Ginčai dėl valstybės tarnautojų atleidimo iš tarnybos: teorija ir praktika ; Disputes over dismissal from the civil service: theory and practice

Abstract

Summary The final paper for the Master's degree analyzes theory and practice of the dismissal of civil servants and issues of concern of legal regulation of dismissal from the civil service. This paper includes the hypothesis that despite the application of provisions of the imperative Civil Service Act for the ending of the civil service, use of the Labour Law norms is possible. This paper is comprised of two main parts. The first part of the paper discloses the concept of legal relations of the dismissal of civil servants with reference to the Civil Service Act and Labour Code by setting forth the specifics of these relationships and their integrated legal regulation. The second part of the paper examines the practice of the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania in proceeding with cases relating to disputes over civil service, the basis for civil servant dismissal and problems of concern of its practical application. Research analysis differentiates among the following three main categories of the dismissed civil servants: 1) Senior Officials of public institutions; 2) Career Civil Servants; and 3) Statutory Officers. Civil servants work in best interests of the State and fulfil the tasks of public administration. Civil service labour relations develop between the employer (the State) and the civil servant therefore they are based on the principle of hierarchy in order to ensure the public interest. Legal relations between the State and civil servants are regulated by different branches of law: Administrative Law, Labour Law, and Constitutional Law. Unity of the civil service system does not deny the possibility of differentiated regulation of the dismissal of civil servants. The legislator prefers the Civil Service Act in ending civil service, and to fill the existing gaps provisions of the Labour Code are employed. The practice of the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania when investigating peculiarities of the dismissal of civil servants reveals the concept of malfeasance, imposition of different penalties, and identifies legal acts applicable for ending the official relationship in the civil service. Superior Officials of public institutions taken into the service on the basis of political trust are dismissed after they lose trust of the service that has admitted them into the service. Basis for the dismissal of Career Civil Servants are provided in the Civil Service Act. Statutory Civil Servants are dismissed by the specific legal acts or the acts confirmed by statutes. In case of dismissal of Career Civil Servants and Statutory Officials, Labour Law norms are applicable when resolving collisions of legal norms.