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Israel
The State Comptroller
The power of the Knesset to supervise and review government policies
and operations is exercised mainly through the state comptroller,
also known as the ombudsman or ombudswoman. The state comptroller
is appointed by the president upon the recommendation of the House
Committee of the Knesset for a renewable term of five years. The
incumbent is completely independent of the government and is responsible
to the Knesset alone (the state controller's budget is submitted
directly to the Knesset's Finance Committee and is exempt from
prior consideration by the Ministry of Finance). The state comptroller
can be relieved only by the Knesset or by resignation or demise.
During the incumbent's term of office, he or she may not be a
member of the Knesset or otherwise engage in politics and is prohibited
from any public or private activity that could create a conflict
of interest with the independent performance of the duties of
the office. The state comptroller, although lacking in authority
to enforce compliance, has broad investigative powers and employs
hundreds of staff members, including accountants, lawyers, and
other relevant professionals. Since 1949, when the state comptrollership
was created, three individuals have held the office, with each
having served for an extended period.
The principal function of the state comptroller is to check on
the legality, regularity, efficiency, economy, and ethical conduct
of public institutions. The checks are performed by continuous
and spot inspections of the financial accounts and activities
of all ministries, the armed forces and security services, local
government bodies, and any corporations, enterprises, or organizations
subsidized or managed by the state in any form.
The state comptroller acts in conjunction with the Finance Committee
of the Knesset and reports to it whenever necessary. The state
comptroller may recommend that the Finance Committee appoint a
special commission of inquiry, but having no statutory authority
of its own it relies on the Knesset to impose sanctions on errant
bodies. The state comptroller's office is divided into five major
inspection units. The first four are concerned with ministries,
defense services, local authorities, and corporations; the fifth
deals with public complaints concerning government bodies.
Data as of December 1988
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