the division of the civil service into the federal civil service and the civil service of the subjects of the Russian Federation. The functional aspect is the independence of each level of the federal system in solving personnel issues and other issues of the functioning of the civil service. The financial aspect is the observance of the principle of federalism in the provision of public service resources at the expense of the budget of the appropriate level (federal or regional). The principle of legality means the need to comply with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and federal law by-laws and individual legal acts in the field of public service. All conflicts and contradictions are resolved in favor of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and federal law. The principle of priority of human and civil rights and freedoms means their direct effect, the obligation to recognize, respect and protect them. In the functioning of the institute of public service, human and civil rights and freedoms determine the meaning, content and scope of application of laws. Discrimination of citizens by civil servants and civil servants themselves on the grounds of gender, social, racial, national, linguistic, religious affiliation is unacceptable. The principle of equal access of citizens to public service means that every citizen of the Russian Federation must, without any discrimination and without unjustified restrictions, be admitted to public service on general terms of equality. Equal access of citizens to public service is carried out in accordance with the qualification requirements established in relation to public service positions. The organizational and functional principles of public service include the following principles: \- the principle of unity of the legal and organizational foundations of public service; --- the principle of the relationship between public service and municipal service; --- the principle of openness of the public service and its accessibility to public control; --- the principle of professionalism and competence of civil servants; --- the principle of protecting civil servants from unlawful interference in their professional official activities. The principle of unity of the legal and organizational foundations of public service presupposes the legislative consolidation of a unified approach to the organization of public service. The principle of the relationship between public service and municipal service. The interrelation of these two types of public service is ensured through the unity of the basic qualification requirements for civil and municipal service positions, the unity of restrictions and obligations during the passage of civil and municipal service, the unity of requirements for professional training, retraining and advanced training of civil and municipal employees, taking into account the length of service of municipal service in calculating the length of civil service and length of service in calculating length of service in the municipal service, the correlation of the basic conditions of remuneration and social guarantees for civil and municipal employees, the correlation of the basic conditions of state pension provision for citizens who have served in civil service and citizens who have served in municipal service, and their families in case of loss of a breadwinner. The principle of openness of the civil service and its accessibility to public control means objectively informing the public about the activities of civil servants. At its core, the principle of openness of the civil service involves ensuring the participation of citizens in public administration through the creation of opportunities to obtain open (unclassified) information about the activities of state bodies and civil servants, and to exercise public control over the organization and functioning of the civil service. This principle is unthinkable without guarantees for the protection of citizens who criticize the activities of civil servants, and without providing the media with opportunities to cover issues of the organization and functioning of the civil service. The principle of professionalism and competence of civil servants presupposes: --- professionalism of civil servants, i.e. their performance of their position as their main occupation; --- competence, i.e. knowledge of the assigned service, work experience; --- qualifications, i.e. compliance of a civil servant with the position he holds in terms of education, experience, knowledge and work skills; --- responsibility for the decisions being prepared and taken and the proper performance of official duties. The principle of protecting civil servants from unlawful interference in their professional activities. Civil servants are protected by the State. The protection of civil servants is guaranteed against unlawful interference from both State bodies and officials, as well as from individuals and legal entities. In furtherance of this principle, the legislation provides for the right to appeal against illegal actions, a mechanism for resolving individual service disputes, the right of civil servants to form trade unions, as well as the non-partisanship of the civil service and the separation of religious associations from the State. Scientific sources also mention a number of other principles, such as: service to the state and society, subordination and unity of command, stability and renewal of civil service personnel, efficiency of public service, etc. However, without being fixed in the text of the laws, they do not have the status of principles of legal regulation of public service relations, but are elements of scientific legal awareness or principles of morality. Modern public service is organized and carried out taking into account the diversity and specificity of spheres and branches of government activity. Under the guise of public service is understood its specialization, which depends on the level and functions of the relevant government