| Timor-Leste: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Legislative Accountability | ||
| Indicators | Score | |
| 29 | Can members of the legislature be held accountable for their actions? | 92 |
| 30 | Are there regulations governing conflicts of interest by members of the national legislature? | 0 |
| 31 | Can citizens access the asset disclosure records of members of the national legislature? | 0 |
| 32 | Can citizens access legislative processes and documents? | 50 |
Indicator and sub-Indicator Details
| 29 | Can members of the legislature be held accountable for their actions? | |||||||
| 29a: In law, the judiciary can review laws passed by the legislature. | ||||||||
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Comments: The Constitution provides for a supreme court, which in theory could review legislative actions, but the court does not yet exist. In the meantime, other courts, inlcluding the court of appeals, have performed this function. References: Constitution of RDTL, article 126/129
Peer Review Comments: The Court of Appeals functions in place of the yet-unformed Supreme Court.
Peer Review Comments: Even without a Supreme Court, the judiciary does review legislation and rules on its constitutionality.
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| 29b: In practice, when necessary, the judiciary reviews laws passed by the legislature. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: Interview with Dr. Amandio Benevides, deputy of the ombudsman office, at his office, on 17 July 2007 Constitution RDTL, articles 150 & 152
Peer Review Comments: Timor-Leste is well known for having an ineffective judiciary. While it reviews laws, it is often affected by political considerations
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| 29c: In law, are members of the national legislature subject to criminal proceedings? | ||||||||
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Comments: In law, immunity exists only for statements made in Parliament. In practice, however, those protections have been extended to criminal charges unrelated to Parliamentary service, where immunity has not been lifted where it likely should have been. References: Interview with Dr. Amandio Benevides, deputy of the ombudsman office, at his office, on 17 July 2007
Peer Review Comments: Members do not have blanket immunity. See constitution, Section 94 (Immunities) 1. The Members of National Parliament shall not be held liable for civil, criminal or disciplinary proceedings in regard to votes and opinions expressed by them while performing their functions.
Peer Review Comments: There are means through which a member of the legislature can be prosecuted.
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| 30 | Are there regulations governing conflicts of interest by members of the national legislature? | |||||||
| 30a: In law, members of the national legislature are required to file an asset disclosure form. | ||||||||
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Comments: No such law is in place. In fact, the office of ombudsman is the only one that is implementing this system in the country; no one else is doing it. References: Interview with Dr. Amandio Benevides, deputy of the ombudsman office, at his office, on 17 July 2007
Peer Review Comments: If the Ombudsman is auditing the legislators' assets, is this not according to law? Are they voluntarily submitting their asset lists to the Ombudsman?
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| 30b: In law, there are restrictions for national legislators entering the private sector after leaving the government. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: Interview with Dr. Amandio Benevides, deputy of the ombudsman office, at his office, on 17 July 2007
Peer Review Comments: Has Indonesian law been checked?
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| 30c: In law, there are regulations governing gifts and hospitality offered to members of the national legislature. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: Interview with Dr. Amandio Benevides, deputy of the ombudsman office, at his office, on 17 July 2007
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| 30d: In law, there are requirements for the independent auditing of the asset disclosure forms of members of the national legislature. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: Interview with Dr. Amandio Benevides, deputy of the ombudsman office, at his office, on 17 July 2007
Peer Review Comments: The Political Party Law (PPL) requires accounts to be maintained and published in the official Gazette (Jornal de Republica.) However, the word 'audit' does not appear anywhere in the text of the PPL.
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| 30e: In practice, the regulations restricting post-government private sector employment for national legislators are effective. | ||||||||
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Comments: This happened when members of previous parliaments and government officials were taking commissions from business people. There is a hidden policy of forcing investors to share with local people whether they would be capable of delivering services or not. It was known that every investors in ET must work in partner with the locals. References: Interview with Dr. Amandio Benevides, deputy of the ombudsman office, at his office, on 17 July 2007
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| 30f: In practice, the regulations governing gifts and hospitality offered to national legislators are effective. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: Interview with Dr. Amandio Benevides, deputy of the ombudsman office, at his office, on 17 July 2007
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| 30g: In practice, national legislative branch asset disclosures are audited. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: Interview with Dr. Amandio Benevides, deputy of the ombudsman office, at his office, on 17 July 2007
Peer Review Comments: In a previous and related question, it was mentioned that the Ombudsman tracks assets. Is this different from an audit?
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| 31 | Can citizens access the asset disclosure records of members of the national legislature? | |||||||
| 31a: In law, citizens can access the asset disclosure records of members of the national legislature. | ||||||||
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Comments: There is no law to force that to happen. There also is no political will behind it. References: Interview with Dr. Amandio Benevides, deputy of the ombudsman office, at his office, on 17 July 2007
Peer Review Comments: Political Party Law, Section 26 Publication of Accounts Party accounts must be published in the Official Gazette, free of charge, accompanied by the opinion of the competent statutory organ for review. Section 27 Accounting Organization The accounting organization of the parties must follow the rules of a sound accounting system and must contain, in particular: a) the annual inventory of the party property with regards to movable and immovable property subject to registration; b) the breakdown of revenues which shall include those revenues provided for in Section 20; c) the breakdown of expenses including: " personnel expenditures; " expenditures on acquisition of assets; " loan charges; " other expenditures related to activities of the party. d) the breakdown of capital operations pertaining to: " investments; " debtors and creditors. However, given that there is no independent audit, the value of public disclosure is limited.
Peer Review Comments: Does this include records kept by the Ombudsman?
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| 31b: In practice, citizens can access legislative asset disclosure records within a reasonable time period. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: Interview with Dr. Amandio Benevides, deputy of the ombudsman office, at his office, on 17 July 2007
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| 31c: In practice, citizens can access legislative asset disclosure records at a reasonable cost. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: Interview with Dr. Amandio Benevides, deputy of the ombudsman office, at his office, on 17 July 2007
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| 32 | Can citizens access legislative processes and documents? | |||||||
| 32a: In law, citizens can access records of legislative processes and documents. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: Interview with Dr. Amandio Benevides, deputy of the ombudsman office, at his office, on 17 July 2007
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| 32b: In practice, citizens can access records of legislative processes and documents within a reasonable time period. | ||||||||
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Comments: The bureaucracy suffers from unprofessional civil servants who are responding to requests. For those who have no power and no relatives in a position to access records, request for such information likely will be denied. References: Interview with Dr. Amandio Benevides, deputy of the ombudsman office, at his office, on 17 July 2007
Peer Review Comments: This also depends on the type of information requested. Parliamentary decisions are posted on the internet (which most citizens are unable to access) and published in an official gazette, which citizens can subscribe to. In general, navigating this system can be difficult. Language is another barrier to citizens trying to access information.
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| 32c: In practice, citizens can access records of legislative processes and documents at a reasonable cost. | ||||||||
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Comments: The bureaucracy suffers from unprofessional civil servants who are responding to requests. For those who have no power and no relatives in a position to access records, request for such information likely will be denied. References: Interview with Dr. Amandio Benevides, deputy of the ombudsman office, at his office, on 17 July 2007
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