Luci e ombre del sistema sanzionatorio contabile a un quindicennio dall'inaugurazione

The paper examines how the Italian accounting sanctioning system protects the equilibrium of local government’s budget. The analysis of the aforementioned system is carried out along three dimensions: the role of the general principle of equilibrium in national or local budget system, the analysis of the sanctioning liability set for its protection and how this means is influenced by the “ne bis in idem” principle contained in the European Convention on Human Rights. The relationship between the sanctioning function and the judicial function, often analysed in the field of criminal law, is declined in the context of public accounting judgements, where it produces its effects in accordance with national and supranational principles. However, the sanctions imposed by the judicial activity of the Corte dei Conti (Court of Auditors) are not ancillary to other forms of liability, constituting a “unicum” in our regulatory system. The phenomenon of exercising certain administrative functions affecting public finances with the formality of contentious jurisdiction extends its sphere of action, causing numerous consequences both from a substantial and procedural point of view.