Summary:
The disciplinary procedure in the public sector and the protection of the persecuted employee are the subject of this thesis. Through the analysis of the institutional framework and the literature review, the enforcement problems of the disciplinary procedure are highlighted and ways to resolve them are proposed.
The history of disciplinary law, its relationship with criminal law, the disciplinary offenses and penalties as well as the importance of disciplinary bodies ara analyzed in the introductory chapter of this thesis. Given that "perjurers" civil servants have been the center of attention in the last few years, the role of disciplinary law in the "era of the memoranda of understanding (MoUs)", is also examined.
This is followed by a detailed description of the stages of the disciplinary procedure, from the preliminary examination until the issue of disciplinary judgment. Particular reference is made to its main characteristic ( autonomy and independence), the prescription and the acts of commencement of disciplinary action. Changes introduced by Law 4093/2012 in ipso jure lay off are examined in detail, in view of the serious consequences to the administrative -financial status of the employee and their controversial consitutionality.
Specific reference is made to "procedural" safeguards in favor of the persecuted public servant, like his/her examination when carrying out a sworn administrative investigation, during a disciplinary investigations, the summon to a plea and the plea itself. In the same time the additional procedural rights of the knowledge of disciplinary documentation, the clarity of the summon to a plea and of the referral document, as well as providing time for plea and support by counsel. Particular reference is made to the legal protection of civil servants in cases of ipso, jure layoffs, as stipulated by Law 4210/2013.
The empirical approach to the issue, highlights the main issues in the application of disciplinary proceedings such as the problematic functioning of disciplinary bodies and their reluctance in exercising their disciplinary authority, the extremely long delays in the completion of the procedures, as well as the poor control over these disciplinary bodies in conjunction with inadequate control mechanisms. Similary, proposals to address these issues include education and continuous training of disciplinary bodies, the fulltime engagement of the members of disciplinary boards with issues related to the exercise of their disciplinary authority, and the strengthening of the role of audit mechanisms.
In conclusion, altough the disciplinary law ia a complete and adequate legislation, however, the achievement of its objectives bears a "negative sign" because of its incorrect and inconsistent application, a fact which is also reflected in recent legislative choices that tightened up the relevant provisions, in order to deal with the ills if the civil service body.
Keywords:
Code for public servants, disciplinary law, disciplinary procedure , public sector, disciplinary offenses.
