CHAPTER I
General disposition
Article 1 – Content and scope of application . This Law establishes the minimum criteria that must be observed by the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic and the entities or bodies subject to its control, in the establishment, operation, maintenance, improvement and evaluation of its internal control systems.
Article 2- Definitions .
a) Active Administration: from the functional point of view, it is the decision-making, executive, resolution, directive or operational function of the Administration. From the organic point of view, it is the set of organs and entities of the administrative function, which decide and execute; include the hierarch, as a last resort.
b) Establish, maintain, perfect and evaluate the internal control system : terms used to delimit the responsibility of the hierarch or that of the subordinate holder on the internal control system, in terms of establishing it, giving it permanence and constantly improving it.
c) Hierarch : hierarchical superior of the body or entity; exercises the highest authority within the body or entity, individual or collegiate.
d) Subordinate holder : active administration official responsible for a process, with authority to order and make decisions.
e) Control environment: set of factors of the organizational environment that must be established and maintained by the chief, subordinate officials and other officials, to allow the development of a positive and supportive attitude for internal control and for a scrupulous administration.
f) Risk assessment: identification and analysis of the risks faced by the institution, both from internal and external sources relevant to the achievement of the objectives; must be carried out by the superior and the subordinate owners, in order to determine how these risks must be managed.
g) Control activities : policies and procedures that allow to obtain the security that the provisions issued by the Comptroller General of the Republic, by the hierarchs and the subordinate holders for the achievement of the objectives of the internal control system are carried out.
Article 3 – Power to promulgate technical regulations on internal control . The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic will dictate the technical internal control regulations necessary for the effective functioning of the internal control system of the entities and bodies subject to this Law. Said regulations will be mandatory and non-compliance will be grounds for administrative liability. .
The regulations on internal control that other institutions issue in the exercise of control or oversight powers legally attributed, should not conflict with that issued by the Comptroller General of the Republic and, in case of doubt, that of the comptroller body will prevail.
Article 4 – Applicability to subjects of private law . The subjects of private law who, by any title, are custodians or administrators of public funds, must apply in their management the principles and technical standards of internal control issued by the Comptroller General of the Republic in accordance with the third article.
Apart from the other sanctions that the legal system may establish, the subjects of private law who guard or manage, by any title, public funds or receive patrimonial benefits from state entities or bodies, may be sanctioned, according to the provisions of article 7 of the Organic Law of the Comptroller General of the Republic, No. 7428, of September 7, 1994, when they fail to comply with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.
Article 5º- National Congress of Management and Supervision of the Public Treasury. The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic will convene, at least once every two years, a National Congress on Management and Supervision of the Public Treasury, with the participation of internal auditors and deputy auditors of the Public Sector, and other officials or specialists who deemed pertinent, in order to strengthen relationships, promote strategic alliances, promote the coordinated interaction of competencies, establish cooperation links, exchange experiences, promote improvements in the inspection and control processes, review internal control procedures and standards, present proposals that tend to improve or streamline substantive management in the Public Sector and discuss any topic of interest related to the purposes of this Law.
The Ministry of Finance will transfer the resources requested by the higher control body to carry out this activity.
Article 6 – Confidentiality of the complainants and studies that originate the opening of administrative procedures . The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic, the administration and the internal audits will maintain confidentiality regarding the identity of citizens who file complaints with their offices.
The information, documentation and other evidence of the investigations carried out by the internal audits, the administration and the Comptroller General, whose results may lead to the opening of an administrative procedure, will be confidential during the formulation of the respective report. Once the corresponding report has been notified and until the final resolution of the administrative procedure, the information contained in the file will be classified as confidential information, except for the parties involved, who will have free access to all the documents and evidence contained in the file. administrative.
In all cases, the Legislative Assembly, in the exercise of the powers contained in subparagraph 23) of article 121 of the Political Constitution, may access the reports, documentation and evidence held by the internal audits, the administration or the Comptroller General of the Republic.
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CHAPTER II
The internal control system
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Article 7 – Obligation to have an internal control system . The entities and bodies subject to this Law will have internal control systems, which must be applicable, complete, reasonable, integrated and consistent with their institutional powers and attributions. In addition, they must provide security in the fulfillment of these powers and competencies; all in accordance with the first paragraph of article 3 of this Law.
