Comparative Public administration

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1.
.1. CIVIL SERVANTS:

A civil servant or public servant is a civilian public sector employee working for a
government department or agency. Those people who work for Government departments
which report to Ministers (who are of course always Parliamentarians), Civil Servants also
work for a number of non-Ministerial Government Departments (NMGDs). The term
civil servants always includes the (sovereign) state's employees; whether regional, or
sub-state, or even municipal employees are called "civil servants" varies from country to
country. In the United Kingdom, for instance, only Crown employees are civil servants,
county or city employees are not. No state of any extent can be ruled without a
bureaucracy, but organizations of any size have been few until the modern era.
Administrative institutions usually grow out of the personal servants of high officials, as
in the Roman Empire. This developed a complex administrative structure, which is
outlined in the Notitia Dignitatum1 and the work of John Lydus (was an early Byzantine
administrator), but as far as we know appointments to it were made entirely by
inheritance or patronage and not on merit, and it was also possible for officers to employ
other people to carry out their official tasks but continue to draw their salary themselves.
There are obvious parallels here with the early bureaucratic structures in modern states,
such as the Office of Works or the Navy in 18th century England, where again
appointments depended on patronage and were often bought and sold.

1.2. POLITICAL RIGHTS OF CIVIL SERVANTS:

Political rights presume that the government processes should be structured so as to

provide opportunities for political participation of all eligible citizens. According to the

1
The Notitia Dignitatum is a unique document of the Roman imperial chanceries. One of the very few
surviving documents of Roman government, it details the administrative organization of the eastern and
western empires, listing several thousand offices from the imperial court down to the provincial level.

Political Rights of Civil Servants - 1-

 Comparative Public administration

modern concept of political rights, every citizen should have the right and opportunity,
without unreasonable restrictions, to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or
through chosen representatives. Political rights entail the power to participate directly or
indirectly in the establishment or administration of government, such as the right of
citizenship, the right to vote, and the right to hold public office.

2. PAKISTAN
2.1. CIVIL SERVICES OF PAKISTAN

Presently, the Civil Services of Pakistan are divided into 14 groups and services, namely,
Pakistan Audit and Accounts Service, Commerce & Trade Group, Customs & Excise
Group, District Management Group, Foreign Service of Pakistan, Income Tax Group,
Information Group, Military Lands & Cantonment Group, Office Management Group,
Police Service of Pakistan, Postal Group, Railways Group, Secretariat Group, Ex-Cadre
Officers.

Out of the 14 groups and services, 11 are called groups, 03 are called services i.e.
Foreign Service of Pakistan, Pakistan Audit and Accounts Service, and Police Service of
Pakistan, and one is neither called a group nor a service i.e. ex-cadre officers.

The induction to all these groups and services is done primarily through the Central
Superior Services (CSS) examination conducted by the Federal Public Service
Commission (FPSC). As such, the common sense demands that all central superior
services are called ‘services’ to maintain uniformity. The nomenclature of the entry
examination itself is 'central superior services' examination and not 'central superior
groups and services' examination. So, it is in the fitness of things to call all groups as
services such as District Management Service, Commerce & Trade Service, and Customs
& Excise Service and so on.

2.2. POLITICAL RIGHTS OF CIVIL SERVANTS IN PAKISTAN:

Political Rights of Civil Servants - 2-

 Comparative Public administration

Pakistan inherited a powerful and pervasive bureaucratic tradition from its col onial
administrators. Pakistan's civil service is both a very modern and a very ancient
institution. Civil servants of Pakistan have the following political rights that they can use
to exercise their powers and also the impact of the rights they are having. They have the
following rights:
 Pakistan's military, bureaucratic and political leadership have centralized power
of decision making.
 They have the participation right, according to which they can participate in the
actions taken politically.
 Constitution acknowledged it to be a fundamental and political right, freedom of
association in Pakistan for the civil servants.
 Freedom of opinion, expression and information about the politics and all the
policies. It is the political right to have a total control over the participation and
the decision making in the political system of the country.
 They have the control over the information regarding to elections and selection.
 The most important right that the civil servants of Pakistan are having is the right
of participation in all over the system through different sources like it can be
decision making, it might be the policy making etc.

2.3. ECOLOGY OF ADMINISTRATION IN PAKISTAN:

The ecology of administrative system of Pakistan is very much clear. All the working of
the civil services system is as follows:
Under the administrative reforms of 1973, all the services and cadres were “merged into
a single unified graded structure with equality of opportunity for all who enter the service
at any stage based on the required professional and specialized competence necessary for
each job”.