agencies. Federal Law No. 58-FZ of May 27, 2003 \"On the Civil Service System of the Russian Federation\" stipulates that the civil service system includes: 1\) state civil service; 2\) military service; 3\) Law enforcement service. The same law established the division of the state civil service of the Russian Federation, taking into account the principle of the federal structure of the state, into the federal state civil service and the state civil service of the subject of the Russian Federation. Thus, there are three types of federal public service (military, law enforcement and federal state civil) and one type of public service of the subjects of the Russian Federation (state civil service of the subject of the Russian Federation). As follows from Federal Law No. 58-FZ of May 27, 2003\ \"On the Civil Service System of the Russian Federation\", the federal civil service is a professional official activity of citizens to ensure the fulfillment of the powers of the Russian Federation, as well as the powers of federal state bodies and persons holding public positions of the Russian Federation (art. 4). Art. 5 The Law defines the concepts: the state civil service, the federal state civil service and the state civil service of the subject of the Russian Federation. The state civil service is a type of public service that represents the professional official activity of citizens in positions of the state civil service to ensure the execution of the powers of federal state bodies, state bodies of subjects of the Russian Federation, persons holding public positions of the Russian Federation, and persons holding public positions of subjects of the Russian Federation. The Federal State Civil Service is the professional official activity of citizens in the positions of the federal state civil service to ensure the execution of the powers of federal state bodies and persons holding public positions of the Russian Federation. The State Civil Service of a subject of the Russian Federation is the professional official activity of citizens in positions of the state civil service of a subject of the Russian Federation to ensure the execution of the powers of the subject of the Russian Federation, as well as the powers of state bodies of the subject of the Russian Federation and persons holding public positions of the subject of the Russian Federation. The law also identifies military and law enforcement services. Military service is understood as a type of federal public service, which is the professional official activity of citizens in military positions in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, other troops, military (special) formations and bodies performing functions to ensure the defense and security of the state. Such citizens are awarded military ranks. The law enforcement service is understood as a type of federal public service, which is the professional official activity of citizens in law enforcement positions in government agencies, services and institutions performing functions to ensure security, law and order, to combat crime, to protect human and civil rights and freedoms. Such citizens are awarded special titles and class ranks. The legal regulation and organization of the federal State civil service, military service and law enforcement service are under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation. The legal regulation of the state civil service of the subject of the Russian Federation is under the joint jurisdiction of the Russian Federation and the subjects of the Russian Federation, and its organization is under the jurisdiction of the subject of the Russian Federation. Thus, each type of public service has its own legal formalization, is characterized by special features and a special legal status. Along with the regulatory classification of types and positions of public service, established by Federal Law No. 58-FZ of May 27, 2003 \"On the Civil Service System of the Russian Federation\", other classifications are used for scientific and methodological purposes, as well as to specify individual species characteristics. As one of the criteria for classifying types of public service, the principle of separation of powers can be used, according to which state power in the Russian Federation is exercised on the basis of separation into legislative, executive and judicial branches. This implies the division of the civil service into service in the legislative, executive and judicial authorities. Based on the criterion related to the organizational and legal forms of federal executive authorities, the federal public service can be classified into the following subspecies: service in the federal ministry and its territorial bodies, the federal service, the federal agency and other federal executive authorities. Moreover, it should be noted that, depending on the legal status of a particular federal executive authority, both the state civil service (for example, in the system of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation) and military service (in the system of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Federal Security Service, in the internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation) and law enforcement (in the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Federal Penitentiary Service, Federal Drug Control Service). Thus, the Federal Law \"On the System of Public Service of the Russian Federation\" has consolidated the new system of public service of Russia, consisting of two levels --- the federal and the level of the subject of the Federation (regional). The state civil service is a type of public service that represents the professional official activity of citizens in positions of the state civil service to ensure the execution of the powers of federal state bodies, state bodies of subjects of the Russian Federation, persons holding public positions of the Russian Federation, and persons holding public positions of subjects of the Russian Federation. Unlike