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ARTICLE 69 (new) - The Council of State is made up of two bodies:
1) The Administrative Tribunal;
2) The Audit Office;
The composition and the powers of the Council of State as well as the procedure applicable before it are fixed by law.
Law no. 68-8 of 8 March 1968, concerning the organisation of the Audit Office such as it has been modified and supplemented by law no. 70-17 of 20 April 1970 and by organic law no. 90-82 of 29 October 1990.
In the name of the people,
We, Habib Bourguiba, President of the Tunisian Republic, the National Assembly having adopted it;
Promulgate the law whose contents are as follows:
CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL CLAUSES
ARTICLE ONE - The Council of State is made up of :
- the Administrative Tribunal;
- the Audit Office.
ARTICLE 2. - The President of the Republic is the President of the Council of State. The Prime Minister is its Vice President. The Council of State is attached for administrative purposes to the Prime Minister.
CHAPTER II
ABOUT THE AUDIT OFFICE
ARTICLE 3. - The Audit Office has the power to examine the accounts and the management
1) of the State, of the local public authorities, of the Public establishments whose budget is linked for orders to the general budget of the State.
2) of the Public establishments of an industrial and commercial nature as well as of all bodies whatever be their appellation in whose capital the State, the Regions and the districts hold a share.
ARTICLE 4 (new) - The Audit Office is, with regard to the State, the local public authorities and the Administrative public establishments, the supreme audit institution with relation to their finances. It avails for this purpose of a power of jurisdiction and a power of audit.
The Audit Office;
1) judges in the first and last resort the accounts of public accountants. A decree will define the public accountants whose accounts are compulsorily subjected to the jurisdiction of the Office.
Nevertheless, the accounts of the local authorities and public establishments may be checked by the higher administrative authority except in the event of an appeal to the Office by the interested parties or the right of evocation on the initiative of the Office.
2) carries out a task of general surveillance on those who manage public finances.
ARTICLE 4a (new). - Any person who, without legal authorisation, may have taken upon himself the task of handling public money is, by this fact alone considered as an accountant.
De facto managements are subjected to the same judges and entail the same responsibility as recognized managements.
The Office can subject de facto managers to a fine of 50 to 500 dinars.
ARTICLE 5 (new). - With regard to the Public enterprises and bodies in which the State, Governerships or the Communes hold directly or indirectly a share in their capital, the Audit Office is given the responsibility of examining their accounts and their economic and financial management.
A decree will fix the list of the enterprises whose management is compulsorily subjected to examination by the Office.
However, it may be put in charge of examining the management of other enterprises.
ARTICLE 6 (new). - The Audit Office evaluates the results of the economic or financial aid that the States, Governorships or Communes grant in any form whatsoever to private enterprises, particularly in the form of tax exemptions, guarantees, monopolies, protective customs tariffs or subsidies.
A decree will fix the modalities for application of the above provisions.
ARTICLE 7. - The Audit Office has to detect any irregularity or infraction, order the necessary remedial measures, evaluate the methods of management and formulate the reforms to be introduced.
ARTICLE 8 (new). - The Audit Office is made up of:
- the President of the Audit Office;
- Presidents of Chambers;
- Presidents of Sections;
- Advisers;
- Deputy Advisers.
ARTICLE 9 (new). - The Audit Office is made up of the following six Chambers:
1. The State Treasury and Accounts Chamber
2. The State Services Chamber
3. The local public authorities Chamber
4. The Chamber of Public administrative establishments and related bodies
5. The Chamber of Organisations benefiting from State participation in the Agriculture and Industry sectors
6. The Chamber of Organisations benefiting from State participation in the Finance and Services sector.
Each Chamber of the Audit Office is made up of two or three sections depending on the extent of the duties assigned to it.
ARTICLE 10 (new). - The President of the Audit Office is in charge of the general management of the services and the coordination between the different wings of the Office.
In the event of an unexpected absence of the President of the Audit Office, his functions are performed provisionally by the seniormost among the Presidents of Chambers.
ARTICLE 11 (new). - The plenary assembly of the Audit Office is made up of:
- the President of the Audit Office;
- the Presidents of the Chambers;
- the Presidents of the Sections;
- Advisers.
- The Secretary General of the Audit Office serves as its rapporteur.
- The Prosecutor General of Government attached to the Audit Office and the government prosecutors can attend the meetings of the plenary assembly.
ARTICLE 12 (new). - The functions of prosecution concerning the Audit Office are conducted by the Prosecutor General of the government with the assistance of three government prosecutors.
In the event of an unavoidable absence of the Prosecutor General of government, his functions are carried out provisionally by the seniormost among the government prosecutors.
The Department of the State Prosecutor in the Audit Office is entrusted with maintaining relations between the Office, on the one hand, and the organisations and institutions subjected to its jurisdiction, its audit or its evaluation, on the other hand.
The Department of the State Prosecutor must notably:
- ensure the regular production of accounts;
- present, if required, conclusions concerning the matters presented for examination to the Audit Office;
- pursue on behalf of the State the appeals against the decisions pronounced by the Audit Office;
- point out for attention of the administrative authorities the irregularities discovered during audit;
- notify to the administrative authorities and to the accountants the judgements pronounced and carry out the correspondence in view of their execution;
- inform the representatives of the State prosecution in the common law courts about all the facts that it is in the jurisdiction of these courts to examine for penalization, subject to the provisions of article 26 (d) of the present organic law.
ARTICLE 12a. - The Prosecutor General of the State and the government prosecutors are heard by the President of the Office, the plenary assembly, the Chambers or the sections each time that they make a request to this end.
ARTICLE 13. - The Audit Office judges and audits a posteriori.
It exercises its powers on the basis of documents and on the spot.
1) About jurisdictional audit
ARTICLE 14. - Every government accountant subject to the jurisdiction of the Audit Office is bound to furnish and to submit his accounts to the record office of the Office, within the prescribed time limits.
A decree will fix the time limits and forms in which the accounts of the different government accountants are to be presented.
ARTICLE 15 (new). - The Audit Office balances and audits the accounts that are submitted to it; it establishes, through final decisions, if the accountants are quits, in advance or have a debit balance.
In the first two cases, it will pronounce their final clearance, in the third case, it will order them to pay up the debit into the Treasury within the time limits prescribed by law, unless there is a remission of the debit by decree.
In all the cases, a communication on its decisions is sent to the Ministry of Finance so that it follows up their implementation.
ARTICLE 16. - The Office, not withstanding the final judgement of an account, may proceed to revise it, either at the request of the accountant, on the basis of documents in support collected after the judgement, or on the initiative of the Office or of the Prosecutor General of the State, following an error, omission, forgery or duplication.
