ALRAQABA . ISSUE 16
81
end; however, it is a means to uncover the truth.
It is the group of procedures that aim to define
disciplinary violations and consequent liability.
An investigation is normally conducted after
detecting a violation. All the applied procedures
will then be in place; the required assurances are
to be legally considered to facilitate the means
for the administrative body. That is to disclose the
truth, reach to the facts, determine assurance,
and provide reassurance to the person subject
to administrative inquiry. That is to allow him/
her to get prepared and inclined to defend him/
herself and clear the allegations.” Additionally,
an administrative inquiry is defined as “an
employee’s basic right not to be condemned
without conducting an administrative inquiry
where sound elements of a legal investigation are
provided along with reassurances. The employee
would be encountered with the allegations and is
allowed to defend him/herself against them. He/
she will be allowed to converse with the alleged
witnesses and may resort to rebuttal witnesses
and other defense requirements. If an inquiry
lacks these assurances, it may not be described
as an inquiry at its traditional form. Subsequently,
asking employee questions about specific
proceedings is not enough. It is imperative to
encounter him/her with facts such as irregularities
that are linked to him/her. It is important that
the person subject to an inquiry be properly
informed, to allow him/her to take the necessary
defense actions and to keep up with the inquiry’s
developments. This way, the employee’s right
to defend him/herself is guaranteed to deliver a
justification to the sanction.”
On the other hand, the jurisprudence has
given great consideration to the administrative
inquiry. There are numerous corresponding
explanations and publications. In addition to the
publications that discuss administrative inquiry
as one of the staff disciplinary actions, there is
a dedicated body of literature on the subject
of administrative inquiry. These publications
cover practical aspects of the inquiry, such as
the applied methods to investigate or encounter
an employee with allegations. Some literature
contains integrated templates of administrative
inquires.
Despite the growing interest of the Justice
and jurisprudence in the administrative inquiry
to uncover all its aspects and the continuing
endeavors to establish its principles, the practical
reality has disclosed a number of issues and
drawbacks that the auditees encounter when
conducting an administrative inquiry on financial
irregularities. These issues may sometimes reach
to breaching the principles of administrative
inquiry and failure to comply with its primary
concepts.
We would like to propose that these issues be
further examined and researched. Said issues
not only sometimes affect SAB’s control over
financial irregularities but also hinder such
control, particularly in the cases where an entity
refrains from conducting an administrative
inquiry on financial irregularities. This requires
the application of flexible solutions to face said
problems. The balance of said solutions must
be divided between the achievement of the
general administrations’ goals and improving
its performance. It is important to enable SAB to
perform its control over financial irregularities as
per its establishment purpose, which is achieving
effective control over public funds to ensure its
safeguard and protect them from falling into the
wrong hands.
Therefore, the first study of this research will be
dedicated to presenting the problems that face
the auditees when conducting an administrative
inquiry on financial irregularities. The second part
will be designated to deliver the recommended
solutions to confronting these issues.
