Questionnaire on the Provisions of the Inter-American

1 QUESTIONNAIRE ON THE PROVISIONS OF THE INTER-AMERICAN CONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTION SELECTED IN THE SECOND ROUND AND FOR FOLLOW-UP ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS FORMULATED IN THE FIRST ROUND ARGENTINA REPLY TO THE MESICIC-OAS QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE SECOND ROUND JULY 2006 INTRODUCTION This reply seeks to reflect as succinctly as possible the current status in Argentina of the provisions selected at the Ninth Session of the MESICIC Committee of Experts for review in the second round. It consists of six documents, as follows: Main document: Reply to the questions on implementation of the Convention provisions selected for review in the second round. (Section I of the Questionnaire) Annexes: Annex 1. Follow-up on the recommendations formulated in the national report in the first review round (Annex: "Standard format for presentation of information on progress in implementation of recommendations formulated in the national report in the first review round") (Section II of the Questionnaire) Annex 2. Annex to Chapter 1-1: Provincial Government Hiring Systems Annex 3. Annex to Chapter 1-2: Provincial Government Procurement Systems Annex 4. Annex to Chapter 3.1. Objective results obtained in application of the provisions of Article VI of the IACC. Annex 5. List of Public Agencies, Provincial Governments and Nongovernmental Organizations Consulted by the Anticorruption Office of Argentina to prepare the Reply of Argentina to the Questionnaire on the Provisions of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption Selected in the Second Round. We wish at the outset to clarify some methodological issues concerning the procedure followed in preparing this reply. Bearing in mind the importance and the complexity of the issues under review in this round, preparation of the reply has required a significant effort in many areas of the Argentine State, the coordination of the various players involved, the compiling of legal, operational and statistical information, as well as analysis and processing of the information collected. We hope that all that effort is property reflected in this reply. 2 With respect to government hiring and procurement systems, we must note that various regimes and systems coexist within Argentina, which means that, following the instructions in the Questionnaire, we have described only the principal existing systems, using as our selection guide the number of employees included in those systems or the proportion of the government budget that those systems represent. On the other hand, we have followed strictly the order established in the Questionnaire approved by the Committee of Experts at its ninth session. In doing so, we have taken as our guide for the detailed treatment of the most important issues in each of the questions the Proposed Questionnaire that Jamaica, the United States and Argentina presented to the Committee during that session. Another important point is the length of the reply. The complexity of the issues covered has generated somewhat lengthy responses, in an effort to reflect adequately the systems that exist in our country for the different issues under examination. In this case, the comprehensiveness of the reply will no doubt help to clarify the Committee's understanding. Too brief a summary would have required an excessive effort on the part of the experts and the secretariat, and the need for additional consultations and requests for supplementary information. Bearing in mind the great body of laws and regulations relating to the issues examined in this reply, we have prepared summary tables on each of the topics and, wherever possible, we have provided for each rule a hyperlink to a web page. It is true that provincial legislation does not always exist in digital format, but it is available to the experts for consultation and analysis. With respect to requests for information, we asked for contributions from a great number of public organizations both at the national level (Executive Branch, Legislative Branch, Judicial Branch and Attorney General’s Office) and at the provincial level. The responses were extremely useful. In some cases, agencies with specific responsibilities (for example the hiring and procurement systems of the National Executive Branch, for which there are several governing bodies) were able to provide data and statistics that helped to flesh out this response. At the same time, the oversight bodies (SIGEN and AGN) contributed some very important information on the topics under analysis. In certain other cases, the lack of concrete response from specific agencies meant that the reply has been confined to the legal and regulatory framework, because no statistical information was available. The provinces present a special case. Virtually all of them responded to the request for collaboration, submitting