Court of Audit of Belgium

The Court of Audit of Belgium (Dutch:  Rekenhof , French: Cour des Comptes, German: Rechnungshof) is a Belgian governmental institution established by article 180 of the Belgian Constitution. The Court of Audit is a collateral body of the Belgian Federal Parliament and exerts external control on the budgetary, accounting and financial operations of the Federal State, the Communities, the Regions, the public service institutions and the provinces. The task of the Court of Audit is defined in its organic law of 29 October 1846. This law gives the Court of Audit a large independence and a wide autonomy to perform its missions.

The Court of Audit carries out its tasks at its own initiative. The principle of general independence is a guarantee of objectivity and impartiality. The legislative assemblies can charge to charge the Court of Audit with specific missions of management analysis.

The Court of Audit can trace its historical lineage to the Chamber of Accounts in the County of Flanders and Chamber of Accounts established in 1386 for Flanders and Burgundy by Philip the Bold. By letters of patent in 1406, Philip's second son Antoine of Burgundy set up a chamber of accounts for the Duchy of Brabant. The Chamber of Accounts was entrusted with the monitoring and the closing of the accounts of all paymasters of the duchy. These Chambers existed in various forms until the independence of Belgium in 1830. After the independence the National Congress voted on 30 December 1830 to establishing the Court of Audit of which the first members were appointed on 6 January 1831. Article 116 of the Constitution of 1831 enshrined the existence of this institution and defined its powers.

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