Rules of Procedure of the Court of Auditors of the European Communities
Date: 2004-12-08
Institutions: European Court of Auditors
Subjects: European Court of Auditors, rules of procedure

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(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COURT OF AUDITORS

RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE COURT OF AUDITORS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

CONTENTS

TITLE I: THE ORGANISATION OF THE COURT

CHAPTER I

THE COURT

Article 1

Collegial nature

SECTION 1

THE MEMBERS

Article 2

Article 3

Article 4

Article 5

Article 6

Commencement of term of office

Members' obligations and performance of their duties

Compulsory retirement and deprival of the right to a pension or other benefits in its
stead

Order of precedence

Temporary replacement of Members

SECTION 2

THE PRESIDENT

Article 7

Article 8

Article 9

Election of the President

Temporary replacement of the President

Duties of the President

SECTION 3

AUDIT GROUPS AND COMMITTEES

Article 10

Audit groups

Article 11

Committees

SECTION 4

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

Article 12

The Secretary-General of the Court

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CHAPTER II

THE PERFORMANCE OF THE COURT'S DUTIES

Article 13

Delegations

Article 14

Authorising officer powers

Article 15

Organisation of Court departments

TITLE II: THE COURT'S OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES

CHAPTER I

COURT MEETINGS

Article 16

Scheduling of meetings

Article 17

Agenda

Article 18

Decision-taking procedure

Article 19

Chairing of meetings

Article 20

Quorum

Article 21

Non-public nature of meetings

Article 22

Minutes of meetings

CHAPTER II

DECISIONS

Article 23

Adoption of decisions

Article 24

Languages and authentication

Article 25

Forwarding and publication

CHAPTER III

AUDITS AND THE PREPARATION OF REPORTS, OPINIONS, OBSERVATIONS
AND STATEMENTS OF ASSURANCE

Article 26

The conduct of audits

Article 27

Rapporteurs

TITLE III: GENERAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 28

Numbers expressed as fractions

Article 29

Implementing rules

Article 30

Access to documents

Article 31

Entry into force

Article 32

Publication

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THE COURT OF AUDITORS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular the fifth
subparagraph of Article 248(4) thereof,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and in particular the
fifth subparagraph of Article 160c(4) thereof,

with the approval of the Council given on 15 November 2004,

TITLE I

THE ORGANISATION OF THE COURT

HAS ADOPTED THESE RULES:

CHAPTER I

THE COURT

Article 1

Collegial nature

Pursuant to the provisions of the Treaties and of the Financial
Regulation, the Court shall be organised and shall act as a
collegial body, in accordance with these Rules of Procedure.

SECTION 1

THE MEMBERS

Article 2

Commencement of term of office

The term of office of Members of the Court shall commence
as from the date fixed for that purpose in the instrument of
appointment, or, where there is no date fixed, from the date of
adoption of that instrument.

Article 4

Compulsory retirement and deprival of the right to a
pension or other benefits in its stead

1. Where the Court, acting by a majority decision of its
Members, considers that
the information that has been
submitted to it is such as to establish that a Member has
ceased to meet the required conditions or to satisfy the
obligations with which he is entrusted (Article 247(7) of the
EC Treaty and Article 160b(7) of the EAEC Treaty), it shall
instruct the President or,
the President is the Member
concerned, the Member next in order of precedence to the
President under Article 5 of these Rules of Procedure to draw
up a preliminary report.

if

2. The preliminary report shall be sent, accompanied by
supporting documents, to all the Members,
including the
Member concerned, who shall in response forward his written
observations within a reasonable time limit set by the
President or, if the President is the Member concerned, by
the Member next in order of precedence to him.

3. The Member concerned shall also be invited to present his
explanations orally to the Court.

Article 3

Members' obligations and performance of their duties

The Members shall perform their duties in accordance with
Article 247(4) and (5) of the EC Treaty and Article 160b(4)
and (5) of the EAEC Treaty.

