Parliamentary oversight of the execution of the state's general budget: The case of Algeria

Abstract

This paper examines the extent to which the Algerian Parliament exercises oversight over the execution of the State budget. Unlike the English and French parliaments, which are generally understood to have developed historically alongside efforts to secure consent over public finances, Arab and Algerian representative institutions emerged principally through Ottoman reform and European colonization, raising questions as to the nature and scope of the fiscal authority these institutions were originally granted. The paper distinguishes between the general oversight mechanisms available to Parliament and the mechanisms specific to financial oversight, centered on the budget settlement law, an instrument of considerable theoretical significance within the constitutional and organic-law framework. The paper then considers a number of factors that may bear upon the practical effectiveness of this instrument.