Civil Service Charter: Principles for Professional Public Administration

Purpose and Scope of the Charter

The Charter defines the bases that constitute a professional and efficient civil service, recognizing it as a key element for democratic governance and good governance in contemporary societies.

Objectives of the Charter

• To configure a generic framework of guiding principles, policies, and management mechanisms that should constitute a common language regarding public service in the countries of the Latin American community.
• To serve as a source of inspiration for specific applications, regulations, developments, and reforms appropriate for the improvement and modernization of national systems of public service in this area.

The Concept of Public Service

The civil service is constituted by the set of institutional arrangements through which public employment and the individuals who compose it are articulated and managed within a given national reality. These arrangements include rules (written or informal), structures, cultural patterns, explicit or implicit policies, processes, practices, and various activities which aim to ensure proper management of human resources in the context of a professional and efficient civil service, serving the public interest.

Guidance and Guiding Principles

The following criteria underlie the statements of the Charter:

1. The primacy of persons for the proper functioning of public services.
2. The professionalism of human resources at the service of government.
3. Public employment stability and protection from arbitrary dismissal.
4. Flexibility in the organization and management of public employment.
5. The responsibility of public employees for their work and results.
6. The observance by all staff within its scope.
7. The role of public managers and the internalization of their role.
8. The promotion of communication, participation, dialogue, compromise, and consensus oriented toward the public interest.
9. The promotion of active policies to promote gender equality, protection, and integration of minorities.

The Civil Service as an Integrated System

For the accomplishment of the objectives peculiar to the civil service, it must be designed and operated as an integrated system of management. Its primary purpose, or raison d'être, is to align human resources with the multi-organizational strategy or system to produce results in line with those strategic priorities.