Appointments to Civil Service positions

All aspects of the civil service system are based on the merit principle, a principle which is the keystone to the establishment of an effective government. Any appointment of civil servants shall be made in accordance with their level of knowledge, skill and ability through examinations, performance records and other evidence of qualification such as professional certificates, etc. Any vacancy occurring in each agency shall be filled by means of employment, promotion, demotion, transfer, or change of occupational series.

Civil servants are employed through an open competitive entrance examination. There are times, however, when it may be inappropriate to employ them through an open competitive entrance examination. If this is the case, then they may be employed through a non-competitive entrance examination. The cases for non-competitive entrance examination are prescribed in the National Civil Service Act.

Open Competitive Position System

The Department for Appointments in the CSA has the responsibility of overseeing the overall process of conducting procedures for appointments to the Civil Service. These tasks are handled by three staff persons. The procedure for qualification as a potential civil servant include the following steps:

1. Submission of an application package in response to a civil service vacancy announcement:

  • Application form (which can be obtained from CSA's web site www.ads.gov.ba/konkursi/index.html for every single civil service vacancy announcement)

  • Proof of Bosnia-Herzegovina's citizenship

  • Certificate of no criminal record/proceedings

  • Copy of university diploma (a university degree is a minimum requirement for entry into the civil service of Bosnia-Herzegovina)

2. Passing score on the General Knowledge Exam:

The General Knowledge exam is made up of 42 multiple answer questions in seven categories of knowledge:

  • Basis of the constitutional system of Bosnia and Herzegovina

  • Basis of the civil administration system in Bosnia and Herzegovina

  • Administrative proceedings and administrative litigation

  • Basis of employment relations

  • Office management in administrative bodies

  • Funding of institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina

  • Basis of European integration

The Appointments Unit has developed approximately 1,000 potential questions for use on the General Knowledge exam which are rotated at random for each scheduled exam. A study guide is provided on the CSA website (www.ads.gov.ba/javniispit/index.html), and specialized courses covering the contents of the exam are offered. The exams are graded on the spot, and candidates are apprised of their score before leaving the testing site. There is no fee to take the exam, and candidates may retake the exam at a future date.

3. Passing score on the Special Knowledge Exam:

The Special Knowledge Exam is developed by the Commission (Commissions are made up of 3 appointees of the ministry or agency which has advertised the opening, and 2 appointees made by the Civil Service Administration. For newly formed agencies the 3 internal Commission members may be appointed from other ministries. The exam is made by the Commission at least one day prior to the exam administration date. The exams are comprised of essay questions, and a computer lab is utilized for the candidates to type their responses (questions and responses may be in any of the three official languages, and in Latin or Cyrillic type). The five Commission members score the exams on a 100 point scale, independently and without consultation with other. The top and bottom scores are deleted and the remaining three scores averaged to develop the candidates final score, a score above 75% is considered passing at results in an invitation to the Oral Exam for the position.


4. Passing score on the Oral Exam:

The Oral Exam is administered by the Commission and scores are assigned on a 30 point scale. The Commissions are not juries. That is, it is the practice of commissions to score candidates without discussion of the merits of each. In addition, the score of each commission member remains confidential.

5. Appointment to the Civil Service:

The scores of the Special Knowledge and Oral Exams are totalled, and this score determines the ranking of the candidates which is then transmitted to the agency or ministry which initiated the vacancy process. For non managerial Civil Service positions the CSA makes appointments in consultation with Ministry/Institution. For managerial Senior Level Civil Service the appointing authority is the Ministry/Institution.

In its by-laws/Civil Service Law the CSA is mandated to develop and administer a highly structured process for carrying out recruitment, testing and selection.

Contact Our Employees

If you have any question regarding Civil Service appointment system, do not hesitate to contact:

Mr. Neven Aksamija - neven.aksamija@ads.gov.ba

Mrs. Enisa Zec - enisa.zec@ads.gov.ba

Mrs. Stanislavka Ilic - stanislavka.ilic@ads.gov.ba

Mr. Bojan Golic - bojan.golic@ads.gov.ba

Mr. Namik Alic - namik.alic@ads.gov.ba

Civil Service Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Trg Bosne i Hercegovine 1, 71000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
tel. ++ 387 33 233 498, fax ++ 387 33 268 312, e-mail: kontakt@ads.gov.ba