Keywords
Summary

Keywords

Officials – Secondment in the interests of the service – Secondment to a political group of the Parliament – Decision to terminate the secondment – Discretion of the political group and circumscribed power of the appointing authority – No overriding need to hear the party concerned before the decision adopted

(Staff Regulations, Art. 37, point (a), first para., second indent, and Art. 90)

Summary

Under the second indent of the first paragraph (a) of Article 37, an official may, in the interests of the service, be seconded temporarily to a post in one of the political groups in the Parliament. Although it is for the appointing authority to take the decision to second an official to a political group and to terminate that secondment, it is bound to respect the decision made by the political group which requests such a measure. The political group concerned has discretion to choose the staff it wishes to engage to serve temporarily in posts in that group as well as to terminate the latter’s engagement. That discretion is justified, in particular, by the specific nature of the functions carried out by a political group and by the need to maintain, in such a political environment, relations of mutual confidence between the officials on secondment and the group. By agreeing to carry out such temporary functions in a political group, the officials concerned must be aware of the fact that the group may wish to terminate their engagement before the end of the period initially envisaged for the secondment.

Where there is no longer any mutual confidence, for whatever reason, the official in question is no longer in a position to carry out his functions. In such circumstances sound administration therefore requires that the institution concerned take, with respect to that official, as soon as possible, a decision to terminate the secondment. Such a decision constitutes, from a procedural point of view, an act adversely affecting the official who, therefore, has a personal interest in seeking its annulment. It cannot be concluded automatically, however, without regard to the nature of the procedure brought against the official that the appointing authority was under an obligation to give the official concerned a proper hearing before adopting such a decision.

Where the appointing authority receives a formal request from a political group of the Parliament for the secondment of an official to that group to be terminated, it is generally obliged to take the appropriate steps as soon as possible after checking that the request has come from the person or department competent to submit it.

(see paras 48-52, 56-57, 59-60)