Question

Difference between disciplinary and administrative functions

Answer 1

Answer:

Individuals under investigation in particular should receive information from the investigating body about the opening and closing of the inquiry related to them, on how and why their personal information will be processed, if their data will be transferred to a Disciplinary Board, about the hearing and its outcome. In rare cases, informing the individual under investigation about the inquiry or the disciplinary proceeding at an early stage may be detrimental to the investigation. For instance, the person under investigation might be an expert in IT and he might be able to destroy important elements against him, or the alleged harasser might be informed only at the end of the inquiry in order to protect the alleged victim's identity. If the right of information is restricted or deferred, which is to be decided on a case by case basis, the investigating administration should be able to demonstrate the reasoning and should document them before the decision is taken (accountability principle).Individuals under investigation in particular should receive information from the investigating body about the opening and closing of the inquiry related to them, on how and why their personal information will be processed, if their data will be transferred to a Disciplinary Board, about the hearing and its outcome. In rare cases, informing the individual under investigation about the inquiry or the disciplinary proceeding at an early stage may be detrimental to the investigation. For instance, the person under investigation might be an expert in IT and he might be able to destroy important elements against him, or the alleged harasser might be informed only at the end of the inquiry in order to protect the alleged victim's identity. If the right of information is restricted or deferred, which is to be decided on a case by case basis, the investigating administration should be able to demonstrate the reasoning and should document them before the decision is taken (accountability principle).This document refers to procedures concerning staff of public administrations such as EU institutions and bodies. An administrative inquiry may be launched for a number of reasons such as psychological or sexual harassment, if a member of staff engages in external activities during office hours without permission, conflicts of interest or a suspicion of a staff member inflating the working hours on his timesheets. Aside from the alleged victim and the person under investigation, an inquiry might also involve witnesses and third parties (persons merely quoted in the file). If, following the administrative inquiry, there is enough evidence to show that the person under investigation is responsible for serious misconduct, fraud or other irregularity affecting the financial or other interests of the public administration, a disciplinary proceeding can be initiated. The severity of the disciplinary sanction will depend on the seriousness of the misconduct. The accused person can be dismissed or be suspended for a specific period.Persons under investigation and alleged victims should, as a rule, have full access to the personal information relating to them in the inquiry or disciplinary proceeding. Exceptions to the right of access of the person under investigation may apply, in particular to protect other individuals (for example, a person under investigation regarding harassment may experience a limitation to his right of access in order to protect the alleged victim; a person being investigated for fraud may not have access to the identity of a witness in order to protect the witness' rights and freedoms). As for the right of information, exceptions to the right of access should be assessed on a case by case basis and documented. The right of access of a witness should be stricly assessed on a need-to-know basis, i.e. the witness does not need to have access to the whole file but only to the information about him that is processed by the administration.Individuals under investigation in particular should receive information from the investigating body about the opening and closing of the inquiry related to them, on how and why their personal information will be processed, if their data will be transferred to a Disciplinary Board, about the hearing and its outcome. In rare cases, informing the individual under investigation about the inquiry or the disciplinary proceeding at an early stage may be detrimental to the investigation.