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The Court of Audit of Belgium (Dutch: , French: ''Cour des comptes'', German: ''Rechnungshof'') is a
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
governmental institution established by article 180 of the
Belgian Constitution
The Constitution of Belgium ( nl, Belgische Grondwet, french: Constitution belge, german: Verfassung Belgiens) dates back to 1831. Since then Belgium has been a parliamentary monarchy that applies the principles of ministerial responsibility f ...
. The Court of Audit is a collateral body of the
Belgian Federal Parliament
The Federal Parliament is the bicameral parliament of Belgium. It consists of the Chamber of Representatives (Dutch: , french: Chambre des Représentants, german: Abgeordnetenkammer) and the Senate (Dutch: , french: Sénat, german: Senat). It sit ...
and exerts external control on the budgetary, accounting and financial operations of the Federal State,
the Communities, the Regions, the public service institutions and the
provinces
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
. The task of the Court of Audit is defined in its organic law of 29 October 1846. This law gives the Court of Audit a large independence and a wide autonomy to perform its missions.
The Court of Audit carries out its tasks at its own initiative. The principle of general independence is a guarantee of objectivity and impartiality. The legislative assemblies can charge to charge the Court of Audit with specific missions of management analysis.
History
The Court of Audit can trace its historical lineage to the Chamber of Accounts in the
County of Flanders
The County of Flanders was a historic territory in the Low Countries.
From 862 onwards, the counts of Flanders were among the original twelve peers of the Kingdom of France. For centuries, their estates around the cities of Ghent, Bruges and Ypr ...
and Chamber of Accounts established in 1386 for Flanders and Burgundy by
Philip the Bold
Philip II the Bold (; ; 17 January 1342 – 27 April 1404) was Duke of Burgundy and '' jure uxoris'' Count of Flanders, Artois and Burgundy. He was the fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and Bonne of Luxembourg.
Philip II was ...
. By letters of patent in 1406, Philip's second son
Antoine of Burgundy set up a chamber of accounts for the
Duchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries, part of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1430 and of the Habsburg Neth ...
. The Chamber of Accounts was entrusted with the monitoring and the closing of the accounts of all paymasters of the duchy. These Chambers existed in various forms until the independence of Belgium in 1830. After the independence the
National Congress voted on 30 December 1830 to establishing the Court of Audit of which the first members were appointed on 6 January 1831. Article 116 of the Constitution of 1831 enshrined the existence of this institution and defined its powers.
In 1955 it hosted II
INCOSAI, the second triennial convention of the
International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions
The International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) is an intergovernmental organization whose members are supreme audit institutions. Nearly every supreme audit institution in the world is a member of INTOSAI. Depending on t ...
.
Since January 1984, the Court of Audit is situated in Rue de la Régence 2, Brussels, in the former
Palace of the Count of Flanders
The Palace of the Count of Flanders (french: Palais du Comte de Flandre, nl, Paleis van de Graaf van Vlaanderen) is a neoclassical palace in Brussels, Belgium. It was originally built between 1776 and 1781 for Countess Brigitte of Tirimont-Te ...
.
Competences
Financial audit
The Federal State, the Communities, the Regions, the public service institutions depending on those entities and the 10 provinces have to report annually on their use of the public funds. These accounts are transmitted to the Court of Audit, which verifies the accuracy, the reliability and the completeness of the entries in the financial statements. The Court of Audit also checks the conformity of the recorded transactions with the accounting legislation.
The Court also checks and closes the accounts of the public accounting officers who are in charge of the collection and/or payment of the public funds. The Court considers whether their accounts are in balance, whether the balance is in their favour or in the State's favour. In the two first cases, it draws up a discharge judgment. The third case gives rise to an administrative deficit judgment that might result in the carrying out of the jurisdictional task.
The legality audit
The Court of Audit performs a legality audit on the public expenditures and receipts by checking their conformity with the budgetary law. The Court of Audit ensures that the law rules applicable to the controlled operation are correctly implemented.
The legality audit is carried out through prior approval of the payment orders relating to the expenditures. No payment can be made without the approval of the Court of Audit. If the Court of Audit withholds its approval, the Government can decide that payment should still take place. The Court of Audit then approves with reservation and immediately informs the concerned legislative assembly to which it explains its reasons for doing so.
Performance audit
As an institution linked to the Parliament, the Court of Audit is charged with the monitoring of the sound use of public funds according to the principles of economy, effectiveness and efficiency, so it can inform the Parliament about the way the public services are managed.
* The economy audit assesses whether the implemented financial, human and material resources have qualitatively and quantitatively been acquired and used at the lowest cost and at the right moment.
* The effectiveness audit assesses the extent to which the stated goals and objectives have been attained.
* The efficiency audit assesses the output for a given amount of resources by ensuring that the financial human and material resources are implemented for optimal results.
Informational task
The Court of Audit informs the various legislative assemblies and the provincial councils of the results of its audit missions. The Court of Audit submits its audit reports to the assemblees and councils in the form of syntheses integrated into the annual Book of comments (the so-called "blunder book") or in the form of special publications. The Court of Audit informs the legislative assemblies of the commitments, authorizations or payments of expenditures exceeding the budget appropriations and comments on the budget drafts submitted to the legislative assemblies.
Jurisdictional task
The Belgian Constitution charges the Court of Audit with auditing and validating the accounts of the general administration and of all accounting officers answerable to the Treasury. The accounts of these officers are yearly sent to the Court or in the event of a deficit and when they leave office.
The Court of Audit decides by administrative ruling whether these accounts are in balance, whether the balance is in their favour or in the State's favour. If the ruling shows a deficit the officer has to appear before the Court of Audit. After a public procedure the Court of Audit either exonerates the accounting officer or condemns him to make good that amount or part of it. The rulings can be appealed to the
Court of Cassation
A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. In this they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In th ...
. If the judgement is vacated, the case will be referred to an appropriate "ad hoc" committee, made up of members of the
Belgian Chamber of Representatives
The Chamber of Representatives (Dutch: , french: link=no, Chambre des représentants, german: link=no, Abgeordnetenkammer) is one of the two chambers in the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Senate. It is considered ...
who judge the case without the possibility of any subsequent appeal.
The Court of Audit can require the authorizing officers delegated by the minister to repay the amounts if they have committed appropriations in violation of the legal provisions or incurred losses to be paid by the treasury.
Statements of offices held and declarations of assets
Certain categories of political representatives and senior officials are required to file a statement of offices, functions and occupations with the Court of Audit. They are also required to file a declaration of assets in accordance with a fixed schedule. The Court of Audit is in charge of controlling, storing and publishing these documents.
Organization
The Court of Audit consists of a college of 12 magistrates, assisted by civil servants. The Court of Audit is divided a French-speaking and a Dutch-speaking chamber. Each chamber consists of a president, four councilors and a registrar. The senior of the two presidents is designated First President and the senior of the two registrars is Chief Registrar. All members of the Court of Audit are elected by the
Belgian Chamber of Representatives
The Chamber of Representatives (Dutch: , french: link=no, Chambre des représentants, german: link=no, Abgeordnetenkammer) is one of the two chambers in the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Senate. It is considered ...
for terms of six years and can be reappointed.
References
External links
Official website of the Court of Audit of Belgium
{{DEFAULTSORT:Court Of Audit Of Belgium
Law of Belgium
Government of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
1831 establishments in Belgium
Royal residences in Belgium
Supreme audit institutions
Courts and tribunals established in 1831