In that case the President of the Office can order a stay to the execution of the judgement which is the subject of a request for revision.
ARTICLE 17 (new). - If during the examination of the accounts, the Office notes any infractions considered as a crime or a violation of the law, this matter is referred to the representative of the competent State prosecution so that those who have committed these may be brought to justice before the competent tribunals.
ARTICLE 18. - Subject to the provisions of the 2nd paragraph of article 16 of the present law, the decisions of the Audit Office are binding.
They involve, in the event of a debit balance, the general privilege of the Treasury on the possessions of the accountants. Their implementation is carried out by the State litigation department.
In the event that an accountant believes himself justified in attacking a judgement of the Audit Office for violation of the form or of the law, he can make an appeal within three months of the notification of the judgement, to the plenary assembly of the Audit Office.
For the same reasons and within the same time limits, each Secretary of State, as regards his department and the organisations that are attached to it, may through the medium of the Prosecutor General of the government, put in a request for appeal to the plenary assembly of the Audit Office.
ARTICLE 19. - The Office can in no case assign to itself any jurisdiction over persons authorized to pass accounts, nor contest payments made by accountants on sanctions made in accordance with the prescribed formalities and accompanied by receipts from the recipients.
ARTICLE 20. - At periods determined by decree, those authorized to pass the accounts of public expenses transmit to the Audit Office the statement of the expenses undertaken; these statements will indicate, by budgetary imputation, the amount of credits opened, the amounts sanctioned and, depending on the case, the credits that remain available or on the contrary the excess expenses with, in this event, the indication of the order authorizing the same.
The other documents concerning the preparation and conduct of the undertaking and the liquidation of the expenses are preserved by the persons authorized to pass accounts and kept by them at the disposal of the Audit Office. The latter can obtain a copy of those documents that it considers necessary for conducting its audit and eventually take cognizance of these on the spot.
ARTICLE 21. - With the exception of orders of a secret nature concerning National Defence, External Affairs, Internal or External Security of the State, as well as all special budgetary allocations, the Audit Office is empowered to have communicated to it every document, whatever be its nature, concerning the management of public moneys. It has the power to question every government official, every manager of public funds or member of the audit bodies. It can take recourse to the assistance of experts appointed by itself.
ARTICLE 22. - With regard to the organisations designated in para 2 of article 3 and article 6 of the present law, the Audit Office has every power to evaluate their management.
It receives for this purpose their budgets, statements of account, working accounts, profit and loss accounts and all accounting and extra-accounting documents that the Office considers necessary for its evaluation.
The minutes of the governing boards, of the managing committees, of the ordinary and extraordinary general assemblies, the reports of the financial auditors, of the government prosecutors and of the auditors are compulsorily communicated to it.
The modalities for exercising the audit provided for by the present article will be determined by decree.
ARTICLE 23. - Every year, the Audit Office draws up, for the President of the Republic and for the National Assembly a general report on the conduct of the financial operations of the preceding year. This report retraces the observations made by the Office and must suggest in addition the overall reforms that it considers useful.
ARTICLE 24. - The President of the Republic can order that the general report be published.
ARTICLE 25. - Every absence or delay in the presentation of an account by a government accountant exposes the latter to disciplinary sanctions by the hierarchical authority.
In addition, in the event of a failure to make a presentation, the Office may sentence the defaulting accountant to a fine ranging from 10 to 100 dinars per half-year of delay.
ARTICLE 26. - Any delay or failure to make a presentation of the documents provided for in articles 20 to 22 of the present law entail disciplinary action against the defaulting person. Moreover, in the event of a refusal to communicate these documents despite a requisition from the President of the Audit Office, the latter can sentence the person making the refusal to a fine of 20 to 200 dinars.
ARTICLE 26 (a). - In application of the provisions of article 16 of organic law no. 88-32 of 3 May 1988 organising political parties, the Audit Office conducts the audit of the finances of these organisations.
This audit aims at ensuring that the financial management of these parties is in accordance with the prescriptions of the organic law under which they are organised.
These parties must submit their annual accounts to the record office of the Audit Office at the latest by the 30th June of the year following the one concerning the accounts that have been drawn up.
The accounts being examined must bring out the incoming amounts obtained, broken down according to their origin, as well as the expenses incurred, distributed according to the purposes for which they have been used.
The political parties must also keep at the disposal of the Audit Office, all the supporting documents concerning the income and expenses operations that they have effected and this is so for a period of ten years starting from the financial year to which the corresponding operations relate.
ARTICLE 26 (b). - Any delay in the production of the accounts or in the communication of the documents asked for by the Office, exposes the person responsible to a fine of 100 to 200 dinars per quarter.
Moreover, in the event of a refusal to communicate these documents despite a requisition by the First President of the Audit Office, the person making the refusal is liable to a fine of 20 to 400 dinars and this notwithstanding the sentences incurred by virtue of the legislation concerning political parties.
ARTICLE 26 (d). - The notings and observations formulated at the time of the audit of the accounts of each political party are the subject of a confidential report sent by the Audit Office to the President of the Republic and to the highest person in charge of the concerned party.
CHAPTER III
ABOUT THE ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
HEADING I. ORGANISATION
ARTICLE ONE. - The Chamber of Finances of the State has a knowledge of the accounts and the management of the State services, of the local State authorities and of the State's administrative establishments.
ARTICLE 2. - The composition of the Chamber and eventually that of its sections is made by the President of the Office, after prior consultation with the Plenary Assembly.
ARTICLE 3. - The Chamber can only hold a sitting in the presence of at least two-thirds of its members.
ARTICLE 4. - The decisions taken within the Chamber must have the consent of the majority of those present.
- In the event of an equal number of votes, the vote of the President is the casting vote.
- The sittings of the Chamber are not open to the public.
ARTICLE 5. - A subsequent decree will fix the composition and the modalities of functioning of the Chamber of Public Enterprises.
ARTICLE 6. - The Plenary Assembly meets when convened by the President of the Audit Office.
It can hold a sitting only if two-thirds of its members are present.
Its deliberations take place in the manner set out in article 4.
The Secretary General attends the deliberations of the Plenary Assembly and drafts its minutes.
ARTICLE 7. - The Prosecutor must be heard by the President of the Office, the Chamber or the Plenary Assembly every time that he makes a request for it and may participate in the vote on the annual general report.
ARTICLE 8. - In the event of an unforeseen absence of the Prosecutor, he is substituted by an adviser appointed by the Prime Minister.
