EL SALVADOR

Article 195 - The management of public finance in general and execution of the budget in particular, will be under the charge of a body independent of the Executive Power which will bear the name of Tribunal of Accounts of the Republic and which will have the following powers:

Article 196 - The Tribunal of Accounts of the Republic, for the compliance of its jurisdiction shall be divided into one Appellate Tribunal and in Trial courts, the number of which shall be determined by the law.

The Appellate Tribunal will consist of the President of the Tribunal and two Magistrates whose number may be increased by the law.

These functionaries shall be elected for a period of three years. They may be re-elected and can not be divested of their post without a just cause through a resolution of the Legislative Assembly.

The Appellate Tribunal shall nominate, remove, grant license and accept registrations of the judges of the Trial courts.

A special law shall regulate functioning, jurisdiction, competence and administrative structure of the Tribunal of Accounts and the Courts belonging to it.

Article 197 - As and when any matter brought to the notice of the Tribunal of Accounts of the Republic, violates, as per its judgement, any law or rule in force, it shall caution the functionaries that in exercise of their legal function they should communicate the same to it and the matter in question will remain under suspension. The Executive Body may ratify the act totally or partially, when it deems it to be legal, through a reasoned resolution approved by the Cabinet of Ministers and communicated in writing to the President of the Tribunal. Such resolutions shall be published in the Official Gazette.

The ratification duly communicated, shall lift the suspension of the act, provided that the observations of the Tribunal of Accounts do not consist in shortage or insufficiency of Budget Credit from which the expenses are to be met, and in such a case, the suspension shall be maintained till the Credit deficiency has been met with.

Article 198 - The President and the Magistrates of the Tribunal of Accounts shall be:

Salvadorians by birth, more than 30 years of age, and of proven honesty and competence, exercising the right of citizenship and enjoying it 3 years before their selection.

Article 199 – The President of the Tribunal of Accounts shall submit annually to the Legislative Assembly a detailed and documented report of the work done by the Tribunal. This obligation shall be complied with within 3 months before the ending of the financial year.

ORGANIC LAW OF THE TRIBUNAL OF ACCOUNTS

TITLE 1
About objectives, powers and organization of the Tribunal

ARTICLE I –The Tribunal of Accounts is established for auditing in its double aspect, administrative and jurisdictional, management of public finance in general, and implementation of the budget in particular.

Its objective includes controlling the management of state exchequer, of the public establishment, of the official autonomous bodies and public sector enterprise, as well as funds, shares and other wealth which are under the charge of the government, of the Bodies or corporations mentioned before.

ARTICLE 2 - The powers of preventive intervention conferred upon the Tribunal are applicable only to the State exchequer and only by legal provision shall extend to other entities mentioned in the second paragraph of the previous article.

ARTICLE 3 - The competence of the Tribunal covers all persons who are empowered to manage funds or other properties of the State or of the mentioned Entities in the Article 1 either by a temporary or special charge or in a normal way.

Especially all those are subjected to the said jurisdiction who collect, keep in their custody, administer or distribute funds or other properties of reference, with the exception of functionaries to whom Article 211 of the Political Constitution refers.

Similarly it also extends to all liquidators, auditors or functionaries relating to public income or expenditure, except for any provision mentioned to the contrary.

ARTICLE 4- The Tribunal shall be obliged to consider the acts which it is hearing only from the point of view of law.

This shall not prevent that in other spheres it may give its opinion or extend collaboration, wherever convenient.

1) To authorize all payment of funds from the Public Treasury, in accordance with the Budget; to audit preventively in all such acts affecting Public Treasury or State exchequer in a direct or indirect manner and endorse all acts and contracts relating to public debt

2).To ensure collection, custody, commitment and disbursement of funds of the Treasury, of the institutions to which section 4a of Article 128 of the Political Constitution and of the Municipalities refers, verifying their physical stocks as well as settlement of taxes and other contributions.

In the exercise of this duty, the Tribunal is empowered to verify if the goods imported free of duty are being used for this purpose or not for which the respective franquicia has been authorized without prejudice to the legal power relating to this matter enjoyed by the Ministry of Finance.

3) To examine the accounts on the management of Public Finance, submitted by the Executive Power to the Assembly, and inform the latter about the result of this examination. To this effect, the Tribunal shall verify the accounting of the executive power in adequate form and extension. Moreover, it shall be able to make observations on accounting to the respective Heads of the Departments from the technical and legal point of view, on the registers which refer to the implementation of the budget, on the form of presenting financial statements and other annexures: and in general, on all that which may give rise to illegal acts, or which may not permit Public Authorities to appreciate with clarity the results of a particular financial exercise.

The Head of the department mentioned shall be obliged to comply with the observations made by the Tribunal and on concluding the task of each financial exercise shall submit directly to the Tribunal authorized copy of balance sheets and other financial reports, for the purpose the same Tribunal may deem pertinent.

4) To audit the economic management of the institutions and state owned companies of autonomous characters and of the entities which are managed with funds from the Treasury or which receive subsidy from the same, subjecting them to respective laws prescribed about such auditing, provided that the legal measures corresponding to them do not get restricted for attaining their objectives. In the absence of written provision, the Tribunal will carry out auditing in such a form which suits the nature and the objectives of the organization in question, laying down in all cases such measures as would lead to that objective.

5) To check, inspect and comment on accounts relating to the functionaries who manage money and other wealth belonging to the Exchequer subject to the auditing of the same Tribunal. The same holds for the management of liquidators or auditors of income, expenditure or payment and in general to determine if such measures have been carried out in conformity with the Law, initiating and making respective cases of accounts and giving verdict on them.

6) To inspect, whenever convenient, properties, books and documents in the custody of the departments subject to the auditing, in case it is deemed to be necessary for compliance of his commitment.

7) To demand security deposits wherever necessary for guaranteeing their performance, and show their amount and keep them in safe custody and cancel them, whether on demand from the person concerned or in the normal course.

For assessment of the securities, the Tribunal may order the evaluation of the properties shown as guarantee and appoint with this objective persons who have to carry out the evaluation work.

8) To record and preserve testimonies of deeds and other titles of immovable properties, documents for debts or credits in favor of the Nation, and all other papers and titles of any type which are evidence of property, rights or shares of the State, with the exception of commercial and fiduciary assets, which have to be deposited in the Directorate General of Treasury or of those which by a special law must be kept in custody in another office; but in this case, lists, testimonies or authorized certifications about such documents must be sent over to the Tribunal

10) To intervene in the issuance of documents of public credit of any type and the same holds for the issuance of valued financial bonds.

11) To authorize the possession of their posts to the employees subject to their jurisdictional auditing, once the lawful security deposit has been rendered and suspend them when the security lapses without timely renewal.

12) To demand from other organizations belonging to the public administration, including the autonomous institutions and municipalities, as many reports, statements, accounts, documents and other bills as considered to be useful or necessary for the exercise of the functions which legally correspond to it: making these organizations and bodies obliged to supply such data and information within a reasonable period which shall not exceed 15 days. The individuals shall have the same obligation which for some reason had to supply data, reports, etc. for clarifying doubtful situations either on income, liquidation, commitment or outflow of funds and other public properties or valued objects.

13) To issue rules and instructions about structure, form, proof and justification of accounts relating to properties of the Supreme Government, and also institutions and corporations subject to their auditing

14) To issue rules and instructions about the manner and use of forms of receipts and other documents relating to collection, custody, investment, distribution, payments, inflow or outflow of money or other properties of the Government, being able to intervene in the printing and distribution of the respective application forms.

