Decree of 1971 on the internal regulation of the Central Agency for Public Administration Oversight

Decree of the Revolutionary Command Council

On the Bylaws of the Central Authority

for Public Administrative Control,

 

In the Name of the People

The Revolutionary Command Council,

● Upon review of Constitutional Declaration No. (1) issued on 2 Shawwal 1389 AH,

corresponding to 11 December 1969 AD; and

● Law No. (116) of 1970 AD on the Establishment of the Central Authority

for Public Administrative Control, and

● Based on the submission of the General Controller to the Central Authority for Public Administrative Control

 

Issued the following decree

 

Article (1)

The Bylaws of the Central Authority for Public Administrative Control attached hereto shall come into force.

 

Article (2)

This decree shall be published in the Official Gazette and shall come into force from the issuance date thereof.

 

The Revolutionary Command Council,

Issued on 14 Jumada al-Ula 1391 AH

Corresponding to 8 July 1971 AD

Part I

Rules for Work Progress

Chapter 1

General Provisions on Responsibilities

 

Article (1)

Members of the Central Authority for Public Administrative Control shall be subordinate to their superiors and not others in the order of their grades, then to the General Controller, and they shall represent one another.

 

 Article (2)

Responsibilities of the deputy General Controller, undersecretaries of the Authority, and heads of departments, divisions and branches shall be determined by a decree of the General Controller.

 

Chapter 2

Control and Inspection

 

Article (3)

The Control Section shall exercise its responsibilities by itself or at the request of ministers and chairmen of boards of directors of public institutions and bodies, or at the request of the Investigation Section.

 

Article (4)

Control shall be conducted in secrecy.

 

Article (5)

The written authorization to conduct individual control shall include the name of the controlled employee, the entity to which he belongs, and the purpose thereof.

When necessary, the person assigned thereto may be informed thereof by any means.

 

Article (6)

In case of applying for suspending an employee in accordance with the provisions of Article 12 of Law No. 116 of 1970 AD referred to above, the competent deputy of the Authority shall present the matter with a memorandum to the General Controller or his deputy explaining the issues attributed to this employee, his grade, the justifications for requesting his suspension and the duration of the suspension, in preparation for taking the necessary measures to obtain a suspension decree from the Prime Minister.

 

Article (7)

Whenever the competent deputy of the Authority is of the view that the employee’s suspension in accordance with the previous article is no more needed, he shall draft a note in that regard. If the General Controller or his deputy approves the said note, the competent authority shall be requested to remove the suspension.

 

Chapter 3

Conducting Investigation

 

Article (8)

The investigation shall take place at the Authority’s headquarters.

The Authority member may move to any other place required by the investigation in order to record an incident; to review papers that cannot be transported; or to question persons who cannot come to the Authority’s headquarters or branches thereof.

The Authority member shall notify the competent authority to prepare the documents or require the persons whose statements are to be heard to be present on the specified date, unless the interests of investigation require otherwise.

 

Article (9)

The Authority member may review the papers and data kept by all entities that he deems necessary for the investigation, even if they are confidential. If any entity refuses to submit these papers or data, the Deputy of the Authority for Investigation shall present the matter to the General Controller or his deputy to do what he deems necessary in this regard.

 

Article (10)

The investigation shall include all violations discovered, even if they are not related to the original incident.

 

Article (11)

The investigation shall be in writing and to be recorded in a report or sequential minutes, each of which shall be issued by mentioning the date, place and time of its opening and completion. Every page of the investigation records shall be signed by the Authority member and the clerk, if any.

 

Article (12)

The Authority member shall record in the report all procedures taken by him, the name, age, place of residence, job, and grade of the official, the questions and answers, and shall request him to sign the minutes.

 

Article (13)

During the investigation, the Authority member shall be accompanied by a clerk from the Authority who shall record the minutes. He shall sign each page together with the Authority member and implement his notations.

