REPORTS
Critique surrounds elections of the new leadership of ASEP (Supreme Council for Civil Personnel Selection)
At the end of May 2021, the new leadership of ASEP was elected by the Conference of the Presidents of Parliament. They were sworn in and took office at the beginning of June. ASEP, or the Supreme Council for Civil Personnel Selection, is an independent commission in Greece that selects people for work in the public sector. The Council is supervised by the Ministry of Administrative Reform and e-Governance, but is not under government control. The new President was previously Vice President of ASEP for 5 years and this particular selection provoked strong reactions because it was deemed to have violated the finite term of office which applies in independent authorities and raised the possibility of the intervention of the executive in the subsequent work of ASEP, or even accusations that the government was trying to manipulate ASEP’s work. It was also alleged that the legislative amendment that made the new president’s election possible was passed into law with the sole purpose of enabling this appointment. The candidate also did not enjoy broad political consensus. (See articles in Ethnos, Avgi, Proto Thema, Kathimerini, Efimerida ton Syntakton, (1, 2), Naftemporiki, το flash.gr, το ieidiseis.gr και το news247 for more details)
Shortly before, law 4795/2021 had been passed, Article 70 of which decreed that, “a term of office in the position of Vice-President, Deputy, or ordinary member does not preclude that person’s appointment for a full term in a higher position in the same Authority”. The provision of a specific term of office for the members of the Independent Authorities according to Article 101A of the Constitution, is one of the elements that ensure their necessary personal and functional independence. Concerns were expressed in the parliamentary plenary session at the time about the expediency and the legality of this article, because it appeared to be a legal adjustment made with the sole purpose of appointing a specific candidate to the post. Much discussion took place about the consequences that this article would have for the selection of the new leadership of ASEP (see pp. 70-73, 77, 84-87, 92, 103- 104, 119, 122, 137 of the minutes of the Parliament). It is also interesting that the Minister of the Interior mentions by name the person who later assumes the Presidency of ASEP (see page 127 of the minutes). It is noted that fears over the control of the leadership of ASEP had appeared in the media as early as March 2021.
All the above can only cause concerns about the legality of this choice, due to the legislative amendment preceding his election and due to the suspicions of bias that may result. Whilst this in no way calls into question the work of the new President of ASEP, the circumstances can only bring into question both his own independence and the independence of ΑSEP.
In a state that adheres to the rule of law, laws must be applied in accordance with the general principles and requirements set out by the Constitution and EU Law.
Ensuring the independence of independent authorities (both in form and substance) is an obligation of the state. The existence of suspicions of bias in the process of appointing the head of an Authority may in turn give rise to suspicions of executive intervention in the subsequent work of that Authority.
In this case, the election of the President of ASEP after the vote of Article 70 of law 4795/2021 and the reactions that this election brought can only raise concerns as to whether all the above obligations were met and whether the independence of ASEP was indeed secured. Although the prestige, the work and the personality of the current President of ASEP are not in question, doubts about the legitimacy of this choice remain.
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