ARTICLE 9. - The estimates of the budget of expenses required for the working of the Office and its departments are drawn up every year by the Plenary Assembly.
The expenses are undertaken, settled and authorized for payment by the President of the Office and paid by the Chief Treasurer and Paymaster of Tunisia.
An account of these is rendered to the Plenary Assembly in the report of an adviser.
ARTICLE 10. - Some Registrar Clerks maintain the record office and under the authority of the Secretary General they ensure the custody of the documents of the Office.
They are appointed by the Prime Minister on a proposal of the President of the Office.
ARTICLE 11. - The management accounts of the accountants directly answerable to the Audit Office are sent by the latter within the stipulated time limits to the Ministry of Finance which deems them ready for examination and sends them on to the Office with the general accounts of the administration of the Finance Department before 31 July of the year following the one that they relate to.
However and for a period of 5 years from the publication of the present decree the date limit provided in the above para can be extended in the case of certain accounts by a decision of the Prime Minister on a proposal by the Finance Minister.
ARTICLE 12. - The entry of the accounts is registered in the record office on the date of their submission and a serial number is given to them.
ARTICLE 13. - The Prosecutor maintains an inventory of all those who have to submit their accounts to the Office.
He ensures that they submit these within the time limit fixed in article 11 and he orders the application of the fine provided by law against those submitting their accounts with delay.
ARTICLE 14. - In the event of failure or delay in submission, the Finance Minister can automatically appoint some officials to take charge of drawing up and producing the accounts on behalf of, at the expense of, and under the responsibility of the accountants.
ARTICLE 15. - The accounts must be asserted to be genuine and true under pain of law, dated and signed by the accountants, their representatives, or by the office assistant appointed by the administration.
Cross-references and deletions must be approved.
Once an account is submitted, no change can be made in it.
ARTICLE 16. - No judgement can be made on an account if it is not in a state of being ready for examination.
For an account to be ready for examination, it is necessary that it should have gone through the formalities prescribed above and that it be accompanied by the prescribed documents and the supporting documents classified in the methodical order of the operations undertaken and by the statement or certificate noting the funds and securities remaining in the balance at the end of the management.
The submission of an account that is not ready for examination entails the accruing of time limit penalties against the accountant who thus runs the risk of being subjected to the sanctions provided for against those who make delayed submissions.
ARTICLE 17. - The President of the Chamber appoints for each account the member of the Office, or section, in charge of submitting a report on this account.
ARTICLE 18. - The rapporteur verifies the documents produced in support of the accounts and demands of the accountants those which may have been omitted with the exception of the orders whose secret or special nature has been declared by a decision of the Prime Minister.
He can correspond with the accountants and all other government officials under the seal of the President of the Chamber.
He can even go personally to the spot, if necessary, after having obtained the authorization of the President of the Office.
ARTICLE 19. - Once the verification is done, the rapporteur draws up for each account a report in which he presents his observations and makes those suggestions that he considers suitable, both as regards the administrators as the accountants.
ARTICLE 20. - The report is delivered to the President of the Chamber who appoints a counter-rapporteur who verifies if the rapporteur has correctly performed the work he was expected to do and if his observations are well-founded.
He may proceed to undertake all investigations that he considers necessary under the conditions of article 18 above.
The investigation over, the report and counter-report are submitted to the Record Office.
ARTICLE 21. - For the matters assigned to the sections, the investigation will be conducted under the supervision of the section President according to the conditions provided for in articles 18 to 20.
The reports and counter-reports are submitted for examination by the section. The latter draws up the text of the observations which will be assessed by the Chamber.
ARTICLE 22. - At the beginning of each quarter, the Secretary General draws up a statement of all the accounts that have been distributed before the preceding month to the rapporteurs and which have not been the subject of a report.
This statement is sent to the President of the Office and communicated to the Prosecutor, to be pursued by him depending on the requirement of the cases.
ARTICLE 23. - Are compulsorily communicated to the Prosecutor the reports for purposes of decisions on credits, debit balance or final discharge.
The Prosecutor can moreover take communication of all reports whose examination he considers necessary for his task and the President of the Chamber can even order it automatically.
ARTICLE 24. - The Prosecutor, after having taken cognisance of the reports and the supporting documents, returns them to the record office joining to them his conclusions or the statement asserting that he has no conclusions to offer.
ARTICLE 25. - The reports are presented to the Chamber in their proper turn, except that the President of the Chamber has the right to give preference to the judging of an urgent matter.
ARTICLE 26. - After reading the report and hearing the oral observations of the rapporteur, of the counter-rapporteur or of the section President and if necessary the conclusions of the Prosecutor, deliberation is immediately started on each proposal successively.
ARTICLE 27. - The decision is noted immediately by the President of the Chamber in the margin on the report.
ARTICLE 28. - According to the decisions arrived at during the hearing, the rapporteur draws up the judgement, signs it and delivers it to the President of the Chamber.
The Chamber President verifies the judgement, signs it and gets it deposited in the record office.
ARTICLE 29. - The judgements made on the accounts are successively provisional and final.
ARTICLE 30. - The provisional judgement settles the account and fixes the results that the accountant is bound to carry over to the subsequent account.
The irregularities acknowledged in the different articles lead to distinct and justified injunctions.
ARTICLE 31. - The accountant has two months from the day of the notification to fulfil or to contradict the injunctions pronounced by the provisional judgement.
ARTICLE 32. - After the time limit fixed by the preceding article, the Office makes the final judgement by which it establishes if the accountant has a credit or a debit balance.
ARTICLE 33. - The Secretary General issues orders for communication of the judgements to the Prosecutor as soon as they have been deposited.
He orders their communication also to those other interested parties who ask for them.
The despatches meant for notifications are issued free of charge, the others entail the payment of a fee.
ARTICLE 34. - The judgements, both the provisional as well as the final ones, are notified to the accountants by the Prosecutor within fifteen days following the issue of despatch by the Secretary General, by means of acknowledgement due registered letters.
This notification is made at the place where the accountant carries out his functions, or at the place that he has stated having retired to on completion of service.
ARTICLE 35. - If it has not been possible to deliver the registered letter to the addressee, the Prosecutor sends the judgement to the Governor of the place to get it notified in the administrative form, without detriment to the right of each interested party to demand the despatch of the judgement and to serve notice of it through a notary bailiff.
If the accountant refuses to receive the judgement, or if he cannot be found, the official entrusted with the notification brings back the judgement to the Governor.