15) To suggest measures of control which are necessary, trying to preserve the spirit which encourages the ones established by law or prevalent rules.

16) To keep watch over the compliance of laws, rules and instructions on accounting and intervention conferred upon it by the law.

17) To impose fines, which shall be made effective in an official manner, up to 200 Colons for mistakes committed or for negligence in the compliance of laws and rules which regulate accounting, liquidation of interests and taxes, receipts, custody, distribution, payment, inflow and outflow of funds and public properties, of valued objects, of credit titles and any other object which may have commercial value: as well as for non- compliance of any other obligation to which para12 of this article refers to.

18) To negotiate with the Auditor General of the Republic so that the advances favoring the Treasury, Autonomous Institutions and Municipalities established through the executory verdict of the Tribunal are collected.

1) To bring to the knowledge of the Legislative Power, through its annual report, all acts which are brought to its knowledge and which it is obliged to process with reservations.

2) To inform the Executive Power, Autonomous Institutions and the Municipalities about all irregularity of economic order which is found in the exercise of its function and which, in a direct or indirect manner, may cause damage to the said bodies, suggesting at the same time norms and procedures which may be put into practice for avoiding such damages, thus contributing towards more order and legality in the management of public wealth and items.

3) To inform the Public Ministry of the offences which the Tribunal notes in the exercise of its functions.

Article 7 – The Tribunal of Accounts is formed by the Appellate Tribunal, Trial Courts, Secretaries, Registrars, Examiners and other functionaries and employees required.

The Appellate Tribunal is composed of a President and two Magistrates while the Trial Courts shall have two judges. There shall be as many Trial Courts as permitted by the number of judges enshrined in the Law of Salaries.

Article 8 – The President and the Magistrates of the Tribunal will be elected by the Legislative Assembly for a period of three years, and may be reelected. They may only be divested of their position by a just cause through a resolution of the same assembly.

Article 9- The Accounts Judges will be named by the Appellate Tribunal; the other functionaries and employees by the President of the Tribunal.

Article 10- The Tribunal of Accounts shall have those administrative departments as are required by its internal organization. The heads of those departments may communicate among themselves directly in the exercise of their activities, with all offices which manage properties of the Nation or which, for some motive, have to intervene in matter of accounts or preventive auditing. They may also resolve to have consultations regarding their activities, subjecting them in any case to the instructions mentioned in Art. 14.

Article 12- The election for the President or Magistrate of the Tribunal cannot be made from among any person who is a relation by consanguinity or affinity, upto four stages, of those persons who on the date of such election are holding the posts of the President of the Republic, of President, Secretary or Pro-Secretary of the National Assembly, Minister or Secretary of State. This clause is not applicable in case of re-selection.

Article 14 - The President of the Tribunal is also responsible for the administrative functioning of the same. Consequently, the administrative departments will function under his direct charge and according to his general or special instructions without interfering with the respective rules. The President, for reasons of sickness or for other justified reasons, may delegate his functions to one of the members of the Appellate Tribunal, as per Article 20.

Article 17 – If more than one Secretary of the Tribunal is needed, on making the respective nomination in conformity with Article 127, it shall be indicated to the trial courts as to who will function with which court.

Article 18 - The Public Ministry shall be represented before the Court by the Attorney General of the Republic or by the Agents nominated in writing by the said functionary in a general or specific manner.

Article 19 - Except by written provision contrary to the law, no member or employee of the Tribunal of Accounts, may accept any job which implies remuneration in any form, with funds belonging to the State exchequer or institutions under its auditing, except in the teaching profession or for carrying out official missions abroad.

Article 20- In the absence of the President of the Tribunal, the first Magistrate will take over the charge, and in absence of the latter, the second Magistrate will do so.

Article 21 - If the Appellate Tribunal remains incomplete due to prolonged absence, resignation or death of any of its members, the acting President will fill it, calling for the substitutes necessary, while being able to call any one of them indiscriminately.

This call shall be understood to have been made only to enable the called person arrives to render his services with respect to the resolutions or acts depending on the Appellate Tribunal, except when in the respective agreement, it is also indicated that the call is meant for delegating to him the very functions of the President in conformity with the letter (a) of Article 15.

If the President, after calling his substitutes only for the purpose to which the first part of the previous paragraph refers, considers necessary to widen the scope of such call in the sense that the latter happens to carry out delegated functions, he shall issue new agreement to such effect.

In cases of rejection, impediment or disqualification of the members of the Appellate Tribunal or of lack of agreement between them for the resolution of a case, the substitutes who may be called to hear the matter or matters in question.

Article 22 - when the President delegates his functions, in conformity with Article 14, he shall receive salary during the period of such delegation, provided he is engaged in carrying official missions or it is based on reasons that justify the right to enjoy remuneration by the Public functionaries or employees.

When a substitute Magistrate is called only for rendering services with respect to the resolutions or acts depending on the Appellate Tribunal, he shall draw as the only remuneration, honorarium at the rate of 25 cents per page for seeing the court papers and 10 colons per day or fraction of a day for discussion of matters. Otherwise, he shall draw as total remuneration, salary of the corresponding functionary’s post whom he is substituting.

Article 23 - In cases of resignation, abandonment of post or death of a member of the Appellate Tribunal, the acting President shall be obliged to inform of the same to the National Assembly, within 8 days at the most after this has occurred or of having joined, if he had not been present from the day of the event.

The Legislative Power shall elect the substitute, within a period of a month after having received the indicated notice, or of having had knowledge of it, through any other medium about the absence of the incumbent.

TITLE II
About Preventive Auditing

Article 24 - The principal objective of preventive auditing by the Tribunal is to ensure that the properties subject to its vigilance and auditing, are managed with strict adherence to the law and rules and instructions proceeding from the competent authority: but the President of the Tribunal shall be permitted to exercise a reasonable discretion in the exercise of the said preventive auditing, in order to avoid that the latter delays unnecessarily the attention of the administration.

Using the aforesaid power, the President of the Tribunal may could leave wide purely questions which do not affect those matters deeply which he must have knowledge about and whose omissions or modifications may not deprive the authority of the other functionaries, nor affects the fundamental objective of the measure which enshrined the proceeding or the form which may be dispensed or modified: but in no case the President shall dispense with the requisite established expressly by the provisions emanating from the Legislative Power.

Article 25: The President of the Tribunal shall conduct the preventive auditing:

Article 26: When an auditor notes that an act is against law, he shall let the supposed illegality be shown to the person and if the latter insists on the act being proceeded, the auditor shall take the matter to the head of the respective department of the Tribunal.

If the illegality does not exist, in the opinion of the Head of the department, he may order that the matter may be closed. Otherwise, he shall bring the matter to the knowledge of the President.

The President in turn may order that this may be closed or take it or refer it back through a note, addressed to the functionary from whom it has come. If the issuing authority is a Minister of State, he may give up when faced with the opposition of the Tribunal, or take up the matter with the Council of Ministers, who may order that the action may be revoked or modified, depending on the case or subject it to the Council of Ministers for legal purposes. The procedure mentioned in this article does not prohibit the President of the Tribunal to give direct orders to the auditors.

Article 27: The Executive Power, in view of the observations of the Tribunal and of the allegations levelled by the functionaries interested in the case for its trial may ratify totally or partially, whenever it considers it legal through resolutions approved by the Council of Ministers. Such resolution, once communicated in writing to the President of the Tribunal, will lift the stay on the case and will compel the latter to give it due treatment, except as provided by Article 29.