Upon movement, any other clerk may be appointed, who shall take an oath before commencing his work. When necessary, the Authority member may write the report himself.

 

Article (14)

Any person called to testify shall appear at the request of the investigator. If the witness fails to appear after being required to do so by a registered letter specifying the date for hearing his statements, or if he refuses to testify, this shall be recorded by the Authority member in the investigation report and he may write a crime report to be referred to the public prosecution.

In case of failure to appear, the Authority member may also issue an arrest warrant for the witness, if necessary.

 

Article (15)

The arrest warrant shall include the witness’s name, surname, industry, place of residence, the investigation summary, date of the warrant, signature of the Authority member and the official stamp. It shall also include the specification of the date for making the witness appear and delegation of the public authority officers to arrest him and make him appear if he refuses to voluntarily appear on the appointed date.

Warrants of arrest shall be served by public authority officers and a copy of the same shall be handed to the witness. Warrants of arrest may not be executed after the lapse of six months from the date of their issuance unless they are approved by the Authority for a further period.

 

Article (16)

If the witness is ill or has some impediment that prevents him from appearing, the testimony may be heard at his location.

If the Authority member moves to hear the testimony and finds that the excuse is invalid, this shall be recorded in the report together with taking the procedures stipulated in Article 14 of these Regulations deeming this witness to have refused to testify.

 

Article (17)

If it is reasonably justified to refer a first category worker to investigation, the Deputy of the Authority for Investigation shall present the matter to the General Controller or his deputy in this regard – with a note setting out the issues attributed to such worker, his grade and the justifications for referring him to investigation, in preparation for taking the necessary measures towards seeking the approval of the Prime Minister for referring the worker to investigation.

 

Article (18)

In all cases, the Authority member may search the workplaces or other things used by the employees under investigation whenever needed for the interests of the investigation.

 

Article (19)

If it is strongly justified to search the employee accused of the violation or his home, the matter shall be presented by the Deputy of the Authority for Investigation through a note to be addressed to the General Controller or his deputy to issue the search warrant.

When necessary, the Authority’s investigator may be informed of the search warrant by any means, provided that the written warrant shall be attached to the report.

The search shall be carried out by an Authority member of the investigation section in the presence of the person to be searched or his representative whenever possible. If this is not possible, the search shall be conducted in the presence of two witnesses who are of majority age, from amongst his relatives, those who live with him, or neighbors. This order shall be taken into account as far as possible and this shall be recorded in the report.

 

Article (20)

If the search results in finding papers or objects of interest to the investigation, the Authority member, after recording their details and description in the report, shall keep the same in a closed and sealed pouch bearing the report date and number and the investigation’s location.

 

Article (21)

During the search, if the Authority member finds items possession thereof is considered a crime pursuant to the Penal Code, he shall seize and record the same; write a report thereon; and refer it with the pouch to the Public Prosecution immediately.

 

Article (22)

The Authority member shall record the search procedures; presence or absence of the accused during the search; result thereof; and a detailed statement of all investigation-related papers or other findings in the investigation report immediately after the search.

 

Article (23)

If the Authority member is of the opinion that the interests of the investigation require suspending an employee, a note in this regard shall be drafted to identify the subject matter of the investigation and the justifications for the request for suspension. Thereafter, the said note shall be presented together with the opinion of the head of the competent department to the General Controller or his deputy to authorize the suspension.

The suspension may last for more than three months with a decision of the competent disciplinary council.

 

Article (24)

The Authority member shall complete the investigations related to suspended workers within the three months following the suspension decision. If the investigation is delayed for justified reasons, the Authority member shall prepare a note setting out the issues attributed to the suspended worker, his grade and domicile, and the justifications for continuing his suspension. This note, together with the opinion of the Deputy of the Authority for Investigation, shall be referred to the Disciplinary Case Department at the Authority at least one week before the expiry of the period to present the matter of the extension of the suspension to the competent disciplinary council.