The acknowledgement receipt dated and signed by the accountant or the declaration dated and stamped by the Governor, that the accountant has refused to receive the judgement, or that it has not been possible to find him, is returned to the Prosecutor who informs the Office about this.
In this last case the notification is considered to have been made on the date of this declaration.
ARTICLE 36. - A despatch of the judgements is notified in the time limit prescribed in article 34, by the Prosecutor, to the Ministry of Finance, to the Minister or to the concerned Secretary of State and eventually to the representative of the organisation whose account is judged.
ARTICLE 37. - The accounts of the accountants declared to be creditors are sent back to the Minister, the Secretary of State or the representative of the concerned public sector body which gives an order for the restoration of the credit noted, unless recourse is taken to common law courts, if necessary.
ARTICLE 38. - The debit judgements are legally binding, except if a dispensation is ordered under conditions provided for in articles 62 and 70.
The Finance Minister is entrusted with their implementation which is pursued by the head of the State litigation department and takes recourse to the privilege that the Treasury enjoys for the recovery of debts of all kinds.
ARTICLE 39. - The debits carry an interest at the legal rate on the basis of the fact they arise from, depending on whether they result from embezzlement, loss or theft and on the basis of the notification of the provisional judgement, if they result from the compulsion to make good the taxes officials have failed to collect or from a rejection of expenses stated.
ARTICLE 40. - The remission of debits pronounced by the Office can only be granted through a decree.
ARTICLE 41. - The accountants showing a debit balance can only be discharged after they have totally settled the amount of capital and interest thereron or they have obtained a remission under the conditions laid down by law.
ARTICLE 42. - After accountants have completed their service and all their accounts have been cleared, the Office declares them finally quits and freed from their management responsibilities and orders the withdrawal and cancellation of all opposition or registration of claims made or taken on their possessions, furniture and immovable property or on those of their security deposits or executors for the guaranty of the said management and the restoration of their deposit unless it is kept back for some other reason and until the completion of the formalities prescribed by the administrative rules.
HEADING III. SPECIAL PROCEDURES
ARTICLE 43. - The Office is seized of de facto managements by the Minister or the concerned Secretary of State, either at the request of the legal representative of the State organisation whose money has been wrongfully handled, or on the requisition of the Prosecutor. It can also on its own intervene subsequent to a report by one of its members.
ARTICLE 44. - All reports on descriptions of de facto managements are communicated to the Prosecutor before any ruling is given about them.
ARTICLE 45. - If the need does not arise for any report on a de facto management, the Office pronounces it through a final decision.
ARTICLE 46. - If there is need for a report on a de facto management, the Office declares it successively through a provisional and a final ruling.
ARTICLE 47. - Once the report has been made, the account of the de facto management is judged in accordance with the established form in which judgements of accounts are made.
Nevertheless, the Office may, when no unfaithfulness has been noted against the de facto accountant compensate for reasons of equity for the inadequacy of the justifications produced.
ARTICLE 48. - The Office may, on the report of one of its members, and the advice of the Prosecutor, send a summons for the accounts whose clearance is the responsibility of the Higher Administrative Authority.
ARTICLE 49. - The decisions for summons are notified under the conditions provided for in articles 33, 34, 35 and 36 to the Administrative Authority entrusted with the clearance of the account, to the Minister or Secretary of State concerned, to the accountant as well as to the representative of the local authority or of the establishment for whose account a summons is sent.
ARTICLE 50. - The accounts and the supporting documents are communicated to the Audit Office by the Administrative Authority entrusted with their clearance within a period of two months from the date of notification of the decision for summons.
ARTICLE 51. - A ruling is made on the summoned accounts by following the procedure established for judgement of accounts.
ARTICLE 52. - The decisions taken by the Administrative Authority giving a ruling on the accounts of local authorities and public establishments are notified without delay to the Audit Office.
ARTICLE 53. - The accounts and supporting documents concerning the managements cleared by the Administrative Authority are sent to the Office when it asks for them.
ARTICLE 54. - The Office pronounces fines either on the requisition of the Prosecutor, or on its own on the report of one of its members.
ARTICLE 55. - All reports on the levying of fines are sent to the Prosecutor before any ruling is given on them.
ARTICLE 56. - If the need arises for a sentence to be pronounced, the fine is levied successively through a provisional and then a final decision, either separately or joined to the decisions giving rulings on the accounts.
ARTICLE 57. - The fines are recovered or handed over in the same manner as for debits.
ARTICLE 58. - The accountants sentenced to a fine can only be finally pronounced to be quits and free after having paid it up.
HEADING IV. ABOUT THE MEANS OF APPEAL
ARTICLE 59. - The accountants and legal representatives of local authorities and public establishments can present an appeal to the Office for reversal of the final administrative decisions giving a ruling on their accounts.
ARTICLE 60. - The time limit for putting in an appeal is two months from the time of notification of the decision to the concerned party.
ARTICLE 61. - The appeal is in the form of a request with justifications drawn up in two copies one of which is sent to the Authority which has made the decision that is being contested and the other to the Record Office of the Audit Office.
ARTICLE 62. - The appeal does not have the effect of a stay.
Nevertheless the President of the Office, the Prosecutor having been heard, can order that the implementation of the contested decision be suspended.
This order is notified without delay to the Authority which has made the decision.
ARTICLE 63. - Within fifteen days following the receipt of the request, the Authority which has made the contested decision sends to the record office of the Audit Office the copy of this decision and the accounts and documents on the basis of which it was made with its observations if required.
ARTICLE 64. - All the reports about the appeals for reversal are communicated to the Prosecutor before any ruling is made on them.
ARTICLE 65. - If the appeal has been presented by an unauthorized person, or without adhering to the proper procedures and within the required time limits, or if it is made without any basis, the Office rejects it by a final judgement.
ARTICLE 66. - If the Office admits the appeal, it gives a ruling on the contested provisions through a provisional judgement.
Within two months from the date of the notification of this judgement the adversary party may submit its defence.
After this time limit, the Office gives a ruling through a final judgement.
ARTICLE 67. - If the contested judgement is faulty on account of some shortcoming, legal flaw or abuse of power, the Office annuls it, even automatically and gives a ruling by following if required the established procedures required for judging accounts.
ARTICLE 68. - The Office gives rulings on the placing under revision, either at the request of the accountant who has drawn up the account whose revision is asked for, or on the requisition of the Prosecutor, or even automatically on the report of one of its members.
ARTICLE 69. - The accountant who wants to appeal against the revision deposits in the record office a request with justifications along with the supporting documents collected after the final judgement.
ARTICLE 70. - The starting of a procedure for making a revision does not prevent the implementation of the final judgement pronounced earlier.