Political Rights of Civil Servants - 3-

 Comparative Public administration

"All `classes’ among government servants were abolished and replaced by a single
unified graded structure to open the road upwards to the very top to all on merit and
required educational and professional qualifications. The use of `service’ labels such as
FSP, PSP, etc. were discontinued forthwith."2

While the service labels of the Foreign Service of Pakistan, the Pakistan Audit &
Accounts Service and the Police Service of Pakistan remained untouched, the service
label of the Civil Service of Pakistan was changed to that of the District Management
Group. Not only this, but also the very Civil Service of Pakistan was disbanded.

Although the service label was changed in the case of the Civil Service of Pakistan, the
designations of the commissioner, deputy commissioner and assistant commissioner
remained intact and so were their responsibilities, authority and accountability.

With the introduction of the Local Government (LG) System under the devolution of
power in 2001, the very designations of the commissioner, deputy commissioner and
assistant commissioner were changed to district coordination officer (DCO) and deputy
district officer (DDO).
Not only the designations were changed, but also the responsibilities, authority and
accountability of these officers were changed.Under the LG system, the position of the
commissioner and deputy commissioner who were previously administrative heads of a
division and a district respectively was reduced to that of a district coordination officer
reporting to the city nazim or district nazim. The commissioner was replaced as
administrative head of the division by the city nazim and the deputy commissioner by the
district Nazim.

3. CHINA

2
FSP, Foreign Service of Pakistan , PSP, Police Service of Pakistan

Political Rights of Civil Servants - 4-

 Comparative Public administration

3.1. CONCEPT OF CIVIL SERVANTS IN CHINA:

Civil servants refer to all the staff, except employees doing what amounts to blue-collar
jobs, working in state administrative organs who implement state administrative power
and conduct public services according to law. They also include staff in other units
which also have state administrative functions and conduct administrative activities.

3.2. POLITICAL RIGHTS OF CIVIL SERVANTS IN CHINA:

Civil services system of china provides following rights to their civil servants:

 They shall not be removed, demoted, sacked or administratively penalized

without due process of law or not on ground of legal reasons.
 They have the right to the power necessary to conduct their duties.
 They have the right to remuneration for their work and insurance and welfare
benefits.
 They have the right to take part in training.
 They have the right to make suggestions and criticisms.
 They have the right to make appeals and charges.
 They have the right to resign according to law.
 They have the right to enjoy the Constitution and other rights prescribed by law.
 They have right to draw up civil servant administrative regulations and standards.
 They have right to Conduct guidance to personnel departments in the
governments at the same level or lower levels.
 Conduct organizational coordination on matters involving different departments
or areas.
 Carry out the right of examination and approval according to division of
administrative powers.

Political Rights of Civil Servants - 5-

 Comparative Public administration

 Conduct supervision over the administration of civil servants.

 They have the right of recruiting.
 They have the right of checking and examining.
 They right of conferring awards and meting out punishment
 They have the right of promotion and demotion.
 They have the right of making appointments and removals.
 They have the right of sacking.
 They also have rights of deciding personnel matters.

3.3. ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANS OF CIVIL SERVICES SYSTEM OF CHINA:

The administrative organs of civil servant is composed of the Ministry of Personnel, and
bureaus of personnel in various ministries, commissions and offices under the State
Council, personnel departments in various organs of local governments at and above the
county level and in organs under them.3

3
The System of Civil Servant, Friday, October 21,2005 Posted: 14:31 BJT(0631
GMT) china.org

Political Rights of Civil Servants - 6-

 Comparative Public administration

Administrative Organs of civil

services system of China:

Comprehensive administrative
organs Departmental administrative
organs

3.3.1. COMPREHENSIVE ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANS

They refer to administrative organs established within governments at all levels, having a
multitude of administrative functions, with administrative power not limited to
departments at the same level and with matters rather than individual civil servants as the
target of their work, and with administrative powers of a macro and indirect nature.

3.3.2. DEPARTMENTAL ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANS

They accept leadership from officials in charge of the departments and are responsible to
them. At the same time, they also accept the guidance and supervision of the personnel
departments of the governments at the same level and conduct civil servant
administrative responsibilities within their respective departments.

3.4. ECOLOGY OF ADMINISTRATION IN CHINA

Political Rights of Civil Servants - 7-

 Comparative Public administration

The administration of civil services of China can be understood through following

categories:
1. Position
2. Classes
3. Examination, award and discipline
4. Promotion, demotion and withdrawal
5. Salary, insurance and welfare benefits
6. Resign, sacking and retirement

3.4.1. POSITION

Posts of civil servants are classified into leading position and non-leading positions.

