Academic literature on the topic 'European Court of Auditors'

The topic of this diploma thesis is the Process of institutional reforms of EU in light of its enlargement. The thesis is divided into two parts -- theoretical part and practical part. Theoretical part talks about European treaties that founded or reformed five main European institutions -- Parliament, Council, Commission, Court of Justice and Court of Auditors. In separate chapter the thesis talks about Lisbon Treaty and this chapter is followed by description of the main institutions. Practical part was based on original research in which almost two hundred respondents took part and which was focused on the knowledge of respondets of the administration of EU. The results of the research were analysed in form of commented graphs and tables. Based on the research, last chapter provides recommendations that should help increase the knowledge of Czechs of the EU administration.

Tese de Mestrado em MPA - Administração Pública<br>O presente estudo descreve o regime da fiscalização prévia da contratação pública pelo Tribunal de Contas e confronta-o em termos gerais com outros regimes. Analisa numa perspetiva histórica, as alterações introduzidas na legislação nacional e as respetivas imposições da União Europeia, quer as vigentes, decorrentes do Memorando de Entendimento sobre as Condicionalidades de Política Económica [Memorando de Entendimento (celebrado entre o Governo e a Comissão)], quer as constantes da proposta de Diretiva de 20.12.2011 COM (2011) 896 (destinada a substituir a Diretiva 2004/18/CE). Em especial, efetua o enquadramento da fiscalização prévia dos contratos públicos celebrados pelas instituições de ensino superior de direito público e conjuga-o com o regime legal e constitucional destas, em particular com a sua autonomia. Expõem-se os números dos contratos submetidos a fiscalização prévia pelas instituições de ensino superior de direito público no último triénio, comparando-os com a generalidade dos submetidos ao Tribunal de Contas. Faz-se referência aos casos de recusa de visto decorrentes da qualificação das instituições de ensino superior de direito público como entidades compradoras vinculadas ao Sistema Nacional de Compras Públicas. Apresenta-se a perceção dos intervenientes (Tribunal de Contas e instituições de ensino superior de direito público), obtida a partir de entrevistas e questionários, concluindo-se que os dados recolhidos, combinados com o regime da fiscalização prévia no âmbito da contratação pública às instituições de ensino superior de direito público admitem a introdução de alterações neste, face ao imposto pela União Europeia, ao regime constitucional vigente e à proposta de Diretiva. Indicam-se ainda pistas para a reflexão da evolução do regime da fiscalização prévia da contratação pública em Portugal.<br>The present study describes the system of prior control of public procurement by the Court of Auditors and confronts it, in general terms, with other assessment schemes. It analyses, in a historical perspective, the changes in national legislation and the respective impositions of the European Union, either the current ones, resulting from the Memorandum of Understanding on Specific Economic Policy Conditionality [Memorandum of Understanding (signed between the Government and the Commission)], or the ones that result from a proposal of directive 20.12.2011 (intended to replace the directive 2004/18/CE). It particularly reviews the framework of prior supervision of procurement by higher education institutions of public law, and assesses its legal and constitutional framework, mainly their autonomy. The numbers of contracts submitted to prior inspection by higher education institutions of public law in the last three years are exposed and compared with the general contracts submitted at Court of Auditors. Reference is made to cases of visa refusal due to the qualification of the higher education institutions of public law as procuring entities linked to the National System of Public Procurement. The perceptions of stakeholders (Court of Auditors and higher education institutions of public law), obtained from interviews and questionnaires, are presented. The data collected, combined with the analyses of the framework of prior supervision of public procurement to higher education institutions of public law, recommend amendments to latter, taking into account what is required by the European Union, by the Constitution and by the proposal Directive. Slopes for reflection of the evolution of the system of prior control of public procurement in Portugal are also referred.

<p>The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has long been recognized as a major engine behind the European integration project for its role in passing judgments expanding the powers and scope of the European Community, while member states have consistently reacted negatively to judgments limiting their sovereignty or granting the Community new powers. It is this interplay between the Court and member state interests that cause the ECJ to pose a threat to the future of integration. Using a combined framework of neofunctionalism and rational choice new institutionalism, six landmark cases and the events surrounding them are studied, revealing the motivations behind the Court’s and member states’ actions. From the analysis of these cases is created a set of criteria which can be used to predict when the ECJ will make an activist decision broadening the powers of the Community at the expense of the member states as well as when, and how, member states will respond negatively.</p>

This is a study of the European Court of Human Rights' doctrinal response to complaints for protection under the European Convention on Human Rights submitted by or on behalf of companies. Companies indisputably enjoy ECHR protection in principle yet the protection of persons closely tied with for-profit and corporate business enterprise is sometimes doctrinally problematic. The thesis has two main objectives. First, it analyses the Court's reasoning in three groups of cases in which corporate human rights litigation has presented particular problems of treaty interpretation: 1) The extent to which shareholders are 'victims' (Article 34) when they complain of measures that formally have befallen their companies. 2) Whether companies are protected by provisions that were conceived in relation to the needs of natural persons outside the business context (select areas under Articles 8(1), 10(1) and 41 are considered). 3) Which standard of review to be applied by the Court when companies allege that public regulation of their activity violates Articles 8 and 10. The case law is streamlined in a minimalist fashion, which obscures the Court's rationale. The thesis construes the structural framework within which the Court operates, and seeks to explain how the relevant case law is largely coherent when considered on these grounds. Second, the Court's response is used for highlighting crucial aspects of the Convention system that are aptly revealed but which extend beyond the company context. Three aspects, which are suitable for further analyses, are essentially brought to the fore: 1) The Convention as a European liberal project, a characteristic that makes it stand out from the bulk of international human rights law. 2) The complex nature of the Convention's object and purpose, and, consequently, the Court's teleology. 3) The collective and economic aspects of the Convention's civil and political rights.

This paper comparatively compares compliance to the rulings of the United States Supreme Court and the ECJ by the state/member state courts. Besides comparing the compliance to the two courts judgements, the paper also tries to establish how to increase compliance with these rulings in the future. This is done because compliance is an important aspect of a functioning judicial system, and a comparison might reveal solutions from one side that could be utilized on the other. The main resources used in this book are: articles, books, webpages and statistics on the subject. The main focus lies on the legal approach, but as a comparative study, elements of political science have been used as well. The results of the comparison show that although statistical compliance is quite high, the actual compliance might be lower due to lack of knowledge or political divisions. Increasing the actual compliance is then a good strategy to be sure that lower courts follow the rulings correctly. The conclusion of this paper is that political and policy divisions in a country, or between an organization and its members results in non- compliance. Reducing this kind of friction will help increase compliance to decisions, not only statistically but also in practice, as the lower courts will feel more comfortable with the rulings. An increase of knowledge of the subject, and the development of efficient judicial mechanisms in a state will also help assure correct interpretation of the rulings.