This Law defines the status, functions, organizational structure and forms and principles of activities of the Chamber of Accounts of the Republic of Azerbaijan (hereafter - Chamber of Ac-counts).
Article 1. The status of the Chamber of Accounts of the Republic of Azer-baijan
Milli Majlis (Parliament) creates the Chamber of Accounts based on the Article 92 of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The Chamber of Accounts is a full-time State budget and finance supervising body, which reports to the Parliament. The Chamber of Accounts has organizational and functional independ-ence.
The requirements concerning the member of the Chamber of Accounts, their designation ar-rangements are regulated on the basis of the Article 44 of the Internal Regulations of the Parlia-ment of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Article 9 of the Law "On Permanent Commissions of the Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan "
The Chamber of Accounts is a legal body.
The Chamber of Accounts possesses the stamp with the Cognizance (State Symbol) of the Republic of Azerbaijan with the title of the Chamber of Accounts.
The Chamber of Accounts is located in Baku city.
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 reve-nue and expenditures items of the State budget and of the extra-budgetary State funds (institu-tions) 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 Parliament regarding elimination of discovered devia-tions and improvement of the budget process in general;
- to inform the Parliament 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 Parliament 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 Parliament;
- to analyze and inform the Parliament 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 Parliament;
- to inform the Parliament about law violations, which were discovered as a result of supervi-sory measures taken;
- to operate in close contact with other State supervisory bodies.
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 purpose-ful use of funds to be allocated from the State budget for legal entities and municipalities
Article 3. Legislation on the Chamber of Accounts
The Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan, this Law, other laws of the Republic of Az-erbaijan and Internal Regulations of the Chamber of Accounts form is the legal ground for ac-tivities of the Chamber of Accounts.
Article 4. Internal Regulation of the Chamber of Accounts
The Chamber of Accounts implements the organization and regulation of its functions on the basis of the Internal Regulations. The Chamber of Accounts develops its Internal Regulations itself.
The Law approves internal Regulation of the Chamber of Accounts.
ARTICLE 5. The Members of the Chamber of Accounts and Validity of their Authorities
The Chamber of Accounts is comprised of a Chairman of the Chamber of Accounts, a Dep-uty Chairman and seven Auditors.
The authorities of the Chairman of the Chamber of Accounts, the Deputy Chairman and seven Auditors are valid for seven years.
The members of the Chamber of Accounts implement their duties the way as it is set forth in this Law and in Internal Regulation of the Chamber of Accounts, secure the interests of the state, physical and legal persons.
Article 6. The Principles of Activities of the Chamber of Accounts
The activities of the Chamber of Accounts are based on legality, independence, impartiality, collective nature, transparency and justice.
The sessions of the Chamber of Accounts are considered valid in case of participation of at least 5 members.
The reports and opinions of the Chamber of Accounts are adopted ob the basis of the simple majority of votes of participating members.
In case of equity of votes the vote of the Chairman of the Chamber of Accounts possesses the critical power.
The Chamber of Accounts works in the form of close cooperation with the Permanent Com-missions of Parliament. The repots and opinions, developed by the Chamber of Accounts with the regard to the implementation of the State budget are considered in the Commission on Budget Arrangements before they are discussed in Parliament.
Article 7. Additional Arrangements with Regards to the Members of the Chamber of Accounts
Persons that were sentenced due to committing a severe crime or having any obligation in front of other States are not eligible for the positions of the Chairman, the Deputy Chairman and Auditors of the Chamber of Accounts.
Persons that have high education and 5 years experience of work in the field of public ad-ministration, state control, economy and finance are eligible for the positions of the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and Auditors of the Chamber of Accounts.
The Chairman, Deputy Chairman and Auditors of the Chamber of Accounts can not be in-volved in any kind activities that envisage any payment for the performed work unless this is pedagogic, scientific or creative activity.
The candidate nominated for the position of the Chairman, the Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Accounts should not be direct relative to the Chairman of Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Prime Minster of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Prosecutor General of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Chairman of the Economic Court of the Republic of Az-erbaijan, the Chairman of the Board of the National Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Article 8. The Chairman of the Chamber of Accounts
The Chairman of the Chamber of Accounts is the official person who manages the activities of the Chamber of Accounts, as well organizes its functioning.