Nevertheless, the President of the Office may, after hearing the Prosecutor, order a stay on its implementation.
This order is notified without delay to the Minister of Finance and the concerned Minister or the Secretary of State.
ARTICLE 71. - All reports on the placing under revision are communicated to the Prosecutor before any ruling is made on them.
ARTICLE 72. - If the appeal of the accountant is unacceptable, or if it is without basis, the Office declares this through a final judgement.
ARTICLE 73. - If there is need for a revision, the Office declares it through a provisional judgement.
Within two months from the notification of judgement, the interested parties may present their observations.
After this time limit, the Office gives a ruling through a final judgement.
ARTICLE 74. - Once the acceptance for revision has been pronounced, the account is judged once again while following the procedures established for the judgement of accounts.
ARTICLE 75. - The requests for appeals for violation of a technical point or on a point of law, are deposited at the Record Office of the Audit Office, in the prescribed time limits.
The Plenary Assembly gives a ruling on the matter in the conditions provided for in articles 70, 71, 73 and 74.
However, if the appeal is unacceptable or is without basis, the Plenary Assembly declares this by a final judgement.
HEADING V. ADMINISTRATIVE AUDIT
ARTICLE 76. - If the audit of accounts brings out some irregularities which involve the responsibility of administrators, the Prosecutor either automatically or on the reference made to him by the Chamber, reports them to the concerned Minister or Secretary of State. A certified copy of these observations is sent to the Minister of Finance. The concerned Ministers or Secretaries of State must compulsorily reply to these notes within two months of their receipt.
ARTICLE 77. - If some difficulties arise in the judgement of an account which give rise to some question of a general nature, the President of the Chamber informs the President of the Office who refers it to the concerned Minister or Secretary of State, to appeal on it, if necessary.
ARTICLE 78. - In the first month of each quarter, the persons authorized to pass accounts in the State departments, the local authorities and the public establishments of an administrative nature, communicate to the Office the position concerning the expenses undertaken and authorized during the preceding quarter carrying the stamp of the audit of Public Expenses.
In the first quarter of each year, they send to it in addition the general statement of the expenses undertaken and authorized during the preceding year carrying the stamp of the audit of public expenses.
ARTICLE 79. - These statements are verified by a magistrate of the Office who reconciles them with the results of the corresponding management accounts.
On the report made about this to the Plenary Assembly, a communication having bent sent earlier to the Prosecutor, the Office gives a general declaration of conformity between the management accounts of the accountants and the general account of the Administration of the Finance Department.
ARTICLE 80. - In the first month of each quarter the Ministers or Secretaries of State send to the Office their reports concerning the audits and inspections made during the preceding quarter in the services and organizations which come under their department.
ARTICLE 81. - Every year, the President of the Office appoints a magistrate entrusted with preparing the annual general report.
This report is submitted to the Plenary Assembly which decides on the final text in the presence of the Prosecutor.
ARTICLE 82. - The Prime Minister, the Ministers, Secretaries of State and the President of the Audit Office are entrusted, each one as regards what concerns him, with the implementation of the present decree, which will be published in the Official Gazette of the Tunisian Republic.
Prepared in Tunis on 29 May 1971
By the President of the Tunisian
Republic and by delegation
The Prime Minister
Hedi NOUIRA
ARTICLE ONE. - The Chamber of Public Enterprises of the Audit Office has the authority to examine the accounts and the economic and financial management of Public enterprises. It has all the powers for making an assessment of their management.
Are considered as Public enterprises:
- Public establishments of an industrial and commercial nature;
- National Companies;
- Companies and all Organizations whatever be their appellation in whose capital the State, the Governorates or the Communes hold directly or indirectly a share.
The list of the public enterprises whose management is compulsorily subjected to examination of the Audit Office is found as an annexe to the present decree.
However, the study of the management of other public enterprises can be entrusted to the Audit Office by a decision of the Prime Minister.
ARTICLE 2. - The composition of the Chamber and that of its sections is decided upon by the First president of the Office, after prior consultation with the Plenary Assembly.
ARTICLE 3. - The Chamber or the section can meet only if at least two-thirds of its members are present.
ARTICLE 4. - The decisions taken within the Chamber or the section have to have the consent of the majority of those present.
In the event of the votes being equally shared, the President has the casting vote.
ARTICLE 5. - The sittings of the Chamber and of the section are not open to the public.
HEADING II - PROCEDURE
ARTICLE 6. - The public enterprises whose management is compulsorily subjected to the examination of the Office must send to this jurisdictional body, within a month of their adoption by the deliberating body and at the latest by the 31st of May, the following documents:
- the balance sheet of the year that has ended as well as the accounts of production, working and utilisation of the results, and the annexed documents;
- the account of estimates for the operations of the current year as well as the account for estimates of investments and the corresponding programme of financing;
- the Office also receives the minutes of the meetings of the governing councils, of the ordinary and extraordinary general assembly meetings, the reports of the financial controllers, of the auditors and eventually the audit report.
ARTICLE 7. - In addition to the documents provided for in the preceding article, the Audit Office is authorized to ask for all documents, whatever be their nature, concerning the management of the organizations subjected compulsorily to its control.
It has the power to hear every head or official of these organizations and every member of the audit bodies; these officials are freed from their obligation of maintaining professional secrecy with regard to the members of the Audit Office.
ARTICLE 8. - In the event of a refusal to present the documents provided for in articles 6 and 7 of the present decree, the person making the refusal exposes himself to the imposition of the sanctions decreed in article 26 of the above mentioned law no.68-8 of 8 March 1968.
ARTICLE 9. - When the communications and hearings relate to confidential elements concerning commercial and financial industrial management, the Audit Office takes all measures to guarantee the secrecy of its investigations and of its observations.
ARTICLE 10. - The President of the Chamber designates, for each organization, the section entrusted with the examination of the accounts.
The rapporteur appointed by the President of the authorized section proceeds to make an examination of the accounts and the supporting documents, and demands the documents whose production he considers necessary, conducts his correspondence under the seal of the President of the section, with his directors and officials of the organization, goes to the spot if necessary and gives a report of all this to the section to which he belongs.
ARTICLE 11. - The section examines the report presented, verifies if the observations are well-founded and can order a supplementary examination.
Once the examination is over the rapporteur draws up, in the light of the decisions taken by the section, the report on the accounts examined, signs it and delivers it to the section President; the latter signs it and deposits it in the record office of the Chamber.
