IRAQ

The First Chapter

(24/1/90)

Tasks of the Diwan

Article 1

First - The Board of Supreme Audit Law which is instituted in accordance with the Article 46 of the Constitution and which is attached to the Revolutionary Command Council carries out the authority of the Board of Supreme Audit over the functions of the bodies stipulated in this law according to the provisions stated therein and is hence forth referred to as the (Board).

Second - The Board has the moral personality, financial and administrative independence to perform all the legal acts required to fulfil its tasks and is represented by its president or whoever he authorises.

Article 2

The Board carries out the following tasks:

First - Controlling and auditing of accounts of the bodies that are subject to the financial control and ascertaining the safe application of the laws, regulations and financial instructions provided that covers :-

(a) Examining and auditing of the public expenditure transactions to ensure that they are appropriate and do not exceed the sums stipulated for them in the Budget and employing the public funds for the purposes specified for them and not having waste or extravagance or malpractice in them and evaluating their returns.

(b) Examining and auditing transactions of the public funds estimation, ascertainment and receipt to ensure the suitability of the procedures adopted and their smooth application.

(c) Expressing opinion about the financial statements and reports relating to the work results and financial situations for the bodies that are subject to the control (Auditee) and stating whether they have been prepared in accordance with the legal requirements and accounting rules and practices accepted and that they reflect truth of the financial position and returns of the investments decided upon and the activity result.

Second - Control and evaluation of performance according to provisions of this Law.

Third - Extending the technical assistance in the fields of accounting and control and that which relates to them in the way of administrative and regulatory affairs.

Fourth - Participation in establishing and developing the rules, practices and standards of accounting and control.

Article 3

First - The Board prepares an annual plan to evaluate performance of the bodies that are subject to its control (Auditee) which the Chairman of the Revolution command council orders to be carried out or those which the board deems necessary to carry out the evaluation process in them, are submitted to the chairman of the Revolution Command Council for approval. For fulfilling that, the Board may:-

(a) Carry out a comprehensive evaluation of the bodies stated in the Annual plan with the intention of ascertaining their efficiency and procedures effectiveness and economy.

(b) Research into the valid financial and administrative laws and regulations for their rules and detailed provisions with the aim of simplifying them and facilitating their implementation and increasing their effectiveness and their application’s efficiency and economy.

(c) Evaluating implementation results of the State’s financial and development plans in the bodies that are subject to the control.

Second - The evaluation process referred in item (First) of this Article in accordance with the rules, practices, indicators and standards acceptable in this field and results of the evaluation are stated in a report containing a detailed statement of the relevant events, evidences and figures supplemented with the Board’s recommendations for improving the effectiveness of the performance in fulfilling the aims and objectives decided and increasing its efficiency and economising in the use of the resources available and it submits the report to the Presidency of the Presidency’s Diwan after discussing it with the body involved.

Article 4

First - Departments of the State and socialist sector that deal with the public finances whether receiving or expending or planning or banking or trading or producing in kind or producing services are subject to the financial control.

Second - The courts, as regards their judicial specialities only, are exempt from the provision of the item (First) of this Article.

Third - The Chairman of the Revolution Command Council may decide to subject any other body not mentioned in the item (First) of this Article to the Board’s control.

The Second Chapter
Division of the Board

Article 5

The Board consists of: -

First - Board of the Supreme Audit referred to as (The Board) wherever stated in this Law.

Second - President of the Board and attached to him: -

(a) Office of President of Board headed by a manager.

(b) The Administration, Legal and Technical Directorate headed by a manager, and it performs: -

1. Preparation and provision of the Administrative, financial and legal services to the Board’s divisions.

2. The technical and professional duties which the controlling work requires and also the task of researching into means of developing the controlling work and increasing its effectiveness and promoting the level of its performance and carrying out implementation of the duties in the Article (3) of this Law in consultation and co-ordination with other departments of the Board.

Third - Board President’s two Deputies - and each one of them will be of a special grade and of the level of a Ministry’s Under Secretary.

Fourth - The audit departments - and each department is headed by a Director General or a first Chartered Accountant and it specialises in a number of the sectorial activities as decided by the Board according to requirements of control work and the departments are: -

(a) The Industrial Activity Department.

(b) The Financing and Distribution Activity Department.

(c) The Agriculture and Development Activity Department.

