Fighting Corruption at the Ostfalia
Background
Special anti-corruption regulations have been in place for employees of the state of Lower Saxony since 2001. The Directive on Preventing and Combating Corruption in the State Administration (Anti-Corruption Directive) has been in force since 1 April 2014. The directive is supplemented by the circular on the prohibition of accepting rewards, gifts and other benefits (most recent version dated 15 October 2024). The Anti-Corruption Directive contains regulations aimed at effectively preventing corruption and increasing the detection, prosecution and penalisation of corrupt practices. It serves as a guideline for the behaviour of all employees and also provides guidance and assistance for necessary measures to prevent and combat corruption. Contact persons for combating corruption are to be appointed for the departments.
What is corruption?
Corruption means that someone uses their position in office, in business or in politics to gain an advantage for themselves or others. This can happen at the request of another person or on their own initiative. This often results in damage - either to the general public (in the case of public office or politics) or to a company (in the case of commercial activity).
Transferred to the area of state administration, acts that are not punishable but violate official rules also count as corruption. Civil servants must fulfil their duties impartially, independently and without personal interests - for the common good. If they violate their duties, this can be an official offence even if it is not a criminal offence.
In labour law, there are also graduated measures for breaches of duty - depending on the severity of the case. If behaviour causes damage, it must be examined whether compensation can be claimed.
In principle, corruption can occur in any workplace. Areas in which important information is available or decisions are made that bring recognisable advantages for third parties are particularly at risk.
Tasks of the contact person for anti-corruption
The responsibilities of the anti-corruption contact person include in particular
- Promoting employee awareness through counselling and education;
- Suggestions to the department management regarding internal investigations, measures against concealment and informing the public prosecutor's office in the event of a suspicion of corruption that is justified by the facts;
- Advice on the acceptance of sponsorship payments and public relations work;
- Liaising and exchanging information with the supervisory authority and other bodies; and
- Co-operating with law enforcement authorities on general anti-corruption issues.