 

Article (25)

Whenever the Authority member finds that the suspension is no longer required, a note in that regard shall be drafted. If the General Controller or his deputy approve the said note, the competent authority shall be requested to revoke the suspension.

 

Article (26)

If the worker accused of the violation requests to personally appear at the investigation procedures, the Authority’s investigator shall record in the report his presence or his request to appear and the investigator’s refusal thereof in the interests of the investigation.

 

Article (27)

The Authority member may assign the competent authorities to form committees to inspect the works; inventory in the custody of certain workers; or to meet the shortcomings in the work of committees that were previously formed for these purposes if the interests of the investigation so requires.

The details of the committee’s mission and determination of fulfillment methods shall be observed in the assignment application. The Authority member shall follow up implementation of the requirements by these authorities and completion of the mission to be performed by these committees.

 

Article (28)

The Authority member may seek assistance of specialists and experienced persons in technical issues if the interests of the investigation so require.

 

Article (29)

The persons concerned may review the investigation papers only after being completed.

 

Chapter 4

Closing Investigation

 

Article (30)

Upon completion of the investigation papers, the investigator shall present the same to the General Controller, his deputy, or the Deputy of the Authority for Investigation, or whoever the General Controller delegates from among the heads of departments in the Authority, accompanied by a note that shall include:

1. A complete summary of the subject matter of the report or complaint;

2. An appropriate submission of the investigation proceedings, including a review of the facts and evidence brought before him in respect of each of them; a discussion of such evidence; and conclusion of the legal characterization by stating the extent to which each incident is correct or in violation of the prescribed rules. The investigator shall give preference to the statements of witnesses on the strength of the evidence and not on their number;

3. A record of the job violations revealed by the investigation and specification of the reference articles with a description of the incident; and

4. The opinion concluded by the investigator.

 

Article (31)

The record and description shall be limited to the violation that the investigation reveals to have taken place. If there are multiple violations, each of them shall be described separately and the violator(s) shall be identified.

 

Article (32)

Any recorded financial or administrative violation shall be referenced to articles of the violated laws, regulations, decisions and instructions, and the expression contained therein shall be adhered to in the description as far as possible.

If the employee’s action does not constitute a violation of a duty or a prohibition specified by the legislation, but rather an administrative violation in the form of deviation from the requirement of duty, it shall be described as such.

 

Article (33)

If the General Controller or his deputy is of the view that the violation requires a more severe penalty than the one that may be imposed by the administrative authority to which the employee belongs, he shall refer the papers to the competent disciplinary council. In such instance, the investigator shall send, together with the papers, a draft referral decision that includes a precise statement of the violation or violations, the relevant legal provisions, and the name of the employee to whom these violations are attributed, together with a notice hereof to the employee and the entity to which he belongs. The person delegated by the General Controller, his deputy, or the Deputy of the Authority for Investigation may attend the sessions of the disciplinary council and initiate the disciplinary case before the same.

 

Article (34)

If a violation is considered to be referred to the public prosecution after investigation as it involves criminal offense, the Authority member shall, whenever possible, determine the administrative and financial liability and decide thereon without waiting for the final closure of the criminal case.

However, the administrative and financial liability in violations reported to the public prosecution without a detailed investigation by the Authority will be determined in light of the result of the public prosecution’s investigation.

 

Article (35)

In case of failure to separate the administrative and criminal liabilities, the Authority member shall propose that the public prosecution be notified of the incident, while postponing the decision on the administrative liability until being decided in light of the criminal liability closure conclusion. The Authority member shall follow up on the final action in respect of the criminal liability in preparation for deciding on the administrative liability.

 

Chapter 5

Registers

 

Article (36)

The registers necessary for the control and investigation sections, the central departments and the general secretariat of the Authority shall be regulated by a decree of the General Controller.

