The ceremony, which took place on 25 June 2024, was attended by the presidents and representatives of audit bodies from Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America. The Supreme Audit Office of Poland took part in the event as an observer, and the declaration was signed on behalf of NIK by its Vice-President, Michał Jędrzejczyk.
Around 25% of all Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) represented in INTOSAI take jurisdictional action. Most of them are located in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and Portuguese-speaking regions of the world. This model goes beyond the linguistic and cultural spheres, though, and is still developing. Examples include Latvia, the Republic of South Africa and Thailand, which have recently equipped their SAIs with new competences and proper organisation to sanction the misuse of public money.
Map of countries with SAIs having jurisdictional powers and membership in the Forum of SAIs with jurisdictional powers
Legend:
red - members of the Forum of competent SAIs
light red - observers of the Forum of competent SAIs
Source: Court of Auditors of France
The JuriSAI initiative, originates from the Forum of Jurisdictional SAIs, which was created in 2015 by the SAI of France and has been of great importance in defining the values and fundamental characteristics of SAIs performing jurisdictional functions. Through the commitment of individual members, the Forum has achieved notable milestones such as the Paris Declaration (on promoting common values and a common agenda to consolidate the presence of jurisdictional SAIs in INTOSAI) and the INTOSAI P-50 international standard (aimed at helping Member SAIs with jurisdictional powers to develop their own professional approach, in line with their mandate as well as laws and regulations in their country).
The need for a more robust, sustainable and comprehensive cooperation framework within the Forum of Jurisdictional SAIs has led to the creation of the JuriSAI initiative.
In 2023, an in-depth analysis of alternative solutions, such as a standing committee and a working group, was carried out. Finally, however, decision was taken to establish a separate entity in line with Article 3.3 of the INTOSAI Statutes, due to the inclusive nature as well as unique needs and challenges faced by SAIs with jurisdictional functions.
The creation of JURISAI marks a turning point in the cooperation between SAIs with jurisdictional functions, focusing on strengthening, enhancing and improving the efficiency of SAIs in their jurisdictional dimension so that they can fully serve their role in promoting transparency, accountability and rationalisation of using public funds.
