The complementarity of audit and judicial review : the homes for votes scandal in the UK
By: DREWRY, Gavin
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ArticlePublisher: Thousand Oaks, CA : Sage publications , Sept. 2005International Review of Administrative Sciences 71, 3, p. 375-389 Abstract: The mechanisms of public accountability can take many different forms, and those who hold others to account must themselves be accountable. A recent case of serious electoral malpractice in a UK local authority illustrates some important points about mechanisms of accountability and redress in particular the potential complementarity between the inquisitorial role of an auditor, and the essentially adversarial nature of the judicial process. It also illustrates how the courts can be used to hold auditors (who are, themselves, important instruments of accountability) to account for their actions. Unlike an auditor, courts have limited scope to conduct in-depth investigations of the issues that arise in litigation, so it is tempting to consider the possibility of providing an investigative facility for particularly complex cases. However, as the case discussed here illustrates, this would involve substantial additional costs, as well as delays in the final resolution of disputes, at a time when the courts are under increasing pressure to streamline their procedures and become more cost-effective.
The mechanisms of public accountability can take many different forms, and those who hold others to account must themselves be accountable. A recent case of serious electoral malpractice in a UK local authority illustrates some important points about mechanisms of accountability and redress in particular the potential complementarity between the inquisitorial role of an auditor, and the essentially adversarial nature of the judicial process. It also illustrates how the courts can be used to hold auditors (who are, themselves, important instruments of accountability) to account for their actions. Unlike an auditor, courts have limited scope to conduct in-depth investigations of the issues that arise in litigation, so it is tempting to consider the possibility of providing an investigative facility for particularly complex cases. However, as the case discussed here illustrates, this would involve substantial additional costs, as well as delays in the final resolution of disputes, at a time when the courts are under increasing pressure to streamline their procedures and become more cost-effective.
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