Tribunal de Cuentas de la Provincia de Formosa

The Tribunal de Cuentas (Court of Accounts) of the Province of Formosa has jurisdiction over the whole Province (Constitution Article 150). Ley N° 1.216 is its organic charter (Article 1) and Ley N° 1.180, Title IX, sets the external control system it applies.

It has a President who is a lawyer and two Vocales (members) who are public accountants, all irremovable and designated by the Legislature on the proposal of the Executive (Constitution Article 150); no fixed term is stated. They can be tried and removed in the same way and in the same cases as the judges of the Superior Tribunal de Justicia (Article 150).

The President and Vocales are subject to political trial (juicio político) by the Legislature for poor performance of their functions, an apparent intentional offence, or supervening physical or mental incapacity, once the Chamber has declared by two thirds of the members present that there are grounds to proceed; conviction needs two thirds of all the members of the Legislature and brings dismissal (Articles 156, 161 and 162).

The Tribunal has functional independence, drafts its own expenditure budget within the guidelines of the General Budget, sets its own internal and procedural rules, and appoints and removes its staff (Article 150); the budget goes to the Executive for incorporation in the General Budget (Article 62).

It carries out external control of the economic, financial and asset management of provincial and municipal public finances, approves or disapproves accounts of collection and investment of public revenue, and has exclusive power to declare the resulting liabilities (Article 151 paragraph 1; Ley 1.216 Articles 2 and 3).

It may intervene in administrative acts in advance and observe those that breach the Constitution or the law, which suspends them until the Executive in a council of ministers, or the presidents of the Legislature or of the Superior Tribunal de Justicia or the intendants for their own acts, insist (Article 151 paragraph 2).

All public sector entities must supply the data, documents, records and reports it requires for its functions (Ley 1.180 Article 133), and fines for formal transgressions are set on the value of the JUS unit used by the Superior Tribunal de Justicia (Ley 1.216 Article 46).

It presents the Memoria (annual report) of its activity to the Legislature before 30 June each year and publishes it, except material the Legislature decides must stay reserved (Ley 1.180 Article 133). The Legislature, or a special committee it names, exercises external control of the Tribunal's own administration, on an annual account of its financial and asset management sent before 30 June (Ley 1.180 Article 136).