Insight view

10 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE - INSIGHT VIEW
Obstruction of progress
The fourth branch of power, which has lately made significant steps forward and tends to
strengthen its independence, is facing different types of obstructions. The positive trends in the
development of these institutions are viewed in light of the fact that they do not have roots in
the non-democratic period and, given that they are newly-established, make faster progress and
perform their function. Their professionalization is being hindered in a number of ways. Independent
regulators, but also other institutions within this branch, are inadequately treated in
the Law on Wages in the Public Sector. In other cases, the process of appointment of members
of the council is slowed down through the parliament, whereas the third ones are not allocated
sufficient funds through the budget or are simply limited by bad pieces of legislation.
The last Progress Report of the European Commission concludes:
“The NAI’s institutional capacity continues to be an issue of concern. The SAI should have 83 staff
in total. To date, the NAI has 39 auditors, which is half the number of auditors foreseen. This is insufficient
for the NAI's responsibilities, including a 20% increase in the number of audits in its 2015
audit plan. Limited office space restricts recruitments. The SAI made progress in implementing its
2012-2017 strategic development plan and adopted new rules of procedure in January. It has a
structured training policy, including a certification program: 70% of external auditors are certified.”
“The implementation of NAI recommendations needs to improve. The government set up a formal mechanism
to follow up on external audit recommendations but it lacks transparency and no time limits are
in place for addressing weaknesses. Parliament’s capacity to ensure effective scrutiny over the whole
budgetary process, including NAI audit reports and recommendations, needs to be improved.”
The European Commission emphasizes that, in 2014, the Constitutional Court solved more than
three times as many cases as during the previous year but that its efficiency needs to be further
improved to both cope with the backlog and the influx of new cases and to solve cases within
the 18 months provided for by law.
According to the last year’s report, Institution of Ombudsman was the most efficient in processing
of citizens’ complaints, for almost 98%. However, according to the EC report, capacities of this
institution to resolve complaints effectively are still limited. Its internal organization should be
improved in order to implement its broad mandate.
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OMBUDSMAN, STATE AUDIT INSTITUTION, CONSTITUTIONAL COURT