Home > 6 Political parties > SERBIA - Joint Opinion on the Draft Amendments to the Law of the Financing of Political Activities
 
 
 
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Paragraph 22
 

IV. Analysys and recommendations


C. Audits and tax inspections


The proposed amendment to Article 34 (regulating audit by the State Audit Institution), which removes the discretion of the Anti-corruption Agency (hereinafter “the Agency”) to decide which political parties are audited, is in principle welcome, as by doing so it has the potential to increase the foreseeability of the Law. However, the proposed amendment, introducing the obligation for the State Audit Institution to audit “the relevant number of political entities which have representatives in the National Assembly”, lacks clarity. It is not apparent what “the relevant number” means, or what criteria are used to determine this. It also appears that it will not be possible for the financial reports of parties not represented in the National Assembly to be audited. Especially since these parties would (in most cases) have spent public funds, it seems necessary to be able to check their accounts to see how this money was spent, or to see if other provisions of the Law were violated.