JURISAI and the French Cour des comptes, with the support of the International Foundation for Public Finance (FONDAFIP) and the Revue Française de Finances Publiques, organized, on October 7^th in Paris, an international colloquium on the topic "Auditor and Judge: SAI that make decisions."

This important scientific event, brought together actors from the community of jurisdictional SAIs and academics. It was organized in the context of the contribution to highlighting the additional benefits that exercising jurisdictional functions brings to good governance, the proper use of public funds, and the effectiveness of public accountability. Two essential questions underpinned its proceedings: How do the two aspects of the dual role of auditor and judge interact? And what are the specific challenges raised by the power to impose sanctions?

The colloquium was inaugurated with speeches from Mr. Pierre Moscovici, First President of the French Cour des comptes; Minister Bruno Dantas, President of the Tribunal de Contas of Brazil and President of INTOSAI; and Mr. Michel Bouvier, Emeritus Professor at Paris I University and President of FONDAFIP.

Held on the eve of JURISAI's first General Assembly, the colloquium was structured around two panels. The first, titled "Auditor and judge: the conditions for harmonious complementarity," was moderated by Mr. Mamadou Faye, First President of the Court of Accounts of Senegal and President of AFROSAI, and the speakers were:

• Mr. Pio Silvestri, Attorney General of the Corte dei Conti of Italy;
• Ms. Rebeca Laliga Misó, President of the litigation chamber of the Tribunal de Cuentas of Spain;
• Mr. Michał Jędrzejczyk, Vice-President of the SAI of Poland;
• Mr. Serge Barichard, First Atorney General at the French Court of Accounts;
• Mr. Emilien Quinart, lecturer at the University of Paris 1 ;
• Mr. António Martins, Vice-President of the Tribunal de Contas of Portugal.

The speakers covered several key areas, including:

• SAIs where the jurisdictional activity does not originate from the Court itself;
• Planning and executing control activities to support the contentious function;
• The value and benefits of being a jurisdictional SAI with sanctioning power;
• The interaction between audit and jurisdictional activities;
• The reform of the accountability regimes, its contributions and challenges;
• Conditions for true complementarity in planning and executing activities.

The second panel, chaired by Mr. Jean-Yves Bertucci, President of the litigation chamber at the French Court of Accounts, focused on "the challenges and issues of SAI jurisdictional decisions." It was led by a panel of experts from the SAI community, academia, and the French Bar of Lawyers at the Conseil d’État and the Court of Cassation:

• Ms. Ismane Ibrahim, First President of the Court of Accounts of Djibouti;
• Ms. Cristina Machado, Prosecutor General at the Tribunal de Contas of Brazil;
• Mr. Nicolas Groper, Advocate General at the General Prosecutor's Office of the French Court of Accounts;
• Ms. Stéphanie Damarey, Professor of public law at the university of Lille;
• Mr. Thomas Lyon-Caen, President of the Bar of Lawyers at the French Council of State and the Court of Cassation.

The distinguished speakers in the second round table addressed various topics, including:

• The accountability of accountants and managers;
• The challenge of individualizing sanctions and the issue of exemplary penalties;
• The relationship between reparation and sanction;
• The diversity of sanctioning powers within jurisdictional SAIs;
• Accountability and consideration of the circumstances of misconduct.

Following the two round tables, participants had the opportunity to hear from a distinguished guest speaker, Ms. Élisabeth Guigou, former French Minister for European Affairs and former Minister of Justice. The closing speech of the colloquium was delivered by Ms. Zineb El Adaoui, First President of the Court of Accounts of the Kingdom of Morocco.

It is worth mentioning that during the colloquium, Mr. Gilles Miller, Senior magistrate counsellor at the French Court of Accounts, paid a heartfelt tribute to the late Professor Marie-Christine Esclassan, who passed away on March 6, 2023. Ms. Esclassan was an Emeritus Professor at the University of Paris 1, co-founder of FONDAFIP and Director of the Revue Française des Finances Publiques.

The proceedings of the colloquium will be published by FONDAFIP, one of the leading think tanks and international laboratories dedicated to public finance and new financial and fiscal governance. FONDAFIP supports and promotes research in public finance and fosters exchanges between academics and professionals from different countries through its various activities.