The Milli Majlis of the Azerbaijan Republic has taken decision that:
I. The following changes and additions shall be made to the Law "On Chamber of Accounts":
1. Second paragraph in Article 1 shall be edited as follows:
"The Chamber of Accounts is a full-time state budget and finance supervising body, which reports to the Milli Majlis. The Chamber of Accounts has organizational and functional independence".
2. Article 2 shall be edited as follows:
"Article 2. Main Functions of the Chamber of Accounts
The Chamber of Accounts carries out the following functions:
- to render opinion on drafts of the state budget and on those of the extra-budgetary state funds (institutions);
- to supervise the volume, the structure, as well as the timely and targeted execution of revenue and expenditures items of the sate budget and of the extra-budgetary state funds' (institutions) budgets;
- to render opinion on the annual state budget execution report and the appropriate draft laws;
- to analyze whether budget financing is carried out as provided in an approved state budget; and to prepare and submit proposals to the Milli Majlis regarding elimination of discovered deviations and improvement of the budget process in general;
- to inform the Milli Majlis once a quarter about execution of the state budget revenues and expenditures;
- to supervise the management of state property, the issuance of orders in respect to such property, and the inflow of funds generated from the privatization of state property to the state budget;
- based on assignment of the Milli Majlis and its permanent committees, to carry out financial expertise of draft laws concerning the state budget and extra-budgetary state funds (institutions), as well as of the international agreements, which are approved by the Milli Majlis;
- to analyze and inform the Milli Majlis on whether the state budget funds are entered into the treasury account and utilized in conformity with targets established in an approved state budget;
- to obtain and analyze the information from the National Bank and other authorized credit institutions about the flow of finances of the state budget and those of the extra-budgetary funds (institutions) in bank accounts, and to give relevant proposals to the Milli Majlis;
- to inform the Milli Majlis about law violations, which were discovered as a result of supervisory measures taken;
- to operate in close contact with other state supervisory bodies."
3. In Section I of the Law, Article 2-1 shall be added after Article 2. The text of Article 2-1 shall be as follows:
"Article 2-1. The Scope of Powers of the Chamber of Accounts
The Chamber of Accounts shall supervise the approval and execution of the state budget, the management of state property and issuance of orders in respect to such property, the inflow of funds to be generated from privatization of state property into the state budget, and the purposeful use of funds to be allocated from the state budget for legal entities and municipalities."
4. The word "independence" shall be added after the word "legality" in paragraph 1, Article 6 of the Law.
5. In Section II, Article 13-1 shall be added after Article 13. The text of Article 13-1 shall be as follows:
"Article 13-1. Compensation for the Staff of the Chamber of Accounts
The State shall take necessary measures to support the Chamber of Accounts.
Monthly salary and other entitlements of the Chairman of the Chamber of Accounts shall be equal to those of the First Deputy Chairman of the Milli Majlis.
Monthly salary and other entitlements of the Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Accounts shall be equal to those of the Deputy Chairman of the Milli Majlis.
Monthly salary and other entitlements of the Auditor of the Chamber of Accounts shall be equal to those of the Chairman of Permanent Committee under the Milli Majlis.
The staff of the Chamber of Accounts shall be provided with the same monthly salary and appropriate entitlements as the staff of the Milli Majlis Apparatus."
6. The words "and extra-budgetary state funds (institutions)" shall be added after the words "state budget" in paragraph 3, Article 16 of the Law.
7. In Section IV, Article 19-1 shall be added after Article 19. The text of Article 19-1 shall be as follows:
"Article 19-1. Guarantees to the Legal Status of the Members of the Chamber of Accounts
The Chairman, the Deputy Chairman and the Auditors of the Chamber of Accounts may neither be arrested and called for criminal liability, nor the court-based administrative punishment measures, the investigation and the personal search may be applied to them during their term of office, unless the Milli Majlis gives its consent.
Criminal charges may be pressed against the Chairman, the Deputy Chairman and the Auditors of the Chamber of Accounts only if based on recommendation by the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The independence of professional activities of the Chairman, the Deputy Chairman and the auditors of the Chamber of Accounts should be guaranteed by the State".
II. This Law shall become effective from the day it is published.
Heydar Aliyev
President of the Azerbaijan Republic
Baku City, December 7, 2001