For a candidate dissatisfied with the results of a competition, an internal remedy exists alongside or before court: the claims commission, which may be created in a public institution to review claims related to the competition's procedures, stages and results. This mechanism is built on short deadlines, and that is precisely why the claim must be prepared in advance, with a documented footing. This page explains how the claims commission is created and how it works, in what form and within what deadline a claim may be filed, how quickly it is examined and how it feeds into the final decision, as well as the rules of the competition commission's work on which a claim must rest.
Creation and composition of the claims commission
For the purpose of reviewing claims related to the procedures, stages and results of a respective competition, a claims commission may be created by order of the head of the public institution responsible for conducting the competition. The number and composition of its members are determined by the head of the institution, and the composition includes a chairperson, a deputy chairperson and members, including invited persons. Two guarantees are particularly important here: a person who participated in the conduct of any stage of the competition may not be a member of the claims commission — this directly excludes a conflict of interest; and in the chairperson's absence, his or her duties are performed by the deputy. If, in the course of preparing a claim, it turns out that a member of the claims commission participated in the conduct of a stage of the competition, that circumstance itself becomes the mainstay of an objection against the composition.
Competence of the session and the adoption of decisions
A session of the claims commission is competent if more than half of its members attend. A decision is adopted by a simple majority of the votes of the attending members, and where the votes split equally, the vote of the session chairperson is decisive. The decision adopted is formalised in a protocol signed by the session chairperson and the attending members. A member has the right to attach a dissenting opinion to the protocol, about which an appropriate entry is made in the protocol — an entry that often becomes a valuable source of information for a subsequent dispute.
The form and deadline of the claim — the decisive condition
A candidate has the right to apply to the claims commission only in written form. The deadline is also strictly defined: no later than 2 working days from the announcement of the results of the competition — the final decision issued with respect to the candidate. The counting rule is precise as well: where the decision is sent in writing, the deadline runs from its delivery, and where the decision is sent by email, from its sending. This distinction matters greatly in practice: with electronic sending, the deadline effectively starts flowing from the moment of dispatch, and the candidate may have only a day or two for real preparation. That is why the text of the claim and its supporting circumstances must be formulated in advance — 2 working days are not enough to gather documents.
The examination deadline and the fate of the result
An application submitted in the name of the claims commission is examined by the commission within no more than 3 working days. The decision adopted is reflected in a protocol and submitted to the competition commission for the adoption of the final decision. The final decision is taken by the competition commission after familiarisation with the decision adopted by the claims commission. Where necessary, the commission has the right to convene an extended session with the participation of the members of the claims commission. Thus, the claims commission does not have the final word — its decision is for the competition commission to resolve, and the claim must be prepared so that its argumentation holds up under the conditions of an extended examination as well.
The commission's rules of work on which a claim is built
The substance of a claim often rests precisely on violations of the competition commission's rules of work, so knowing these rules is the foundation of preparing the claim:
- a commission member is obliged, before the start of the competition's stages, to declare in advance all circumstances that may prevent an objective assessment of the candidate and an impartial decision; where such circumstances exist, the member is obliged to self-recuse;
- if the member fails to declare the circumstance and this becomes known to the commission during the competition, that member's assessment will not be taken into account when the final decision is adopted;
- the commission is competent to adopt a decision if more than half of its members attend, but not fewer than 3 members;
- as a rule, the commission adopts decisions on the basis of a points system; voting is also allowed — in that case a decision is considered adopted if supported by more than half of the attending members, and where the votes split equally, the chairperson's vote is decisive;
- the assessment of a candidate must be objective, impartial, and applied consistently and equally to all candidates at all stages of the competition;
- the assessment rests on the submitted documents, the results of the written assignment and the interview, work experience and education;
- the reasoned result of the assessment is reflected in a protocol signed by the chairperson and the attending members; a member may attach a dissenting opinion.
Each of these rules is a potential mainstay of a claim: a breach of the self-recusal obligation, disregard of the quorum, unequal application of assessment, or the absence of the reasoned result in the protocol — the substantiation of each such violation must rest on a concrete, documented fact.
The deadline for the final decision and the communication of results
The commission is obliged to adopt the final decision no later than 3 months from the expiry of the deadline for the submission of applications. If a shorter period was initially predetermined for adopting the final decision, the commission may extend it before it expires, but the sum of the initially determined and the extended period must not exceed 3 months. According to the outcome, the commission submits the best candidate for appointment to the vacant position or reasonably refuses to submit a candidate. No later than 5 working days from the adoption of the respective decision, each candidate is notified electronically and/or in writing. The public institution reflects information about the results of the competition in the respective module of the Bureau's website; within one week of the completion of the competition, information is reflected there indicating the titles of the vacant positions, the number of applications received, the form of the competition, the stages, procedures and results, in accordance with the form developed by the Bureau. The work of invited members may be remunerated in the manner established by the legislation.
What the preparation of the claim rests on
The regulation described above fully determines the algorithm for preparing a claim. First, fix immediately the fact and form of the communication of the results — the 2-working-day deadline starts from there, and the written claim must be filed within exactly that frame. Second, define the subject of the claim — a procedure, a specific stage or the final result — and tie it to the rules listed above: self-recusal, quorum, equality of assessment, content of the protocol. Third, bear in mind that the claims commission examines the application within no more than 3 working days and its decision is then passed to the commission for the final decision — the claim must therefore be constructed so that its arguments reach both instances in full. And fourth, if the final result still causes dissatisfaction, remember that the rule also provides other avenues for contesting the results of a competition, established by the legislation of Georgia.