4. The decision to refer the matter to the Court of Justice in
order to deprive the Member concerned of his office and/or of
his right to a pension or other benefits in its stead shall be
taken by secret ballot by a majority of four fifths of the
Members of the Court. The Member concerned shall not take
part in the ballot.

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Article 5

Order of precedence

save in the event of incapacity. In any other case, the Member
who has precedence in accordance with Article 5 shall
become acting President.

1. Members shall take precedence after the President by date
of appointment; where a Member has been reappointed, his
earlier
term of office shall be taken into consideration,
whether or not it immediately preceded the present term.

2. Members appointed on the same day shall
precedence according to age.

take

2. Whilst carrying out the day-to-day management of the
Court during the interim period, the acting President shall
organise the election of the new President in accordance with
Article 7. However, if the office of President falls vacant less
than six months before the expiry of the incumbent's term, the
shall be replaced by the Member who has
President
precedence in accordance with Article 5.

Article 6

Temporary replacement of Members

1.
If a Member's office falls vacant, the Court shall designate
the Member(s) who shall carry out his duties pending the
appointment of a new Member.

If a Member

is absent or unavailable, he shall be
2.
in
temporarily replaced by one (or more) Member(s)
accordance with the provisions laid down in the implementing
rules.

SECTION 2

THE PRESIDENT

Article 7

Election of the President

1. The Court shall elect a new President before the expiry of
the term of office of the incumbent President. However, if the
expiry of the President's term of office coincides with the
renewal of a part of the body of Members in accordance with
Article 247(3) of the EC Treaty and Article 160b(3) of the
EAEC Treaty, the election shall take place immediately, or at
the latest 15 working days, after the Court
in its new
composition has taken up its duties.

2. The President shall be elected by secret ballot. The
candidate who, in the first round of voting, obtains a two-
thirds majority of the votes of the Members of the Court shall
be elected President. If none of the candidates obtains this
majority, a second round of voting shall take place at once and
the candidate who obtains the majority of the votes of the
Members of the Court shall be elected. If no candidate has
obtained the majority of the votes of the Members of the
Court in the second round of voting, further rounds of voting
shall take place in accordance with the procedure laid down in
the implementing rules.

3.
If the President is absent or unavailable, he shall be
temporarily replaced by the Member who has precedence in
accordance with Article 5.

Article 9

Duties of the President

1. The President of the Court shall:

(a)

call and chair meetings of the Court and be responsible
for the proper conduct of the sessions;

(b)

ensure that the Court's decisions are implemented;

(c)

(d)

(e)

ensure that
properly and that
managed;

the departments of

the Court operate
its various activities are soundly

appoint an agent to represent the Court in all litigation in
which the Court is involved;

represent the Court in its external relations, in particular
in its relations with the discharge authority, the other
Community institutions and the Member States' audit
institutions.

2. The President may delegate part of his duties to one or
more Members.

SECTION 3

AUDIT GROUPS AND COMMITTEES

Article 10

Audit groups

Article 8

Temporary replacement of the President

shall be created and composed in
1. Audit groups
accordance with the provisions laid down in the implementing
rules.

1.
If the office of President falls vacant, the duties of the
President shall temporarily be carried out by the outgoing
President, providing that he is still a Member of the Court,

2. They shall have the responsibility of preparing the
adoption by the Court of documents in the field of audit.

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3. On a proposal by the President, each of
Members shall be assigned by the Court to an audit group.

the other

If the Secretary-General is absent or unavailable, he is
6.
temporarily replaced in accordance with the provisions laid
down in the implementing rules.

4. The Members shall be accountable to the group and to
the Court for the performance of the tasks entrusted to them.

Article 11

Committees

1. Committees shall be created and composed in accordance
with the provisions laid down in the implementing rules.

2. They shall have the responsibility of dealing with matters
not covered by the audit groups as provided for in Arti-
cle 10(2).