Article 28: The resolutions issued, in conformity with the previous article, must be published in the Official Gazette. The President of the Tribunal on submitting his annual report to the legislative power, will inform him of all actions undertaken in the indicated conditions and, especially of those in which the requisite of publication within a reasonable period has not been complied with.

Article 29: The disqualification of a case by the Tribunal shall be irrevocable while the reason which gives rise to it, may not disappear, when the latter consists in the lack or insufficiency of presumed credit to which an expenditure must be applied, and in such a case, the suspension must be maintained while the credit deficiency may not have been made up.

Article 30: The Tribunal could demand that all cases which imply incoming revenue including liquidation of taxes, interests, prices etc., should be subjected to preventive auditing.

For the application of the previous paragraph, it shall be understood that the Tribunal considers unnecessary its intervention only when it wants to inform expressly.

Article 31: All acts, whatever be the form of their manifestation, affecting the State resources either as commitment, obligation, or payment shall be subjected to the Tribunal of accounts along with the documents which justify the same, and before this may take effect so that it may examine, approve and record them.

Article 32: Among the acts which the previous article refers to, the following are considered to be included, without the others that may imply commitment, obligation, payment or deposit:

1) The agreements of nomination, promotion, license, pension, retirement and any other act causing payment of stipend or other allocations; and

2) The contracts or orders for delivery of merchandise, rendering of service, or construction of works.

Article 33: The agreements relating to substitution, removal or resignation of the functionaries or employees or any other act which may terminate asset related or financial relationship between the Government and individual, shall be communicated to the Tribunal, to see if they have legal requirements.

Article 34: No pay order shall be of legal validity for the respective payee, if it does not have the sanction of the President of the Tribunal or of a duly authorized auditor.

Article 35: The President of the Tribunal, or the auditor, in turn, will be especially obliged to refuse:

1) The orders referring to expenditure which are not for suitable purpose or which do not tend to satisfy needs of public administration or of general interest; it being understood that the existence of an item in the budget for a specific expenditure implies recognition that it fulfills the purpose of such quality:

2) Such orders as are issued without corresponding expenditure items for proper entry or for those where inspite of the existence of an accounting item no non-budgeted balance is available to cover it sufficiently:

4) Such orders about which the auditors are somehow not satisfied, that the merchandise or services to which the orders referred to have been duly supplied, in conformity with the acts which have given rise to the respective obligations;

5) Such orders which may refer to business which are not as per legal norms, either in substance, or in their processing;

The fact of not having rejected a pay order on the occasion of its approval or auditing for any of the reasons mentioned in clauses 1-7 of the present article, shall not prohibit the Tribunal from ordering to the corresponding pay office, to abstain from payment of a pay order already legalized or a check already issued, be it in the nature of transfer or payment when after the approval or auditing of the expenditure it might be verified that the said order should have been rejected on the basis of any of the 7 items mentioned.

Article 36: The Tribunal may admit the justification of the order after its sanction, in the following cases whenever the respective credit reserve is available:

2) In any other case in which the business is materially impossible without sanction of an advance.

In the cases belonging to No. 2 above no advance of higher than 10,000 Colons for each business shall be allowed, in favor of persons who have not deposited any security except when law provides otherwise.

Article 37: When the person receiving an advance for making payments on Government account, from autonomous institutions or from official companies, does not provide for permanent funds management, it will acquire this quality with respect to the advance given to it, in so far as it may receive and the same be subject to auditing, as any other manager of funds.

Article 38: The Tribunal being the organization to which the auditing of the public finance and implementation of the budget corresponds constitutionally, independent of the Executive Power, the authorization and auditing its expenses and payments as per law also corresponds to it. But the Tribunal will be obliged to provide an annual report to the Ministry of Finance on the implementation of the same. The said ministry will inform the Legislative Assembly of the necessary observations on the account.

The President of the Tribunal will provide the Ministry of Finance with all data, documents and reports demanded for compliance of this article.

TITLE III
About Post Facto Auditing

Article 39: The post facto auditing is done after the acts referred to have been executed.

It’s objective is to verify conformity of such acts with law, rules and instructions originating from competent authority, and if the procedures adopted are backed by honesty and due formalities.

Article 40: The post facto auditing is divided into administrative and jurisdictional auditing.

The main purpose of Post facto administrative auditing is to cleanse and complete the account submitted, before subjecting them to jurisdictional auditing, and put immediate remedy to the irregularities which are found. This is done more or less in a continuous manner.

Post facto auditing of jurisdictional character is done in a periodic manner through checking of accounts, and its purpose is to determine in a final manner the financial responsibilities belonging to the subjects of such auditing.

Article 41: All persons responsible for collection, custody or payment of public money, or safekeeping or distribution of the properties of the State, are bound to submit accounts to the Tribunal, in terms and form established by law, rules and instructions originating from the same Tribunal. The liquidators of taxes, fees, etc. shall be subjected equally to submit accounts of their settlements, except when the Tribunal considers it unnecessary.

Article 42: The President of the Tribunal, Heads of the administrative departments and Courts are authorized to ask for any document or report from the public offices which may serve for completing an account under examination or for giving verdict on it, reasoning and returning those documents which for their character shall be kept in any other office. When this is not necessary, only the clarification will be sought from the office to which, the custody of the document, corresponds. Also they may order, as need be, the visual inspection of any document which, being in the custody of the Tribunal or other authority, may serve for completing an account or for giving verdict on it.

Article 43: All public offices are bound to provide without delay to the interested parties in the accounts, certificates which they consider necessary for completing an account or for obtaining a just judgment on it.

Article 44: As a rule, the original documents and their annexures of an account already submitted to the Tribunal for its comments shall not be returned. Those documents which have been received for having simple faults in form shall be returned to the party concerned so that the deficiencies can be rectified. Also those documents which have been inadvertently added to the account and which should not be part of it will also be returned.

Article 45: The President of the Tribunal may warn persons with fines up to 200 Colons persons who, while submitting accounts, either for its centralization or for purpose of administrative or judicial comment have not done it in legal term or have done it in incomplete form for which they will be provided time.

If within the given period the warned person does not comply, the fine will be imposed on him fixing new term and if the new requirement is not attended to, suspension or substitution of the employee will be asked for and accounts trial shall be ordered, as indicated in Article 71 without prejudice to judgment for non-compliance.

The impositions of fines is optional. The procedure indicated in Article 71 already mentioned can be directly followed.

Article 46: As a general rule the imposition of fines shall correspond to the President of the Tribunal or to the Magistrates: also Accounts Judges are empowered to impose fines in cases determined by the Regulation.

Article 47: The President of the Tribunal shall conduct post facto auditing of an administrative character:

Article 48: The post facto auditing of administrative character shall be conducted either on operations communicated to the Tribunal, or inspecting the accounts of the office, institutions or company in question.

Article 49: Accounts and other information, subject to auditing of the Tribunal, shall be passed on to the respective departments of the same, as and when they are received.

The said department shall carry out revision of reports or accounts and also its bills and vouchers, through an examiner from his office, who shall issue report on the same, making observations. The examiner will be responsible for errors, omissions and mistakes which he does not observe either by malice or by fault which may be imputed to him.

Observations, approved by a registrar of the department shall be communicated to the party in shortest possible time, so that he may furnish explanations or remedy deficiencies, within a reasonable period of which the registrar will notify him.

Once the explanations are heard, the registrar of the department will frame charges for observations which were not counted, and shall prevent the party from making any payment.