Article 8 – Concept of internal control system . For the purposes of this Law, the internal control system shall be understood as the series of actions carried out by the active administration, designed to provide security in the achievement of the following objectives:
a) Protect and conserve public assets against any loss, waste, improper use, irregularity or illegal act.
b) Demand reliability and timeliness of information.
c) Guarantee efficiency and effectiveness of operations.
d) Comply with the legal and technical regulations.
Article 9 – Bodies of the internal control system . The active administration and the internal audit of the entities and bodies subject to this Law, will be the organic components of the established internal control system and will integrate the Superior Control System of the Public Treasury referred to in the Organic Law of the Comptroller General of the Republic.
Article 10.- Responsibility for the internal control system. It will be the responsibility of the hierarch and the subordinate holder to establish, maintain, perfect and evaluate the institutional internal control system. Likewise, it will be the responsibility of the active administration to carry out the necessary actions to guarantee its effective operation.
Article 11.- The internal control system in the deconcentration of powers and the contracting of support services . The hierarch and the subordinate holders will have the responsibility of analyzing the implications in the internal control system, when a deconcentration of competences is carried out, or the contracting of support services with third parties; likewise, the responsibility to take the corresponding measures so that the controls are extended, modified and changed, when necessary.
CHAPTER III
Active Administration
SECTION I
Duties of the hierarch and subordinate holders
(Corrected by Errata and published in La Gaceta N ° 102 of May 29, 2003. Previously the wording of this epigraph indicated:
“1.SECTION I
1. . Duties of the hierarch and subordinate holders” )
Article 12.- Duties of the hierarch and subordinate holders in the internal control system . In matters of internal control, the hierarch and the subordinate holders will be responsible for fulfilling, among others, the following duties:
a) Ensure the proper development of the activity of the entity or body under its charge.
b) Immediately take corrective measures in the event of any evidence of deviations or irregularities.
c) Analyze and implement, immediately, the observations, recommendations and provisions formulated by the internal audit, the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic, the external audit and the other corresponding control and inspection institutions.
d) Ensure that the internal control systems comply with at least the characteristics defined in article 7 of this Law.
e) Submit an end-of-management report and formally hand over the entity or body to its successor, in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic and by the competent entities and bodies of the active administration.
Article 13.- Control environment. Regarding the control environment, the duties of the hierarch and the subordinate holders will be, among others, the following:
a) Maintain and demonstrate integrity and ethical values in the exercise of their duties and obligations, as well as contribute with their leadership and actions to promote them in the rest of the organization, for effective compliance by other officials.
b) Develop and maintain a philosophy and management style that allow managing a certain level of risk, aimed at achieving results and measuring performance, and that promote an open attitude towards mechanisms and processes that improve the internal control system.
c) Evaluate the operation of the organizational structure of the institution and take the pertinent measures to guarantee the fulfillment of the institutional purposes; all in accordance with the applicable legal and technical system.
d) Clearly establish the hierarchical relationships, assign the authority and responsibility of the officials and provide the appropriate channels of communication, so that the processes are carried out; all in accordance with the applicable legal and technical system.
e) Establish appropriate human resource management policies and practices, mainly in terms of hiring, hiring, training, evaluation, promotion and disciplinary actions; all in accordance with the applicable legal and technical system.
Article 14.- Risk assessment . In relation to risk assessment, the duties of the hierarch and the subordinate holders, among others, will be the following:
a) Identify and analyze the relevant risks associated with the achievement of the institutional objectives and goals, defined both in the annual operating plans and in the medium and long-term plans.
b) Analyze the possible effect of the identified risks, their importance and the probability of their occurrence, and decide the actions that will be taken to manage them.
c) Adopt the necessary measures for the proper functioning of the risk assessment system and to be located at least at an acceptable organizational risk level.
d) Establish the operational mechanisms that minimize the risk in the actions to be carried out.
