On 19 April 2022, the Ministry of Finance issued a circular to the wider public sector, in which it determined that the titles of second-in-command in the Legal Service, the Audit Service and the General Accounting Office will not be those provided for in the Constitution and the Budget Law. As regards the Assistant Auditor General, the circular amended his title to 'Assistant Auditor General'. This was preceded on 24.3.2022 by an opinion of the Attorney General of the Republic who, on his own initiative, overturning the opinion of his predecessor given in 2015, called upon the Heads of the three affected officials to use the titles that he himself determined, instead of the constitutionally prescribed ones, on the grounds that there is a contradiction between the Greek and Turkish texts of the Constitution.
Whereas, in the opinion of our Office:
- The Ministry of Finance lacks the power and/or authority to issue the circular in question, nor can it, by circular or otherwise, determine the title of the second-in-command institutional officer of the Audit Office.
- The issuance of the circular constitutes a constitutional aberration and/or circumvents and/or is contrary to the express provisions of Articles 58.2, 115 and 117 of the Constitution as well as the Budget Act.
- The Ministry of Finance, neither on its own initiative, nor on the advice and/or encouragement of the Attorney General of the Republic, has no constitutional or other authority over the interpretation of constitutional issues and/or the resolution of alleged contradictions between the Greek and Turkish texts of the Constitution, which falls under Articles 149 and 180.2 of the Constitution to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Supreme Court,
and given the sensitivity that all institutional officials ought to demonstrate when it comes to matters relating to the Constitution itself, the Audit Office today filed an application with the Supreme Court, in accordance with the provisions of Article 139 of the Constitution, seeking a declaration from the Court that the circular in question is null and void from the outset and without any legal effect whatsoever.
We express our regret that a matter which in the eyes of the public justifiably appears to be of no particular importance has been reduced by some to a question of the powers and authority of second-rate independent officers. But since it has been reduced as such, we are bound to ensure that any regulation is in conformity with the Constitution, a matter for which the Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction.
Since the petition has been filed and the matter is pending before the Supreme Court, the Audit Office will not make any further statement, written or oral, on the matter.
(Mg/IK)
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