THE LEGAL NATURE OF POLITICAL GROUP POSITIONS IN THE STATE CIVIL SERVICE: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LABOUR-LAW AND PUBLIC-LAW MODELS
Keywords:
civil service, political group, service relationship, public-law relationship, appointment, employment contract, functional completeness, removal from office, comparative legal analysisAbstract
The principle that “state bodies must serve the people, not the people serve state bodies” has become the guiding idea of Uzbekistan’s civil service reform. Its realisation depends largely on how clearly the legal status of those who directly implement state policy — ministers, regional governors (hokims) and heads of national agencies — is defined. The state register of civil service positions approved by Presidential Decree No. UP-95 of 19 June 2025 has clearly outlined the range of political-group positions, yet the legal nature of service relationships in these positions remains an open question. Under Article 30 of the Law, no employment contract is concluded with political-group civil servants, yet the Law does not comprehensively specify the legal fact that creates their service relationship, the legal instruments that determine its content, or the mechanism by which it ends. The article analyses Articles 10, 23, 30, 33 and 50 of the Law systematically and compares the national framework with Germany, Kazakhstan, Japan, the Republic of Korea, France and the United Kingdom. Three models of formalising service in political positions are identified: the public-law appointment model, the differentiated model and the contractual model. The absence of an employment contract is shown to be a necessary but insufficient feature of a special public-law service relationship; the concept of a “special public-law service relationship of a political-group civil servant” and the criterion of its functional completeness are proposed.
References
Oʻzbekiston — davlat boshqaruvini transformatsiya qilish yoʻlida: sifat va samaradorlik bosh mezonga aylanadi // Yangi Oʻzbekiston. – 2026-yil 12-iyun. (Uzbekistan on the Path of Transforming Public Administration: Quality and Efficiency Become the Main Criterion // Yangi Uzbekistan. – 12 June 2026.) URL: https://yuz.uz/uz/news/zbekiston-davlat-bosqaruvini-transformaciia-qilis-ilida
Oʻzbekiston Respublikasi Konstitutsiyasi // Qonunchilik maʼlumotlari milliy bazasi. – 01.05.2023-y., 03/23/837/0241-son. (Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan // National Database of Legislation. – 01.05.2023, No. 03/23/837/0241.) URL: https://lex.uz/docs/-6445145
Oʻzbekiston Respublikasining “Davlat fuqarolik xizmati toʻgʻrisida”gi Qonuni // Qonunchilik maʼlumotlari milliy bazasi. – 09.08.2022-y., 03/22/788/0723-son; 29.11.2023-y., 03/23/880/0905-son; 21.09.2024-y., 03/24/963/0735-son. (Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On State Civil Service” // National Database of Legislation. – 09.08.2022, No. 03/22/788/0723; 29.11.2023, No. 03/23/880/0905; 21.09.2024, No. 03/24/963/0735.) URL: https://lex.uz/uz/docs/6145972
Oʻzbekiston Respublikasi Prezidentining 2025-yil 19-iyundagi “Davlat fuqarolik xizmatini yangi yondashuvlar asosida tashkil etish hamda professional va natijadorlikka yoʻnaltirilgan davlat xizmatchilari korpusini shakllantirish chora-tadbirlari toʻgʻrisida”gi PF-95-son Farmoni. (Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. UP-95 of 19 June 2025 “On Measures to Organise the State Civil Service on the Basis of New Approaches and to Form a Professional and Result-Oriented Corps of Civil Servants”.) URL: https://lex.uz/ru/docs/7587516
Oʻzbekiston Respublikasining Mehnat kodeksi (yangi tahriri) // Qonunchilik maʼlumotlari milliy bazasi. – 30.12.2025-y., 03/25/1109/1241-son. (Labour Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan (new edition) // National Database of Legislation. – 30.12.2025, No. 03/25/1109/1241.) URL: https://lex.uz/ru/docs/-6257288
Oʻzbekiston Respublikasining “Vazirlar Mahkamasi toʻgʻrisida”gi Konstitutsiyaviy Qonuni (2024-yil 15-avgust, OʻRQ-982-son) // Qonunchilik maʼlumotlari milliy bazasi. – 26.12.2025-y., 03/25/1107/1216-son. (Constitutional Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On the Cabinet of Ministers” (15 August 2024, No. ZRU-982) // National Database of Legislation. – 26.12.2025, No. 03/25/1107/1216.) URL: https://lex.uz/docs/7172667
Bundesbeamtengesetz (BBG) vom 5. Februar 2009, §§ 10, 54. (Федеральный закон о государственных служащих (BBG) от 5 февраля 2009 г., §§ 10, 54 // Federal Civil Servants Act (BBG) of 5 February 2009, §§ 10, 54.) URL: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bbg_2009/
Закон Республики Казахстан от 19 мая 2026 года № 290-VIII «О государственной службе Республики Казахстан», ст. 25, 69. (Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 290-VIII of 19 May 2026 “On the Civil Service of the Republic of Kazakhstan”, Articles 25, 69.) URL: https://zakon.uchet.kz/rus/docs/Z2600000290
State Public Officials Act (Republic of Korea), Article 2. (Закон о государственных служащих Республики Корея, статья 2 // State Public Officials Act (Republic of Korea), Article 2.)
