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Question Bank
Question
What is the fundamental legal criterion for determining "Inter-se Seniority" between employees recruited from different sources?
Solution
In the realm of Service Jurisprudence, the determination of Inter-se Seniority (the relative seniority between employees) is strictly governed by the specific Service Rules applicable to that cadre. The safest and most legally accepted criterion for fixing seniority is the Date of Entry into the service or the date of Substantive Appointment. A person is generally considered to be recruited to the service not when the process is initiated, but only when a formal appointment order is issued and they are actually Borne in the Cadre. Therefore, seniority is reckoned from the date on which the appointment is made to the post, rather than the date the vacancy arose.
Question
Is it legally permissible to grant "Retrospective Seniority" based on the date a vacancy occurred?
Solution
No, Retrospective Seniority cannot be granted unless the relevant Service Rules expressly provide for it. The legal position is that seniority cannot be reckoned from the Date of Occurrence of the Vacancy because a person cannot be given seniority from a date when they were not yet Borne in the Cadre. Granting seniority retrospectively from the date of vacancy or requisition would be legally fallacious because, at that stage, the aspiring candidates are merely a body of persons and have not yet morphed into selected candidates. Doing so would Adversely Affect employees who were validly appointed in the meantime.
Question
How is the term "Recruitment Year" interpreted in the context of filling vacancies?
Solution
The term Recruitment Year does not imply the year in which the recruitment process is initiated or the year in which the vacancy arises. Instead, it is intrinsically linked to the Date of Appointment. Even if a requisition for vacancies is made in a previous year (e.g., via an advertisement), the administrative delay in finalizing the recruitment does not entitle a direct recruit to claim seniority from that earlier year. A candidate only acquires rights upon the completion of the process; therefore, the Recruitment Year for the purpose of seniority is the year in which the candidate is actually appointed to the service.
Question
How does the principle of "Rotation of Quotas" apply to Direct Recruits and Promotees?
Solution
The principle of Rotation of Quotas (often referred to as Rota-Quota) is a method used to determine relative seniority between Direct Recruits and Promotees. However, this principle applies only when determining the rotation of vacancies for a specific year where both groups are appointed. It cannot be applied to displace the seniority of an officer who has already entered the service. If there is no overlap in the recruitment year, or if one group enters the cadre significantly earlier, the principle of Dovetailing (mixing the two groups based on a ratio) generally does not arise in a way that would place a later appointee above an earlier one.
Question
What is the significance of being "Borne in the Service" regarding the enforcement of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution?
Solution
The concept of being Borne in the Service is crucial for satisfying the requirements of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, which guarantee equality before the law and equality of opportunity in public employment. To treat an appointee as if they were in service before their actual appointment (i.e., from the date of vacancy) violates these principles by creating an unequal playing field against those who were actually serving at that time. Rights to seniority are acquired only from the date of Encadrement or entry into the service. Therefore, any departure from the statutory rules that grants antecedent rights to those not yet appointed is inconsistent with constitutional requirements.
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