the military and law enforcement service, the state civil service aims to ensure the powers of federal state bodies, persons holding public positions of the Russian Federation, and to ensure the powers of the subject of the Russian Federation, as well as the powers of state bodies of the subject of the Russian Federation and persons holding positions of the subject of the Russian Federation. The legal, organizational, financial and economic foundations of the state civil service of the Russian Federation are established by Federal Law No. 79-FZ dated July 27, 2004 \"On the State Civil Service of the Russian Federation\". Article 4 of this law establishes the following principles of civil service: 1\) the priority of human and civil rights and freedoms; 2\) the unity of the legal and organizational foundations of the federal civil service and the civil service of the subjects of the Russian Federation; 3\) equal access of citizens to the civil service; 4\) professionalism and competence of civil servants; 5\) stability of the civil service; 6\) availability of information about the civil service; 7\) interaction with public associations and citizens; 8\) protection of civil servants from unlawful interference in their professional work. The State Civil Service of the Russian Federation is interconnected with the state service of the Russian Federation of other types, as well as with the municipal service. In accordance with Article 6 of Federal Law No. 79-FZ, the relationship between the civil service and the civil service of the Russian Federation of other types is ensured on the basis of the unity of the civil service system of the Russian Federation and the principles of its construction and functioning, as well as through: --- the correlation of the basic conditions and wages, basic state social guarantees; --- establishment of restrictions and obligations during the passage of the civil service of the Russian Federation of various types; --- accounting for the length of service of the civil service of the Russian Federation of other types when calculating the length of service of the civil service; --- the correlation of the basic conditions of state pension provision for citizens who have served in the civil service of the Russian Federation. The State civil service of the Russian Federation is divided into two levels --- the federal state civil service and the state civil service of the subjects of the Russian Federation. The federal state civil service is understood as the professional official activity of citizens in positions of the federal state civil service to ensure the execution of the powers of federal state bodies and persons holding public positions of the Russian Federation. The Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, the President, the Government, ministries and departments, as well as three federal courts and the Prosecutor General\'s Office. In addition, it also includes the civil service of other federal authorities, which includes the offices of the Central Election Commission, the Accounting Chamber and state financial authorities. Collectively, these civil services form the federal administrative authority, which is a necessary component of the federal Government. The management system of the subjects of the federation, and in particular their civil service, also occupies an important place in the structure of modern public administration. The state civil service of a subject of the Russian Federation means the professional official activity of citizens in positions of the state civil service of a subject of the Russian Federation to ensure the execution of the powers of the subject of the Russian Federation, as well as the powers of state bodies of the subject of the Russian Federation and persons holding public positions of the subject of the Russian Federation. Among the features of the state civil service of the subjects of the federation, the following can be distinguished: 1\) it has a transitional character, its structure has not yet developed and has a number of levels, forms and elements that should gradually transform or disappear altogether; 2\) represents an almost independent cross-section of public administration, poorly connected with federal and municipal services; 3\) currently, the structure of the federal civil service is gradually beginning to repeat in basic terms. And few words about municipal services. In the early 90s, they started to make laws for local government. In 1990 the USSR made Law No. 1417-1. It was about how people can rule their own places. The law said that people can rule themselves to make their places better. The people can do it themselves or with the help of people they choose. They can do it with the laws and with money and things that are good for the place. However, the first laws on local government --- \"On general principles of local government and local economics in the USSR\" and \"On local government in the RSFSR\" didn\'t use the word \"municipality\". Work in local government was understood as part of civil service. Only after the reform on May 24, 1991 were changes made to the constitution about local government. The word \"local administration\" was used instead of \"executive committees of local councils\". Local administrations were under two bosses: local councils and state government. In fact, local government started in Russia with the Constitution in 1993. Then, the power of the councils went to local administration. Also, the idea of municipal service came out. In 1995, the law about local government was made. It helped to make local government in most places. On August 28, 1995, the Federal Law No. 154-FZ was passed by the State Duma. It said about the role of local government, the laws, money, and how to make it work.. Municipal service is service in local government bodies. The new law on local government was adopted by the State Duma on September 16 and signed by the president on October 6. It says how local government should be organized.