If the case is important for the amount or for its circumstances, the Ministry of Economy shall be informed, so that it can ask for suspension of the employee.

Article 50: Containing the observation sheets, their responses and a proof of issuance of the charge sheets, a file shall be made for each case which shall be passed on to the courts in due time.

Article 51: In case of observations of consideration the Tribunal may order to the party that it closes its books on a fixed date and send them over for the proceedings of trial of accounts though the ordinary time of closure of accounts for comments may have been over. In the same way the matter could be followed for employees who may retire from their posts.

Those objections will be considered important which refer to a sum exceeding double the monthly salary of the concerned person.

Article 52: The registrar is bound, before passing a file to the respective trial court, to formulate a resume of the pending observations which he shall authorize with his signature.

Non remittance of the file referred to in Article 50, of the resume in question or of both, does not prohibit the respective trial court to initiate and continue with the case.

Article 53: The examiner in charge of verification of an account shall be specially bound to:

Article 54: Once the auditing of administrative character is over, accounts and their files shall be passed on to the trial court to which it corresponds.

As a rule observation shall be made in conformity with the Regulation periodically on account of which the offices subject to the control of the Tribunal shall close their accounts after finalizing each one of them and shall submit them to the same Tribunal within legal period.

However, observation shall be made, for determining the responsibility of the concerned parties, in periods shorter than the established ones in the following cases:

Article 55: The Tribunal of Accounts shall sit on judgment of the accounts of those persons who for reasons of their post, for temporary or special commission, or ordinarily collect, keep in custody, distribute or manage in any form money or assets or any other property, belonging to the State or Entities referred to in article 1 of this law, or properties, which being alien, are under the charge of the Government or of the entities mentioned. Its jurisdiction extends upto the trial of the operations referred to in paragraph 3 of Article 3.

For legal effects, account shall be understood as totality of elements necessary for fixing responsibilities which may be deduced in relation to a particular dealing whether this totality is presented by the account giver, or is formed or completed, in the very court as per law.

Article 56: In the accounts trial it must be determined whether the account which has been submitted or was supposed to be submitted has to be approved. The mistakes appearing in the procedures referred to by the account shall be corrected here and the investigation shall continue till the final indication of the financial responsibilities which may correspond to persons in charge of that action.

Responsibility fixed through trial of accounts, is of special character, different from that of the civil or criminal courts. On purely civil and criminal matters, the Tribunal shall limit itself to inform the Public Ministry so that the latter deals with it conveniently.

The responsibility to which the trial of accounts refers, may be pursued without having to wait for the resolution of civil or criminal matters which may have relation with accounts, assets or liquidations that may have been under the charge of the persons. For prosecution of the trial of accounts, Article 45 cannot be applied.

Article 57 –The accounts trial starts from the time a Trial Court takes charge of the elements forming the account, or in those cases where it has not been submitted, from the time it starts its investigation for making comments on the matter and finishes pronouncing firm verdict.

Article 58 - Observations or objections which an account deserves, must appear always in notices of objection issued in conformity with the present law.

The said notices may be issued, either at the beginning of the trial, or during its sequel or that of its incidentals or appeals.

Without prejudice to the outcome arising from other legal provisions, the case for objection shall be understood as existing in:

However, notice of objections shall not be issued for those observations whose value do not exceed twenty five Colons.

In such cases, a fine equivalent to the value of the observation will be imposed, which shall be made effective conforming to the procedure established in Article 128 of this law. Once the fine is cancelled and the receipt or the bill added to the respective administrative file, the court shall approve the account and shall declare the respondent solvent for the operations contained in it.

When it appears that taxes, interests, etc. have been liquidated or collected in amount less than due, the Tribunal may direct the respective government department, to the effect or demanding that the tax payer pays the amount not collected.

On obtaining the payment of amount not collected, through the action referred to in the previous paragraph, and in case of no other observation existing, the Court shall give its approval and shall declare solvency corresponding to it.

Article 59 - Delivery of notice of objections shall be made to the party concerned in person, whenever possible. In cases contrary to it this law shall determine the form of doing it. Deliveries of notices and notifications will be made in the capital by the secretary of Legal proceedings or by the notifying secretary.

Deliveries of notices outside the capital will be made at the residence or office of the concerned party or at his present residence, through the Mayor of the local Municipality, who may do it himself or through the Municipal Secretary. Delivery of notices, relating to municipal trial, and if any of the persons against whom there are objections or his guarantor or any of the concerned party is a current member of the Municipality to which the trial is referred to, shall be carried out through the respective Political Governor or by one of local justices of peace.

Of all notices served receipts are to be obtained for keeping in the file. In case no receipt is obtained, reasons for it should be noted. The Mayors or functionaries to whom the previous paragraph refers to, in turn, shall certify that the notices have been served, and shall return them to their source.

Article 60 - Orders and sentences which are dictated in the trial of accounts, will be notified to the parties in conformity with the Civil Procedure Code except in case of default, where it shall be presumed that the notification has been made.

Article 61 - The concerned parties in dispelling doubts about objections shall intervene in the trial and may appear themselves or through attorney or representative.

On contesting the notice or appearing in person at any stage of the trial or on expressing or contesting injustice, they have to indicate their residence in the capital so that they may be informed there of the rulings past.

If the concerned party does not indicate residence, the rulings will be made known to him through notice board in the office

Article 62 - When the respondent or his guarantor resides outside the territory of the Republic and his place of residence is known, the notices may be served through the functionaries of the Foreign Service.

Dispatch of the notices may be done directly or through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Said functionaries shall demand corresponding receipt: if they are respondents, they will do so with the office seal. Such receipts will be returned to the office of origin in the same form in which they were sent, this being the duty of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in its case, to submit the receipt which the diplomat or the consular functionary has sent, signed by the concerned party.

When the dispatch is sent directly to a consular functionary or a diplomat and the same person is the respondent, registered post using the service of " receipt notice" shall be used. If such "receipt notice" is obtained and such a reasonable period transpires, as per the respective court, without the functionary acknowledging the corresponding receipt, the court shall order his transfer through special curator and will continue with the trial as if the respondent is an undeclared absentee, whose place of stay is not known as per the following article and in article 64.

In the cases contemplated in this article, the transferred person has to contest, either through a letter authenticated by the diplomatic functionary or consular functionary of El Salvador, as per common law. The court shall be bound to constitute attorney for presenting the case or to indicate residence in San Salvador so that he is made to know the rulings which are passed. On the contrary he will be informed through notice board in the office.

Article 63: Against a person whose place of stay is not known within and outside the Republic, a notice shall be published in the official gazette three times alternatively, calling the concerned person or his representatives to appear in person in trial and plead its defense. The notice shall not contain text of objections but only mention the charge and period to which the examined account corresponds and the sum total of the objected amount. This notice shall be issued by the court which is hearing the trial and the respective press will publish it with the written permission of the President of the Tribunal to "publish it".

The same procedure shall be adopted in all cases where heirs of the interested parties who may be dead have to be transferred to when they were unknown or they were not personally present in the trial, either to initiate the same or for taking it in the state in which it is found.

In the cases of the first two clauses, the publication of the notice, in the said form, establishes obligation for the person or persons called, to present himself or themselves to receive the notice or to appear in the trial in the state in which he is located, according to each case, within five days following the date of last publication.

Once the period to which the previous clause refers to is over and no person has presented himself to appear in person or the one who has appeared has not proven sufficiently his bonafide, a special defense lawyer shall be provided to the concerned party, who will have in the trial all rights corresponding to the person whom he is representing. Same provision will be made when the employees, or persons called for, are many and not all are appearing in which case the defense lawyer/s shall represent the persons not present.

