Themiclesian Civil Service

The Themiclesian Civil Service is the collective title in English of the Themiclesian Government, since the entire government, including political ministers, are within the organizational prescripts of the Administrative Code, the constitutional legislation of the government; the distinction between political and civil offices in Themiclesia is one that exists by consensus and time-honoured practice and not formally declared in any document.

Categorization

According to the Administrative Code, the entire government could be separated into two broad categories, civil (文官) and martial (武官); however, these terms are not always indicative of the modern functions of those in either of those categories or the modern state's political structure. Within both civil and martial halves of the administration, the members whereof are further divisible into operational positions (職事官) and titular positions (散官), though in the case of martial titular positions they are called honourary positions (勳官). Operational postiions are those that carries official powers and duties; titular/honourary positions are those that do not. Both are entitled to remunerations and other forms of benefits issued by the state. The distinction between operational and titular is, for the most part, clear, but in very limited cases titular positions may stand attached, by tradition, to some ceremonial duties.

Each position, whether civil/martial or operationa/titular, is accorded a place on the table of ranks for seniority and starting remuneration. The broadest division is between in the fluence (流內) and beyond the fluence (流外). Positions in the fluence are divided into nine classes (品), with first-class (第一品) being the highest; positions beyond the fluence are separated into "officials proper" (制吏) and "officials temporary" (假吏); the former is separated into nine grades (等), with first-grade being the highest (一等) and tightly regulated by the Administrative Code, while the size and composition of the latter is much less strictly controlled and generally determined by each organization according to its budgetary and operational allowances. In general, those in the fluence are ministers, civil servants immediately subordinate to them, and heads of local governments, their deputies, and seniormost secretaries. In this context, fluence may be interpreted as direct contact with policy. Tasks and expectations of those in the fluence are much more rigourous than those beyond, and, accordingly, they are appointed much more judiciously; members of the first five classes are appointed with parliamentary assent, and of the four following, with cabinet sanction. While such a method of appointment may lead to political permeation of the entire upper structure, there are certain positions that are accepted as non-political, particularly the sinecures, candidates to whom are generally recommended by an independent body.

Recruitment

• See: Themiclesian Examination System for more information

Recruitment to the Themiclesian Civil Service requires several attributes of the candidate:—

• Colour (本色): not as in skin colour, but the colour of one's household registration, which is jade for imperial family members and their relatives, green for nobles, scarlet for officials, yellow for citizens, and white for permanent and temporary residents. Each status formally grants its holder some form of advantage as well as limitation, though this is very much deprecated in modern practice for obvious reasons. The only exception is for members of the imperial family, who are not legally permitted to join the civil service.
• Education (學位): level of education, such as high school graduation, bachelor's degree, &c.
• Qualification (出身): the examinations one took and passed

It is expedient to distinguish between the position and the official. The existence of each position in the civil service is laid out by the Administrative Code, which is determined by the nation's legislature; certain leeway in number of officials or their nature is usually left for lower-ranking positions in the interest of flexibility and economy on legislative time. It is the task of the Ministry of the Civil Service (尚書吏部) to determine the precise role, expertise, and experience required for each position laid out in the Code. Once such a position is identified, it is reported to the Ministry of Rites (尚書祠部) for the process of recruitment, which encompasses the writing of exam questions, administration of the exams, and grading of the papers. Once the recruits have been procured, the Ministry of the Civil Service screens them for personal abilities and appoints them to the appropriate office.

Appraisal and Control

Themiclesian civil servants are appraised in one way or another at least once a year. Officials above and including the sixth-class are required to appraise themselves, by writing a detailed reports of his undertakings during the assessment period, and be subject to supplementary interviews by the Imperial Commissioners if they find any aspect about the official's actions that warrant additional explanation. All others under that status are appraised by their immediate superiors in the same way, with a report written about their performance; this report is sent in triplicate, the first to the official appraised, the second to the Ministry of the Civil Service, and the third to the Imperial Commissioners. The appraised official may submit a rejoinder if he finds the appraisal unfair to him, in which case an Imperial Commissioner will be dispatched to reconcile the differences and conduct any investigation if judged necessary. This process is separate from reviews for the performance of an entire agency or the financial control procecures and focuses on the official being appraised. After the report is written and signed off by both the appraised and appraiser, it is sent to an unrelated third officer in a position similar to that of the appraiser to be marked. A number of criterion are generally followed in this process:—

• Attendance: absenteeism without good cause is negatively marked
• Activity: the number of cases completed—
  • Administrators: reports or communiqués produced
  • Technical officers: tasks or problems (weighted for difficulty) completed or resolved
  • Other species: different rubrics apply
• Quality of work
• Co-operation
• Character
• Major contributions or faults
• Innovation

The civil servant is then given one of four grades:—

• Exceptional (優)—two years in succession or twice within three years entitles one to promotion
• Good (良)—two years in succession or three times or more within five years entitles one to a different position of the same rank
• Passable (可)—retained in original position
• Poor (劣)—demotion