Article 49. Internal Investigation

Internal investigation shall be carried out by decision of the head of the state body in the manner prescribed by labor legislation. A public civil servant may also be subjected to an internal investigation on the basis of their written statement in case of discretion of unfounded accusations or conclusions against them.

During the course of an internal investigation, the following should be determined:

circumstances and conditions that led to the disciplinary offence;

validity or groundlessness of the accusation of a disciplinary offense with respect to a public civil servant;

specificity and amount of damage caused as a result of a disciplinary offense;

arguments specified in the explanations and the written request of the civil servant.

An internal investigation in a state body shall be carried out by an internal investigation commission, consisting of representatives of the personnel department, the legal service and other departments of the state body, as well as the trade union (if present). The commission for conducting an internal investigation cannot include the head of a state body and persons interested in the results of an internal investigation.

If an internal investigation is required, the head of a state body may decide to temporarily suspend a public civil servant from performing official duties for the duration of an internal investigation, while maintaining average salary.

The term for conducting an internal investigation shall not exceed fifteen working days. Based on the substantiated arguments of the commission for conducting an internal investigation, the head of the state body shall have the right to extend the term for its conduct up to another fifteen working days.

Based on the results of an internal investigation, an act of the commission for conducting an internal investigation shall be drawn up and a conclusion shall be prepared on the application or non-application of disciplinary measures against a civil servant. The conclusion of the commission for conducting an internal investigation may be rejected by the head of the state body or may be the basis for the application of disciplinary measures against a public civil servant.