Considering what has been mentioned in previous articles regarding the special legislation regulating employment affairs at the Audit Bureau, as well as the state’s general legislation in this regard, and the Bureau’s practices related to its employees ’affairs, three facts are clear to us:
The first fact: The Cabinet does not have legislation that enables it to regulate employment affairs for all civil employees of the state except within the exceptional limits regulated by the law, noting that the decisions issued by the Supreme Committee of the Audit Bureau are not exceptional decisions.
The second fact: The employee’s Bureau (currently the Civil Service Bureau) does not have any authority related to employment affairs except within the limits set forth by Law (15) of 1979 regarding the civil service, and it does not extend to the authority of the Civil Service Council as set forth in its provisions and specifically Article (5) of it, and related to the approval and amendment of salary systems, which include basic salaries, bonuses, additional wages, allowances, and any other financial benefits granted to the employee, which are considered the primary competence of the Civil Service Council exclusively.
The third fact: If the legislator wanted to grant the Audit Bureau the authority to approve everything related to the affairs of employment for the Bureau’s employees, including salary systems, the competencies of the Supreme Committee in the Bureau would be reconsidered as is the case with the authority of the Parliament’s office in the National Assembly, where Article 39 was granted Among the internal regulation that authority is for the National Assembly office according to Law No. (12) of 1963.
In light of this, deserving questions arise that require standing up to verify the extent of the Audit Bureau’s authority in the affairs of its employees at the Bureau, namely:
-Is it permissible to decide any additional financial entitlements for the chief of the bureau without the same legal instrument in which his entitlements were determined, as is the current situation since according to the text of the law, he is treated as a minister in terms of salary, pension, and other allowances and financial benefits?
-Is it permissible to decide any financial entitlements for the leaders of the Audit Bureau (Vice Chief of the Bureau, Undersecretary, and assistant Undersecretary) other than what was decided under the provisions of Articles 34, 37, and 38 of the Law on the Establishment of the Audit Bureau?
-Does the Supreme Committee of the Audit Bureau in accordance with Article (47) of the Bureau’s Establishment Law have any authority related to organizing the affairs of its employees, especially financial benefits considering the existence of the Civil Service Council established under Law No. 15 of 1979, for which the legislator exclusively agreed to approve and amend regulations Salaries with its details and accessories?
-Are the financial benefits approved by the Supreme Committee of the Audit Bureau based on a legal basis? Or is it necessary to obtain the prior approval of the Civil Service Council on every decision issued by the Supreme Committee before its implementation to give it legal cover?
In conclusion, according to the facts and questions that we mentioned in our articles, we think that the concerned authorities should deal with these facts and questions in an objective manner, leading to a decision regarding the extent of the authority of the Audit Bureau in organizing the affairs of its employees, and among those bodies is the Civil Service Bureau, the Fatwa and Legislation Department, government representatives in the Supreme Committee, So that their role is not limited to voting on the committee’s decisions, but rather to take a position regarding the existence of any decisions that are inconsistent with the law, as well as the Ministry of Finance’s oversight role on the Bureau in accordance with Article (82) of the law establishing the Audit Bureau.
On the other hand, the representatives of the National Assembly in the Supreme Committee, who is the chief of the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee and the chief of the Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee, must have an effective oversight role over the Audit Bureau’s proposals regarding employment affairs in it in line with the provisions of the Constitution and the laws regulating in this regard.
Bader alhammad 