REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA LAW ON THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE CONTROL Chapter 1 General Provisions Article
- The Department of State Control of the Republic of Lithuania is an agency of control accountable to the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania, carrying out inspections regarding the lawful, expedient, and efficient utilization of state material and financial resources, as well as the protection of state property. Article
- The Department of State Control, at the recommendation of the State Controller, shall submit its estimate of expenditures to the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania for its approval, and then submit it to the Government for inclusion in the Draft Budget of the Republic of Lithuania. Article
- The Department of State Control shall act in accordance with this law, other laws of the Republic of Lithuania and when exercising control functions shall be governed by other legislative acts of the Republic of Lithuania. Article
- Each year the Department of State Control shall submit a report to the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania on how state financial and material resources were used and how state property was protected in the preceding year. The activity of the Department of State Control and its estimate of expenditures are under the control of the Supreme Council of Republic of Lithuania. Article
- The Department of State Control shall inform the Supreme Council of the results of inspections and audits performed at the behest of the Supreme Council. The Supreme Council, and the Government, as necessary, must be informed of the results of inspections that are of general significance or when urgent actions must be taken in furtherance thereof. Article
- The Department of State Control shall make the results of inspections available to the public, except to the extent certain data are deemed to be state, technological, commercial, professional or personal secrets. Article
- The Department of State Control, as necessary, shall act in coordination with the office of the Procurator, bodies of internal affairs, with other law enforcement bodies, and with public organizations, but without interfering in their internal affairs, provided the latter do not violate the law. Chapter 2 Objectives and Functions of the Department of State Control Article
- The Department of State Control shall:
(1)monitor how indices of budget expenditures of the Republic of Lithuania are being followed; inspect and audit the fulfillment of the estimate of expenditures of the Managing Board of the Supreme Council, the Managing Board under the auspices of the Executive Branch, of the ministries, of government bodies, of inspectorates and other state institutions, as well as the financial and economic activities of state enterprises and organizations regarding the legitimacy, expedience, efficiency, and accuracy of their accounting and accountability;
(2)monitor the activities of state enterprises under lease within the limits and in accordance with the procedures established by their lease agreements, as well as their compliance with laws governing leases;
(3)monitor the utilization of state capital at state, state-joint stock and mixed stock companies;
(4)monitor local governments, public organizations and movements to determine whether allocations from the State Budget are used efficiently and for the purposes indicated;
(5)monitor loans from the State Budget and other subsidies to determine whether they are used expediently; check on the economic health of institutions and organizations whose loans and other contractual obligations are guaranteed by the government;
(6)monitor how property owned by the state, or managed or used by the state, is being protected;
(7)monitor the expediency and legitimacy of the utilization of resources appropriated for state social insurance; and
(8)at the behest of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania shall monitor financial and economic activities of other bodies formed by the Supreme Council. The Department of State Control shall not monitor the activity of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania, of the Executive Branch, or of the Bank of Lithuania. Article
- The Department of State Control shall supervise the functioning of the government apparatus, whether it violates state and financial discipline in carrying on its activities and whether principles of social justice and legality are being observed, shall disclose cases of procrastination, bureaucracy and fraud, and shall submit proposals to improve the government apparatus and its functioning. Article
- The Department of State Control, as necessary, shall provide methodological assistance to local governments, state institutions, enterprises, and organizations, as well as to other agencies of control, by organizing local inspections and audits. Chapter 3 Structure and Competence of the Department of State Control Article
- The Department of State Control of the Republic of Lithuania shall consist of a central apparatus and district divisions. The Department of State Control shall enjoy the rights of a legal person. Article
- The Department of State Control of the Republic of Lithuania is established and its internal rules and regulations are approved by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania. Head of the Department of State Control shall be the State Controller. Article
- The State Controller shall be appointed by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania on the recommendation of the President of the Supreme Council, for a term of 7 years. The State Controller shall:
(1)supervise and direct the Department of State Control and shall be responsible to the Supreme Council for the overall functioning of state control and for the observance of legality in the activities of agencies of state control;
(2)approve the structure and number of employees of the Department of State Control, as well as the location, structure and number of employees of district divisions of state control within the limits of funds appropriated for Department salaries;
(3)approve the rules and regulations of the structural subdivisions of agencies of state control, as well as their internal rules and regulations;
(4)monitor the legality of the decisions of chief controllers, review complaints concerning the actions and decisions of chief controllers;
(5)organize the work of the Council of State Control and preside over its sittings;
(6)represent the Department of State Control and ensure that the Supreme Council is provided, in due course, with information and accounting pertaining to the activities of the Department of State Control. Article
- The State Controller shall have the right to take part in meetings held by the Executive Branch of the Republic of Lithuania, but shall not have the right to vote. If the State Controller disagrees with a decision adopted by the Executive Branch, he may voice his own opinion, which must be recorded in the minutes of the meeting of the Executive Branch; however, such a record shall not have the effect of suspending the execution of the decision of the Executive Branch. The State Controller shall inform the Supreme Council of the opinion he has thus voiced. Article
- The State Controller shall adopt decisions and issue instructions concerning the functioning of the Department. Article
- Vice Controllers shall be appointed or removed from office by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania on the recommendation of the State Controller. Article
- The Department of State Control includes the Council of State Control, which also includes ex officio the State Controller, his vice controllers and chief controllers. As necessary, members of the Executive Branch may be invited to take part in the sittings of the Council. Article