ARTICLE 12. - The deposited report is communicated by the Prosecutor to the heads of the concerned organizations, it is also communicated for information to the supervisory authority. Within a period of two months from the date of receipt of the report, the heads of the concerned organizations must send to the Office their reply to the observations made and for information to the supervisory authority.
ARTICLE 13. - The report, accompanied by replies from the heads of the concerned organizations, new observations from the section, the conclusions arrived at by the Prosecutor and eventually the opinion of the supervisory authority, is presented to the Chamber awaiting its turn, except unless the President of the Chamber gives preference to the examination of an urgent matter.
ARTICLE 14. - After reading the report and the conclusions of the Prosecutor and after the oral observations of the rapporteur, the section President and eventually those of the Prosecutor, the deliberation is immediately opened on each proposal successively.
ARTICLE 15. - When the Chamber decides to proceed to hear the heads or officials of the concerned organization, it sends them a questionnaire 15 days in advance.
The representative of the supervisory authority and the members of the Audit Body may be associated with the hearing.
The hearing takes place before the deliberation of the Chamber and in the presence of the Prosecutor in the Audit Office.
ARTICLE 16. - The observations and suggestions drawn up by the Chamber are the subject of a special report. This report stamped by the rapporteur who has drawn it up, signed by the section President and the Chamber President, is sent by the Prosecutor to the Head of the concerned Organization, to the head of the supervisory department, to the Planning and Finance Minister and to the Prime Minister.
HEADING III - ABOUT THE ANNUAL REPORT
ARTICLE 17. - The Office draws up for the President of the Republic and for the House of the Members of Parliament an overall annual report on the enterprises compulsorily subjected to its audit.
This report is prepared by a Magistrate appointed by the First President of the Office. It is decided upon by the Plenary Assembly in the presence of the Prosecutor.
ARTICLE 18. - The Office will exercise its audit on the public enterprises on the basis of the accounts drawn up by way of the year 1980. Exceptionally these accounts will be deposited within the month which follows the publication of the present decree.
ARTICLE 19. - The Prime Minister, the Ministers, Secretaries of State and the First President of the Audit Office are entrusted, each as regards what concerns him, with the implementation of the present decree which will be published in the Official Gazette of the Tunisian Republic.
Prepared at Nefta on 17 March 1982
The President of the Tunisian Republic
Habib BOURGUIBA
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
ARTICLE ONE (new). - The Audit Office is made up of the following members:
- The President of the Office;
- The Presidents of Chambers;
- The Presidents of Sections;
- Advisers;
- Advisers on Special duty;
- Deputy Advisers.
ARTICLE 2. - At the time of their first appointment and before their taking up of their duties the members of the Audit Office take an oath in the following words:
"I swear by the One God to perform my duties well and faithfully, to religiously keep all deliberations confidential and to conduct myself in all matters as a worthy and loyal magistrate."
The oath is taken before the Plenary Assembly. A report is drawn up on it.
ARTICLE 3 (new). - The members of the Audit Office and the representatives of the State prosecution in the said Office wear the robe to the meetings of the plenary assembly and the upper council as well as to the official ceremonies presided over by the President of the Republic.
The modalities of application of this article are fixed by decree.
ARTICLE 4. - No member of the Office can, without prior authorization of the Upper Council be proceeded against or arrested for a crime or an offence.
However, if he is caught committing the offence red-handed, he can be ordered to be arrested. In this case, the Office is informed of this without delay.
ARTICLE 5. - The members of the Office are protected against threats and attacks of any nature whatsoever of which they may be the object during the conduct or in the process of carrying out their duties.
The State atones for the direct harm that may result from the conduct of duties in all the cases not provided for by the legislation on pensions.
ARTICLE 6. - All members are forbidden from taking any concerted action of such a nature as to stop or hinder the functioning of the Audit Office.
ARTICLE 7. - The members of the Office must abstain from any action likely to undermine the dignity of their work.
CHAPTER II
ABOUT THE UPPER COUNCIL
ARTICLE 8 (new). - An Upper Council of the Audit Office is formed which is made up of the following :
- The Prime Minister, President ;
- The President of the Office, Vice-President ;
- The Government Prosecutor General ;
- The Presidents of Chambers ;
- The Secretary General ;
- The Presidents of Sections ;
- Two Representatives of the Advisers ;
- Two Representatives of the Deputy Advisers.
The representatives of the advisers and of the deputy advisers are elected by the advisers and deputy advisers respectively for a period of two years in accordance with the modalities fixed by an order of the Prime Minister.
The Secretary general of the Office is the member who serves as the rapporteur of the Council. He initiates its operations and looks after the maintenance of its archives.
ARTICLE 9. - The Upper Council of the Audit Office meets when convened by its President or if necessary by its Vice President.
ARTICLE 10. - The decisions of the Council are taken by a majority vote. In the event of the votes being equally shared, the President enjoys the casting vote.
ARTICLE 11. - Apart from the responsibilities that are conferred on it by the present statutory order, the Council may be consulted on all maters concerning the status of the members of the Audit Office.
CHAPTER III
APPOINTMENT - RECRUITMENT - ASSIGNMENTS
ARTICLE 12. - All the members of the Office are appointed by decree.
ARTICLE 13. - No one can be appointed a member of the Office if he does not fulfil all the following conditions :
1 - To have Tunisian nationality since at least five years ;
2 - To be at least twenty-five years old ;
3 - To be entitled to all his civic rights ;
4 - To be physically fit to carry out his duties ;
5 - To be of good morality ;
6 - To be in a legally correct position with regard to the law on recruitment in the army.
ARTICLE 14. - The President of the Audit Office is known by the title of First President and he is in charge of the general management and organisation of the work of the Office.
He manages the administrative and financial services of the Office and takes all necessary steps to that effect.
He deputes the magistrates to the different sections that the Office is made up of.
He presides over the plenary assembly and eventually the sittings of the Chambers and signs the decisions arrived at.
ARTICLE 15. - The First President is appointed at will from among the senior officials of the State.
ARTICLE 16. - The President of each Chamber presides permanently over the Chamber of the Audit Office, conducts the debates and signs the decisions arrived at.
- In the event of an unforeseen absence, he is replaced by the seniormost amongst the advisers
- The Chamber President may preside over the sittings of the sections of the Chamber.
ARTICLE 17 (new). - The Presidents of Chambers are appointed by a decree on a proposal made by the Prime Minister and a presentation by the First President after taking the opinion of the Upper Council, from among :
1) the Presidents of sections having at least two years experience of work in this capacity;
2) the advisers having done more than five years of service in this capacity.
