Port-au-Prince, November 13, 2026 – In a formal public announcement delivered on Thursday, November 12, 2026, Me Rogavil Boisguéné, President of Haiti’s Superior Court of Accounts and Administrative Disputes (CSC/CA), issued a definitive ruling that the independent judicial body is constitutionally barred from granting financial discharge, or official clearance of public fund management, to former prime ministers and ministers currently running in the country’s upcoming general elections.
Boisguéné emphasized that the CSC/CA is strictly bound by the core principles of separation of powers and administrative legality enshrined in Haitian governance frameworks, and cannot claim any powers or jurisdictions that are not explicitly delegated to it by the national Constitution and statutory laws. The clarification comes amid widespread queries from electoral candidates and the public over which governing body holds the authority to sign off on the financial records of former senior executive officials seeking public office.
To reinforce its position, the CSC/CA cited three binding legal provisions that clearly delineate the discharge process. First, Article 233 of the amended Haitian Constitution mandates the formation of a 15-member Parliamentary Commission, made up of 9 Deputies and 6 Senators elected via secret ballot at the start of each ordinary legislative session, to oversee public spending, review ministerial performance, and submit findings to both chambers of Parliament so that the legislature as a whole may vote to grant discharge. Second, Article 89 of the May 4, 2016 Law governing state finance drafting and execution – which replaced the 2005 corresponding decree – specifies that Parliament retains full authority over state budget revenue and expenditure, and exercises ongoing oversight via the bicameral discharge commission and standing committees of both legislative houses, with the right to request audit bodies to carry out targeted investigations to support its decision-making. Third, Article 205 of the Senate’s Rules of Procedure formalizes the structure of the joint Parliamentary Commission on Public Accounts and Discharge, which is tasked with receiving audit reports from the CSC/CA, conducting its own independent analysis, and drafting a formal assessment of former ministers’ public fund management.
The CSC/CA further clarified that the only narrow exception to this division of authority applies in cases where former senior officials have been formally designated as de facto custodians of public funds during their tenure. In those limited circumstances, the CSC/CA holds exclusive jurisdiction to audit and adjudicate their financial accounts, per existing regulatory rules. The court concluded its statement by calling on all relevant stakeholders to recognize the separation of powers framework and act with collective responsibility to uphold the rule of law during the ongoing electoral process.
Elections : The CSC/CA cannot grant discharge to former Prime Ministers and Ministers