- The Council of State Control shall:
(1)consider drafts of the organizational structure of agencies of state control and the number of employees thereof, drafts of estimates of expenditures, and plans for their work and their accounts;
(2)consider and approve regulations and methods of conducting inspections and audits;
(3)periodically consider and discuss the results of inspections and audits and on the basis thereof submit appropriate proposals and recommendations to the relevant government bodies;
(4)as necessary, analyze the need for and efficacy of measures adopted by officials of agencies of state control against violators, and prepare recommendations on perfecting their implementation;
(5)approve the qualifications for departmental officers;
(6)consider other issues proposed by the State Controller. Article
- The Department of State Control shall be comprised of divisions and subdivisions, depending on their spheres of activity and objects under their control. Divisions performing control functions shall be headed by chief controllers, which shall be appointed and removed from their posts by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania on the recommendation of the State Controller. Chief controllers shall organize inspections and audits, which shall be conducted by departmental officers of the appropriate divisions. Article
- The district department of state control shall be headed by a chief controller who shall be appointed and removed from his post by the Supreme Council on the recommendation of the State Controller. Article
- Citizens of the Republic of Lithuania having higher education, supervisory experience in the work of the government apparatus and who have passed qualifying examinations, can be appointed to the posts of heads of the Department of State Control and its structural subdivisions. They may hold such posts up to the age of
- Citizens of the Republic of Lithuania having higher education corresponding to the profile of a given division or subdivision of State Control, as well as experience in practical work, can be appointed as departmental officers. Heads and officers may not engage in any other paid activity, except for scientific-educational activity. Chapter 4 The Exercise of State Control and the Powers of the Department of State Control Article
- The Department of State Control shall establish on its own discretion the terms of inspections and audits, and their form and scope. Institutions, enterprises and organizations must provide officers of state control and specialists who assist them with all that is required to perform their duties. Article
- Ministries, other state bodies, and agencies shall, in due course, inform the Department of State Control of all current and new legislative acts regulating accounting, distribution and utilization of financial and material resources. Article
- Inspections and audits must be conducted so as not to interfere with the normal functioning of those [enterprises] under inspection. The officers of state control must not interfere with the functioning of enterprises, institutions or organizations, and must not make preliminary assessments or hasty conclusions prior to the completion of the inspection or audit. Article
- For performing inspections and audits, the Department of State Control has the right to employ specialists of other institutions, enterprises or organizations, and in accordance with proper procedures to pay them for their work. Article
- While exercising their functions the officers of state control shall have the right to:
(1)compel submission of initial documents, balances and accounts, estimates, contracts, orders, directives and other documents revealing economic and financial activity;
(2)freely enter warehouses, storage areas, industrial units and other entities, to locate all material valuables and cash and securities;
(3)obtain from heads of institutions and organizations and from other employees verbal or written explanations, bills of lading and other documents of entitlement, copies of documents on issues concerning inspections and audits;
(4)remove documents and to attach them to the official audit papers, to seal documents, and to seal places for securing money and other material valuables;
(5)compel special measurements and special tests for work done; and
(6)in cases provided by law, and in accordance with procedures established by law, obtain from the Bank of Lithuania, from credit and commercial banks, and from institutions and organizations relevant data, bills of lading and other documents of entitlement, as well as copies of documents regarding financial and other operations pertaining to the object under inspection. Article
- Employees whose activity is being inspected must be present when material valuables and money in their custody are being checked, and they have the right to familiarize themselves with the documents asserting shortcomings in their work, and to provide explanations and additional documents, which shall be appended to the inspection material. Article
- The Department of State Control, upon agreement with government bodies or local governments, may delegate to them the right to inspect the objects under its control. Article
- The Department of State Control, upon agreement with government bodies of other countries, as well as international monitoring organizations, may arrange to transfer or assume on their own account the duty to conduct inspections and audits. Article
- Upon performance of an inspection or audit, official audit papers shall be drawn up, and the controller who signs it shall be fully responsible for its contents. Heads of enterprises, institutions and organizations that are being inspected must be informed of the results of the inspection or audit, and when there is a determination that the law has been violated, the relevant agencies or financial bodies must also be informed. If during an inspection signs of a crime are uncovered, the Department of State Control must submit the relevant incriminating material to the agencies of law enforcement. The Department of State Control must be informed within a month of the measures adopted to compensate for material losses or to eliminate the violations of law uncovered during such inspection. Article
- The State Controller, his vice controllers, and chief:
(1)point out to departmental officers their shortcomings, to warn them and to require that they eliminate any uncovered violations;
(2)put questions to the heads of enterprises, institutions and organizations concerning the removal of directives issued by the executives violating legitimate interests of enterprises, institutions and organizations as well as the rights of its employees, to suspend the illegitimate directives and actions of executives if they impair the interests of the State or the rights of its citizens;
(3)impose fines upon the executives equal to the damage caused to the State but not exceeding the sum total of three average monthly salaries;
(4)remove from posts employees of governmental institutions and enterprises who have severely violated the laws of the Republic of Lithuania, incurred damage to the State and its citizens. Administrative measures shall be adopted against the executives who do not permit the state controllers to inspect enterprises, institutions and organizations, do not submit relevant documents or conceal them as well as present false information. Article 33. The officers of the state control agencies are accountable for the performance of their duties according to the procedure as is established for the employees of governmental bodies. An appeal against the decisions of chief controllers may be filed with the State Controller whereas an appeal against the decisions of the State Controller and his vice controllers may be addressed to the court. Bronius Kuzmickas Vice President Supreme Council Republic of Lithuania Vilnius 31 May 1990 No.1-258