(d) The Companies Activity Department.

(e) The Central Ruling Department.

(f) The General Services Activity Department.

Fifth - The departments stated in the item (Fourth) of this Article are attached to the Board President’s two deputies in accordance with a decision taken by the Board.

Article 6

First - The Board consists of: -

(a) President of the Board.

(b) The Board President’s two deputies - two members.

(c) Heads of the Board departments - members.

Second - The Board convene at least once every month upon its Chairman’s call and the quorum is constituted when two-thirds are present.

Third - The Board takes its decisions by majority of number of the members present and the minority records its objection to the decision and when the votes are equal the side with which the Chairman voted shall have the casting vote.

Fourth - The Board President may call the head of any body that is subject to the financial control to attend the Board meetings in the affairs relating to his department.

Fifth - A register is kept of the Board’s minutes and the resolutions it passes.

The Third Chapter
The Board’s Specialisation’s and Powers

Article 7

First - The financial control covers examining and auditing the public revenue and expenditure and all the financial obligations whether their planning or receipt or expending and all types of the assets to ascertain accuracy of their evaluation and registration in the proper books and records and to ensure their existence, belonging, efficiency, safe usage, maintenance and safeguarding and examining the documents, contracts, and accounting records and books and the budgets and final accounts and the resolutions and other documents which are related to the financial control duties.

Second - The Board has the right to peruse all the documents and transactions relating to the financial control tasks, whether they were ordinary or confidential except what is exempted in accordance with the Article (8) of this Law and in order to fulfil the control objectives, it may carry out the on-site inventory or its supervision and the right of obtaining all the clarifications and information to perform its duties and replying to all its inquiries from the relevant administrative and technical levels.

Third - The control and auditing duties are performed according to the established principles, practices and standards and generally accepted methods and means.

Article 8

The Chairman of the Revolution Command Council may exempt from the Article (7) of this Law, according to requirements of the security and national defence all or some of the cases or confidential documents relating to Presidency of the President’s Board and departments of Ministry of Defence or any other Ministry or Department and in this case the control over these cases and documents is done by the President of Board or whom he delegates from the Board officials in accordance with an agreement between him and President of the Presidency’s Diwan or the relevant Minister or the body not attached to a Ministry as the case may be.

Article 9

The Board upon approval of the Revolution Command Council Chairman, may decide to: -

First - Perform the prior control over the contracting or some kinds of expending in any body that is subject to the control which it deems the public interest requires performing this type of control in it.

Second - Perform the control to ensure that the grants, loans, facilities and privileges that the State offers are employed for the purposes for which they were given.

Article 10

Upon discovering a financial infringement the Board informs it to the relevant body which is required to take the necessary actions to clear the infringement and its effects.

Article 11

First - For the purposes of this law, a financial infringement is considered to be the following :-

(a) Breaking the financial laws, regulations, instructions and notices.

(b) Negligence or shortcoming which lead to the loss or waste in the finances or damages to the national economy.

(c) Abstention from replying to the Diwan’s letters, objections and comments and also procrastination and unjustified delay in replying during the period fixed by the Diwan.

Second - The bodies that are subject to the Board’s control should inform it of the financial violations (mentioned in the paragraphs (a) and (b) of this Article) that occur in them immediately upon their discovery and without prejudicing whatever suitable actions those bodies must take and it has to inform the Board of results of the investigations into those infringements.

Article 12

The President of the Board may ask the relevant Minister or head of the body not attached to a ministry for the following: -

Firstly - To submit the official responsible for the financial infringement to the competent disciplinary committee or impose the suitable punishment against him.

Secondly - The official ensuring the damages suffered by the department as a result of negligence, or defaulting of the laws or regulations or instructions in the cases in which the investigation is ended by the pertinent department.

Third - To sue for the civil cases relating to the financial infringements and follow them up at the pertinent courts. The Board must provide the relevant body with whatever information it possesses on those infringements.

Fourth - Submit cases of the discovered financial offences to Presidency of the Attorney General to take the legal measures about them.

Article 13

If a disagreement occurs between the Board and one of the bodies that are subject to the control and it was not directly settled between them, the president of the Board may submit it to the President of the Revolution Command Council.

Article 14

The Board specialises in the following tasks: -

First - Adopting plans of work in the Board.