Article 15.- Control activities. Regarding the control activities, the duties of the hierarch and the subordinate holders, among others, will be the following:
a) Document, update and internally disclose the policies, standards and control procedures that guarantee compliance with the institutional internal control system and the prevention of any aspect that leads to deviation from the objectives and goals set by the institution in the performance of their duties.
b) Document, update and internally disclose both the policies and procedures that clearly define, among other matters, the following:
i. The authority and responsibility of the officials in charge of authorizing and approving the operations of the institution.
ii. The protection and conservation of all institutional assets.
iii. The design and use of documents and records that contribute to the proper recording of transactions and significant events that take place in the institution. Documents and records must be properly managed and maintained.
IV. The periodic reconciliation of records, to verify their accuracy and to determine and correct errors or omissions that may have been made.
v. The general controls common to all computerized information systems and the specific application controls for data processing with application software.
Article 16.- Information systems . There must be information systems that allow the active administration to have an institutional document management, understanding this as the set of activities carried out in order to control, store and, later, adequately recover the information produced or received in the organization, in the development of its activities, in order to prevent any deviation from the objectives set. Said document management must be closely related to information management, in which corporate databases and other computer applications must be considered, which constitute important sources of registered information.
Regarding information and communication, the duties of the chief and subordinate holders, as responsible for the proper functioning of the information system, will be the following, among others:
a) Have processes that allow identifying and recording reliable, relevant, pertinent and timely information; likewise, that the information be communicated to the active administration that needs it, in the form and within the term required for the adequate fulfillment of its responsibilities, including those of internal control.
b) Harmonize the information systems with the institutional objectives and verify that they are suitable for the efficient care and management of public resources.
c) Establish the policies, procedures and resources to have an institutional file, in accordance with what is stated in the legal and technical system.
Article 17.- Monitoring of the internal control system . Follow-up of the internal control system is understood as the activities carried out to assess the quality of the functioning of the internal control system, over time; also to ensure that audit findings and the results of other reviews are promptly addressed.
Regarding the monitoring of the internal control system, the duties of the hierarch and the subordinate holders will be the following:
a) That the responsible officials continuously carry out control and prevention actions in the course of normal operations integrated to such actions.
b) That the active administration carry out, at least once a year, the self-assessments that lead to the improvement of the internal control system for which it is responsible. Also, that it can detect any deviation that moves the organization away from the fulfillment of its objectives.
(Corrected by means of Errata and published in La Gaceta 102 of May 29, 2003. Previously the wording of this section indicated: ” c) That the active administration carry out, at least once a year, the self-assessments that lead to the improvement of the internal control system for which it is responsible. Also, that it can detect any deviation that moves the organization away from the fulfillment of its objectives”)
c) That the results of the periodic evaluations carried out by the active administration, the internal audit, the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic, the external audit and other corresponding control and inspection institutions be implemented, within ten business days following their date. notification.
(Corrected by Errata and published in La Gaceta 102 of May 29, 2003. Previously the wording of this subsection indicated: ” d) That the results of the periodic evaluations carried out by the active administration, the internal audit, the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic, the external audit and other corresponding control and oversight institutions, within ten business days following notification”).
SECTION II
Specific Risk Assessment System
Article 18.- Specific institutional risk assessment system . Every entity or body must have a specific system for assessing institutional risk by area, sector, activity or task that, in accordance with its particularities, allows the level of institutional risk to be identified and the methods of continuous and systematic use to be adopted, in order to to analyze and manage the level of said risk.
The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic will establish the criteria and general guidelines that will serve as the basis for the establishment and operation of the system in the selected entities and bodies, criteria and guidelines that will be mandatory and will prevail over those that oppose them, without detriment to the obligation of the hierarch and subordinate holders referred to in article 14 of this Law.
Article 19.- Responsibility for the operation of the system. The hierarch and the respective subordinate holders of the entities and bodies subject to this Law, in which the Comptroller General of the Republic establishes that the Specific Institutional Risk Assessment System must be implemented, will adopt the necessary measures for the proper functioning of the System and to be at least at an acceptable institutional risk level.
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CHAPTER IV
internal audit
SECTION I
General disposition
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Article 20.- Obligation to have an internal audit . All entities and bodies subject to this Law will have an internal audit, except for those in which the Comptroller General of the Republic determines, through regulations or a singular provision, that their existence is not justified, based on criteria such as the allocated budget, volume of operations, level of institutional risk or type of activity. In this case, the Comptroller General will order the institution to establish the control or oversight methods that are defined.
