no scandal, we will keep an eye on it. The current system causes delays»- Corriere.it

As president emeritus of the Constitutional Court, Professor Cesare Mirabelli, how do you judge the government’s limitation of the concurrent control of the Court of Auditors on the Pnrr?

“It doesn’t shock me.”

Why?

“Concomitant monitoring may be appropriate. But it has positives and negatives.”

Which?

«In a collaborative key, it can correct the administrative action in progress. But it can also remove responsibility from the officials who await the assessment of the Court of Auditors to have their responsibilities covered”.

And so what?

“Administrative action is delayed and there is a risk of interference on the discretion of the public administration which must be safeguarded”.

But doesn’t this reduce the protection of public finances?

«There is always the next check that allows to identify the responsibilities of the malfunctioning of the administration. And sanction those who cause damage to the treasury ».

But now there is a tax shield. What do you think?

“Eliminating gross negligence as a cause of liability is quite intrusive. It is the extension of a rule that already existed, and this mitigates the government’s responsibility, but it is a weighty choice to be liable only for fraud. But legitimate.”

Legitimate why?

“You want to protect officials from being blamed. And in the current legislation the distinction between negligence and gross negligence is not so clear».

So won’t the damage fall on the community?

«In the logic of a preventive function, yes. But concurrent control means participation in administrative activity. And it becomes a co-management».

Why extend the tax shield to private individuals as well?

«Anyone who uses public money, if there is fraudulent intent, is as liable as a public official. However, for contracts, Anac remains in control, which is a good garrison in that sector».

This on the merits. What do you think about the method?

«The overall method of so numerous decree-laws, used to set certain times for the approval of government initiatives, is not good. It has developed over time, it is now a constant. It should find a solution in parliamentary regulations that ensure the timeliness of the government’s ordinary legislative initiatives”.

For the Court outside of Covid, the shield is unjustified.

«The exceptional exclusion of the concomitant control and the limitation of the tax liability of the officials is justified by the absolute need to respect the very tight deadlines for the implementation of the Pnrr. Avoiding delays that may arise from the times required by the interlocutions between the administration and the Court of Auditors. But if this discipline were deemed unconstitutional, the Court of Auditors would have the possibility of raising a question of legitimacy before the Consulta and even of proposing a conflict between state powers”.

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