HAITI

LAW ON THE "COUR SUPERIEURE DES COMPTES"

CHAPTER I
THE ORGANIZATION OF THE COUR SUPERIEURE DES COMPTES

"La Cour Superieure des Comptes", Body instituted by Article 146 of the Constitution, is composed of five counsellors appointed by Order of the President of the Republic.

These counsellors will swear the following oath:

"I pledge in my honour to conscientiously fulfill my duties, to be loyal to the Republic, to execute the Constitution and the Laws abiding by the regulations promulgated by the Constitution."

La Cour Superieure des Comptes is an autonomous body of which jurisdiction embraces the State operations which are financial in nature, activities of funds of the treasury, the management of State enterprises which are financial, commercial or industrial in nature.

La Cour Superieure des Comptes exercises its control over the Accounting offices of all the Ministerial Departments. It submits, each year, at the end of each session of the Legislative Body, an analysis of the General Accounts of the Nation, accompanied by observations on the management of the accounts of public collection and on their responsibility as organizers and liquidators of public expenditures.

To accomplish its functions as auditor of the General Accounts of the Nation, the Cour should acknowledge the following sections:

(a) the Section of Inspection of Finances;

(b) the Section of Control of Financial Institutions;

(c) the Section of Administrative Actions.

CHAPTER II
SOME AIMS OF THE COUR SUPERIEURE DES COMPTES

La Cour Superieure de Comptes mission is to operate the control of the use of funds coming from the collection of taxes, operations of sale of goods or of services of Public Institutions, financial, commercial or industrial in nature.

It participates in the development of Laws and Orders on banking and fiscal matters.

La Cour Superieure des Comptes rules on the conflict which arise on the occasion of administrative decisions of fiscal matter, on the occasion of the application of the Law or of the disposition of the Law concerning the General and Local Administration. It also comes to a decision on the appeals presented by private individuals or the societies, for excess of power. It also is judge of the execution of contracts which link the State and the third parties.

CHAPTER III
SOME JURISDICTIONS OF THE COUR SUPERIEURE DES COMPTES AND SOME FUNCTIONS OF SOME SECTIONS

La Cour Superieure des Comptes has a general accountancy of the Hatien State. It exercises the general supervision of the collections of the treasury, Accountants of Ministerial Departments, State Firms which are commercial, financial or industrial by nature; without being detrimental to constitutional prerogatives of the Secretaries of State who only have to account for their management to the Legislature Branches.

The Accounts of public collection in receipts and expenditures are taken to provide the Cour Superieure des Comptes their accounts for each month of the fiscal exercise on a time limit of 10 days from the last day of the past month. In case of non-justifiable error or tardiness, the Cour Superieure des Comptes recommends the administrative sanctions to take to the State Secretary.

On the recommendation of the Cour Superieure des Comptes passed by the State Secretary of Finances, the Council of State Secretaries delivers the receipts for all the accounts of public collection other than the Secretaries and the Assistant-Secretaries of State and orders withdrawal of partial or total radiation of the opposition or hypothecary inscriptions taken on their goods.

CHAPTER IV
THE INSPECTION OF FINANCE OFFICES AND ITS JURISDICTIONS

La Cour Superieure des Comptes collaborates with the Department of Finances and the Budget Office on the Assessment of ways and means on the preparation of the General Budget of the Republic, to submit to the proceedings of the Council of State Secretaries. It prepares a trimestral relationship and an annual relationship of the evaluation of fiscal and non-fiscal receipts and the effects of the budgetary expenditures in the present circumstances.

The General Inspection of the Finance Offices jointly functions with the Department of Finances controlling the engagements of expenses in rigid collaboration with the responsible officers of the Ministerial Departments and of public establishment, by the delegated Accountants.

The delegated accountants are responsible for the accountancy of the expenses. This Accountancy is taken by Chapter and by article. It is concerned with the rise and the imputation of expenses on open credits by the Budget and the supplementary and extra-credits.

(1) the rise of the first credit and the successive modifications which are brought to the office.

(2) the rise of expense activities, successive increases and the rise of admitted payment by the interested department.

They will be registered in the office, in this Accounts Office at the start of its practice:

(1) The assessed rise of expenditures for the whole year which results directly without the intervention of an administrative decision, but the application of legal dispositions or regulations.