ARTICLE 18 (new). - The Presidents of Sections are entrusted under the authority of the Chamber President to conduct the work of the section and to preside over its sittings.
The Section Presidents are appointed by a decree on the proposal of the Prime Minister and a presentation by the First President, after taking the opinion of the Upper Council, from among Advisers having had at least two years of service in this capacity.
ARTICLE 19. - The Advisers participate in the investigation and hearing and in the judging of the matters submitted to the Office. The tasks of checking, audit or examination may moreover be entrusted to them.
ARTICLE 20 (new). - The advisers are appointed by a decree issued on a proposal from the Prime Minister and presentation by the First President from among the Deputy Advisers having had more than six years of service in this capacity and figuring on a list of persons with aptitude drawn up by the Upper Council and published in the Official Gazette of the Tunisian Republic.
ARTICLE 21. - The officials appointed in application of the preceding article are regraded in their new rank at the equal grade or failing that the one immediately higher than the one they held in their original rank.
They conserve the seniority acquired in their former scale if they are classified at a similar scale or if the benefit drawn from this classification is lower than that which the next higher rank would have procured for them in their former duties.
They are compelled to undero a probationary period of two years at the end of which they are confirmed in the rank of Adviser on receiving a favourable opinion from the Upper Council.
In the event of an unfavourable opinion these officials are reabsorbed in their original cadre and considered as never having left it.
ARTICLE 22 (new). - The Deputy Advisers are entrusted with the preliminary hearing and investigation of the matters assigned to them.
They are recruited according to the modalities given hereafter :
a) within the maximum limit of 75% of the vacancies by means of direct appointment from among candidates having successfully completed the higher studies of the National School of Administration or having completed their studies at the Higher Institute of Management in the framework of a specialised course whose organisation will be fixed by decree;
b) within the minimum limit of 25% of the vacancies by way of public competitive examination open to officials belonging to category A, of 30 years of age at least on the date of the competitive examination and having at least five years of actual experience in government service.
ARTICLE 23. - The candidates admitted are obliged to undergo a probationary period of two years at the end of which they are appointed deputy advisers upon the favourable opinion of the Upper Council and regraded in their new rank on an equal scale or failing that on the one immediately higher than the one they enjoyed in their original cadre.
They conserve the seniority acquired in their earlier grade if they are classified on a scale equal to the one they enjoyed or if the benefit drawn from this classification is below that which the next step in the scale would have procured for them in their original cadre.
In the event of an unfavourable opinion they are either obliged to undergo a further period of probation of a maximum duration of one year or are reabsorbed in their original cadre which they are then deemed to have never left.
ARTICLE 24. - The rules and the course of the competitive examination are fixed by a decision of the Prime Minister.
ARTICLE 24 a. - Some advisers on special duty can be appointed from among government servants having a wide administrative, financial or technical experience.
They cannot exercise any activity of a jurisdictional nature.
They are appointed by decree, on a proposal of the Prime Minister and presentation by the First President, for a duration of two years renewable only once.
The emoluments of each adviser on special duty are fixed by a decision of the Prime Minister.
The number of the advisers on special duty cannot exceed 15% of the number of jobs of advisers and deputy advisers provided for by the law on executives of the Audit Office.
ARTICLE 25 (new). - The Secretary General of the Audit Office is appointed by decree issued on a proposal made by the Prime Minister and a presentation by the First President after taking the opinion of the Upper Council from among the advisers having five years at least of service in this capacity.
ARTICLE 26. - The Secretary General is entrusted with the custody and maintenance of the documents and exhibits that are entrusted to him. He issues the despatch of the decisions made by the Office.
He can moreover under the authority of the First President look after the working of the administrative and financial departments of the Office.
CHAPTER IV (new)
ABOUT THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE PROSECUTION DEPARTMENT IN THE
AUDIT OFFICE
ARTICLE 27 (new). - The Government Prosecutor General in the Audit Office is appointed by decree issued on a proposal of the Prime Minister and presentation of the First President of the Office, from among :
- those members of the Office who have carried out the duties of Presidents of Chambers, of Secretary General or of government Prosecutor in the Audit Office for one year at least;
- the Presidents of sections having a seniority of four years in this capacity;
- the advisers having eight years of seniority in this grade.
ARTICLE 27 a. - The government Prosecutors in the Audit Office are appointed by decree issued on a proposal of the Prime Minister and presentation by the First President, from among the Presidents of sections having two years of seniority in this capacity or among the advisers having five years of seniority in this grade.
CHAPTER V
ABOUT INCOMPATIBILITIES
ARTICLE 28. - The functions of the members of the Audit Office are incompatible with :
1 - the capacity of a member of the government ;
2 - any elective office ;
3 - any public function and any other professional or salaried activity with the exception of teaching and research functions ;
4 - The functions of financial controller or auditor in the offices, national companies or enterprises in whose capital the State or the local authorities hold directly indirectly a share.
CHAPTER VI
ABOUT REMUNERATION - ABOUT PROMOTIONS AND ABOUT VACATIONS
ARTICLE 29 (new). - The remuneration and the benefits given to the members of the Audit Office and to the representatives of the State Prosecution Department in the Office are fixed by decree.
ARTICLE 30 (new). - The rate of promotion in their grade of the members of the Audit Office is fixed at three years.
ARTICLE 31. - No member of the Office can be promoted to a higher grade if he does not figure on a promotion panel drawn up annually by the Upper Court.
ARTICLE 32 (new). - The duration of judicial vacations of the members of the Audit Office is fixed at two months.
CHAPTER VI
ABOUT PLACING OUTSIDE THE CADRE
ARTICLE 33 (new). - The members of the Office cannot be placed in a position outside their cadre except to exercise an elective mandate or the functions of a member of government.
In this position they lose their right to promotions and cease to be a part of the Office till they are reabsorbed.
ARTICLE 34 (new). - The situation of being placed outside their cadre is pronounced by an order of the Prime Minister.
The duration of the placing outside the cadre is for a renewable period of five years.
CHAPTER VIII
ABOUT DISCIPLINE
ARTICLE 35 (new). - Apart from the warnings that the First President can give, the disciplinary sanctions applicable to the members of the Office who have failed in their duties or compromised the dignity of their office are :
1 - a reprimand noted on the file ;
2 - a delay of 3 months to a year in the promotion scale;
3 - a temporary exclusion from any remuneration this being denied for a duration not exceeding 3 months ;
4 - a dismissal without suspension of right to pension.
ARTICLE 36. - All the disciplinary sanctions intended in the preceding article are decided upon by the Upper Council and pronounced by an order of the Prime Minister, with the exception of the dismissal which is pronounced through a decree.