Position

Leading Position Non-leading Position

a. LEADING POSITIONS:

These positions, consisting of ten categories from the Premier of the State Council to
vice section director at a grassroots unit, have the functions and powers of organizing,
decision making and giving command.

b. NON-LEADING POSITIONS:

Political Rights of Civil Servants - 8-

 Comparative Public administration

These positions, including those of clerks, researchers and inspectors of various levels,
do not have the functions and powers of organizing, decision making and giving
command.

3.4.2. CLASSES

Civil servants are divided into 15 classes with the Premier in the first class and clerks at
the 10th to 15th classes.

3.4.3. EXAMINATION, AWARD AND DISCIPLINE

(a). EXAMINATIONS:

State administrative organs or leaders conduct all-round check up, examination, analysis
and appraisal of civil servants under them, in accordance with their administrative power.

Such examinations consist of annual and routine examinations.

(b) AWARDS

Political Rights of Civil Servants - 9-

 Comparative Public administration

Awards

First degree
Merits and title of honor

Second degree
Merits and title of honor

Third degree
Merits and title of honor

State administrative organs give awards and encouragement to their civil servants who
have proved outstanding in their work, made visible contributions and achievements or
have performed other merits. Awards include first-, second- and third-degree merits and
the title of honor.

Award winning civil servants may also receive additional reward in the form of a certain
amount of bonus, prizes, and rise in salary.

(c). DISCIPLINE AND PENALTIES

Civil servants who have violated discipline are to be penalized.

Administrative penalty includes six types of punishments such as warning, recording a

demerit, recording a serious demerit, demotion, stripping one of his position and sacking.

3.4.4. PROMOTION, DEMOTION AND WITHDRAWAL

(a). PROMOTION:

Political Rights of Civil Servants - 10-

 Comparative Public administration

This includes promotion based on annual evaluation, on achievements and merits after
examination.
Civil servants with outstanding merits and achievements may be promoted by bypassing
restrictions on seniority but such promotions must be approved by relevant departments
in accordance with regulations.

(b). DEMOTION

Demotions are meted out to civil servants who have been proved incompetent or who
have been proved incompetent but are inappropriate to transfer to other positions; those
who have to take up lower positions as a result of change in the organizational setup or
reduction of the leading posts; those who ask for demotion with ample reasons. They
shall be permitted to take up lower posts. Demotion is also meted out to those who have
committed mistakes and are no longer suitable to remain in their original positions.

(c). WITHDRAWAL

State organs carry out this restrictive measure in order to avoid civil servants making use
of their power for private gains.

3.4.5. SALARY, INSURANCE AND WELFARE BENEFITS

(a) SALARY:

Civil servants receive salaries according to their positions. Their salaries consist of four
parts: official post pay, official class pay, basic pay and seniority pay.

(b) INSURANCE:

Political Rights of Civil Servants - 11-

 Comparative Public administration

The state implements a labor insurance system to provide material aid to civil servants
who have temporarily or permanently lost the ability to work.

(c) WELFARE BENEFITS

Civil servants enjoy benefits in free medical service, pay during sickness and maternity
leave, home-visiting holiday, welfare subsidies and pension and compensation payment.

3.4.6. RESIGN, SACKING AND RETIREMENT

(a) RESIGN:

Civil servants may apply for terminating their employment with state administrative
organs in accordance with laws and regulations. Resigning is not a unilateral decision by
the civil servant. It has to be processed according to legally established procedures.

(b) SACKING

State administrative organs may strip a civil servant, who is unsuitable to serve his
position, of his power and obligations, thus taking him out of the rank of civil servants.

(c) RETIREMENT

Civil servants who have worked for a certain number of years and reached the age of

Political Rights of Civil Servants - 12-

 Comparative Public administration

retirement may leave their posts. They shall receive retirement insurance and pension on
a regular basis.

4. INDIA
4.1. INDIAN CIVIL SERVICE SYSTEM

During the colonial period, the British built up the elite Indian Civil Service, often
referred to as the "steel frame" of the British Raj. Nehru and other leaders of the
independence movement initially viewed the colonial civil service as an instrument of
foreign domination, but by 1947 they had come to appreciate the advantages of having a
highly qualified institutionalized administration in place, especially at a time when social
tensions threatened national unity and public order.