(2) The rise of committed expenditures in virtue of earlier decisions and which reproduce themselves while a new decision is not made to modify them.

The delegated Accountants will transmit the relative information of activities in view of the preparation made by the Central Bureau presenting a monthly Analytical Table of Activities and available scales.

The delegated Accountants will examine if the documents accompanying the regulations and the statements represent current market prices the equivalence of goods and acquired supplies or of accomplished work following the norms of the market.

The General Inspection takes a general accountancy of the accounts of the Treasury, prepares the general accounts of the Republic, controls the emission and the burning of bills of the National Bank of the Republic of 14 aid, postage stamps, stamped documents, tax stamps and all other stamps. It controls the printing of Lottery Bills of the Hatien State and examine the claims against vacant estates.

It compiles and coordinates the accounts of all the Departments, Services and Bodies and the Society wherein the State has a financial participation.

It centralizes, analyzes, and classifies the general inventory of the goods of the State. It carries out all financial and physical inventory of all the goods and transferable shares of the State and conducts undispensable appraisal before sales.

It controls and prepares lists of drawing lots and tables for the "Emprunt Interieur" (public loan).

The Inspection exercises next the Enterprises of the State, a control of receipts and expenditures, taking the nature and the activity of the Enterprise.

Towards this end, it delegates one or more inspectors to control the registered entries of account operations; these inspectors analyze the result and examine if it reflects the asset and liabilities of the Enterprise.

These inspectors survey as well, the posting of activities of expense of the enterprises.

They are in charge of the certification of the accuracy of the documents referring to the accounts.

They establish connections with the interested Minister, with the Minister of Finance and with a civil servant directing the indicated Enterprise, without delay, negligence, and irregularity susceptible to compromise with the interests of the State.

CHAPTER V
FROM THE SECTION OF CONTROL OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND ITS JURISDICTIONS

This section controls the operations of the State Bank as well as the other financial institutions of the Republic.

The Assets and the Liabilities of these Institutions as well as their Records will be inspected two times a year, in February and in September; a third inspection may occur without notice.

A written report will be made after each inspection and a copy will be transmitted to the Director's Office or to the Council of Administration of the inspected establishment. The report will compose of an analysis of liquidity and the solvency of the Institution, of the Result, of the Accounts of Loss and Profits and of the intervening modifications in the capital (main branch).

This report will show all irregularities with the appropriate recommendations.

This section could ask for the aid of foreign experts for the verification of the result of the annual operations and the report shall be signed jointly.

CHAPTER VI
MEANS OF ACTION REGARDING THE CONTROL OF ACCOUNTS

The setting of scores of the Cour will bear the name of the administrators and they will set-up the responsibility of the civil servants, in charge of the operation or the handling of the public collection or of the management of the Enterprises of the State.

They are passed to the "Chambre des Conscil" on the report of an Auditor.

When the control depicts some errors, misappropriation of public funds, embezzlements or corrupt practices, the Cour will pass a judgment and a report to the Chamber of Deputies or to the Judge of Instruction and to the Government Commissioner for the pursuit of authors, before the-final jurisdiction.

This report will be accompanied by all the documents of the transaction.

In the case where an Accountant thinks he is justified to attack an order for violation of the norms of the law or for the insufficiency of documents, he will present his petition to the Section of Administrative Actions in conformity with the procedure established by the Decree.

While discharge is carried out, withdrawal and radiation of conflicts and hypothecary inscriptions will be ordered.

The Cour may, if necessary, lead an investigation. Towards this end, it forms special Commission whose Powers are determined by the nature.

CHAPTER VII

The Cour presides over the conflicts rising between the State and the private individuals on the occasion of the Establishment and the collection of all taxes, after final decisions of the interested Branch. The Cour, ruling, on its contentious jurisdictions, is the superior authority which gives final judgment.

The appeal of parties before the Cour, of contentious matter, will be introduced by a signed petition of a lawyer duly registered as a member of the Bar of the Republic, this petition will contain the names and the residences of the parties, all documents which could be of use, together with the summary of the facts, the means and the conclusions.

