ABSTRACT
The typology of budgeting systems sounds like an arcane and highly technical subject but is quite simple in its essence. Legitimacy always requires that the executive receive legislative approval to spend, but how and for what that approval is given can differ, and budget systems differ according to the type of legislative authorization. The budget principles and rules are enshrined in descending order of importance in the hierarchy of laws, in order: the constitution, a basic public financial management law, other laws and regulations, administrative instructions and circulars and the annual budget law itself. However, the legal framework covers all the basic requirements for sound budgeting, and enshrines the fundamental principles of public financial management (PFM), including the unity of the treasury, fiscal transparency and accountabilities of ministers and heads of public administration.
