Competitive examination

A competitive examination may be held for any job with the exception of a job which shall be held on the basis of an election. The jobs requiring a competitive examination shall be specified by a law, an act of the Council of Ministers, a Minister or the head of another institution, or by the employer. A competitive examination for a job shall be announced in case the job has been declared by law subject to taking by competitive examination, or where it is vacant or is to be vacated, as well as in the event of a prolonged absence of the person holding it, for the time up to his return. The jobs specified to require a competitive examination shall be held only on the basis of a competitive examination. Prior to the competitive examination the job may be held on an employment contract for a fixed term for the period until a person is appointed to it on the basis of a competitive examination.

The competitive examination shall be announced by the employer through the national or the local press. If necessary, the competitive examination may be announced in another appropriate way. The announcement for the competitive examination shall contain:

• the name of the enterprise, the place and nature of work, and the requirements for the job;
• the manner of holding the competitive examination;
• the required documents, the place and deadline for submitting them, which may not be shorter than 1 month.

The description of the job requiring a competitive examination shall be provided to the candidates in advance so that they can get familiar with it. The consent of the employer for whom the candidate works shall not be required for his participation in a competitive examination. The candidate shall be entitled to an unpaid leave for the days when the competitive examination is held, and up to 2 days for travel, in case the competitive examination is held in another locality. This leave shall be recognized as length of service. Candidates shall be admitted to a competitive examination by a commission appointed by the employer. The candidates who are not admitted shall be informed in writing of the grounds for the rejection. Within 7 days after receiving the notification they may place their objections with the employer who has announced the competitive examination. Within 3 days after receiving the objection the employer shall settle the issue conclusively. The candidates who are admitted shall be notified in writing of the date, hour, and venue of holding the competitive examination. The competitive examination shall be conducted by a commission appointed by the employer. The commission shall be composed of relevant experts.

The competitive examination commission shall conduct the competitive examination in the manner announced. It shall evaluate the professional training and the other qualities of the candidates required for holding the job, and shall rank only those who have successfully passed the competitive examination. A protocol shall be drawn up for the competitive examination conducted. The result of the competitive examination shall be announced to the persons who have participated in it within 3 days after it has been held.

The employment relationship shall be created with the person who has been ranked first, as of the day he has received the notification of the result. The person with whom an employment relationship has been created shall start work within 2 weeks after receiving the notification under the preceding paragraph. In the presence of cogent reasons, this period shall be up to 3 months. The performance of the obligations under the employment relationship shall begin from the moment of assuming of the duties by the person. In case the person does not assume his duties within the period under para 2, the employment relationship shall be considered to not have arisen. In this case the employment relationship shall be created with this participant in the competitive examination who comes next in the ranking, of which he shall be notified in writing.

This Section shall not apply to competitive examinations for awarding academic titles.