Constitution of the Cook Islands 1965 (am. 2004) Part V + MFEM Act 1995-96 + Audit Act 1998 + Financial Policy and Regulations 2016

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Cook Islands' fiscal transparency framework rests on the Constitution 1965 (am. 2004) Part V (Arts. 67-71, covering the Cook Islands Government Account -- NOT 'Consolidated Fund' -- appropriation, and audit), MFEM Act 1995-96, Audit Act 1998, and Financial Policy and Regulations 2016. Cook Islands is NOT in the IBP OBS (structural absence: NZ-realm free-association state, non-UN/non-IMF member, population ~17,000). PEFA 2021 (pefa.org/assessments/summary/4957) is the primary substitute assessment. Key PEFA 2021 strengths: PI-5 (A -- comprehensive budget documentation), PI-9 (B -- above average public fiscal access), PI-13 (A -- strong debt management). Key PEFA 2021 weaknesses: PI-24 (D -- worst procurement score in batch), PI-31 (D -- legislative audit scrutiny, persistent D across all 3 cycles: 2011, 2015, 2021), PI-29 (D+ -- financial report timeliness, persistent across all 3 cycles). CRITICAL UNRESOLVED: auditor_selection='appointed_executive' applied as conservative default -- Audit Act 1998 primary text inaccessible (audit.gov.ck ECONNREFUSED; PacLII TLS error). Art. 71(3) establishes the Public Expenditure Committee chairperson appointed by the Minister of Finance -- executive oversight is the constitutional default for CK. NZ-adjacent norms (NZ AG appointed on parliamentary recommendation) cannot be assumed to transfer. Non-IMF member: no Article IV conditionality; PFTAC-led all 3 PEFAs. No RTI law; no OGP membership; no FOI framework. mfem.gov.ck legislation subpage 404; PacLII TLS error. Score: 44 (weak band; -1 pt from cluster default due to 'appointed_executive' conservative default; resolve in Phase 4).

Transparency Requirements