Article 64: The appointment of defense lawyer corresponds to the court which is hearing the case: they may be from amongst the employees of the Government enjoying salary, preference being given to accounts people or persons having sufficient technical capacity. Also students of jurisprudence and social sciences, adults and in general any person who has the legal capacity to be a curator can be designated.

Accepting the responsibility and after taking oath, the defense lawyer shall be handed over the notice, personally, if he has been called for it, or he shall be asked to be present in person within the third day to follow up the trial in the state in which he is located.

If the defense lawyer does not contest the notice within the period granted to him or he does not appear in person, he will be declared hostile and no more notifications shall be issued to him.

Article 65: The matter expressed in the last clause of article 63 and in article 64 will not have validity if it is known that there exists guardian/curator of the underlying inheritance, and in that case the proceeding will be directed against the said curator/guardian. If it is against the declared absentees and if it is known they have represented with sufficient power to intervene, the trial will be raised against those curators or attorneys.

The appellate court shall resolve challenges or disqualifications relating to the judges of the trial court. The ones relating to the magistrates of the appellate court shall be resolved by the other two members.

If the challenges refer to the two magistrates, the third one will call two additional magistrates for resolving what is legal. If the challenge is levelled against three functioning magistrates they themselves will call respective additional magistrates with the same purpose.

The challenges relating to the secretaries shall be resolved by the trial court or the appellate court hearing the trial.

Article 67: In terms of accumulation of cases it shall be at the disposition of common law but may be decreed officially.

Article 68: In the trial of accounts testimonial evidence will not be admissible, except in the cases of natural calamities or accidental case, which cannot be established in any other way.

In cases in which there has to be justifying documents, this shall be only admitted for proving that this has been lost fortuitously because of natural calamities or due to acts in which there has not been the slightest fault or carelessness of the account respondents (Article 42 C). But for removing the objection in such a case, the proof of loss of the documents will not be enough: the charge-off has to be established through other stop- gap means.

The acceptance or rejection of this means of proof, as well as the probatory force of the provisions will be judged by the functioning court in view of the special circumstances: the latter asking for reports which it considers convenient from the authorities or individuals relating to the facts investigated.

Article 69: In the accounts trial, direct application of the value of documents which may not have been charged off in the respective accounts, to the sum repaid cannot be admitted.

The documents presented in such circumstances, and with that objective, must be submitted to the corresponding pay office for its payment and discharge and the cheques which the payee issues shall have to be drawn in favor of the collector who is responsible for the claimed amount.

The collector shall enter the amount of the cheque/cheques as irrevocable deposit made with the purpose of application to possible investigated responsibilities unless in the definite sentence it is absolved, in which case the deposited sum shall be returned to the corresponding person with prior order of the President of the Accounts Tribunal.

The receipt which the collector has issued shall be added to the trial of accounts and the punishment if any, will be given in any case for the corresponding total. The amount deposited, for applying possible responsibilities shall be entered finally, only by order of the President of the Tribunal.

Article 70: Simple submission or presentation of an account to the Tribunal, will allow the same office to carry out administrative and judicial examination. Once this is verified as per chapter II of this Title, the trial court shall take account of it for making comments, without prejudice to the clause mentioned in the last clause of article 52.

Article 71: When the person or persons in charge of an account have not submitted or have submitted in incomplete form, the President of the Tribunal may warn that the same be completed or submitted within 30 days. This warning may come later than the activities established in the article 48 or to be made effective once and for all as per sound judgment of the concerned functionary.

If the account is not presented or completed within the transpiry of the said period, the President will order the administrative departments that they complete the account, based on the data which they may obtain in the form indicated in article 42.

If the department or the departments designated do not succeed, through the procedure referred to in the previous clause, to form or complete the account or only can form it partially, they will restrict themselves to, in so far as the missing details are concerned, or in so far as the totality of the action in question, depending on the case, prepare and collect all elements of trial which are considered necessary so that those concerned may determine by trial and error the responsibilities that may enable deducing, with reference to the said process, the elements of judgment in place of the account for the purpose of this law.

In cases of embezzlement of funds, provisions contained in the previous clauses will be applied.

If before pronouncing final verdict on an account formed or completed in conformity with this article, data, or documents relating to the matter are found, the court which is hearing the trial, either in Trial or Appellate court, may revoke, reform or amplify the notices of objections already issued.

The procedure indicated in the present article, so far as it refers to completing an account, will not apply when, as per the judgment of the President of the Tribunal, this is not necessary for appreciating the action in question.

Nothing mentioned in the present article will prohibit the President, the Heads of the administrative departments or the courts from using the power given to them by article 42 without the need to refer to the procedure mentioned above.

Article 72: Once account is received for inspection by the Trial court, with its administrative file if any, the latter will start examining the same. The examination must not be forcibly made complete and detailed: it may limit itself to partial verification, in form and extension which will be indicated by the respective rule but in any case the points which have been motive of observation in the administrative examination must be examined and verified in details.

When there has not been a prior post facto auditing of administrative character, as in the case of some settlement officers of taxes and employees of establishments, entities and corporations to which the clause 2 of article 1 refers to, the judicial examination must be complete.

In the trial and error method the persons in charge of judging of the respective action may resort to investigations of discretional character and even to simple appreciation or deductions, if necessary.

Article 73: Once the examination prescribed in the previous article is done and if as per the judgment of the court no objection is found, it will approve the account and will declare the account respondent solvent for the operations included in it.

When in the resume sheet referred to in article 52 obligations appeared which were still perceptible in the administrative transaction, the court, before resolving the same shall send it for hearing to the Public Ministry for 15 days and will not declare solvency if the latter opposes it. In this case, it must issue notice of objections and proceed with the corresponding trial.

If the Public Ministry does not use this term it will be understood that it is in conformity that the solvency be declared.

Article 74: If recovery or objections are found necessary, a recovery notice shall be drafted, making authorized copies necessary for submitting to person or persons directly responsible, to his guarantor or guarantors or to any other person affected by the recovery or recoveries.

Of all recovery notice an authorized copy shall be submitted to the Public Ministry, which will form part, from that moment, of the trial: it being able to exercise all rights corresponding to it, including that of appeal against final sentences, and specially against the one pronounced by virtue of the provision of clause 2 of Article 78.

Article 75: The interested parties in dispelling the objections shall contest as they may within the term indicated in the notice.

If the reply requires the carrying out of formalities with the purpose of establishing a specific circumstance, for the defense of the interested parties, it shall be resolved prior to the same, admitting or not the evidence offered, as the case may be, in the most appropriate time and even without recourse to evidence.

Article 76: For receiving the testimonial evidence, a test trial shall be opened for 10 days. For reception of such evidence and widening of scope of the term, recourse shall be taken to the Civil Procedure Code. The witnesses will testify precisely before the judge who may hold the hearing in the respective chambers where they shall come at the expense of the interested parties.

This probatory term shall be conceded when the period for contesting the objections has expired, unless all the parties have forgone the same.

The inquiries which take place in the probatory period shall be held with notice or summons depending on each case, of the Finance Ministry.

Article 77: Once the period indicated is over and some of the interested parties have not contested the objection, he will be declared hostile on petition from Public Ministry or officially.

Article 78: The reply to the notice of objections having been obtained or whenever the probatory period is over or hostility declared, the court shall proceed to give its verdict in the first instance with hearing of the Public Ministry for a period of 10 days.