SECTION 4

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

Article 12

The Secretary-General of the Court

CHAPTER II

THE PERFORMANCE OF THE COURT'S DUTIES

Article 13

Delegations

1. The Court may, provided the principle of collective
responsibility is respected, empower one or more Members to
take clearly defined management or administrative measures
on its behalf and under its supervision, and in particular to
take action in preparation for a decision to be adopted at a
later date by the Members of
the Court. The Members
concerned shall report back to the Court on the measures they
have taken.

2. A Member may empower one or more officials or
members of staff
to sign documents concerning matters
within that Member's responsibility in accordance with the
provisions laid down in the implementing rules.

1. The Secretary-General of the Court shall be appointed by
the Court following an election by secret ballot, in accordance
with the procedure laid down in the implementing rules.

Article 14

Authorising officer powers

2. The Secretary-General shall be accountable to the Court,
to which he shall make periodic reports on the discharge of
his duties.

1. The powers of authorising officer shall be exercised by the
Members of
the Court and, as authorising officer by
delegation, by the Secretary-General in accordance with the
internal rules for the implementation of the budget.

3. Under the authority of the Court, the Secretary-General
shall be responsible for the Court's Secretariat.

4. The Secretary-General shall exercise the powers vested in
the Appointing Authority within the meaning of Article 2 of
the Staff Regulations of officials of the European Communities
and the powers vested in the authority authorised to conclude
contracts of employment within the meaning of Article 6 of
the Conditions of Employment of other servants of
the
European Communities insofar as the decision of the Court on
the exercise of the powers vested in the Appointing Authority
and in the authority authorised to conclude contracts of
employment does not provide otherwise.

lay down the rules and practices
2. The Court shall
concerning the control procedures for the exercise of the
powers of authorising officers and authorising officers by
delegation in a decision on the internal rules for implementing
the budget.

Article 15

Organisation of Court departments

1. The Court
departments.

shall determine the structure of

its

5. The Secretary-General shall be responsible for
the
management of the Court's staff and for the administration
of the Court, as well as for any other task assigned to him by
the Court.

2. On the Secretary-General's proposal,
the Court shall
distribute the posts set out in the establishment plan among
the administrative departments and the audit groups.

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TITLE II

THE COURT'S OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES

CHAPTER I

COURT MEETINGS

Article 16

Scheduling of meetings

Article 19

Chairing of meetings

The meetings of the Court shall be chaired by the President. If
the President is absent or indisposed, they shall be chaired by
the Member who is temporarily acting as President, within the
meaning of Article 8.

1. The Court shall set provisional dates for its meetings once
a year, before the end of the preceding year.

Article 20

Quorum

2. Additional meetings may be organised on the initiative of
the President or at the request of at least a quarter of the
Members of the Court.

At least two thirds of the Members of the Court must be
present in order to deliberate.

Article 17

Agenda

1. The draft agenda for each meeting shall be drawn up by
the President.

2. The draft agenda and any requests for amendment thereto
shall be placed before the Court, which shall adopt the agenda
at the beginning of each meeting.

Items for which adoption by the Court is possible without
3.
discussion shall be included in Part A of the agenda; items for
adoption after discussion shall be included in Part B of the
agenda.

4. Detailed provisions to determine the conditions under
which an item may be adopted without discussion or must be
adopted after discussion are laid down in the implementing
rules.

Article 21

Non-public nature of meetings

The Court's meetings shall not be public, unless the Court
decides otherwise.

Article 22

Minutes of meetings

Minutes shall be drawn up for each meeting of the Court.

CHAPTER II

DECISIONS

Article 23

5. The time-limits for distributing the agenda and related
documents are laid down in the implementing rules.

Adoption of decisions

Article 18

Decision-taking procedure

1. The Court, acting as a collegial body, shall adopt its
decisions after prior examination in an audit group or
committee with the exception of decisions to be taken in its
capacity as Appointing Authority or as the authority
authorised to conclude contracts of employment.

