JURISAI is born!

On October 8, the Cour des comptes, the French Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) had the honor of hosting the constitutive General Assembly of JURISAI, the new international organization dedicated to SAIs with jurisdictional competencies.

JURISAI is the international successor organization to the Forum of Jurisdictional SAIs, created in Paris in 2015, with regard to the promotion of the jurisdictional model and the strengthening of related norms, professional standards and practices.

A SAI has jurisdictional power when it has received the legal mandate to sanction a person on the grounds of an irregularity or damage, related to the use of public funds under the SAI’s jurisdiction. It provides 7 essential benefits to the political authorities and the citizens of a country where such power is effective.

The members (31 including 28 full members, 1 associate member, and 2 observer members) gathered during the General Assembly unanimously adopted JURISAI’s strategic plan, while proceeding with the election of the governing bodies of this new entity. 

The French Cour des comptes has been elected President of JURISAI, while the Tribunal de Contas de Portugal will hold the 1st vice-presidency, and the Tribunal de Contas da União will be 2nd Vice-president. The Court of Accounts of the Kingdom of Morocco has been elected General secretary of JURISAI. The Cour des Comptes du Sénégal has been elected chair of the Capacity Building Commission, and the Corte dei conti of Italy has been elected to the chairmanship of the Commission of Public Prosecutors’ Offices. SAI’s of Angola, Djibouti, Spain and Mauritania will also be part of the Governing Board.

During this session, José F.F. Tavares was appointed as an honorary member of JURISAI, highlighting his significant role as the former president of the SAI of Portugal.

Pierre Moscovici, First president of the French Cour des comptes, declared in his closing speech that this creation “marks the starting point for closer cooperation within INTOSAI, ongoing dialogue and a shared ambition to make our jurisdictional institutions models of rigor and transparency worldwide”. He concluded by a vibrant: “Long live the jurisdictional powers of SAIs!”.

Read our special issue on jurisdictional SAIs: https://intosaijournal.org/issue/q2-2024/ 

Discover the 7 advantages that jurisdictional SAIs can bring to society: https://www.ccomptes.fr/system/files/2023-06/Advocacy%20Jurisdictional%20SAIs_%20EN_political%20authorities%20VDef_0.pdf