The government has adopted a decree approving an Ordinance on the terms and conditions for conducting integrity tests for civil servants, the Council of Ministers' press office reported. The legal basis for the document stems from provisions within the Civil Servant Act, and its adoption fulfills specific anti-corruption reform measures outlined in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

The ordinance provides a detailed framework for conducting these checks, including general psychometric standards, measurement methods, and operating principles. It thoroughly describes the procedures, the circumstances under which testing is required, and the categories of civil servants subject to the tests.

The tests will be digital and organized by the Institute of Public Administration (IPA). They will be conducted upon request from the relevant administration or at the civil servant's own initiative. The result includes an automatically generated assessment, which is subsequently interpreted by an IPA official selected at random. This expert is required to hold a Master's degree in Psychology and must have completed specialized training.

A clear administrative procedure for challenging test results has also been established. The appeal is submitted to the Executive Director of the IPA, who appoints three expert psychologists at random. These individuals, who were not involved in the initial assessment, are tasked with providing a final opinion on whether the test was successfully passed.

The adoption of the ordinance necessitated amendments to several other secondary legislative acts related to defining positions with high corruption risk and the tests themselves. The changes cover:

  • The Ordinance on Conducting Competitions and Selection for the Mobility of Civil Servants;
  • The Ordinance on the Application of the Classification of Positions in the Administration;
  • The Ordinance on Job Descriptions of Civil Servants;
  • The Ordinance on Documents for Taking up Civil Service;
  • The Ordinance on the Administrative Register;
  • The Rules of Organization of the Institute of Public Administration.

As a reminder, on Tuesday, the National Assembly gave final approval to provisions that introduce both integrity tests and the option for civil servants to work remotely for up to two days a week.