great volumes of useful data. It must be recalled that, although Argentina has a federal structure of government and its provinces are autonomous, the Committee considered during the first round that the provisions of the IACC should be implemented by the subnational levels of government. It is hoped that the information on the provinces will be carefully examined by the Committee. Finally, we must mention the participation of civil society in this process. As soon as the Questionnaire was received, notes were sent to the main nongovernmental organizations involved in issues of governance, transparency and the prevention of corruption, inviting 3 them to participate in the reply to the Questionnaire, as suggested by the Committee at the ninth session. In response, those organizations cooperated very actively, and the information available for preparing the reply was shared widely with them. 4 MECHANISM FOR FOLLOW-UP ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTER-AMERICAN CONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTION SG/MESICIC/doc.172/06 rev. 2 31 March 2006 Original: Spanish Ninth Meeting of the Committee of Experts March 27 – April 1, 2006 Washington, DC. QUESTIONNAIRE ON THE PROVISIONS OF THE INTER-AMERICAN CONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTION SELECTED IN THE SECOND ROUND AND FOR FOLLOW-UP ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS FORMULATED IN THE FIRST ROUND ARGENTINA REPLY TO THE MESICIC-OAS QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE SECOND ROUND JULY 2006 SECTION I QUESTIONS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION PROVISIONS SELECTED FOR REVIEW IN THE SECOND ROUND CHAPTER ONE SYSTEMS OF GOVERNMENT HIRING AND PROCUREMENT OF GOODS AND SERVICES (ARTICLE III (5) OF THE CONVENTION) 5 1. GOVERNMENT HIRING SYSTEMS a) Are there laws and/or measures in your country establishing government hiring systems? If so, briefly describe the main systems, indicating their characteristics and principles and list and attach a copy of the related provisions and documents. Also describe how the above systems ensure openness, equity and efficiency in your country. In relation to the above, refer, among others, to the following aspects: i. Governing or administrating authorities of the systems and control mechanisms. ii. Access to the public service through a merit-based system. iii. Advertisement for the selection of public servants, indicating the qualifications for selection. iv. Ways to challenge a decision made in the selection system. v. Relevant exceptions to the above. b) In relation to question a), state the objective results obtained, including any available statistical data.1 c) If no such laws and/or measures exist, briefly indicate how your State has considered the applicability of measures within your own institutional systems to create, maintain and strengthen government hiring systems, in accordance with Article III (5) of the Convention. REPLY OF ARGENTINA a) Existence of laws and/or other measures Argentina has laws and various other measures establishing systems for the hiring of public officials. BASIC LEGAL FRAMEWORK: 1 In accordance with the methodology adopted by the Committee, the information on results will seek to center on the last two years, in connection with this and the other provisions of the Convention selected for review in the framework of the second round, with the exception of information relating to the acts of corruption foreseen in Article VI (1) of the Convention, for which it will seek to center on the last five years. 6 NATIONAL EXECUTIVE BRANCH Legal Title / Subject: Accessible at: Instrument Law 25.164 Framework Law governing National Public http://infoleg.mecon.gov.ar/infolegInternet/anexos/60000-64999/60458/norma.htm Employment. Legal framework and application authority. Entry requirements and impediments. Nature of the employment relationship. Rights and duties. National System for the Administrative Profession. Disciplinary system. Judicial recourse. Grounds for dismissal. Permanent training and labor requalification fund. Decree Regulations to the Framework Law http://infoleg.mecon.gov.ar/infolegInternet/anexos/75000-79999/76700/norma.htm 1421/2002 Governing National Public Employment Approved the regulations to Law Nº 25.164 Law 24.185 Law on Collective Labor Agreements for http://infoleg.mecon.gov.ar/infolegInternet/anexos/0-4999/583/norma.htm employees of the National Public Administration. Established provisions governing collective bargaining between the National Public Administration and its employees. Decree General Collective Labor Agreement for http://infoleg.mecon.gov.ar/infolegInternet/anexos/110000- 214/2006 the National Public Administration. 114999/114315/norma.htm Ratified the General Collective Labor Agreement signed between the government and the unions, valid as of March 2, 2006 for two years. Replaced

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