Constitution

Nauru 1968 Constitution (reviewed 2015)

Table of Contents

PART VI. FINANCE

58. Treasury Fund.

All revenues and other moneys raised or received by Nauru, not being revenues or other moneys payable by law into another fund established for a specific purpose, shall be paid into and form a Treasury Fund.

59. Withdrawals from Treasury Fund and public funds.

  1. No moneys shall be withdrawn from the Treasury Fund except to meet expenditure that is charged upon the Treasury Fund by this Constitution or in accordance with law.
  2. No moneys shall be withdrawn from any fund referred to in Article 58 other than the Treasury Fund except in accordance with law.
  3. A proposed law for the withdrawal of moneys from the Treasury Fund or any other fund referred to in Article 58 shall not receive the certificate of the Speaker under Article 47 unless the purpose of the withdrawal has been recommended to Parliament by the Cabinet.
  4. The Cabinet shall cause to be prepared and laid before Parliament before the date of commencement of each financial year (or if, in respect of a particular financial year, Parliament, by resolution, determines a later date, before that later date), estimates of the revenues and expenditure of Nauru for that year.

60. Taxation.

No tax shall be raised except as prescribed by law and a proposed law for the imposition of a tax shall not receive the certificate of the Speaker under Article 47 unless the imposition of the tax has been recommended to Parliament by the Cabinet.

61. Withdrawal of moneys in advance of appropriation law.

  1. If the appropriation law in respect of a financial year has not received the certificate of the Speaker under Article 47 on or before the twenty-first day before the commencement of that financial year, the Cabinet may, in accordance with clause (2.) of this Article, recommend to Parliament a proposed law authorising the withdrawal of moneys from the Treasury Fund for the purpose of meeting expenditure necessary to carry on the services of the Republic of Nauru after the commencement of that financial year until the expiration of three months or the coming into operation of the appropriation law, whichever is the earlier.
  2. A recommendation by the Cabinet referred to in clause (1.) of this Article shall be in writing delivered to the Speaker not later than the fourteenth day before the commencement of the financial year and the Speaker shall, on receiving the recommendation, lay it before Parliament as soon as practicable. [Substituted 17.5.68.]
  3. For the purposes of clause (2.) of this Article and notwithstanding Article 40, the Speaker shall, if necessary, appoint a time for the beginning of a session, or for a sitting, of Parliament.
  4. Where the Cabinet has recommended a proposed law under clause (1.) of this Article and neither the appropriation law nor that proposed law has come into operation on or before the commencement of that financial year, the Cabinet may authorise the withdrawal of moneys in accordance with that proposed law but the amount of moneys so withdrawn shall not exceed one-quarter of the amount withdrawn under the authority of the appropriation law or laws in respect of the preceding financial year.

62. Long Term Investment Fund.

  1. There shall be a Long Term Investment Fund constituted by the moneys that immediately before the commencement of this Constitution constituted a fund called the Nauruan Community Long Term Investment Fund and by such other moneys as are appropriated by law for payment into the fund or are paid into the fund as provided by clause (2.) of this Article.
  2. Moneys constituting the Long Term Investment Fund may be invested as prescribed by law and income derived from moneys so invested shall be paid into the fund.
  3. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 59, no moneys shall be withdrawn from the Long Term Investment Fund (otherwise than for investment under clause (2.) of this Article) until the recovery of the phosphate deposits in Nauru has, by reason of the depletion of those deposits, ceased to provide adequately for the economic needs of the citizens of Nauru.

63. Phosphate Royalties.

  1. Parliament may provide for the establishment of a fund for the benefit of persons from whose land phosphate deposits have been recovered and for the payment into that fund of amounts from the Treasury Fund and for the payment of moneys out of that fund to those persons.
  2. Parliament may provide for the payment from the Treasury Fund to persons from whose land phosphate deposits have been recovered of such royalties as are prescribed by law.

64. Contingencies Fund.

  1. Parliament may provide for the establishment of a Contingencies Fund and for authorising the Cabinet, if satisfied that there has arisen an urgent and unforeseen need for expenditure for which no other provision exists, to make advances from that fund for the purposes of that expenditure.
  2. Where an advance is made from the Contingencies Fund, provision may be made by law for replacing the amount so advanced.

65. Remuneration of certain officers.

  1. There shall be paid to the holders of the offices to which this Article applies such salary and such allowances as are prescribed by law.
  2. The salaries and allowances payable to the holders of the offices to which this Article applies are a charge on the Treasury Fund.
  3. The salary and allowances payable to the holder of an office to which this Article applies and his other conditions of service shall not be altered to his disadvantage during the term of his appointment.
  4. This Article applies to the office of judge of the Supreme Court, Clerk of Parliament and Director of Audit.

66. Director of Audit.

  1. There shall be a Director of Audit, whose office is a public office.
  2. The powers and functions and the conditions of service of the Director of Audit are, subject to this Constitution, as prescribed by law.
  3. The Director of Audit shall not hold or act in any other public office during his period of service and a person who has held the office of Director of Audit shall not hold or act in any public office during the period of three years after he ceases to be Director of Audit.
  4. The Director of Audit may resign his office at any time by writing under his hand delivered to the Speaker.
  5. The Director of Audit may not be removed from office except on a resolution of Parliament approved by not less than two-thirds of the total number of members of Parliament praying for his removal from office on the ground of proved incapacity or misconduct.

67. Public debt.

  1. All debt charges for which Nauru is liable are a charge on the Treasury Fund.
  2. For the purposes of this Article, debt charges include interest, sinking fund charges, repayment or amortisation of debt and all expenditure in connexion with the raising of loans and the service and redemption of the debt thereby created.