Article 21.- Functional concept of internal audit . The internal audit is the independent, objective and advisory activity that provides security to the entity or body, since it is created to validate and improve its operations. It contributes to the achievement of institutional objectives, through the practice of a systemic and professional approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control and management processes in the entities and bodies subject to this Law. Within of an organization, the internal audit provides citizens with a reasonable guarantee that the performance of the chief and the rest of the administration is carried out in accordance with the legal and technical framework and sound practices.
Article 22.- Powers . The internal audit is primarily responsible for the following:
a) Carry out audits or special studies every six months, in relation to public funds subject to its institutional competence, including trusts, special funds and others of a similar nature. Likewise, carry out semi-annual audits or special studies on private funds and activities, in accordance with articles 5 and 6 of the Organic Law of the Comptroller General of the Republic, as long as these originate in transfers made by components of its institutional competence.
b) Verify the compliance, validity and sufficiency of the internal control system of its institutional competence, report it and propose the pertinent corrective measures.
c) Verify that the active administration takes the internal control measures indicated in this Law, in the cases of deconcentration of competences, or the contracting of support services with third parties; likewise, regularly examine the effective operation of critical controls, in these decentralized units or in the provision of such services.
d) Advise, in matters of its competence, the hierarch to whom it depends; In addition, warn the passive bodies that it supervises about the possible consequences of certain behaviors or decisions, when they are aware of them.
e) Authorize, by reason of opening, the accounting books and minutes that must be kept by the bodies subject to their institutional competence and other books that, in the opinion of the internal auditor, are necessary for the strengthening of the internal control system.
f) Prepare work plans, at least in accordance with the guidelines established by the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic.
g) Prepare an annual report on the execution of the work plan and the status of the recommendations of the internal audit, the Comptroller General of the Republic and the offices of public accountants; in the last two cases, when they are known to you, notwithstanding the fact that reports are prepared and presented to the hierarch when the circumstances warrant it.
h) Keep the regulations for the organization and operation of the internal audit duly updated.
i) The other powers contemplated by the applicable legal, regulatory and technical regulations, with the limitations established in article 34 of this Law.
Article 23.- Organization . The internal audit will be organized and will function as provided by the internal auditor, in accordance with the provisions, standards, policies and guidelines issued by the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic, which will be mandatory.
Each internal audit will have an organization and operation regulation, in accordance with the regulations that govern its activity. Said regulation must be approved by the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic, published in the official gazette and disclosed in the institutional sphere.
Article 24.- Organic dependency and applicable administrative regulations . The internal auditor and deputy auditor of the entities and bodies subject to this Law will depend organically on the highest authority, who will appoint them and establish the administrative regulations that will be applicable to said officials. The other officials of the internal audit will be subject to the administrative provisions applicable to the rest of the staff; however, the appointment, transfer, suspension, removal, granting of licenses and other movements of personnel must have the authorization of the internal auditor; all in accordance with the legal framework that governs the entity or body.
The aforementioned administrative regulations must not negatively affect the internal audit activity, the functional independence and criteria of the auditor and the internal sub-auditor and their staff; in case of doubt, the Comptroller General will provide the corresponding.
Article 25.- Functional independence and criteria . Internal audit officials shall exercise their powers with complete functional independence and judgment with respect to the chief and other active management bodies.
Article 26.- Protection of audit staff . When the internal audit staff, in the performance of their duties, is involved in a legal conflict or lawsuit, the institution will give all its legal and technical support and will cover the costs to attend to this process until its final resolution.
Article 27.- Allocation of resources . The head of the entities and bodies subject to this Law must allocate the human, material, technological, transportation and other necessary and sufficient resources so that the internal audit can carry out its management.
For budget purposes, internal audit will be given a programmatic category; for the allocation and provision of its resources, the criteria of the internal auditor and the instructions issued in this regard by the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic will be taken into account.
Internal audit will execute your budget, as determined by your needs to meet your work plan.
