General provisions (Financial Regulations and Rules)

Financial Regulations and Rules >> I. General provisions

Applicability and authority

 * Regulation 1.1

"These Regulations shall govern the financial administration of the United Nations, including the International Court of Justice."
 * Rule 101.1

"The Financial Rules are promulgated by the Secretary-General in accordance with the provisions of the Financial Regulations approved by the General Assembly. They shall govern all the financial management activities of the United Nations except as may otherwise explicitly be provided by the Assembly or unless specifically exempted therefrom by the Secretary-General. The Secretary-General may delegate authority and responsibility for the implementation of specified aspects of the Financial Regulations and Rules to those officials whom the Secretary-General designates and who shall be accountable to the Secretary-General for the effective and efficient stewardship of the Organization’s resources and the exercise of economy. The Secretary-General shall issue written instructions to such officials on the further delegation of authority for specified aspects of the Financial Regulations and Rules. Such written instructions will state whether the delegated official may further assign and delegate aspects of this authority to other officials. In the application of the Financial Regulations and Rules, officials shall be guided by the principles of effective and efficient financial management and the exercise of economy."

Responsibility and accountability

 * Rule 101.2

"All United Nations staff are obligated to comply with the Financial Regulations and Rules and with administrative instructions issued in connection with those Regulations and Rules. Any staff member who contravenes the Financial Regulations and Rules or corresponding administrative instructions may be held personally accountable and financially liable for his or her actions."

Definitions

 * Rule 101.3

"For the purpose of these Rules, “Advisory Committee” shall mean the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions."

History
Regulation 1.1 was adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 456(V) of 16 November 1950.

Rule 101.2 was established by the Secretary-General in ST/SGB/2003/7 following the approval by the General Assembly in its decision 57/573 of revisions to the Financial Regulations, as proposed in A/57/396.

Rule 101.1 and 101.3 were amended by the Secretary-General in ST/SGB/2013/4/Amend.1 to remove references to the Under-Secretary-General for Management and delegation of authority through the Under-Secretary-General for Management to reflect the management architecture and delegation of authority framework established on 1 January 2019 as part of the management reform.