State power in the Azerbaijan Republic is based on a principle of division of powers. In accordance wit the traditional concept of division of powers, executive branch belongs to the President of the Azerbaijan Republic; the Parliament of the Azerbaijan Republic – Milli Majlis of the Azerbaijan Republic exercises legislative branch; and the independent courts of the Azerbaijan Republic exercise judicial branch.
Proper organization of public administration can be considered the most important factor contributing to the acceleration of economic development in the country. In recent years, due to the pace of economic growth, our country has been one of the most rapidly developing countries, which is also confirmed by the world’s major economic institutions. Economy of Azerbaijan took 38th place in the ranking of global competitiveness report prepared by the World Economic Forum in Davos. In accordance with demand of the time and due to the dynamics of the rapid administration, legal, economic and financial reforms conducted in Azerbaijan, establishment of a range of new public structures, reformation of some of the state bodies, besides, the process of involvement of young professionals in the executive positions and their promotion in the decision-making process in many public administration bodies, including Presidential Administration, law enforcement agencies, the justice system and other spheres is observed.
The global economic processes going on in the world in the recent years and implication of these processes in Azerbaijan indicate that, there is a need for the professionals keeping up with challenges of the new era and demands of the modern world, and what is the most important, there is confidence that the state leadership will show its will in the sphere of renewal in the public administration system as well as even more improvement and development of this sphere.
The will expressed by the leadership towards renewal in the system of public administration should be sustained by the specific implementation mechanisms. To this extend,”Regulations on information bank on the young potential personnel” playing a significant role from legal framework view point, were adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers. According to the Regulations the bank is a comprehensive collection of information about the professionals and promising specialists under the age of 29 years who can be appointed to the higher positions for their professional knowledge and work skills as well as their development potential and the results achieved in the sphere of their work. More active use of such resources during realization of the renewal policy is desirable. However, of course, the implementation mechanisms of the renewal policy should not be limited only to the resources of this Information Bank.
In general, conduction of the renewal and renewal policy in the public administration system, eventually, should be conditioned with the following achievements:
- Increase of citizens’trust in the state bodies
- More effective implementation of the struggle against corruption
- Flexibility and dynamics towards development of the country and control over modern era challenges
- Foster good managers and management staff via ensuring the professional development
In order to reach the abovementioned achievements the following specific actions should be taken:
- Improvement of the legal framework for implementation of the renewal policy in the sphere of public administration
- Application of the new effective technologies and modern work methods on the work with personnel for improvement of the professional skills of the public servants
- Application of innovations for increasing accountability, stimulation of the activity and motivation of work of the public servants
- Improvements of the work for prevention of the conflict of interest
- Application and use of couching and mentoring techniques to support the career development of new staff members
Taking into account all mentioned above, as the Legal Analysis and Research Public Union, we should highlight the importance of enhancement of use of the existing mechanisms for more effective practical implementation of the renewal policy in the sphere of public administration in the country, development of the new mechanisms; absolute elimination of selective approach based on subjective criteria in recruitment and promotion of the young professionals. It is important that implementation of the staff renewal policy be based on professional knowledge and skills of the individuals rather than relationship based approach to requirement and appointments as well as total loyalty and devotion.
Finally, we have to acknowledge the steps recently made in this direction, recent appointments and the will of the political leadership, that allow us to look with optimism into the future of Azerbaijan in terms of the place and the role of young professionals in the public administration system.
Ramil Iskandarli, Chairman, Legal Analysis and Research Public Union, alumnus,
Harvard University, John F. Kennedi School of Government “Leadership, Organizing and Action” Course Alumni.