If in view of the reasons alleged in the reply or of formalities carried out or the revision of accounts done officially, the court considers that the objections have been dispelled sufficiently it shall pronounce its verdict of corresponding solvency and shall approve the account.

Otherwise, it shall pronounce the verdict concerned, sentencing accordingly determining the illegitimate or improper entries and lapses that may exist and declare non existent the objection which it may consider dispelled, and will order that the discovered ones may be reintegrated.

In the case of condemnation, the approval of account will remain in suspension, till such time as the compliance of the sentence is not verified.

Any of the persons responsible for the action may be absolved, when the responsibility is proved against others and not against him, making effective such responsibility in the corresponding legal form.

When payment of sums objected to is calculated the court may, during the courts of trial, even without hearing the Public Ministry, declare solvency of the parties and approve the account in the following cases:

When the accounts of all those objected to are approved, the verdict of solvency shall put an end to the case, except that which is mentioned in the final part of statement b).

Article 79: Within 8 working days following respective notifications served on the parties and the Public Ministry, any one of them may appeal against the final sentence, which is the only appealable resolution.

Article 80: The interested parties and the Public Ministry may ask for clarifications as mentioned in article 436: they will have 5 working days from the date of notification for doing it. For the rest norms of said provisions will follow, as applicable.

Article 81: If any of the parties had presented petition for clarification and the other had appealed, the clarification petition will be resolved first. Once this is notified and the new period for appeal is over, any pending appeal shall be resolved.

Article 82: Outside of the case of the previous article the trial court shall stop hearing from the moment appeal is made, as it will only be able to admit or reject it as the case may be. However it may terminate any proceedings which was pending at the moment of appeal.

Article 83: All appeals will be in both effects. The decision admitting the appeal will moreover contain summons notice to both the parties and the representative of the Public Ministry so that within 3 days they move the appellate court for using their right.

Article 84: The appeal once admitted in the Appellate Court of the Tribunal of accounts, will be sent directly for trial, with a note of remission.

Article 85: Once the sentence by the trial court or clarification or otherwise has been notified, as the case may be, and appeal is not made within the legal period, the sentence will be declared as executed on petition by the party or officially ordering in the same decree that the execution may be carried out.

Article 86: The President of the court is empowered to issue settlements and to deliver sentences.

The execution of sentences shall be passed on to the Finance Ministry for its compliance. The respective judge shall proceed as per article 450.

The exemption of a sentence in which a person is absolved for his action, will have the value of settlement. Similarly the certification of sentence or the decision by which the account is approved shall also have the value of settlement.

The certification of sentence having value of settlement shall consist only of the preamble and part of the judgment by which one is absolved and is declared free from the responsibility and in whose favor the settlement is issued, it not being necessary to insert the passages of the same sentence referring to other person responsible for the same action, with respect to whom the verdict upholds the guilt.

If the sentence has been absolving the President shall order the final recording of the judgment: when absolving he will order for provisional recording till such time as it has been complied with.

Once the sentence is complied with, he shall send it again to the sentencing court for declaring solvency and approval of the account, proceeding thereafter to issue the settlement and ordering that the file be permanently recorded.

Once the judgment is recorded, provisionally, or finally, all reasoning, certification, return of documents or other similar requests shall be made to the President alone.

Article 87: The hearing of the case in the first case corresponds to the first judge of the respective court, but the admission and the testimonial evidence shall be done collectively. The interlocatory and final resolutions will be pronounced by the two judges constituting the court.

In case of disagreement whether in determining an objection, or for pronouncing any verdict, which has to be collective, the matter shall be forwarded to the President of the Tribunal, who shall nominate from amongst the judges of the other trial courts one judge who has to represent for settling the disagreement. The dissenting judge will also write his verdict, giving reasons for his vote in continuation of the same.

Article 88: Once the file in the appellate court is received, if the latter considers the appeal to be proper, it shall grant audience, within the third day, to the appellant and against whom the appeal has been made, in that order, for a period of 15 working days to each one, so that they may make use of their right, asking for or contesting damages.

Article 89: The litigant gaining favorable judgment shall be able to adhere to appeal by contesting damages, suffered as a result of the sentence. In such case a new time period shall be granted to the other party for contesting. If the litigant does not adhere to appeal, it will be understood that he has consented to the sentence. However, the court may in its sentence resolve what it considers convenient, as mentioned in article 92.

Article 90: In the appellate court there will be trial opportunity or opening for receiving testimonies of witnesses, when arising from this kind of trial, it had not been placed before the trial court, or when it had been placed, it was rejected or not received for reasons independent of the will of the interested party.

Also the trial opening in the appellate court shall be allowed, when after fresh charge sheets having been issued, oral or testimonial evidence with respect to one or some of the objections become necessary.

Article 91: Any time before final sentence, it may be declared that recourse to appeal is inadmissible even when it is in the process of being formalized.

Article 92: Sentence pronounced by the appellate court may confirm, reform, revoke or widen that of the trial court. The points of litigation must be seen especially, but this will not prohibit from other points not in the litigation also being resolved.

The condemnatory sentence pronounced by the Appellate Court where the sentence of the Trial Court is confirmed, shall contain the appellant sentence or objections, on payment of the costs of the court.

Article 93: The final sentence shall always contain the statement, that its execution had been ascertained, while ordering that the corresponding execution order is issued and sent to Public Ministry, if the latter has to exercise any action for reasons of its own. Nevertheless clarification may be asked for, as established for the trial court and under the same terms.

Article 94: The main file will be returned to the trial court with certification of sentence and of clarifying order or of that order in which the clarification is rejected, as the case may be. The court shall order that the sentence be complied with and forward the file to the President of the Tribunal so that he proceeds in accordance with Article 86.

Article 95: With respect to nullity committed in the trial Court, alleged in the Appellate or noted by the Court, it will be subject to rules on the matter contained in the Civil Procedure Code which are applicable, with the exception that all terms or periods mentioned in it, shall be doubled, without prejudice to conceding the term of the distance.

Article 96: The hearing corresponds to the President of the Court or one of the Magistrates of the same, in the form suggested by this law. The admission of witnesses and all interim or definite orders correspond to the Court.

In case of disagreement between the magistrates of the Appellate court, one of the alternative magistrates shall be called so that he may chair it. If the called magistrate votes in favor of the opinion of the dissenting magistrate, another additional magistrate will be called. Three unanimous votes must agree so that there is a resolution. The dissenting magistrate/s whose opinion has not prevailed, will sign the resolution, mentioning the reason for his voting in continuation of the same.

Article 97: The desertion of the Appellate court shall have effects against the appellant in the cases where damages have not been mentioned within the period considered for it.

Both for desertion and for hostility, the court will proceed generally as per common law, it being understood that in this matter the periods established in the civil procedure code will not be taken into account but those which this law indicates so that the parties make use of their right, as the case may be.

The hostilities may be declared officially. The waiving of a right in the court shall be accepted and is regulated by common rules.

Article 98: Once the appeal is rejected by the respective trial court, while it should have been admitted, the appellant may appear before the appellate court within eight working days following the rejection notification.

Article 99: The appellate court, in view of the appeal, shall order the remission of the orders, except when from the simple reading of the petition the inadmissibility of the appeal appears or the objection actually may have been presented extemporaneously.

Article 100: If the rejection of the appeal has been a fact, the court will deliver judgement within 24 hours and if it is false it will be enough to inform the appellant.

Article 101: Even if the orders are once received, if the objection appears improper, the appellate court shall resolve immediately that the trial should be transferred to the trial court so that the latter carries out its rulings for which certification will be issued.