National Public Service Act (Japan), 1947. (Закон о национальной государственной службе Японии, 1947 // National Public Service Act (Japan), 1947.) URL: https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/1917/en
The Constitution of Japan, Articles 6, 67, 68. (Конституция Японии, статьи 6, 67, 68 // The Constitution of Japan, Articles 6, 67, 68.) URL: https://japan.kantei.go.jp/constitution_and_government_of_japan/constitution_e.html
Code général de la fonction publique, articles L341-1, L341-2. (Общий кодекс государственной службы Франции, статьи L341-1, L341-2 // General Civil Service Code (France), Articles L341-1, L341-2.) URL: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/texte_lc/LEGITEXT000044416551
Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, section 15. (Закон о конституционной реформе и управлении 2010 года (Великобритания), раздел 15 // Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (United Kingdom), section 15.) URL: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/25/contents
Cabinet Office. Model Contract for Special Advisers (updated 29 July 2026). (Канцелярия Кабинета министров Великобритании. Типовой контракт специального советника (обновлён 29 июля 2026 г.) // Cabinet Office. Model Contract for Special Advisers (updated 29 July 2026).) URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-advisers-code-of-conduct/model-contract-for-special-advisers-html--2
Киселёва, А.А. Правовое регулирование служебно-контрактных отношений в государственной гражданской службе: автореф. дис. … канд. юрид. наук. – М., 2017. – С. 14. (Kiselyova, A.A. Legal Regulation of Service-Contract Relations in the State Civil Service: Abstract of the Dissertation for the Degree of Candidate of Legal Sciences. – Moscow, 2017. – P. 14.)
Гришковец, А.А. Проблемы правового регулирования и организации государственной гражданской службы в Российской Федерации: автореф. дис. … д-ра юрид. наук. – М., 2004. (Grishkovets, A.A. Problems of Legal Regulation and Organisation of the State Civil Service in the Russian Federation: Abstract of the Dissertation for the Degree of Doctor of Legal Sciences. – Moscow, 2004.)
Raximov, D.Gʻ. Davlat fuqarolik xizmatini kadrlar bilan taʼminlashning tashkiliy-huquqiy asoslarini takomillashtirish: yuridik fanlar boʻyicha falsafa doktori (PhD) dissertatsiyasi. – T.: Oʻzbekiston Respublikasi Prezidenti huzuridagi Davlat boshqaruvi akademiyasi, 2023. (Rakhimov, D.G. Improving the Organisational and Legal Framework for Staffing the State Civil Service: PhD Dissertation in Law. – Tashkent: Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 2023.)
Хамедов, И.А., Кутыбаева, Е.Д., Цай, И.М., Файзиев, Ф.М. Современное административное право Республики Узбекистан: учебник / под общ. ред. И.А. Хамедова. – Ташкент: DIMAL, 2023. – С. 639–640, 645. (Khamedov, I.A., Kutybaeva, E.D., Tsai, I.M., Fayziev, F.M. Modern Administrative Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan: Textbook / ed. by I.A. Khamedov. – Tashkent: DIMAL, 2023. – pp. 639–640, 645.)
