Participation in a civil service competition begins with preparing and filing an application. This stage looks formally simple, yet it is exactly here that the most contested questions arise: the form of filing, the deadline, the existence of the right to participate, and the candidate's duties are all precisely determined by the rule, and ignorance of these determinations directly affects the very possibility of taking part. This page explains how and where the application is filed, how much time is allotted, who has the right to participate in an open and a closed competition, and what rights and duties you have as a candidate after filing.
The form and deadline for filing the application
To participate in an open or closed competition, the candidate submits an application only in electronic form, through the website administered by the Bureau. The rule provides no alternative here: neither documents brought in person nor a written request outside the prescribed form can replace the electronic application on the Bureau's website. The candidate is given at least 10 working days from the day of the announcement of the open or closed competition to submit the application. The same deadline also bounds the possibility of amending the application: the candidate is entitled to introduce changes into the application until the deadline set by the public institution for the submission of applications expires. The practical conclusion is simple: an application filed in the last days of the window leaves no room for future corrections, so preparing the application in good time is in the candidate's interest.
Open and closed competition — which is announced in which case
An open and a closed competition are announced to fill a vacant professional civil service position. An open competition is announced for a vacant position of a fourth-rank professional civil servant, while a closed competition is announced for a vacant position of a superior-rank servant — that is, of the third, second or first rank. To ensure the uninterrupted operation of the public service, the public institution is also entitled to announce a competition for a position that is not vacant at the moment of announcement, if there is a confirmed basis that the position will become vacant before the competition ends. An open competition for a superior-rank position is an exception and is announced only in defined cases: where a suitable candidate could not be selected on the basis of the closed competition, or where the Bureau has issued a reasoned recommendation. The Bureau issues such a recommendation upon the request of the respective public institution, on the basis of verification of the data contained in the unified electronic system of human resources management in the public service — with the conclusion that, given the established additional qualification requirements, a suitable candidate cannot be selected through a closed competition. For the candidate this classification matters because the right to participate in a given competition depends on it.
Who has the right to participate in the competition
The circle of participants is determined directly by the form of the competition:
- in an open competition, any capable citizen of Georgia who meets the requirements established by the Law of Georgia on Public Service may participate;
- in a closed competition, an acting professional civil servant may participate;
- so may a person enrolled in the reserve of servants;
- and a person employed under an employment contract, provided that he or she has worked in the public service system for at least one year and meets the requirements established by the Law of Georgia on Public Service.
This list settles the legality of your planned participation even before the application is filed: if the competition is closed, only persons from the circle listed above may join it, and an application from outside that circle rests on the absence of the right to participate. If the competition is open, the right to participate belongs to any capable citizen of Georgia, and only compliance with the requirements established by the law is decisive. Therefore, the first step in preparing an application is to determine the form of the competition and to compare your own status against this list.
The candidate's rights and duties
In connection with filing the application, the candidate has the following rights and duties:
- for the purpose of participating in the competition, submit an electronic application on the website administered by the Bureau;
- introduce changes into the application made, before the deadline set for the submission of applications expires;
- provide the institution with reliable information and documents concerning compliance with the competition requirements;
- apply to the Bureau with a demand to re-check the application's compliance with the basic formal requirements;
- appeal the results of the open and closed competition in the manner established by the legislation of Georgia;
- exercise other rights and duties related to the competition provided for by the legislation of Georgia.
The duty to provide reliable information deserves particular attention: the candidate must supply the public institution only with accurate information and documents concerning compliance with the competition requirements. It follows from this duty that every entry in the application should rest on a fact substantiated by documents, since it is precisely these data that the institution checks at the first stage of the competition. The right to apply to the Bureau — with a demand to re-check compliance with the basic formal requirements — is likewise an important guarantee for the candidate; however, the deadlines and procedure for exercising this right are established by other provisions of the rule and deserve separate attention.
What to pay attention to when preparing the application
The norms described above yield a short practical algorithm. First, determine the form of the competition — open or closed — and compare your own status with the circle of participants; this determines whether the right to participate exists at all. Second, calculate the time: the deadline for filing is at least 10 working days from the day of the announcement, and the possibility of amending the application likewise ends with the expiry of that deadline. Third, fill in the application only with substantiated data — providing reliable information is the candidate's direct obligation. Fourth, bear in mind that an application already filed can be changed only before the deadline expires, so double-check your documents in advance. And fifth, should a contentious issue arise in the course of the competition, remember that the candidate has the right to appeal the results of the open and closed competition in the manner established by the legislation of Georgia — the detailed regulation of that right belongs to other norms of the rule.