Audit of the administrative staff of the judicial system

general assembly on April 8, 2015

The Belgian Court of Audit has carried out an audit of the policy applied to the administrative staff of the judicial system, i.e. the personnel of the clerk's and public prosecutor's offices depending on the Ministry of Justice. It showed that some of the necessary conditions for an efficient internal control of the HR are lacking within the General Directorate of the judicial organisation of the Ministry of Justice. The HR-objectives set in the management plan do not rely on a risk analysis of the personnel processes, whereas the courts do not have access to the centralised computerised data about the staff members and their careers. Besides, saving measures have been applied, so that there is a gap between the theoretical and the actual number of staff which, according to the courts audited, is not sufficient to cover the needs. Finally, the audit revealed a number of shortcomings in the internal control on the way wages are set and calculated. The Minister of Justice agrees with the Court of Audit and announces that actions will be taken in order to remedy the situation.