Political Constitution of Colombia (1991)

Fiscal control is a public function to be exercised by the Office of the Controller General of the Republic, which oversees the fiscal management of the administration and of individuals or entities that manage funds or assets of the Nation.

Control shall be exercised in subsequent and selective form according to the procedures, systems, and principles established by statute. However, an Act may authorize, in special cases, oversight be performed by Colombian private enterprises selected on the basis of public competition according to merit and contracted in accordance with the opinion of the Council of State.

Oversight of the fiscal management of the State includes exercising financial control, management, and performance, based on efficiency, economy, equality, and appraising the environmental costs. In exceptional cases as specified by statute, the Office of the Controller General may exercise subsequent control over the accounts of any territorial entity.

The Office of the Controller is an entity of a technical nature with administrative and budgetary autonomy. It does not have administrative functions other than those inherent in its own organization.

The Controller will be elected by the Congress in Plenary Session, by an absolute majority, during the first month of sessions for a period equal to that of the President of the Republic, from a list chosen according to a public call on the basis of the provisions of Article 126 of the Constitution and cannot be reelected or continue in exercising functions at the end of the term.

Only Congress can accept a resignation made by the Controller and provide for the absolute or temporary gaps of the office.

To be elected Controller General of the Republic, it is required that one be Colombian by birth and hold active citizenship, be more than 35 years of age; and have a university degree or have been a university professor for at least 5 years; and to demonstrate additional qualities required by statute.

A person may not be elected Controller General if he/she is or has been a member of Congress or has occupied any public office at a national level, except for teaching, during the year immediately preceding the election. Neither may he/she be elected if he/she has been sentenced to imprisonment for common offenses.

In no case may anyone intervene in the vetting of candidates or the election of Controller General who is kin to the candidates to the fourth level of consanguinity, the second level of affinity or the first civil or legal level.