 

Part II

System of Authority Members

Chapter 1

Appointment, Promotion, Transfer and Delegation of Authority Members

 

Article (37)

Authority members shall be appointed, promoted, granted the prescribed allowances and bonuses, transferred, delegated and seconded to work outside the Authority by a decree of the General Controller after taking the opinion of a committee consisting of:

1. Deputy General Controller, as chairman

2. Deputy of the Authority for Control

3. Deputy of the Authority for Investigation

4. Head of Technical Inspection

5. Secretary General of the Authority, as members. 

The secretary of the Personnel Affairs Unit at the Authority shall be the secretary of the committee.

 

Article (38)

The Authority members appointed in the investigation section shall be treated the same as the members of the public prosecution with regard to the terms of appointment.

 

Article (39)

Judiciary and public prosecution officers, members of opinion, legislation and cases departments, persons engaged in teaching in law faculties or teaching the subject of law in other colleges and institutes, lawyers and the like, may be appointed to positions in the investigation section. The appointment of such persons shall be to job positions in the investigation section similar to their positions, or whose job grades fall within the financial grades for such jobs, or those that immediately follow the grades of their jobs in their original positions.

The Authority members may also be appointed to the investigation section in the entities indicated in the previous paragraph if they meet the necessary conditions for appointment to those positions. Their appointment shall be to job positions similar to their positions, or whose job grades fall within the financial grades for such jobs, or those that immediately follow the grades of their jobs in their original positions.

 

Article (40)

The Authority members shall be promoted to vacant positions by seniority, taking into account competence. A member may only be promoted to the grade immediately following the grade from which they are promoted.

 

Chapter 2

Grades, Salaries, Allowances, Leave, and Retirement for Authority members

 

Article (41)

Grades and salaries of the Authority members in the control and investigation sections shall be regulated in the manner indicated in the schedule accompanying these Regulations.

 

Article (42)

Members and employees of the Authority may be granted a nature-of-work allowance by a decree of the General Controller, provided that the allowance may not exceed thirty percent of their original salary, and up to a maximum of forty pounds per month.

 

Article (43)

The Authority members shall be permitted to take periodic leave in the period from the first of July to the end of September of each year. Notwithstanding the above, leave in a period other than this may be permitted for compelling reasons.

The periods and durations thereof shall be determined annually by a decree of the General Controller.

 

Article (44)

The deputy General Controller shall prepare a list of the periodic leave of the Authority members in accordance with the established regulation, taking into account the interests of the work while fulfilling the wishes of the members as far as possible.

 

Article (45)

A decree of the General Controller or his delegate in that regard, based on the proposal of the technical inspection department, shall be issued for the deputations required by the interests of the work during the period of leave.

 

Article (46)

The provisions of the Retirement Law shall apply to the Authority members. The pension or remuneration of the Authority member in case of resignation shall be settled on the basis of the last salary he received before leaving the service.

 

Article (47)

In relation to these affairs, the general secretariat of the Authority shall exercise the powers conferred to the Civil Service Department with regard to state employees. It shall also be responsible for all financial affairs related to the members and employees of the Authority.

 

Chapter 3

Duties and Immunity of Authority members

 

Article (48)

The General Controller, his deputy, deputies of the Authority and all its members, shall swear the following oath before assuming their duties:

“I swear by Almighty God to faithfully preserve the republican system, to look after the interests of the people, to respect the constitution and the law, to perform the duties of my office with diligence, honesty and trust, and not to divulge or reveal the secrets of my work unless so required by official duties.”

 

Article (49)

An Authority member may not simultaneously work at any other entity, with or without pay.

However, Authority members may be delegated, by a decree of the General Controller, to carry out work that does not conflict with their duties in accordance with the requirements of public interest.

 

Article (50)

Every Authority member shall reside at his place of work unless the General Controller or whoever he delegates permits him to reside in another nearby location based on genuine reasons.

 

Article (51)

Authority members may not be returned to the investigation section.

 

Article (52)

In cases other than flagrante delicto, investigation procedures may only be conducted with an Authority member, or a criminal case filed against him for a felony or misdemeanor, with the written permission of the General Controller or his deputy based on the request of the public prosecutor.