Article 28.- Vacancies . Vacancies that, for any reason, occur in internal audit positions, must be filled within a maximum period of three months, counted from the moment of the vacancy. The term may be extended for another three months, for reasons duly accredited in the file prepared for that purpose.
The decrease in positions due to labor mobility or other movements in the internal audit must be previously authorized by the internal auditor.
The requirements for the creation and occupation of internal audit positions defined by the Budgetary Authority or other competent institutions must consider, at all times, their real needs and may not be applied to the detriment of the functioning of the internal control system of the institution. .
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SECTION II
The internal auditor and deputy auditor
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Article 29.- Post requirements . The entities and bodies subject to this Law shall define, in their respective manuals of positions and classes, the description of the functions and the corresponding requirements for each of the positions, in accordance with the guidelines issued in this regard by the Comptroller General of the Republic. .
Article 30.- Working day . The working day of the internal auditor and deputy auditor will be full time. In very qualified cases, the hierarch may request a reduction in the working day from the Comptroller General of the Republic, which may not be less than half time.
Municipalities whose regular budget is equal to or less than two hundred million colones (¢200,000,000.00), may hire, without the authorization of the Comptroller General of the Republic, the internal auditor and sub-auditor only part time.
To reduce the working hours of the internal auditor or deputy auditor, the chief will order a technical study, which must be submitted to the Comptroller General of the Republic, which will ultimately resolve what is appropriate.
Article 31.- Appointment and termination of the service relationship. The chief will appoint the internal auditor and deputy auditor for an indefinite period of time. Such appointments will be made by public contest promoted by each entity and body of the Public Administration; the selection of suitable candidates to fill the positions will be ensured; all of which must be recorded in the respective file. The file and the short list selected must be communicated, prior to the appointments, to the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic, which will analyze the process and approve or veto it. In the latter case, it will turn the provisions over to the respective entity or body and will point out the objected elements for their correction; the administration must repeat the process from the stage where the respective objection was initiated.
The interim appointments will be authorized, in advance and at the request of the administration, by the Comptroller General of the Republic; in no case may they be made for more than twelve months.
The appointments of the auditor and the sub-auditor must be communicated by the respective hierarch to the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic, no later than the first business day of the start of functions in the respective positions.
The conclusion of the service relationship, for just cause, of the internal auditor and deputy auditor, must be in accordance with article 15 of the Organic Law of the Comptroller General of the Republic.
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SECTION III
Duties, powers and prohibitions of audit officials
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Article 32.- Duties . The internal auditor, the internal deputy auditor and the other officials of the internal audit, will have the following obligations:
a) Comply with the powers assigned by law.
b) Comply with the applicable legal and technical regulations.
c) Collaborate in the studies that the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic and other institutions carry out in the exercise of control or oversight powers legally attributed.
d) Administer, effectively, efficiently and economically, the resources of the process for which they are responsible.
e) Do not reveal to third parties that are not directly related to the matters dealt with in their reports, information about the audits or special audit studies that are being carried out or information about what determines a possible civil, administrative or criminal liability of the officials of the entities and bodies subject to this Law.
f) Maintain the confidentiality of the case regarding the information to which they have access.
g) Abide by the provisions and recommendations issued by the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic. In case of opposition by the internal audit regarding such provisions and recommendations, article 26 of the Organic Law of the Comptroller General of the Republic will apply.
h) Facilitate and deliver the information requested by the Legislative Assembly in the exercise of the powers provided in paragraph 23) of article 121 of the Political Constitution, and collaborate with said information.
i) Fulfill the other duties related to its competence.
Article 33.- Powers . The internal auditor, the internal deputy auditor and the other officials of the internal audit will have the following powers:
a) Free access, at any time, to all the books, files, securities, bank accounts and documents of the entities and bodies of its institutional competence, as well as of private subjects, only insofar as they manage or safeguard funds o public goods of the entities and bodies of its institutional competence; They will also have free access to other sources of information related to their activity. The internal auditor may access, for its purposes, at any time, the electronic transactions that appear in the electronic files and systems of the transactions carried out by the entities with the banks or other institutions, for which the administration must provide the resources that are required.
b) Request, from any official and private subject that manages or safeguards public funds of the entities and bodies of its institutional competence, in the form, conditions and reasonable term, the reports, data and documents for the full compliance of its competence. . In the case of private subjects, the request will be in regard to the administration or custody of public funds of the entities and bodies of their institutional competence.
c) Request, from officials of any hierarchical level, the collaboration, advice and facilities that the exercise of the internal audit demands.
d) Any other powers necessary for the fulfillment of its competence, in accordance with the applicable legal and technical system.
