O controle dos atos discricionários pelo Tribunal de Contas da União: Control of Discretionary Acts by the Federal Audit Court

Abstract

The present study aims to evaluate the exercise of external control, constitutionally conferred on the Federal Court of Auditors – TCU, through articles 70 and 71 of the Magna Carta, in contrast to the discretionary power attributed to the bodies and entities of the Public Administration. From the insertion of the principle of efficiency, through the Constitutional Amendment 19/1998, the TCU gained an important instrument to evaluate the results achieved by the administration, which imposes on the manager the duty to choose among the possible solutions, the one that best meets the public interest, that is, that brings the best social benefit. Thus, although it is up to the Public Administration, under the criteria of convenience and opportunity to define its interests, it is observed that even the discretionary power must be subject to control, in order to avoid possible omissions, excesses or insufficiency in the performance of the bodies and entities involved, thus enabling the implementation of the constitutional principle of supremacy of the public interest, which should guide the performance of public agents.