Les chambres régionales des comptes

THE TRADE OF FINANCIAL MAGISTRATE STRONGLY FRAMED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE COURT OF AUDITORS

[1) Members of a body

Manpower of the CRC stagnate, and the large rooms, in under-manpower chronicle, have little chance to pack itself. Manpower is indeed quasi-constant since 1992. The management of the men and manpower is thus important hopes volume of accounts to be treated. The presidents of CRC do not control the geographical movements their magistrates and do not have any means of proceeding to rebalancings. The CRC of the Rhone-Alpe, in 1995, has to treat 102 files of budgetary control, that is to say 4 files by advising, in 1996, one of the sections of the room recorded a ratio of 16 files by advising. In same time, the CRC of Poitou-Charentes in received nine only (one by advising).

In addition, the magistrates have faculty to leave in « mobility ». In spring 1997, 64 of the 391 magistrates of the body (16,4% of manpower) were thus placed at the disposal, in detachment or of mobility.

So the presidents must manage contradiction between the interest, for the room, that an adviser enriches his competences and the problems by a missing adviser.

Consequently of what, the rooms are badly prepared, some can be the unequal distribution of the entities on the territory, with the quantitative evolutions, such volume of the budgetary control or the emanating number of the requests of the prefect or the local directors. Various exceptional recruitments are not enough apparently to fill waitings, even if that of 1996 had allowed the exceptional recruitment of 117 magistrates.

In this respect, the position of Daniele Lamarque, president of the regional room of High-Normandy, is revealing uncertainties weighing on the fate of the financial magistrates and it is also revealing certain dividing lines within the body :^47(*) « The reform of the statute of the advisers of the rooms, which will come soon, we hope for it, before the Parliament, comprises in this respect significant measurements. This text ensures a more fluid course of career, with the reduction of the number of ranks from four to three. It opens a faculty of integration at the court. It guarantees a better transparency in the management of the careers. To be complete, this reform must be supplied with a handing-over on level of additional remunerations of the advisers of room : their evolution took delay compared to those of bodies comparable recruited with the exit of the ENA ..... In the same way, we do not completely control the management of the professional mobility, which is one of the conditions of « breathing » of the body and its enrichment.... Irremovability protects its members, by utilizing advisory authorities at significant times that the nomination, mobility, promotion ».

[2) Division of the labor within a regional room of the accounts

In addition, the financial magistrates are not the only financial magistrates. Admittedly, they are responsible for the investigation and passes in sessions of deliberated to listen to if necessary the remarks of their colleagues but they are also pressed on assistants of checking. The latter often form tandem with the magistrates.

As Mrs Karbouche underlines it, « their professional and personal course can lead them to have different competences and capacities, therefore the magistrate entrusts very different tasks to an assistant according to its, his desire, his curiosity, his capacity »^48(*). The assistants are also brought to work with various magistrates during their career : « I belonged to the first assistants during creation of the rooms, at the time one was three, good, at the administrative level, I come from the Directorate-General of Taxes (DGI), I am placed at the disposal by the DGI near the room of the accounts ..... Our work consists with, it is a work of pure control... It is we who begin the checking starting from a program which is transmitted to us by the magistrate, who himself with have his program by the president of the room.... It is we who examine the accounting records...... (there is) several manners of proceeding according to binomials'... Either it leaves whole freedom to the assistant, or it lays down objectives to him, you check the investments on such or such year. »^49(*).

Francoise Barnier, administrative assistant central to the ministry of Finances, was also availability of a regional room. She also Co-informs the files of control by checking the documents physically and while writing, if necessary, of the reports/ratios or the draft letters of observation. :

« The anguish here [CRC the Rhone-Alps] is the same one as in any body of control : not being able to make exhaustive control, one is never safe from have passed beside something of important .

As nothing is found, or that small things, it is not very developing for the binomial adviser-assistant of checking, but one comforts oneself by thinking that it is good sign for the finance public "^50(*).

Another actor plays an important part within the room, it is that of Police chief of government. « The Police chief of government is there to make legal day before on what occurs in the room... The second thing and which employ 50% of my time, it is to make conclusions on the reports/ratios of my colleagues... It is not the case in all the rooms... Simply the contentious reports/ratios are the subject the obligatory communication of to the government. And this communication forces to me to make written conclusions. »^51(*) The Government Commissioner is obligatorily a former magistrate, who knows necessarily the obligations related to the function.

* ⁴⁷ Short speech of Mrs. Danièle Lamarque, Adviser chief clerk at the Court of Auditors, President of the Room. Solemn meeting of the regional room of High-Normandy of February 11, 2000. Extract.

* ⁴⁸ Extracts of the discussion with Agnes Karbouche, magistrate with the regional room of High-Normandy.

* ⁴⁹ Extracts of the discussion with Mr Ducourt, assistant of checking to the regional room of High-Normandy.

* ⁵⁰ Extract of the maintenance granted to the Gazette of the Communes, «  Trades of the CRC  », n°1516 of the 13/09/1999.

* ⁵¹ Extract of the discussion with Mr Ruellan, government Commissioner to the regional room of High-Normandy.