ARTICLE 37 (new). - The Upper Council is informed by the First President each time that facts likely to lead to disciplinary sanctions are brought to the knowledge of the Office.
In the event of a grave fault committed by a member of the Office, whether it concerns a breach of his professional obligations or an infraction of common law, the author of this misdemeanour can be immediately suspended from his duties by the Prime Minister and his salary stopped till the final decision on disciplinary action.
In this case the Upper Council must be informed in a maximum period of one month from the date that the decision for suspension takes effect.
ARTICLE 38. - The Upper Council appoints a rapporteur entrusted with the enquiry who seeks the explanations of the concerned person, proceeds to conduct the investigations that he considers necessary and communicates his report to the Council.
ARTICLE 39. - The Upper Council notifies to the concerned person the date of his appearance and gives him a time limit of fifteen days to take cognizance of all the documents that form a part of the file.
The concerned person can avail of the assistance of a counsel of his choice for his defence.
ARTICLE 40. - After reading the report, the Upper Council gives a ruling after meeting in camera, having before that heard the concerned person and if necessary his defence counsel.
In the absence of the concerned person or of his defence counsel, who had been regularly informed of the date of the appearance, the Upper Council may give a ruling in the light of the documents that constitute the file.
ARTICLE 41. - The decision of the Upper Council must be a justified one and no appeal can be made against it.
ARTICLE 42. - The decision about the disciplinary sanction is placed on the file of the concerned person.
ARTCLE 43 (new). - The administrative position of the suspended magistrate must be settled within a maximum period of three months from the date that the decision for suspension takes effect.
If, on the expiry of the above-mentioned three month period, the suspended magistrate has not been dismissed, he has a right to a settlement of the total salary concerning the period of his suspension after deducting eventually the salary corresponding to the duration of his temporary exclusion from service.
CHAPTER IX
COMMON PROVISIONS
ARTICLE 44 (new). - The rules applicable to government servants notably as regards leave, availability, posting in the army, extension of service, cessation in service, provident fund and retirement fund system, are applicable to the members of the Office.
CHAPTER X
TRANSITORY PROVISIONS
ARTICLE 45 (new). - By special dispensation to the provisions of article 22 of the present statute and till 31 December 1987, the Deputy Advisers can be chosen under conditions which will be decided by decree on a proposal of the Prime Minister.
ARTICLE 46. - While awaiting the setting up of the Plenary Assembly the members of the Office take the oath before the President or if necessary the Vice President of the Council of State.
ARTICLE 47. - The Prime Minister is entrusted with the execution of the present statutory order which will be published in the Official Gazette of the Tunisian Republic.
Prepared in Carthage on 26 September 1970
The President of the Tunisian Republic
Habib BOURGUIBA
Decision of the Prime Minister of 9 March 1972, fixing the modalities for election of the representatives of the Advisers and Deputy Advisers to the Upper Council of the Audit Office.
The Prime Minister ;
Considering law no. 68-8 of 8 March 1968, modified by law no. 70-17 of 20 April 1970, concerning the organisation of the Audit Office ;
Considering the statutory order no. 70-6 of 26 September 1970, relating to the status of the members of the Audit Office and notably its article 8 ;
Considering the law no. 68-12 of 3 June 1968, concerning the general status of personnel of the State, of the local authorities and of State establishments of an administrative nature ;
DECIDES THAT
ARTICLE ONE. - The elections of the representatives of the Advisers and Deputy Advisers to the Upper Council of the Audit Office are organised in accordance with the terms fixed by the present order.
ARTICLE 2. - The representatives of the Advisers and Deputy Advisers are appointed for a period of two years.
ARTICLE 3. - The date of the elections is fixed by the First President of the Audit Office.
ARTICLE 4. - Those persons are electors who are magistrates in active service or on delegation belonging to the body called to be represented.
ARTICLE 5. - The list of electors is drawn up by the Secretary General, decided upon by the First President of the Audit Office and displayed at the head office of the Office fifteen days at least before the date fixed for polling.
Within a period of three days, the electors may verify the inscriptions and if necessary put in a request for inscription. Within the same period, complaints may be formulated with the First President of the Audit Office against inscriptions or omissions on the electoral rolls.
ARTICLE 6. - The magistrates registered on the electoral rolls are eligible.
However, neither the magistrates on long leave can be elected, nor those who are in a state of deputation, nor those who are the subject of some penalization or a temporary exclusion from service, unless they have been amnestied.
ARTICLE 7. - The candidatures must be sent to the First President of the Office seven days before the date fixed for the elections under sealed cover carrying the words "Election of the representatives of magistrates to the Upper Council of the Audit Office, candidature".
The final list of the candidates is drawn up by the First President of the Office.
ARTICLE 8. - The vote takes place by secret ballot. The voting slips and the envelopes supplied by the Audit Office must be used compulsorily failing which they will be declared invalid.
ARTICLE 9. - On the day fixed for the elections each elector deposits in the general Secretariat of the Office, his voting slip under closed cover carrying only the words "Election of the representatives of magistrates to the Upper Council of the Audit Office", with the indication of the body to be represented and signature on the electoral roll.
In the event of some unforeseen absence, the electors can send their voting slip by registered letter which must reach the Office at the latest on the day of the voting.
ARTICLE 10. - A commission made up of:
- the First President : President ;
- the seniormost of the Advisers : Member ;
- the seniormost of the Deputy Advisers : Member ;
proceeds to count the votes and declares elected the incumbent representative who has obtained the largest number of votes and the next candidate as the deputy representative.
In the event of the number of votes being equal, preference is given to the more senior candidate and in case of equal seniority to the older candidate.
ARTICLE 11. - In the absence of any candidature, the commission provided for in the preceding article proceeds to appoint on its own some representatives of the magistrates to the Upper Council of the Office by the draw of lots from among the magistrates fulfilling the required eligibility conditions.
ARTICLE 12. - The First President of the Audit Office is entrusted with the implementation of the present decision.
Tunis, 9 March 1972
THE PRIME MINISTER
H‚di NOUIRA
Law no. 88-71 of 27 June 1988, modifying and supplementing law no. 85-12 of 5 March 1985, concerning the system for civil and military retirement and survivors pensions in the public sector.
ARTICLE 24 (new). - Subject to the provisions of articles 27 and 28 of the present law, the age for retirement of officials is fixed at sixty years (60), they can, however, be continued in service up to the maximum age of sixty-five years (65) by decree.
The decree aimed at in paragraph one above is issued on the basis of a report with justifications by the concerned Minister.
