Press release of the State Audit Office of Hungary’s President on the selection procedure of the Integrity Authority’s Chair and Deputy Chairs.
Act XXVII of 2022 on the control of the use of European Union budget resources establishes the Integrity Authority. The Chair of the Authority and his deputies are appointed by the President of Hungary on the recommendation of the President of the State Audit Office of Hungary (SAO Hungary) for a six years period and for the first time until 4 November 2022 at latest. The Eligibility Committee responsible for the selection of members of the Authority’s Board members (hereinafter: Eligibility Committee) announced an open and public tender on 14 October 2022 (https://eutaf.kormany.hu/integritas-hatosag-igazgatosag ) for the position of Chair and Deputy Chairs of the Authority.
The application is valid, since the number of applicants for both the position of Chair and Deputy Chairs of the Board exceeded twice the number of positions to be filled.
The Eligibility Committee decides on the list of persons – considering professional merit, expertise and education – who apply for the tender and who are deemed suitable for the position of Chair and Deputy Chairs of the Authority and who can therefore be recommended for the position. The President of the SAO Hungary makes his proposal based on this list of persons.
A person may be appointed as the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Authority who:
a) has a university degree in law, economics or finance,
b) is unquestionably independent,
c) has extensive professional experience in legal or financial fields related to public procurement and fight against corruption, or has scientific work, and also has an international background and experience, including European Union affairs,
d) did not hold a position or duty according to § 42, paragraph (1) point a) or b) in the 5 years prior to the nomination.
The Eligibility Committee examines the existence of legal conditions for each applicant. The President of the SAO Hungary may select the Chair and two Deputy Chairs of the Integrity Authority from the qualified candidates. Hence, in the selection procedure, the President of the SAO Hungary does not examine the fulfillment of legal conditions, rather the existence of professional and management competencies necessary for the leadership of the Integrity Authority. After evaluating and ranking these competencies, he makes his proposal to the President of Hungary.
Based on the evaluation framework he has prepared and made public in advance, the President of the SAO Hungary nominates the highest score candidate for the position of the Integrity Authority’s Chair. In order to be able to completely fulfill its function according to the law, it is necessary to assemble the best possible Board for the Integrity Authority with the widest possible range of competences. Therefore, beyond individual evaluations, when selecting the Deputy Chairs of the Integrity Authority, besides the scores achieved individually, the future Board’s professional competences as a unit will also be considered. The composition of the Board, which complements the professional knowledge, expertise and skills of the individual members of the Board, best serves the achievement of the goals of the Integrity Authority.
The President of the SAO Hungary has individual interviews with the persons qualified to be suitable for the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Authority by the Eligibility Committee and who can therefore be recommended for the position.
The President of the SAO Hungary makes his decision based on the professional application and the personal interview, as well as on the evaluation criteria according to the attached table.
The President of the SAO Hungary will inform the public about the results of the selection procedure as well as his official proposal to the President of Hungary, furthermore – if the candidates consent – the evaluation scores, no later than 3 November 2022.
Dr. László Windisch
President
Budapest, 28 October 2022.