Institutional Framework

The Hellenic Court of Audit constitutes a complete and standalone jurisdictional branch, being both a supreme financial court and a supreme financial audit institution, according to Article 98 of the Constitution in force.

The audit remits provided by the Constitution include, in particular, the audit of the State’s, local authorities’ and public entities’ financial statements and expenditure, the audit of their public accounting officers, as well as the audit of contracts of high economic value in which the State or another legal entity assimilated to it is a contracting party.

The jurisdictional competences include the adjudication of disputes concerning the political or military officials’ financial liability, as well as disputes relating to the award of pensions.

At the same time, a number of more specific constitutional provisions explicitly provide for the contribution of the Hellenic Court of Audit, in its aforementioned capacities, to the functioning of the State, in particular Articles 37 par. 3, 73 par. 2, 79 par. 7, 90, 91, 92 par. 1, 2 and 3, 93 par. 2, 3 and 4, 94 par. 1, 99, 100, 118 of the Constitution

The Organic Law of the Hellenic Court of Audit (Law 4820/2021) defines its organisation and functioning as both the supreme financial court and the supreme financial audit institution in the country. It specifies in detail the Court’s jurisdictional, audit and advisory competences, its staffing, and the basic structural and organisational principles, which are further elaborated through two separate sets of Rules of Procedure: those of the Judicial Formations and those of the Administrative and Auditing Units. In addition, the Court’s Organic Law regulates audit planning and the fundamental principles of audits, the criteria applied for their classification, the results produced, and their disclosure to stakeholders, while including specific provisions on the financial managers’ liability.

The Procedural Law of the Hellenic Court of Audit l. 4700/2020, which consolidates the procedural rules governing financial litigation that were previously scattered across multiple pieces of legislation, reflects the legislator's effort to facilitate litigants by establishing rules and tools common to those of administrative proceedings. At the same time, it introduces innovative tools -such as model trial and the council procedure- to accelerate proceedings, which were further expanded by Laws 4820/2021 and 5016/2023 (Appeal Judge process). The same law establishes a comprehensive framework for pre-contractual audits and for the procedures before the judicial formations concerning legal remedies against first-instance audit acts.

Regulatory Framework

Internal rules

Administrative and Auditing Units’ Rules of Procedure

Judicial Formations’ Rules of Procedure

Definition of Internal Control System

The Administrative and Auditing Units’ Rules of Procedure (ΚΕLΥDΕ) regulate issues related to the structure and competences of the Hellenic Court of Audit’s administrative and audit Units, the planning and execution of audits, as well as the latter’s quality control. They were approved by the Court’s Plenum, pursuant to the authorisation provided in Articles 30 par. 2 and 3, 44 par. 2, 125 par. 1, 132 par. 3 and 162 of the Hellenic Court of Audit’s Organic Law. Last Amendment Government’s Official Gazette, Β΄ 4069/2022.

The Judicial Formations’ Rules of Procedure regulate matters relating to the functioning of, and the allocation of judicial workload among, the Chambers and Judicial Sections of the Hellenic Court of Audit. They also govern the planning and organisation of the work of the Judicial Formations, their evaluation, the dissemination and promotion of their activities, the duties of judges according to their rank, and the supervision and inspection of their performance. Last Amendment Government’s Official Gazette, Β΄ 1866/2025.

The HCA’s Internal Control System was established to identify and correct deficiencies in the procedures for issuing acts with financial consequences, as provided for in article 169 of law 4270/2014. It comprises: a) the Internal Control, b) the Internal Auditor and c) the Committee for the Assurance and Independence of the Internal Auditor.

Regulatory Decisions

Evaluation of the auditees’ internal control systems

Management of complaints, reports and audit requests

Financial Responsibility: determination of weighting coefficients and quotas

ELEGEP Audit Process

The evaluation of internal control systems and internal safeguards of all General Government entities is a statutory function of the Hellenic Court of Audit, as specifically provided under Article 169 of Law 4270/2014. This function is essential for minimising fiscal risks. Last Update: Government’s Official Gazette, Β΄ 4938/2022.

Complaints, reports and audit requests are a useful tool for the effective planning of the audits conducted by the Hellenic Court of Audit. However, a system for managing such complaints is necessary, both to ensure the prompt dismissal of those that are clearly inadmissible, unsubstantiated or abusive, and to enable their prioritisation for a more appropriate allocation of the Court’s limited audit resources. Last Update: Government’s Official Gazette, Β΄ 6592/2022

Within the scope of the competence of the Hellenic Court of Audit’s auditing and judicial units to impute to public accounting officers and other persons financially responsible the amount of any deficit identified in their management, provision is made for the possibility of reducing the amount imputed, depending on the gravity of the financial infringement, the degree of culpability, the clarity of the legal framework, and the resulting financial impact (article 150 of the Organic Law 4820/2021). By means of a regulatory decision of the Court’s Plenum, objective criteria are established for such reductions, in order to ensure transparency in the Court’s assessments and the equal treatment of those audited by the country’s supreme financial audit institution. Last Update: Government’s Official Gazette, Β΄ 1963/2023.

The regulatory decision regulates the audit procedure by the Court of Auditors of the financial management of the Special Account for Guarantees of Agricultural Products, and determines the responsibilities and powers of the audit bodies. Last update: Government’s Official Gazette Β΄ 4143/2025

Ethics

According to Article 22 of the Organic Law of the Hellenic Court of Audit (Law 4820/2021), the Court’s Plenum establishes Charters of Ethics, which include guidelines for resolving ethical dilemmas that its judges and judicial employees may encounter in the performance of their duties.

The Judges’ Charter of Ethics does not establish legal rules, nor does it create obligations or confer rights. Rather, it sets out reflections on the values and principles that govern judicial conduct, proclaims these values and principles to society, and provides guidance to judges in addressing dilemmas related to their observance. Last update: Government’s Official Gazette, Β΄ 4942/2020.

The Charter of Ethics for judicial employees engaged in audit work outlines their obligations, as generally applicable to all judicial employees and specifically to those serving within the Hellenic Court of Audit. It draws upon the INTOSAI Code of Ethics, and the IFAC Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. This Charter has been incorporated into the Court’s Audit Manual, which was approved by the Plenum, at its 13th General Assembly, held on 27 June 2016.