Serving abroad as a press counsellor is subject to three connected sets of rules: temporary assignment, permanent appointment and protocol.
1) Temporary Assignment: Circular No. 2024/1
Circular No. 2024/1 of 8/7/2024 of the Legal Counsel's Office of the Directorate of Communications determines the matters to be complied with in calculating overseas travel allowances, so that differing practices do not arise between the units of the Directorate.
| Issue | Provision | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Determining overseas daily allowances | Determined by the President, on a financial year basis, according to the country to be visited, the monthly salary or wage amounts of the officers and employees and the nature of the duty | Art. 34/1 of Travel Allowance Law No. 6245 |
| The first ten days' increase | On each departure from Turkey or from the country of their permanent posting, the daily allowances to be paid for the first ten days of the travel and stay are calculated by increasing the amounts in the annexed schedule by 50% | Art. 4/1 of the Presidential Decision on Overseas Daily Allowances |
| Austerity measures | Temporary overseas assignments to be made in compulsory cases are made with the approval of the senior manager, provided the initial appropriation allocated is not exceeded and keeping the duration of the duty and the number of officers at the minimum level | Presidential Circular No. 2024/7 (Official Gazette 17/5/2024-32549) |
| Notification | The assignment approvals and the outcome reports are notified to the Presidency through the module in the Public Personnel Information System within 15 days of the date the assignment ends | Circular No. 2024/7 |
2) Permanent Appointment: The Regulation on Personnel to Be Appointed to Permanent Posts Abroad
Presidential Decision 22/11/2018-359, Official Gazette 23/11/2018-30604. Its basis is Art. 514 of Presidential Decree No. 1 on the Presidential Organisation and Art. 3 of Presidential Decree No. 3.
Scope (Art. 2): personnel to be appointed to permanent posts abroad using the posts of public administrations within the central government stated in Law No. 5018, of the social security institutions and of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Conditions Required - Art. 6
| Subpara. | Condition |
|---|---|
| a | The general conditions in Art. 48 of Law No. 657 |
| b | To be a graduate of at least four years of higher education |
| c | To have the necessary and sufficient professional knowledge |
| ç | To know a foreign language |
| d | To have the capacity of representation the service requires |
| e | Except for those appointed from outside, to have at least three years of service in the public sector |
| f | For other personnel, not to have received a deduction from salary or a heavier disciplinary penalty |
The Foreign Language Condition - Art. 7
The personnel must know, as a priority, the official language of the country to which they will be assigned, or one of English, German and French. For proficiency, at least seventy points in the YDS or a document of international validity accepted as equivalent to it is required.
3) Protocol: Diplomatic Status
The Regulation on Protocol Principles Concerning Personnel Holding Diplomatic Status at Diplomatic Missions and the Status of Consular Officer at Consulates (Council of Ministers Decision 24/9/1985-85/9898), in listing the personnel holding diplomatic status, covers, besides members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also:
"...Deputy Permanent Representatives, Counsellors, Deputy Counsellors, Attachés and Deputy Attachés belonging to other public institutions and organisations." (Art. 3)
Press counsellors and press attachés fall within that category. In the order of protocol in Art. 7 they appear in subparagraph (d), "Other Undersecretaries, Counsellors and Expert Counsellors", ranked by the grade of their post and, where grades are equal, by order of seniority.
One Duty of the Press Counsellorship
Art. 10 of the Regulation on Overseas Professional Training and Internships for Press Members gives a concrete duty: the operation of the training and internship programmes is monitored by the Press Counsellorships or Attachés in the country concerned, where there are any, and the results are reported in monthly reports.
We cover the detail in the overseas training guide.
Sending Personnel Abroad
Art. 23 of Presidential Decree No. 14 gives the general power: the Directorate's personnel may be sent abroad under the provisions of the relevant legislation in order to develop their professional knowledge and experience and to specialise.
Summary
In temporary overseas assignments the travel allowance is calculated under Art. 34 of Law No. 6245 and the schedules determined by Presidential decision; the daily allowance is increased by 50% for the first ten days and assignments are notified to the Presidency within 15 days. Permanent appointment requires at least four years of higher education, at least three years of public service and at least seventy points in the YDS. Press counsellors figure in the protocol regulation in the category of "counsellors belonging to other public institutions".