The plaintiff will seize the Cour des Comptes by a petition which will be signified by the other party. This will present the means of defence, whether person or existing or chosen residence during the limit of about eight increased that of the stances. The documents will be filed in the Clerk's office of the Cour des Comptes by-one or the other party during about the eight following increase of limit of distance's between the place where the notifications have been made and the Capitals.

The documents before the Cour Superieure des Comptes will not have a suspensive effect.

The signature of the Lawyer below the petition, whether in question or in defence, would mean the setting up of a constitutional election of residence.

The plaintiff could, within about fifteen days following the presentation of defence, introduce a second petition and the defendant could, also given a time limit of about fifteen days, produce new means of defence. He cannot have more than two petitions on the part of each party, thereby including the introductive petition.

When the judgment is against more than the cited parties, it will be ruled concerning everything by the same decision notwithstanding the error of one or more between them.

The documents against the decision of an authority which concerns the jurisdiction of the Court, will not be allowed after 90 days' counting the date of the, notification of the decision.

The questions are formed by a petition signified the Cour. The Counsellor orders the communication with the interested party.

The questions are joined to the main, so as to be ruled by the same decision.

In the case, wherein the validity of a produced document is challenged, the Counsellor in charge of the affair fixes by a law the time limit during which the party which produces it may study whether or not it shall be of service. If the party is not satisfied with this law or if it declares that it does not find use of this document, this document shall be rejected. If the party makes the declaration that it shall made use of this document, the Cour Superieure des Comptes rules over the decision of an auditor, whether ordering that he will reprieve the decision of the first inslance till after the judgment of fault by the tribunal whether declaring the final decision if this decision does not depend on the argued document of flow.

The sessions of judgment are done in public. After the report of the Counsellor in charge (of the instruction), the lawyers of the parties will present their oral observation and the conclusions are given during each session by an Auditor.

The Cour Superieure des Comptes sits with three counsellors. The first Counsellor establishes the table for each session.

The decision of the Cour shall bear with them.

The dispatching of final decision by the Cour Superieure des Comptes is given by the Secretary General of the Administration to the involved parties.

CHAPTER VIII
ORGANIZATION

The foremost member is the First Counsellor of the Cour Superieure des Comptes.

To be Counsellor of the Cour Superieure des Comptes, one must:

(1) be Hatien and has never given up his Hatien nationality;

(2) never had been condemned by a corporal nor infamous punishment;

(3) be at least 30 years of age;

(4) had undergone special studies of economic, financial and legal background sanctioned by diplomas and to have been active in public administration for at least 5 years.

To be an auditor of the Cour Superieure des Comptes, one must:

(1) be Hatien and has never given up his Hatien nationality;

(2) never had been condemned by a corporal nor infamous punishment;

(3) be at least 25 years of age;

(4) be at least licensed by the Law or have a diploma of the National School of Administration.

To be an Inspector or Accountant, one must:

(1) be Hatien and has never given up his Hatien nationality;

(2) never had been condemned d by a corporal or infamous punishment;

(3) be at least 25 years of age;

(4) to be a possessor (holder) of a diplima of accountancy from a Commercial School, Hatien or a Foreign Institution, or to have an experience of 10 years of financial administration in a public or private firm.

The Cour Superieure des Comptes with the absolute majority of its members, and in conformity to the rules, arranges for its sessions and determines the custom to follow of which the Cour exercises its jurisdictions.

The Personnel are composed of the general Inspectors; the Auditors, the Adjoining Inspectors, the employees, the Clerks and the Ushers (Bailiffs).

A General Secretary is attached to the Cour.

The function of the Cour Superieure des Comptes is incompatible with that of a lawyer.

All Counsellors of the Cour Superieure des Comptes, who, during the exercise of their functions, will not commit a reprehensible act of any sort (by negligence, complicity, etc.) that will be denounced by the Superieure Council of the Magistrate for the application of foreseen sanctions by the law.

The Inspection of the Finances linked with the Department of Finance, remains the Section of the Inspection of Finances of the Cour Superieure des Comptes.

The Present Degree abrogates all Laws or dispositions of law, all Decreed Laws which are against and will be executed by the Secretaries of State of Finance, of Justice, each one on that who concerns it. Given to the National Palace in Port-an-Prince, on the 21st of January 1959, 156th year of the Independence.

By the President

Dr. Frangois Duvalier

Following the Signatures of the Secretaries of State