The constitution established the Indian Administrative Service to replace the colonial
Indian Civil Service and ensure uniform and impartial standards of administration in
selected fields, promote effective coordination in social and economic development, and
encourage a national point of view. 4

The Indian Civil Service serves as the backbone of India and carries great respect and
responsibilities. India's best brains vie for entry into the Indian Civil Services as officers.
Even though corporate jobs may offer the best of salaries and perks, a majority of
youngsters and their parents still crave entry to the prestigious Indian Civil Services held
by the UPSC. 5 The very fact that a big share of every year's top posts in the civil services
exams are bagged by professionals from various streams, shows that the IAS is still the
dream job for many.6

4.2. POLITICAL RIGHTS OF CIVIL SERVANTS OF INDIA

4
5
UPSC, Union Public Service Commission
6
IAS, Indian Administrative system

Political Rights of Civil Servants - 13-

 Comparative Public administration

Indian civil servants enjoys following rights:

 They have the Right to Political Activity:
The right of political activities of the public servants in a democratic government is
determined by the constitutional theory of government. Political neutrality of civil
servants has been regarded as one of the cardinal conditions for the success of a
democratic government. The parliamentary form of government demands from civil
service not only neutrality and unimpeachable but also integrity and impartiality to
conduct.
The civil servants has been classified into
• The politically free group
• The politically restricted group
• Those who are allowed to participate in national political activity, subject to
permission.
 In regard to local political activities, barring those civil servants who are required
to obtain permission for participation, all others allowed to take part in those
activities.
 A civil servant in the politically free group who is contesting for parliament is
obliged to submit his resignation before nomination. He is entitled to be reinstated in
the post whether he is elected to parliament or not.
 They can exercise the right to vote.
 They have the right to contest elections.
 The public servants in India enjoy the right to association with trade unions.
 They have the rights to strike. Whether the civil servant's right to strike is
granted or not, this right is exercised widely in India.
 The civil servants enjoy privileges and rights guaranteed by the constitution.

4.3. ECOLOGY OF ADMINISTRATION IN INDIA

Political Rights of Civil Servants - 14-

 Comparative Public administration

The officials of the IAS are involved in civil administration and policy-making. Like
many other civil services bodies, officers of the IAS are selected by the Civil Services
Examination, a three-stage a competitive selection process consisting of

• a preliminary exam,
• a main exam,
• an interview.

This Civil Services Examination is administered by the Union Public Service

Commission once a year. The Civil Services Examination is used for recruitment for
many Indian administrative bodies and is known for being extremely challenging. Entry
into the IAS is considered very difficult; most applicants rank it and the Indian Foreign
Service as their top choices because of the high prestige, salary, and benefits that come
with such positions. For example, in the 2005 batch, of the 425 selected candidates, 398
indicated IAS as their first preference, 18 chose IFS and just nine chose IPS. But when it
came to second preference, 200 candidates had marked IPS as their choice, while only
155 had marked IFS as their second choice. Repeated attempts are allowed up to four
times. About 300 to 400 candidates are finally selected each year out of the nearly
400,000, but only a rank in the top 50-100 guarantees an IAS or IFS selection—an
acceptance rate of 0.01 percent, which makes it perhaps the most competitive exams in
the world.

4.3.1 CADRES OF BUREAUCRATS:

After being selected for the IAS, candidates are allocated to "cadres." There is one cadre
in each Indian state, except for three joint cadres:

• Assam Magalia,

Political Rights of Civil Servants - 15-

 Comparative Public administration

• Manipur-Tripura,
• Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram-Union Territories (AGMUT).

4.3.2. INSIDE-OUTSIDE INFORMATION:

The "insider-outsider ratio" (ratio of officers who are posted in their home states) is
maintained as 1:2 as 'insiders'. The rest are posted as 'outsiders' according to the 'roster'
in states other than their home states. Till 2008 there was no choice for any state cadre
and the candidates, if not placed in the insider vacancy of their home states, were allotted
to different states in alphabetic order of the roster, beginning with the letters A, H, M,
and T for that particular year. For example if in a particular year the roster begins from
'A', which means the first candidate in the roster will go to the Andhra Pradesh state
cadre of IAS, the next one to Bihar, and subsequently to Chattisgarh, Gujarat and so on
in alphabetical order. The next year the roster starts from 'H', for either Haryana or
Himachal Pradesh. (If it has started from Haryana in the previous occasion when it all
started from 'H', then this time it would start from Himachal Pradesh). This highly
intricate system has on one hand ensured that officers from different states are placed all
over India, it has also resulted in wide disparities in the kind of professional exposure for
officers, when we compare officers in small and big & also developed and backward
state, since the system ensures that the officers are permanently placed to one state cadre.

