Court of Auditors Magazine

COURT OF AUDITORS MAGAZINE
Issue No. 9, January – June 2025

OPENING NOTE

In this issue of the Court of Auditors Magazine we present three very important studies that deal with clearly topical issues. We also report on some of the Court's activity in the first half of 2025, in the various Sections at Headquarters and in the Regional Sections of the Azores and Madeira, and publish a set of current news items on relevant issues in the field of the Courts of Auditors and similar institutions.

BRIEF CONSIDERATIONS ON THE INDEPENDENCE AND LEGITIMACY OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK
Ricardo Luís Rodrigues de Freitas da Cunha Leal

With the present study, we aim to retrospectively analyse the role of the European Central Bank (“ECB”) within the context of the Economic and Monetary Union, observing its evolution and the related implications for the fundamental triangle shaping its action: mandate, independence, and democratic legitimacy.

The study begins with a necessary contextualisation of the ECB’s historical evolution and institutional structure, and subsequently, in the chapter entitled “Political Independence as the Keystone of the ECB’s Institutional Design”, develops a doctrinal discussion of a legal-economic nature concerning the ideal model of a central bank. It examines the key contrasts between the Anglo-French and German models, their theoretical underpinnings, and the decisive influence of the German model on the institutional architecture of the ECB.

The study then turns, finally, to the democratic legitimacy of the ECB. At this stage, which precedes brief final considerations, we seek to understand and analyse the parameters that allow for the assessment of the ECB’s actual democratic legitimacy, with particular attention given to the study of transparency and accountability as the main mechanisms of responsibility.

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(full text in Portuguese)

THE INNOVATIVE ROLE OF SUPREME AUDIT INSTITUTIONS (SAIS) IN PREVENTING FRAUD AND CORRUPTION: WHERE WAS THE AUDITOR?
Helena Abreu Lopes

1. The supreme audit institutions as an instrument for reinforcing trust in public institutions. 2. The role of supreme audit institutions in the prevention of fraud and corruption. 3. Promoting integrity in the public sector. 4. Cooperation between supreme audit institutions and entities with specific responsibilities for preventing or combating corruption. 5. The specific nature of supreme audit institutions with jurisdictional authority. 6. The audit by supreme audit institutions of integrity in public management and of systems, strategies and measures against fraud and corruption. 7. Methodological considerations. 8. Digital tools and the fight against fraud and corruption. 9. Conclusions.

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(full text in Portuguese)

FINANCIAL CONTROL, JURISDICTION AND RESPONSIBILITY IN PORTUGUESE SPEAKING COUNTRIES
José Mouraz Lopes

In the legal and judicial space of Portuguese-speaking countries, namely Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe and Timor-Leste East, control of public accounts and possible financial liabilities is ensured by the Courts of Auditors. Although endowed with specificities and dynamics as a rule, perform similar functions in accordance with legal frameworks with origin in common principles matrices. A comparative analysis of the tables is carried out involving the jurisdictional dimension of the Courts, namely the clearance and judgment of financial liabilities in accordance with regulatory frameworks constitutional and supra-constitutional that bind them.