It was found that the financial and social support for employees of the Representative Office of the Ministry of Economy of the Kyrgyz Republic at the World Trade Organization in Geneva is provided in accordance with the Regulation approved by the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic No. 190 dated April 6, 2023.
According to paragraph 16 of this Regulation, employees are entitled to a salary according to the staffing table, compensation for housing rent, and 30% of the employee's earnings is directed to the spouse if she is not working.
However, the financial and social support for employees was also provided without the necessary legal grounds, as indicated in Article 33 of the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic "On the Diplomatic Service of the Kyrgyz Republic".
This article states that the norms of material and technical support and monetary compensation apply only to those employees who are not part of the diplomatic service but have been appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic to work in international institutions.
According to Article 4 of the same Law, foreign institutions include diplomatic representations, permanent representations, consular institutions, and visa points that are under the control of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic and are part of the diplomatic service system.
The Representative Office at the WTO in Geneva is part of the structure of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic and, therefore, is not included in the diplomatic service bodies. As stated in paragraph 4 of the Regulation on the Representative Office, it does not perform political, diplomatic, or consular functions but is solely focused on promoting the foreign economic interests of the Kyrgyz Republic in the WTO.
According to Article 6 of the Law "On the Diplomatic Service of the Kyrgyz Republic," representations of state bodies that are not part of the diplomatic service must be organized and regulated by special rules different from those applicable to the foreign institutions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Thus, the financial and social support for employees of the Representative Office should be based on special regulatory acts adopted within the powers of the relevant executive body, rather than on norms intended for the diplomatic service.
To avoid violations of budget legislation, special attention must be paid to the delineation of powers, conditions of remuneration, and sources of funding between diplomatic services and foreign divisions of other ministries.
