Summary

The Public Service Act has been in force in Estonia since 1996. This Act has been amended numerous times, including 13 times in 2009 alone. Nevertheless, no significant conceptual innovations have been made since its entry into force, although this has been attempted several times. A new Public Service Act Bill is currently before parliament, and underwent its first reading in the autumn of 2009.

In this article, the author first provides an overview of the reasons why the current law must be changed. This includes a look at efforts to replace the career system with an open, position-based system and the practical difficulties this entails.

The goal of the bill is to create an open, competent, effective and sustainable public service. This article explains how the objectives of the bill are to be achieved. The author focuses on some of the most widely debated amendments: the definition of the term “official”, the requirement of citizenship, how these issues are resolved in other countries and the system of remuneration.