Article 34.-Prohibitions. The internal auditor, the internal deputy auditor and the other internal audit officials will have the following prohibitions:
a) Carry out active administration functions and actions, except those necessary to fulfill its competence.
b) Being part of a directing body of an administrative procedure.
c) Exercise liberal professions outside the position, except in strictly personal matters, in those of their spouse, their ascendants, descendants and collaterals by consanguinity and affinity up to the third degree, or, when the working day is not full time, unless there is impediment due to the existence of a direct or indirect interest of the entity or body itself. Teaching is exempt from this prohibition, as long as it is outside working hours.
d) Participate in political-electoral activities, except for voting in national and municipal elections.
e) Reveal information on the audits or special audit studies that are being carried out and on what determines a possible civil, administrative or eventual criminal liability of the officials of the entities and bodies subject to this Law.
For the prohibitions contemplated in this Law, they will be paid sixty-five percent (65%) of the base salary.
(Note from Sinalevi : See the percentages for prohibition indicated in the Law of Salaries of the Public Administration No. 2166 of 09/10/1957 , as they were added by article 3 of title III of the Law of Strengthening of Public Finances , No. 9635 of December 3, 2018)
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SECTION IV
Internal audit reports
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Article 35.- Matters subject to internal audit reports . The internal audit reports will deal with various matters within its competence, as well as with matters from which possible responsibilities may be derived for officials, former officials of the institution and third parties. When recommendations are derived from a study on liability issues and other matters, the internal audit must communicate them in independent reports for each matter.
The findings, conclusions and recommendations of the studies carried out by the internal audit must be communicated officially, through reports to the hierarch or to the subordinate heads of the active administration, with competence and authority to order the implementation of the respective recommendations.
The official communication of the results of an audit report will be governed by the guidelines issued by the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic.
Article 36.- Reports addressed to subordinate holders . When the audit reports contain recommendations addressed to the subordinate holders, the following procedure shall be followed:
a) The subordinate owner, within a non-extendable period of ten business days from the date of receipt of the report, will order the implementation of the recommendations. If he disagrees with them, in the course of said term he will submit the audit report to the superior, with a copy to the internal audit, he will present in writing the reasons why he objects to the recommendations of the report and propose alternative solutions for the detected findings.
b) In view of the foregoing, the hierarch must resolve, within a period of twenty working days from the date of receipt of the documentation sent by the subordinate owner; In addition, he must order the implementation of the recommendations of the internal audit, the alternative solutions proposed by the subordinate owner or those of his own initiative, duly substantiated. Within the first ten days of that period, the internal auditor may appear, ex officio, before the hierarch, to rule on the objections or alternative solutions proposed. The solutions that the hierarch orders to implement and that are different from those proposed by the internal audit, will be subject, in what is appropriate, to the provisions of the following articles.
c) The final act will be disclosed to the internal audit and the corresponding subordinate holder, for the appropriate procedure.
Article 37.- Reports directed to the hierarch . When the audit report is addressed to the hierarch, he must order the corresponding subordinate holder, within a non-extendable period of thirty working days from the date of receipt of the report, the implementation of the recommendations. If he disagrees with such recommendations, within the indicated period he must order the alternative solutions that he reasonably provides; All this will have to be duly communicated to the internal audit and to the corresponding subordinate owner.
Article 38.- Presentation of conflicts before the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic . Sign the resolution of the hierarch who orders solutions other than those recommended by the internal audit, this will have a period of fifteen working days, counted from its communication, to explain in writing the reasons for its disagreement with the resolution and to indicate that the The conflicting matter must be sent to the Comptroller General of the Republic, within the following eight business days, unless the hierarch accepts the indicated reasons for disagreement.
