Hurdles Hinder Prosecution of German Politicians for Bribery
June 4, 2007
In the kind of case that infuriates anti-corruption campaigners, a long-time member of parliament for the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia escaped sentencing although he had accepted 95,000 euros ($127,700) from a construction company.
A regional court in Düsseldorf did find that Wilhelm Droste of the conservative Christian Democratic Union did accept the money but could not decide whether the money was a bribe or a payment for "general good behavior."
After the decision Droste referred to the Court’s decision as "glorious."
Anti-Corruption at Home
The German government has long been involved with various committees fighting corruption in Africa and in the business world. But when it comes to fighting bribery in their own halls, German politicians have avoided enacting tough legislation.
In almost every country in the world, the corruption laws governing members of parliament are at least as strict as those that apply to government officials. Not so in Germany.
A German parliamentarian can only be prosecuted for corruption if it is proven that a bribe was accepted to directly influence a vote, a crime that carries a sentence of up to five years. However, the bar is set so high that it is almost impossible to successfully prosecute such cases.
In the 13 years since the law has been on the books, only one parliamentarian from the eastern German city of Neuruppin has been sentenced.
'No' to UN Convention
The United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) was accepted by the UN General Assembly in October 2003.
As part of its campaign against corruption in government, the UNCAC states that "each State Party shall endeavor to apply, within its own institutional and legal systems, codes or standards of conduct for the correct, honorable and proper performance of public functions."
The Convention has been signed by 140 countries and ratified by 93 including the United States, Great Britain, France as well as Uganda and Sri Lanka.
Germany signed the convention in December of 2003 but has since failed to ratify it.
A New Law?
Anti-corruption groups such as Transarency International and the Association of Taxpayers, along with a mix of officials from Germany and the European Union are now pushing for a new law.
In response to highly-publicized bribery scandals at Volkswagen and Siemens, the German government last month moved to better fight international corruption.
However most parliamentarians do not support any move to strengthen the anti-corruption laws governing themselves, arguing that a tightening of the law would hinder their ability to legally interact with lobbyists.
"Every political party in the government has members who have misgivings and will not participate in any tightening (of the law)," said Jerzy Montag, a spokesperson for the Green Party.