Second - Establishing bases of the work in the Board and methods of implementing them.

Third - Providing the basic requirements which the control and auditing duties necessitate.

Fourth - Stipulating the area of work of the Board’s departments and Directorates and their organisation rules.

Fifth - Adopting draft of the Board’s Annual budget which President of the Board prepares according to the general directives of the State and sends it to the Ministry of Finance for incorporation into the Draft General Budget of the State.

Sixth - Adopting the general outline of the Board reports.

Seven - Discussing and adopting the comments, recommendations, proposals and opinions contained in the Board reports prior to issuing them and for that it may authorise any one of its members or the Board officials a part of this speciality.

Eighth - Organising applied study courses for the officials and non-officials and the Board may grant their participants the allowances it decides.

Ninth - Studying all such cases that are submitted to it by president of the Board and taking the decisions and recommendations about them.

Article 15

First - The Board submits an annual report to the Chairman of the Revolution Command Council in which it includes the opinions and comments relating to the financial, administrative and economical conditions in the field of financial control and the Revolution Command Council Chairman may submit the whole report or a part of it to the National Assembly.

Second - President of the Board may submit a report to Chairman of the Revolution Command Council in every important affair in the field of control and the evaluation of financial, administrative and economical performance and he may, upon the Revolution Command Council Chairman’s approval, publish that which he deems beneficial to publish.

Article 16

First - The Board may grant the its officials the following allowances: -

(a) Control allowances not exceeding fifty per cent of the official’s salary.

(b) Transportation, risks and special duties none of which exceeds thirty per cent of the official’s salary and is not less that fifteen Dinars a month.

Second - The allowances mentioned in the item (First) of this Article are granted according to instructions which the Board issues and are exempt from the State Officials Allowances Law.

Third - The Board may grant seniority not exceeding one year in every grade for purposes of the increment and promotion to those officials of the Board who excel in high efficiency or exert extraordinary efforts in accordance with instructions that it adopts for this purpose.

Article 17

When necessary, the Board’s President may and in the manner that he decides, enlist State officials and experts in the work of control and he may grant them rewards or fees in return for services they perform.

The Fourth Chapter
The Service in the Board

Article 18

The Board applies, the Civil Service Law, the Manpower Establishment Law and the State official Disciplinary Law, as regards selection of its officials, their appointment, promotion and discipline.

Article 19

First - The President of the Board is the supreme head of the Board and is at the level of minister and is eligible to all the rights and privileges enjoyed by a minister and has the affairs, manpower establishment and budget.

Second - The President of the Board is appointed by a Republican decree for five years and is renewable once.

Third - The one who is appointed President of the Board has to be: -

(a) An Iraqi by birth and of Iraqi parents by birth and of a non-foreign origin.

(b) Holder of at least a university’s first degree in the specialisation’s directly related to the Board’s duties.

(c) Has actual service and experience in the public service for a period not less than twenty years after his graduation.

Fourth - Of his two deputies, the senior one acts for President of the Board during his absence and if their seniority was equal, the Board’s President would select one of the two to deputise for him.

Article 20

The President of the Board, his two deputies, heads of the departments and those performing the control and auditing give full devotion to duties of their functions and none of them may practise any profession or any other work even though that may by outside the official working hours with the exception of publishing his books or delivering lectures.

Article 21

First - It is not permitted to take legal measures against President of the Board as regards his official duties in performing the control and audit tasks except after obtaining permission from Chairman of the Revolution Command Council.

Article 22

The one to be appointed a deputy to Board’s President or a head of department in the Board has to be: -

First - The Holder of a university’s first degree in the specialisation’s relating to duties of the control.

Second- Has actual service and experience in a position relevant to the control duties for a period not less than eighteen years for the two deputies of the president and fifteen years as regards the heads of departments after their graduation from the college.

The Fifth Chapter
General and Concluding Provisions

Article 23

First - The Board departments divisions and duties and specialities are fixed in an internal regulation which the Board issues and is published in the Official Gazette.

Second - Upon the Board’s approval the President of Board may issue instructions to facilitate implementation of this Law.

Article 24

The Board of Supreme Audit Law No. (149) for the year 1980 is cancelled and the work is continued with the instructions issued thereto until the issue of such instructions that replace them.

Article 25

This Law shall come into force from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.