Insulated and undemocratic: the (im)possibility of social accountability in Brazilian courts of accounts

Abstract This article examines the transparency of the Brazilian Courts of Accounts to citizens, andwhether these Courts have acted in a way that facilitates social accountability over public administration. The multidimensional scaling technique was used to determine the integrity of the 32 Courts of Accounts in Brazil. Evidence suggests that Brazilian Courts of Accounts are still not transparent to society and count on few mechanisms to help and facilitate citizen control. Evidence also shows that the means of social participation is limited, and represented by the Ombudsman, the Transparency Web Portal, and the Citizen Assistance Service. However, this study identified that the Fiscal Responsibility Law (LRF) and the Access to Information Law (LAI) had a strong influence on the Courts of Accounts. Although gradual, these elements can lead to future changes in terms of an increasingly prominent role of the Courts of Accounts as strong allies in the process of enhancing vertical accountability.

摘要 本文探讨巴西审计法院（Courts of Accounts）对公民的透明度问题，以及此类法院是否采取了有助于强化公共行政部门社会问责的行动模式。本研究采用多维标度技术（multidimensional scaling technique），对巴西境内32家审计法院的履职完整性展开评估。研究结果表明，巴西审计法院对社会公众的透明度仍存在不足，且可供辅助公民开展监督的机制较为匮乏。研究同时显示，当前社会参与渠道十分有限，仅以监察专员（Ombudsman）、透明度门户网站（Transparency Web Portal）及公民援助服务（Citizen Assistance Service）为主要形式。不过本研究发现，财政责任法（Fiscal Responsibility Law，LRF）与信息获取法（Access to Information Law，LAI）对审计法院的运作产生了显著影响。尽管相关变革进程尚属渐进，但上述因素有望推动未来发展，使审计法院在强化纵向问责的进程中发挥愈发突出的作用，成为该进程中的重要盟友。