The Court shall make its decisions in formal session, save
where it applies the written procedure laid down in Arti-
cle 23(5).

2. The Court shall adopt the documents mentioned in the
third subparagraph of Article 248(4) of the EC Treaty and the
third subparagraph of Article 160c(4) of the EAEC Treaty by a
majority of its Members.

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3. Without prejudice to Article 4(4) and Article 7(2), other
decisions shall be taken by a majority of the Members present
at the meeting of the Court. However, the Court may, on a
proposal
the
Members present at the meeting, that a specific question
referred to the Court shall be decided by a majority of the
Members of the Court.

from a Member, declare, by a majority of

4. Where a majority vote by the Members present is required
to take a decision, in the event that the number of votes for
and against should be equal the chairman shall have the
casting vote.

5. The Court shall determine, on a case-by-case basis, the
decisions to be adopted by the written procedure. Detailed
rules for this procedure are laid down in the implementing
rules.

Article 24

Languages and authentication

1. The reports, opinions, observations, statements of
assurance and other documents, if for publication, shall be
drawn up in all the official languages.

2. The documents shall be authenticated by the apposition
of the President's signature on all the language versions.

Article 25

Forwarding and publication

Within the framework of the Treaties and in particular of the
provisions of Article 248(4) of the EC Treaty and Article 160c
(4) of the EAEC Treaty and without prejudice to the applicable
provisions of the Financial Regulation, the implementing rules

shall lay down the rules on the forwarding and publication of
the Court's reports, opinions, observations, statements of
assurance and other decisions.

CHAPTER III

AUDITS AND THE PREPARATION OF REPORTS,
OPINIONS, OBSERVATIONS AND STATEMENTS OF
ASSURANCE

Article 26

The conduct of audits

1. The Court shall lay down detailed rules for the conduct of
the audits with which it is charged by the Treaties.

It shall perform its audits in accordance with the aims laid

2.
down in its work programme.

Article 27

Rapporteurs

1.
For every task to be carried out, the audit group shall
appoint a Member/Members to act as rapporteur. For each of
the tasks going beyond the specific framework of a group, the
rapporteur(s) shall be appointed on a case-by-case basis by the
Court.

2. As soon as it has been asked for an opinion within the
meaning either of Articles 279 and 280 of the EC Treaty and
183 of the EAEC Treaty, or of Articles 248 of the EC Treaty
and 160c of the EAEC Treaty, or when it wishes to present
observations pursuant to Articles 248 of the EC Treaty and
160c of the EAEC Treaty, the Court shall appoint,
from
amongst its Members, the rapporteur(s) with responsibility for
appraising the matter and preparing the draft.

TITLE III

GENERAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 28

Article 29

Numbers expressed as fractions

Implementing Rules

1. The Court, acting by a majority of
determines the rules for
Procedure.

its Members,
implementing these Rules of

For the purposes of the present Rules of Procedure, where a
number is expressed as a fraction, it shall be rounded up to the
next whole number.

2. The implementing rules shall be made public on the
Court's website.

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Article 30

They shall enter into force on 1 January 2005.

Access to documents

In accordance with the principles of transparency and good
administration and without prejudice to Articles 143(2) and
144(1) of the Financial Regulation, any citizen of the Union,
and any natural or legal person residing or having its
registered office in a Member State, shall have a right of access
to Court documents under the conditions laid down in the
Decision laying down internal rules for the treatment of
applications for access to documents held by the Court.

Article 31

Entry into force

These Rules of Procedure shall cancel and replace those
adopted by the Court on 31 January 2002.

Article 32

Publication

These Rules of Procedure shall be published in the Official
Journal of the European Union.

Done at Luxembourg, 8 December 2004.

For the Court of Auditors

President

Juan Manuel FABRA VALLÉS