The Comptroller General of the Republic will resolve the conflict in the last instance, at the request of the chief, the internal audit or both, within a period of thirty working days, once the file that will be formed for that purpose has been completed. Failure to unjustifiably execute the firm resolution of the comptroller body will result in the application of the sanctions provided for in Chapter V of the Organic Law of the Comptroller General of the Republic, No. 7428, of September 7, 1994. .
CHAPTER V
Responsibilities and Sanctions
(Corrected by Errata and published in La Gaceta N ° 102 of May 29, 2003. Previously the wording of this epigraph indicated:
“1.CHAPTER V
1. . Responsibility and penalties” )
Article 39.- Causes of administrative responsibility. The hierarch and the subordinate holders will incur administrative and civil liability, when appropriate, if they unjustifiably fail to comply with the duties assigned in this Law, without prejudice to other grounds provided for in the regime applicable to the respective service relationship.
The hierarch, the subordinate holders and the other public officials will incur in administrative responsibility, when they weaken the internal control system with their actions or omit the necessary actions to establish, maintain, perfect and evaluate it, according to the applicable technical regulations.
Likewise, there will be administrative responsibility against the hierarch who unjustifiably does not allocate the resources to the internal audit in the terms of article 27 of this Law.
Likewise, there will be administrative responsibility against public officials who unjustifiably fail to comply with the duties and functions assigned to them by the head or subordinate head in matters of internal control, including actions to implement the recommendations issued by the internal audit, without prejudice to the responsibilities that they can be charged civilly and criminally.
The hierarch, the subordinate holders and the other public officials will also incur in administrative and civil liability, when appropriate, for hindering or delaying the fulfillment of the powers of the auditor, the deputy auditor and the other officials of the internal audit, established in this Law.
In the case of acts or omissions of collegiate bodies, the responsibility will be attributed to all its members, unless the negative vote is expressly recorded.
Article 40.- Causes of administrative responsibility of the internal auditor and deputy auditor and the other officials of the internal audit . The internal auditor, the sub-internal auditor and the other internal audit officials will incur administrative responsibility when, due to fraud or gross negligence, they fail to comply with their duties and functions, violate the applicable technical regulations or the regime of prohibitions referred to in this Law; all without prejudice to the responsibilities that may be imputed to them civilly and criminally.
Article 41.- Administrative sanctions . Depending on the seriousness, the offenses indicated in this Law will be sanctioned as follows:
a) Written warning.
b) Written reprimand communicated to the respective professional association, when appropriate.
c) Suspension, without pay, from eight to fifteen working days. In the case of allowances and stipends of another type, the suspension will be understood by the number of sessions and the official will not receive any amount for such concepts during that time.
d) Separation from the position without employer responsibility.
Article 42.- Competence to declare responsibilities . The sanctions provided for in this Law will be imposed by the body that has disciplinary power in the entities and bodies subject to this Law, in accordance with the applicable regulations.
In the event that the infractions provided for in this Law are attributed to deputies, aldermen and municipal mayors, magistrates of the Judicial Power and of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, comptroller and deputy comptroller general of the Republic, defender of the inhabitants of the Republic and deputy defender, general regulator and attorney general of the Republic, as well as directors of autonomous institutions, in what is applicable to them, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, the Supreme Court of Justice, the Governing Council and the the Legislative Assembly, so that in accordance with the law, the corresponding sanctions can be imposed.
Article 43.- Prescription of administrative responsibility. The administrative responsibility of the public official for the infractions foreseen in this Law, will prescribe according to article 71 of the Organic Law of the Comptroller General of the Republic, No. 7428, of September 7, 1994.
It will be considered as a serious fault of the competent official to initiate the sanctioning procedure, the failure to initiate it in a timely manner or to allow the offender’s responsibility to prescribe, without just cause.
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CHAPTER VI
Final provisions
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Article 44.- Regulations. The Executive Branch will regulate this Law within a maximum period of three months from its publication. The regulation project will be sent in consultation to the Comptroller General of the Republic.
Article 45.—Reforms. Amend the following regulations:
a) Amend article 26, the first paragraph of article 31 and article 71 of the Organic Law of the Comptroller General of the Republic, No. 7428, of September 7, 1994. The texts will read:
“Article 26.- Power over internal audits . The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic will supervise that the internal audit of the entities and bodies subject to its institutional competence adequately fulfill the functions indicated by the legal system that regulates it; it will coordinate, at least , an annual activity to strengthen its management.The result of these inspections must be reported directly to the head of the institution and the internal auditor, who will be obliged to take the necessary measures for its compliance or, failing that, to raise their opposition, within a maximum period of fifteen business days.