Article 102: If the appellate court observes that the appeal has been rejected unduly, it shall order that the orders be sent to the Secretary for hearing the appeal and proper summons are issued so that the parties appear to defend their right. Nevertheless, the right to resolve anything convenient anytime remains open, as expressed in article 91 of the previous section.

Article 103: The final sentences pronounced in the trial of accounts, including the verdict of solvency referred to in article 73 and final paragraph of article 78 may be object of review;

1) When in the decision there has been an error of calculation of name of post or of period of functioning:

2) When after the decision has been conveyed the interested party has obtained new document which in an evidential and legitimate manner dispel the objections, provided this is expressed in a clear and satisfactory way, in the judgment of the authority which is hearing the review, the reason for which such documents were not presented before.

3) When it is discovered after the sentence is delivered, that it was based on false declared documents:

4) When 2 or more persons have been sentenced by virtue of contradictory sentences for the same amount or for the same cause, which could not have been legitimately restored except in one single account.

5) When by examination of the other account it is found that it has been the object of final decision, transcendental errors, omissions of charges, double entries or false applications of public funds.

6) When the sentence has been established on the basis of trial and error method, the account respondent may present later the complete account which he was obliged to submit or legally admissible bills of parts of the same which were conjectural.

Article 104: The review shall be initiated officially or on petition of an interested party, or on petition of the Public Ministry and the appellate court of the Tribunal of accounts shall hear it.

Article 105: The petition shall be placed before the appellate court. In view of the same or officially, as the case may be, the provisional suspension of the execution of the sentence shall be ordered (if it was still necessary) or the dispatch of the execution order shall be stopped if it has not been done so far.

Once the application is received and the previous clause has been provided for, both the parties including the Finance Ministry will be heard for eight days, so that they may comment whatever they think convenient and on the basis of whatever they say, or, in default the case will be dealt with as per the following articles.

Article 106: In the cases of No.1, 2, and 3 of Article 103, the court shall rectify the erroneous calculation, examine the documents presented and their admissibility or recognize that the sentence shall be modified by virtue of the falsehood proved in the documents.

Moreover, it will modify the sentences as required in relation to the reviewed part only. Having done the declaration and modification, certification will be issued by the President of the Tribunal, and this will be added to the corresponding execution order, which will be thus modified or confirmed as the case may be. Adding of such certification to the execution order brings to an end the suspension referred to in article 105.

Article 107: In the case observed in number 4) of article 103 the court shall declare if there exists or not the contradiction to which the said number refers. If so it will annul the sentences in contradictory parts and will transfer the trial to the same trial court so that it proceeds with the part in which the contradictions are there as in the no contradicted part there will not be any new knowledge. The trials accumulated will be resolved in one single sentence.

If in the suspended sentences, there is a non-reviewed part, certification of sentence of review will be added to each one of them, so that the execution relating to the part in force is carried out. If there is no part, it will be thus certified so that if the execution is carried out it is annulled totally.

The new execution order resulting from the accumulated trials as a consequence of the review shall be complied independently of the execution orders initially issued.

Article 108: In the case No. 5) of article 103 the court or the functionary discovering the error, omission etc. will inform the appellate court, which will continue with the proceeding as per article 105 with whom they were part or should have been in the trial under review, and the same shall hold for the Finance Ministry. Once the error, omission etc. are determined, and the motive of objection estimated, it will be forwarded to the trial court to which the knowledge of the account deemed for objection corresponded, so that the respective trial relating to the new objection against the person who may be held responsible may begin.

Article 109: In the case of No. 6) of article 103 the court shall assess if the accounts or documents present are admissible for review: if they are found admissible the court will annul the sentence so far as it is based on the trial and error method and will place for trial, accounts and documents to the President of the so that the latter orders administrative or jurisdictional auditing if it is pertinent, as if the account or part thereof had been presented on time.

Article 110: The assessments of accounts or documents done by the appellate court, and partial or total annulment of the sentence decreed, in the cases of articles 107 and 109, shall have the only purpose of the admission of review and in no way it will signify any pronouncement on the legitimacy of those cases or their admissibility in the new trial of accounts.

Article 111: In the cases in which the review is pronounced in favor of the person objected to, when the initial sentence was complied with, the acts will remain firm in virtue of the execution or compliance, but the Treasury will return to the aggrieved or aggrieved persons amount which it received unduly, without recognizing any other amount as indemnity, costs or incidentals.

Article 112: The review may be initiated within 2 years following the sentence caused by the execution order but for whose effect such period will be counted from the following day on which it was served.

TITLE IV
ONLY CHAPTER
GENERAL AND TEMPORARY PROVISIONS

Article 113: When in this law, procedures for dealing with matters which are in the court of account are not established, it will be as per the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code, in so far as it is compatible with the nature and object of the trial of accounts.

Article 114: Any important sentence pronounced in the trial court and against which no appeal has been made shall be referred for consultation of the appellate court. The sentences pronounced in the review petition shall be considered of importance, the ones which have been pronounced basing on the evidence as per article 68 and determined by the appellate court, by general or special provision.

The special provision to which the previous clause refers, must be dictated before the expiry of the appeal period. Once the appellate court receives the file, it may order the practice of inquiry which it may consider appropriate, with summons to the parties, who may present the allegations they want, but not make petitions so that inquiries are done.

The court not having ordered any judicial formality, or carried out the decreed ones, shall proceed to pronounce the sentence as mentioned in the articles 92 and 93.

Article 115: Neither books nor lawsuits, original papers can be taken out from the archives while the Tribunal is hearing the case, but they may be seen by the parties, to whom the certified copies will be given on demand as per law.

When hearing or notification is ordered, the documents will be available in the Secretariat at the disposition of the parties, for documenting and presenting their answers, reports or allegations. The Public Ministry is exempted from this provision who may take out matters under notification.

When the civil procedure code, on which it is applicable, mentions notification it will be understood that this will be carried out conforming to what is mentioned in the previous paragraph.

Article 116: The trials of accounts will be carried out in simple paper, the certifications which are to be issued to the parties interested in dispelling objections will be issued also in common paper by all offices and without fees, mentioning in the same the purpose for which it is issued. In any case these documents will not be valid for other than this type of cases.

The certifications of items of the civil register remain exempted from this rule as well as the testimonies of writs, original documents and certifications of all or part of the same trial. But the first closing report will be extended in common paper and also the executable sentences.

The public offices from which any interested parties asks for a document or certification for the same purpose, will have the obligation of issuing them as soon as possible. They have the same obligations when the said proof or certifications are sought by the functionaries of the Tribunal.

Article 117: Inspection of accounts of the customs warehouse and similar places which for its nature cannot be done in the very office of the Tribunal, will be carried out by the judges and inspectors at the corresponding locations.

Article 118: Both the trial court and the appellate court, may ask for opinion in relation to the trials they are hearing, from one or more lawyers or public accountants designated to this effect by the same consulting court, sending over to them the bills and other papers which they have to consult. Also, the President of the Tribunal, in matters of administrative character, may consult as mentioned.

The trial courts may not use this power without the acquiescence of the President of the Tribunal to authorize payment of honorarium when the occasion arises.

These shall be conventional ones and the opinions are not binding on the President nor on the consulting courts, nor do they exempt them from responsibility.

Article 119: The settlements which are pronounced by virtue of the provisions of article 73 without preceding objections, shall be noted in the same account where it is more appropriate. When it is not possible to note it in the account, it shall be done in a special book of settlements to be maintained for the purpose.

