Page 82 - Rassegna 2021-4

DOTTRINA

The commencement of the Recovery and Resiliency Plan (2021-2026) represents for the Italian
Government an historical opportunity to combine and create a synthesis between the drives and the exigen-
cies to renovate the role of the Italian Court of Auditors. These demands of evolution can be associated
to a determined stream of thought masterfully represented by the thesis of the Administrative Lawyer
Massimo Severo who, in 1978, wrote the “Relation on the condition of the Italian Public
Administration. In particular, these needs for change are driven by the norm that states the necessity to

respect the principle of the legitimate use of public finances by all the departments of the Public
Administration.
Drawing from a perspective well placed in contemporary times, the author of this essay resumes
some key concepts clearly explained in the 1977 “Lima Declaration”, approved by the International
Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI). In fact, more than forty years after the ninth
conference of Supreme Audit Institutions held in Peru, the ideas expressed in the “Lima Declaration”
maintain a considerable relevance, especially when the external independent legal control needs to assure
the specific quality of the public projects useful for the national community.
There are different case studies that can be used to analyse this detailed subject. However, regarding
the specific Italian context the experience of the concurrent control exercised by the regional department of

Basilicata with the concrete technical support of the Carabinieri during the implementation of the public
projects related to the event “Matera, the European Capital of Culture 2019” represents a perfect exam-
ple of the nature of the Court of Auditors. It is evident that this Institution can be considered as a State
Body placed in an auxiliary position and as a useful organization able to provide assistance to the national
authorities who are responsible for the management of the res publica.

SOMMARIO: 1. Premessa. - 2. Il richiamo ai “fondamentali” del controllo indipendente
esterno. I precetti della “Dichiarazione di Lima” (1977). - 3. Chi controlla la
funzionalità del sistema dei controlli interni? - 4. La capacità di indagine della
Corte dei conti: fondamento normativo, misure utilizzabili. - 5. Il controllo sul
sistema delle opere pubbliche.

1. Premessa
Le risorse finanziarie che l’Italia sarà chiamata ad utilizzare, tra il 2021 e
il 2026, per consentire il rilancio economico e sociale della comunità nazionale
e, quindi, dei diversi territori, ammontano a una cifra di tutto rispetto, come
mai si era vista dalla data in cui l’Europa è nata: ammontano, secondo le ultime

indicazioni (che si sono rivelate mutevoli) a circa 191,4 miliardi di euro, tra
sovvenzioni e prestiti sul Recovery and Resilience Facility, da aggiungere ai 15,2
miliardi sul React-EU e ad altre dotazioni di minor conto, per un totale di circa 208,6
miliardi di euro.

80