Constitution

Chile 2018 Draft Constitution

Table of Contents

Chapter X. The Comptroller General of the Republic

Article 100

An autonomous organization of the State with the name of the Comptroller General of the Republic will control the legality of the acts of the administration, oversee the entry and the inversion of the funds of the Treasury, the municipalities, and the other organizations and services determined by the laws; it will examine and judge the accounts of the persons that are responsible for assets of these organizations; it will conduct the general accounting of the nation, and it will perform the other functions assigned to it by the respective organic constitutional law.

The Comptroller, with the motive of controlling legality or the authorities, may not evaluate the aspects of merit or of convenience of the political or administrative decisions.

The Comptroller General of the Republic must have at least ten years of certification as a lawyer, have reached the age of forty and must possess the other qualities necessary to be a citizen with the right to vote. The Comptroller General will be designated by the President of the Republic with the agreement of the Senate, which requires a three fifths vote of the Senate’s members in office, and will serve for a period of eight years and may not be designated for the following period. Upon reaching the age of 75, he or she will cease operating in the role. Prior to the vote of the Senate, the proposed candidate must formulate a presentation of his or her nomination for the position in a public special session before the Senate.

Article 101

The Comptroller General, in order to ensure compliance with the law, will take note of the decrees and resolutions that, in accordance with the law, must be processed by the Comptroller or it will attest to the illegality a law suffers from; however, it must proceed with them when, despite his or her representation, the President of the Republic insists on, with the signature of all of his or her ministers, a case in which a copy of the relevant decrees must be sent to the Cámara de Diputados. In no case will decrees of expenses that exceed the limit signaled in the Constitution be allowed to proceed and the Comptroller will remit a full copy of the records to the same house.

Additionally, it will correspond to the Comptroller General of the Republic to take note of the decrees with the force of law, requiring the Comptroller to object to them when they exceed or contravene the law of delegation or when they are contrary to the constitution.

If the objection took place with respect to a decree with the force of law, the promulgation decree of a law or of a constitutional reform for departing from the approved text, or a decree or resolution for being contrary to the Constitution, the President of the Republic will not have the ability to insist, and in the case of noncompliance with the representation of the Comptroller, the President must remit the background information to the Constitutional Tribunal within the period of ten days, with the goal of having the Constitutional Tribunal resolve the controversy.

In other cases, the organization, operation, and the attributes of the Comptroller General of the Republic will be subject to an organic constitutional law.

Article 102

The Treasuries of the State may not issue any payment except in the service of a decree or resolution issued by a competent authority, in which the law or the part of the budget that authorizes the expense is expressed.