The Chairman of the Chamber of Accounts:
- Chairs the sessions of the Chamber of Accounts;
- Distributes the responsibilities between the Deputy Chairman and Auditors in accordance with the Internal Regulations of the Chamber of Accounts;
- Organizes the work of the Auditors of the Chamber of Accounts with regards to the consid-eration and development of arrangements that refer to the authorities of the Chamber of Ac-counts;
- Reports twice a year (spring session - not later than 15 of April and autumn session - not later than 15 of October) to Parliament on performance of the Chamber of Accounts;
- Issues orders with regards to the authorities of the Chamber of Accounts;
- Manages the Apparatus of the Chamber of Accounts;
Executes other authorities that are envisaged by this law and Internal Regulation of the Chamber of Accounts.
Article 9. The Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Accounts
The Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Accounts acts on the basis of the distribution of responsibilities as it is set forth in the Internal Regulation of the Chamber of Accounts.
The Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Accounts substitute the Chairman of the Chamber of Accounts if there is no Chairman or the Chairman is not capable to implement responsibili-ties.
The Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Accounts fulfills the assignments given by the Chairman of the Chamber of Accounts in accordance with this law and Internal Regulation of the Chamber of Accounts.
Article 10. The Auditors of the Chamber of Accounts
The Auditors of the Chamber of Accounts act on the basis of the distribution of responsibili-ties as it is set forth in the Internal Regulation of the Chamber of Accounts.
The Auditors of the Chamber of Accounts fulfill the assignments given by the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Accounts in accordance with this law and Internal Regula-tion of the Chamber of Accounts.
Article 11. Dismissal of the Members of the Chamber of Accounts Prior to the Expiry of their Term
The Chairman, Deputy Chairman and the Auditors of the Chamber of Accounts can be dis-missed from their positions prior to the expiry of their terms in case of:
1) death;
2) request for dismissal;
3) committing a crime and enacted condemnatory decision of the court with regard to this persons;
4) violating the requirements listed in the Article 7 of the present law;
5) certificate of the special medical commission convoked by the Chamber of Ac-counts on impossibility to perform duties for more than 4 months because of dis-ease;
6) incapacity or limited capacity approved by the court;
being announced dead or missing by the court.
7) In the cases stated in the items 1 and 7 of the present article, the Speaker of Parliament issues the decision on dismissal of the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and Auditors from the position.
In the cases states in the items 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the present article Parliament upon notice of the Speaker of Parliament, adopts decision on dismissal of the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and Auditors from the position in accordance with the rules set froth in the law "On Permanent Commissions of Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan"
Article12. The Apparatus of the Chamber of Accounts
The Apparatus of Chamber of Accounts executes functions on organizational, informational, logistics, and financial and practical provision of the Chamber of Accounts.
The Chamber of Accounts defines the structure, rules for operation and the number of staff of the Apparatus of the Chamber of Accounts within the limits of the expenditure estimates.
The activities of the staff of the Apparatus of the Chamber of Accounts are regulated by the general rules set forth in the legislation.
The activities of the staff that in the Chamber of Accounts on contract basis are regulated by the conditions of the contract.
Article 13. The Estimate of Expenditures of the Chamber of Accounts
The expenditures of the Chamber of Accounts are financed from the State budget.
The estimate of expenditures for the Chamber of Accounts upon submission of the Chamber of Accounts is approved by Parliament of Azerbaijan Republic during the consideration of the State budget for the forthcoming year.
Article 13-1. Compensation for the Staff of the Chamber of Ac-counts
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 Parliament.
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 Parliament.
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 Parliament.
The staff of the Chamber of Accounts shall be provided with the same monthly salary and appropriate entitlements as the staff of the Parliament Apparatus.
ARTICLE 14. The Work Plan of the Chamber of Accounts
The Chamber of Accounts performs its activities on the basis of the work plan.
The requests and proposals of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Permanent Commissions of Parliament of the Republic of Azerbai-jan, are taken into account during the enunciation of the work plan of the Chamber of Ac-counts.
The Chamber of Accounts approves the work plan of the Chamber of Accounts.