 

Chapter 4

Investigation of Authority members

 

Article (53)

The Authority members may be administratively investigated only upon a written order from the General Controller or his deputy, in which the person assigned to conduct the investigation is specified. A special schedule for these investigations shall be prepared by the technical inspection secretariat.

 

Article (54)

Technical inspection shall be responsible for presenting every complaint reported to the Authority against an action or conduct of a member that requires investigation to the General Controller.

 

Article (55)

The investigation result shall be presented in a memorandum to the General Controller for action.

 

Chapter 5

Discipline

 

Article (56)

Disciplinary sanctions that may be imposed on Authority members are:

1. Warning;

2. Salary deduction for no more than one month per year;

3. Postponement of annual bonus;

4. Deprivation of annual bonus; or

5. Dismissal.

The General Controller and a delegate thereof in this regard shall have the right to impose a sanction of warning or salary deduction. The period of the salary deduction sanction may not exceed 15 days each time, and the sanction shall only be imposed after hearing the member’s statements and investigating his defense. The disciplinary decision shall be reasoned. 

Other sanctions shall be imposed by a decision of the disciplinary council.

 

Article (57)

Disciplinary trial of the Authority members shall take place before a council composed of:

A counsellor of the Supreme Court (president)

A counsellor of the Civil Court of Appeal (members)

Deputy General Controller or an Authority deputy, as the case may be. The trial of the deputy General Controller and deputies of the Authority shall take place before a council composed of:

President of the Supreme Court (president)

A counsellor of the Supreme Court (members)

A president of the Civil Court of Appeal

 

Article (58)

Disciplinary action shall be instituted against an Authority member by means of a reasoned report from the General Controller. The member shall be summoned to appear before the disciplinary council by a registered letter. The report shall include a full statement of the accusation and the evidence therefore. The member shall be deemed to be on mandatory leave with full pay until the end of his disciplinary trial.

 

Article (59)

Disciplinary hearings shall be confidential. A member shall appear in person or by proxy to defend him. A member may be required by the disciplinary council to appear in person. If the member fails to appear, the decision shall be issued after it is verified that the summons to appear was delivered.

The decision shall include the reasons on which it is based and the member shall be notified by a registered letter.

 

Article (60)

The disciplinary action shall end upon the resignation of the member and acceptance of the same by the General Controller. The disciplinary action shall have no effect on the criminal or civil action arising from the same incident.

 

Part III

Technical Inspection

 

Article (61)

A technical inspection department headed by the Central Authority for Public Administrative Control attached to the office of the deputy General Controller shall be established in two divisions: –

1. A division competent in technical inspection of the Authority members attached to the control section.

2. A division competent in technical inspection of the Authority members attached to the investigation section.

 

Article (62)

An adequate number of the Authority members shall be delegated to work in the Technical Inspection Department in the control and investigation sections, provided that the grade of each of them may not be less than senior supervisor or senior investigator.

The members shall be appointed by a decree of the General Controller.

 

Article (63)

Competence of an Authority member shall be determined by one of the following assessments: –

Competent – above average – average – below average.

The member’s status in terms of his integrity, conduct, the extent of his ability to innovate, and other elements of assessment shall be observed.

 

Article (64)

Rules and procedures for technical inspection shall be determined by a decree of the General Controller.

Schedule of

Grades of Members of Central Authority for Public Administrative Control

 

General Controller                                 – shall be treated as a minister. 

Deputy General Controller                      – Deputy minister (premium grade).

 

Position	Grade
Deputy of the Authority	Deputy of a ministry
Head of Department	Director General (Private C)
Chief Supervisor or Investigator	First
Senior Supervisor or Senior Investigator	Second
Supervisor or Investigator	Third
Assistant Supervisor or Assistant Investigator	Fourth

 

The grades mentioned in this Schedule shall be subject to the grades and salaries schedule attached to the Civil Service Law.