Article 120: In the journal of the Tribunal, resolutions, verdicts or important reports of administrative and jurisdictional order shall be published. Sentences which give rise to consultation and the ones pronounced in this appeal or review shall be specially published. Reports which may reveal military secrets shall not be published.

Article 121: The Tribunal of accounts, while discharging its administrative functions, shall resolve the consultations which are made relating to the management of the funds and assets subject to vigilance, through administrative departments. When the manager proceeds according to opinion given in the consultancy, he shall not be responsible for the objection which may arise, if the functionaries in charge of the inspection do not support the same criteria. But this shall not apply when there is a clear violation of express provisions without prejudice to that mentioned in article 24, final part.

Article 122: For application and compliance of the present law and its rule, the president of the Tribunal, his group of employees and assistants and the persons on whom the President delegates specially in writing the power of making investigations, shall have the same authority and shall enjoy the same protection as the police authorities as far as compatible with this Law, being responsible legally for the infringements committed.

Article 123: All persons exercising functions of control according to this law may require help of any other person for carrying out investigations, detentions, or apprehensions which they may do in exercise of their authority. The protection of law shall extend to all who cooperate with the action of the said person or act under his orders.

All persons required herein shall be obliged to render help for the purpose indicated in this article, except in the case of being incapacitated or having any legal reason for not doing so.

Article 124: The persons carrying out investigations on behalf of the Tribunal of Accounts shall disclose their identity as employees or delegates of the same Tribunal, if need be, and if their powers originate from special written order they shall exhibit it.

Article 125: For carrying out inspections and checking in the offices of the Public Administration, as well as for any other purpose of technical nature, the President of the Tribunal may avail of, on purely contractual basis, services of public accountants not belonging to the personnel under his office.

Article 126: All personnel of the Tribunal of Accounts are under obligation of maintaining secrecy in any matter dealt with by them. Lapses in this respect shall be sanctioned by the President: moreover, serious lapses shall be brought to the knowledge of the Public Ministry.

Article 127: Naming of personnel of the Tribunal in the law of salaries, shall not prohibit the President from indicating to each one, in administrative matter, his functions and his work as per demand of compliance of the law and proper functioning of the service.

Article 128: Fines imposed as per this law, shall be carried out by deducting them from the salary of the employee or from any other sum the Treasury may owe to him. If not the guarantor shall be responsible for payment of the fine. In case of remission, the President of the Tribunal shall ask for it immediately from the authority from which the employee’s nomination has come, so that it can make his replacement, suspending him provisionally.

Article 129: All employees or functionaries who manage funds or assets or are in charge of calculating or settling taxes, fees etc. when subjected to the jurisdiction of the Tribunal of Accounts, shall have to provide guarantee for their functioning, in some form approved by the law.

In cases where there is no legal provision determining the amount of security or guarantee which a public manager of funds has to deposit, it is determined by the President of the Tribunal, who, for doing it, shall take into consideration the amount managed, measures of control to which they are subjected, possible risks and all other circumstances relevant in the matter.

Article 130: The Tribunal of accounts shall not allow any nomination for an employee who has to manage public funds or assets, without the nominated persons having submitted previously the guarantee mentioned in the previous article.

The Heads of service or functionaries who are legally empowered shall not give possession of the power of management to any employee, till such time as they have not received the corresponding notice from the Tribunal that the same has been done as per its satisfaction.

The functionary infringing the above shall respond financially for all financial damage caused to the State or to the nominated employee.

Article 131: No contract of loan nor title or any proof of public debt or other debt guaranteed by the Government shall be valid without the signature and stamp of the President of the Tribunal. The presence of his signature in such documents will have the only purpose of giving authenticity to the contract or title for its payments later and it will be a duty of the said functionary to sign for its validity, all contracts of loan legally finalized and all public debt titles issued as per law.

Article 132: The President of the Tribunal shall be empowered to destroy, either through incineration or through any adequate means, all documents or registers which do not have any practical utility provided all the requisites mentioned in letter a) of article 44 of this law have been complied with.

Similarly, the same functionary, as per his prudent decision, shall be able to take out end pages not utilized from the books or registers submitted by the respondent and rebind the used pages in one or several volumes, as per convenience.

Proposals of incineration or destruction and elimination of unused pages shall be made to the President by the employee in charge of the archives, with reports of the respective Head of the department or section, or of the Secretariat, as the case may be.

The President shall send each application to the Public Ministry for a period of five days so that it may give its observations, providing them with the copy of the application; and once this period is over it shall indicate the day and time for verifying the document. This resolution shall be notified to the Public Ministry and the action ordered shall be verified with the help of the Head of Archives, a representative of the President of the Tribunal, Head of Department or Section or Secretary as the case may be and the representative of the Public Ministry if so desired.

Everything shall be minuted in a document, which to this effect shall be prepared with the number of copies necessary, and shall be signed by all persons present and shall contain data pertinent to the documents, which are the objects of the operation.

Article 133: When it is intended to reform the present law by the initiative of the President of the Republic through the corresponding Ministry, the respective project shall be brought to the notice of the Presidents office of the Tribunal of Accounts on the same date when it is presented to the Legislative Assembly so that the Tribunal, if necessary, may raise within the next 8 days its observations on the same directly with the Assembly.

Article 134: The trials which are currently proceeding in any of the two courts while this law comes into force, shall follow the proceedings mentioned in it adjusting itself to the same as far as possible. In those trials where testimonial evidence is proposed, it shall be admitted in the trial court as per rules established by this law. If this trial is in the Appellate Tribunal, it shall qualify if the presentation of evidence is required and if so it will be admitted even when not proposed in the trial court.

Article 135: The trials which, on this law coming into force, may be in process in the court of fixed under the jurisdiction of the judges of accounts shall be brought to the notice of the trial court, in conformity with the indication given by the President of the Court in each one of them.

Article 136: The provisions of this law which are subjected to the rules or those which have to be developed within these, shall be applied although they may not have been decreed yet. Efforts shall be made, for the same effect, to follow the spirit of the law till such time as such rules are not decreed, while trying that these are prepared before six months.

Article 137: The first term of the President and Magistrates of the Court shall come to an end on the 15^th of April, 1942.

From the Audit Law only the provisions which are cited in continuation shall remain in force provided they are not incompatible with the present law:

Clauses 4, 5, and 6 of the article 1, article 16, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, and 42: Clauses 1,5, and 6 of the article 44: and article 71.

Article 139: The Court shall substitute the Office of the Auditor General of the Republic and the Supreme Tribunal of Accounts, assuming those functions corresponding to them presently, which do not stand repealed.

The President of the Court shall assume the functions which owing to laws different from the organic laws of those institutions, corresponding presently to the Auditor General and to the President of the Supreme Accounts Tribunal and also the functions which the clauses mentioned in article 138 of this law confer upon the Auditor.

EL SALVADOR

EL SALVADOR

POLITICAL CONSTITUTION

ORGANIC LAW OF THE TRIBUNAL OF ACCOUNTS

TITLE 1 About objectives, powers and organization of the Tribunal

TITLE II About Preventive Auditing

TITLE III About Post Facto Auditing

TITLE IV ONLY CHAPTER GENERAL AND TEMPORARY PROVISIONS

TITLE 1
About objectives, powers and organization of the Tribunal

TITLE II
About Preventive Auditing

TITLE III
About Post Facto Auditing

TITLE IV
ONLY CHAPTER
GENERAL AND TEMPORARY PROVISIONS