Article 15. The Right of the Chamber of Accounts to Inquire Informa-tion
All the legislative, executive and judicial bodies, as well as enterprises and organizations re-gardless of the type of property and organizational-legal form and departments and their officials should present to the Chamber of Accounts, upon request of the Chamber of Accounts, necessary information for the implementation of the authorities set forth in the Article 2 of the present Law within the period of time of not latter than one month.
In case of untimely submission of information or attempt to avoid the submission of infor-mation or submission of inaccurate or false information in respond to the official request of the Chamber of Accounts, the bodies, enterprises, organizations and departments listed in the first part of the present article respond in accordance with terms specified in the legislation of the Re-public of Azerbaijan.
Article 16. The Authority of the Chamber of Accounts to Perform Financial - Budgetary Expertise
The Chamber of Accounts has the authority to perform the financial - budgetary expertise, prepare conclusion and give relevant proposals on the basis of inquiries of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Permanent Commissions of Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The Chamber of Accounts considers the inquiry and accepts the decision during three days after receiving the inquiry.
The Chamber of Accounts, in case of necessity, can perform audit of enterprises and organi-zations in the course of analysis of the income and expenditures of the State budget and extra-budgetary State funds (institutions).
The procedure for performing the check-ups with regards to financial - budgetary expertise and development of reports on the basis of these check-ups, as well submission of these reports is regulated by the Internal Regulation of the Chamber of Accounts.
Opinions and reports developed by the Chamber of Accounts should reflect only the results of the financial - budgetary expertise.
The results of the financial - budgetary expertise, performed by the Chamber of Accounts are reflected in the reports that are presented to the Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan and are conveyed to the Heads of revision bodies, enterprises, departments and organizations.
Officials of the Chamber of Accounts can't interfere the operative activities of the entities during the performance of financial - budgetary expertise and can't announce the results they have come to prior to the end of revision and formalization of the results in the form of re-port.
Officials of the Apparatus of the Chamber of Accounts and experts contracted for imple-mentation of its activities can use the information obtained in the course of financial - budgetary expertise only during the performing of works upon assignment of the Chamber of Ac-counts.
It is restricted to perform additional financial - budgetary expertise other that it is envisaged in the Work Plan of the Chamber of Accounts without permission of the President of Azerbaijan Republic or Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The Head of Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan can make assignment to the Chamber of Accounts on undertaking additional revisions extra to that of indicated in the work plan during the time between the Sessions.
Article 17. Support by the Bodies of the State Power to the Chamber of Ac-counts in the Course of Implementation of its Activities
The Bodies of State Power should support the Chamber of Accounts in implementation of authorities assigned to it by this Law.
The Chamber of Accounts, based on mutual agreement, can engage the representatives of the Bodies of State Power, as well as contract the independent Auditors and other experts.
Article 18. Responsibilities of the Members of the Chamber of Accounts
The members of the Chamber of Accounts bear the due responsibilities as it is envisaged by the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Internal Regulation of the Chamber of Ac-counts in case of non-performance of responsibilities set forth in this Law and Internal Regula-tion of the Chamber of Accounts and non performance of works, proposed in the work plan.
ARTICLE 19. Inadmissibility of Interference into the Activities of the Chamber of Accounts
The illegal interference into the activities of the Chamber of Accounts is impermissible.
Creation of any kind of obstacles to the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and Auditors of the Chamber of Accounts, as well as the officials of the Apparatus of the Chamber of Accounts or expose them to any pressure is the subject to responsibilities provided by the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Article 19-1. Guarantees to the Legal Status of the Members of the Ac-counts Chamber
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 punish-ment 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 Audi-tors 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.
Article 20. International Relations
The Chamber of Accounts keeps contacts with the entities of foreign countries that imple-ment the similar activities, as well as their international organizations and cooperates with them.
Article 21. Promulgation of Information on the Activities of the Chamber of Accounts
The Chamber of Accounts regularly informs the mass media on its activities.
The reports on the activities of the Chamber of Accounts are submitted to Parliament and published in "The Information of Parliament".
Article 22. Commencement of Activities of the Chamber of Accounts
The activities of the Chamber of Accounts, which is created for the first time, can commence its activities as soon as the Chairman, the Deputy Chairman and at least four Auditors are assigned on their positions.
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN
HEYDAR ALIYEV
Baku, July 2, 1999, No: 700 - I Q
with changes and additions
Baku, December 7, 2001, No 232 - II QD