Once the opposition has been presented, the internal audit will have a maximum period of thirty business days, counted from the receipt of the Comptroller’s report, to duly substantiate its opposition.
Once the justification for the opposition has been received, the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic will have a maximum period of thirty business days to resolve the conflict raised and must immediately notify the dissenting entity or body of the resolution in this matter.”
“Article 31.- Power to inform and advise . The Comptroller General of the Republic will render, to the parliamentary bodies and each one of the deputies, the reports that they request; it will do so ex officio when their participation has been requested in accordance with the second paragraph of article 22 of this Law. Due to its nature as an auxiliary body in the control and supervision of the Public Treasury, the Comptroller General of the Republic will send to the Legislative Assembly a copy of all the remaining reports that it renders in the fiscal year of said powers.
[…]”
“Article 71.- Prescription of disciplinary responsibility. The administrative responsibility of the public official for the infractions foreseen in this Law and in the superior control and supervision system, will prescribe in accordance with the following rules:
a) In cases in which the irregular act is notorious, the responsibility will prescribe in five years, counted from the occurrence of the act.
b) In cases where the irregular act is not notorious –understood as the fact that requires an investigation or an audit study to report its possible irregularity- the responsibility will prescribe in five years, counted from the date on which the report on the investigation or the respective audit is made known to the hierarch or the competent official to initiate the respective procedure.
The prescription will be interrupted, with continuing effects, by the notification to the presumed person responsible for the act that agrees to the beginning of the administrative procedure.
When the perpetrator of the fault is the hierarch, the term will begin to run from the date on which he ends his service relationship with the respective entity, company or body.
It will be considered as a serious fault of the competent official to initiate the sanctioning procedure, the failure to initiate it in a timely manner or to let the offender’s responsibility prescribe, without just cause.”
b) Reform article 18 of the Law on illicit enrichment of public servants, No. 6872, of June 17, 1983. The text will read:
“Article 18.—The person in charge of the human resources unit of each entity or, failing that, the person designated by the hierarch, must inform the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic, within eight days of each appointment, the name and the qualities of the servants who occupy the positions for whose performance the sworn statement of assets is required, indicating the date on which these officials began their functions.
Within the same period mentioned in the previous paragraph, each entity must report the date on which, for any reason, the servers required to declare conclude their service relationship. The disobedience of this obligation will be considered a serious offense, for all legal purposes.”
c) Reform article 4 of the Organic Law of the Attorney General of the Republic, No. 6815, of September 27, 1982. The text will read:
“Article 4.—Consultations. The bodies of the Public Administration, through the heads of the different administrative levels, may consult the technical-legal criteria of the Attorney General’s Office; in each case, they must accompany the opinion of the respective legal counsel, except in the case of internal auditors, who may make the query directly.”
d) Subsection 1) is added to article 5 of the Civil Service Statute, Law No. 1581, of May 30, 1953. The text will read:
“Article 5.- The following officials and employees are also exempt from this Statute:
[…]
l) The internal auditors and deputy auditors of the attached ministries and agencies.”
Article 46.— Repeals. Repeal articles 59, 60, 61, 63, 64, 65 and 66 of the Organic Law of the Comptroller General of the Republic, No. 7428, of September 7, 1994.
Transitory dispositions
Transitory I.- Entities and bodies subject to this Law whose internal auditor and deputy auditor are appointed with a working day less than part-time at the date of its publication, will have a maximum period of twelve months to comply with the provisions herein.
Transitory II.- Public institutions that in their constitutive laws have an internal auditor subject to a legal term of appointment, once this term expires, they must elect, for an indefinite period of time, an internal auditor, through internal or external competition.
It governs from its publication.
Contact the Executive Branch
Legislative Assembly.- San José, on the eighteenth day of the month of July, two thousand and two.
Presidency of the Republic. -San José, on the thirty-first day of July, two thousand and two.