5. COMPARISON
The civil services system of Pakistan, India and China are having unique features. But
our main focus is upon the political rights of civil servants of Pakistan, China, and India.
Although there are some similarities in the civil services system of all these three
countries regarding the political rights of civil servants. This can be better understood by
the comparison of the political rights of civil servants of these three countries.

Pakistan China India

Civil servants have power of Civil servants have power of Civil servants do not have

Political Rights of Civil Servants - 16-

 Comparative Public administration

decision making. decision making. power of decision making.

They can not be removed They also can not be Same as Pakistan and India.
without any legal reason. removing without any legal
reason.
They have freedom of They also have freedom of They do not have freedom of
association. association. association.
They don’t have right to Same as Pakistan. They have the rights to strike.

strike. Until unless strike is Whether the civil servant's right to

strike is granted or not, this right
guaranteed.
is exercised widely in India.

They have freedom of They also have freedom of They do not have right of
opinion, expression and opinion, expression and opinion, expression and
information. information. information.
They can take part in all They all are not allowed to
political activities whether Same as Pakistan. take part in local government
these activities are at federal activities except those who
level, provincial level or local have right of participation.
level.
They do not have right of They have right of promotion They also do not have right of
promotion a demotion. and demotion. promotion.
They do not have right of They have right of recruiting. Same as Pakistan.
recruitment.
Their rights are not Their rights are guaranteed by Same as China.
guaranteed by the the constitution.
constitution.

6. CONCLUSION

Political Rights of Civil Servants - 17-

 Comparative Public administration

As far as the political rights of civil servants are concerned so, we can say that civil
service system of china is more strong as compare to Pakistan and India. As it offers
more rights to more rights to its civil servants and gives more protection to them. This
difference is very much obvious from the above comparison of these three countries.
And as far as India is concerned so it is providing very less rights to its civil servants.
Even it does not allow all its civil servants to participate in all levels of political
activities. And as far as Pakistan is concerned it is almost following the system of China
or we can say that it is offering almost same political rights to its civil servants.

7. RECOMMENDATIONS

As there are some deficiencies in almost all these three systems. So following
recommendations should be made:

1. Efforts should be made to generate national consensus on issues of governance.

The smaller provinces must be more involved in decision-making on national
issues. Plurality needs to be accommodated in these policies. The State must
refrain from suppressing legitimate assertions of identity. On the contrary,
national integration and reconciliation must be sought by creating a sense of
"common good" in the development and strengthening of democracy in the
country.

2. Political parties must promote democratic culture. They must demonstrate their
commitment to democratic practice by holding elections within their own
organizations. Parties must encourage wider participation by broadening the
social and economic base of their membership.

3. Parliamentary conduct of parties must be radically improved. In the way that

everyone knows his/her authority and they should not go beyond that.

Political Rights of Civil Servants - 18-

 Comparative Public administration

4. An enabling environment for civil society should be created, for example, by the
removal of restrictions on the functioning of NGOs. The electronic media must
be freed from government control. The electronic media and the press must play a
more active role in engendering a progressive and forward-looking outlook. Civil
society institutions must build accountability mechanisms and maintain
transparency in their own work, and at the same time monitor the conduct of
State institutions.

5. Academic freedom must be guaranteed and State interference in universities and

other institutions of higher studies be eliminated. So that the country may
increase the literacy rate and through which it would be able to make people
aware of their rights.

6. Laws placing illegal and arbitrary restrictions on the fundamental rights

guaranteed in the Constitution must be repealed. These laws have been used by
the State for political victimization and persecution of dissidents. Restrictions on
freedom of the press, or practices that can afford the State opportunities to control
press freedom must be abolished. Threats by non-State actors against journalists,
lawyers, human rights activists and academics, designed to curtail the freedom of
expression and performance of professional duties must be treated as criminal
acts and be systematically prosecuted by the State.

7. The right to franchise must be made equal throughout the country. The system of
separate electorates must be removed to improve the participation rights of
minorities. The extension of adult franchise to the Federally Administered Tribal
Areas for the first time in the 1997 elections is an encouraging sign. Further steps
must be taken to include these areas in the policy and legislative initiatives
applicable in the rest of the country.

Political Rights of Civil Servants - 19-

 Comparative Public administration

8. Civil servants should be treated as very important hand of the country because
they are the one who are doing best in real sense for their country, so they should
be given good rights so that their motivation may increase.

Political Rights of Civil Servants - 20-