Last Updated on May 29, 2021 by LawEuro
Members of the Bundestag Act (Laws / Regulations of Germany)
Part Ten
Independence of Members of the Bundestag
Section 44a
Exercise of the mandate
(1) The exercise of the mandate of a Member of the Bundestag shall be central to his or her activity. Without prejudice to this obligation, activities of a professional or other nature alongside the exercise of the mandate are permissible in principle.
(2) For the exercise of his or her mandate, a Member of the Bundestag may not accept any consideration besides those for which the law provides or any other pecuniary benefit. In particular, it is inadmissible to accept money or allowances with monetary value which are only granted in the expectation that the interests of the payer will be represented and asserted in the Bundestag. It is also inadmissible for a Member of the Bundestag to accept money or allowances with monetary value if he or she does not render an appropriate service in return. The foregoing provisions shall be without prejudice to the receipt of donations.
(3) Considerations or pecuniary benefits which are inadmissible under paragraph 2 above or their monetary equivalent shall be payable to the federal budget. The President shall assert this entitlement by means of an administrative act, provided that a period of three years has not elapsed since the receipt of the consideration or pecuniary benefit. Loss of membership of the Bundestag shall not affect this entitlement. Details shall be regulated in the Code of Conduct pursuant to section 44b of this Act.
(4) Activities predating the acceptance of the mandate and activities concurrent with the exercise of the mandate which may indicate combinations of interests with implications for the exercise of the said mandate shall be disclosed and published in accordance with the Code of Conduct (section 44b). If disclosable activities or income are not reported, the Presidium may impose an administrative penalty of up to half of the annual Member’s remuneration. The President shall affirm the penalty by means of an administrative act. The foregoing provisions shall be without prejudice to section 31 of the present Act. Details shall be regulated in the Code of Conduct pursuant to section 44b of this Act.
(5) In the case of a non-minor breach of order or failure to respect the dignity of the Bundestag during its sittings, the President may impose a fine of 1,000 euros on a Member of the Bundestag. Any repetition shall result in an increase in the fine to 2,000 euros. In the case of a serious breach of order or failure to respect the dignity of the Bundestag, a Member may be ordered to leave the Chamber for the remainder of the sitting and suspended from taking part in sittings of the Bundestag and meetings of its bodies for up to 30 sitting days. Details shall be regulated in the Rules of Procedure of the Bundestag.
Section 44b
Code of Conduct
The Bundestag shall lay down its own Code of Conduct, which must include provisions relating to
1. cases in which there is an obligation to disclose activities pursued prior to membership of the Bundestag and activities pursued concurrently with the exercise of the mandate;
2. cases where there is a duty to disclose the type and amount of income where a specified minimum amount is exceeded;
3. the duty to keep separate account and disclose donations where specified minimum amounts are exceeded;
4. the publication of particulars in the Official Handbook and on the Internet;
5. procedure, as well as the rights and duties of the Presidium and President, in respect of decisions under section 44a(3) and (4) of this Act.
Section 44c
Screening for activity or political responsibility for the Ministry of State Security/Office of National Security of the former German Democratic Republic
(1) Members of the Bundestag may apply to the President in writing for screening measures to establish whether or not they were full-time employees or unofficial assistants or exercised political responsibility for the State Security Service of the former German Democratic Republic.
(2) Screening may take place without consent if the Committee on the Scrutiny of Elections, Immunity and the Rules of Procedure has established the existence of concrete grounds for suspecting such activity or responsibility.
(3) In cases referred to in subsections (1) and (2) above, the procedure shall be conducted by the Committee on the Scrutiny of Elections, Immunity and the Rules of Procedure.
(4) The German Bundestag shall compile guidelines prescribing the procedure for establishing whether or not Members were employed by, or exercised responsibility for, the Ministry of State Security/Office of National Security of the former German Democratic Republic.
Section 44d
Duty of confidentiality and authority to make a statement
(1) Even after the end of their term of office, Members of the German Bundestag may not testify or make a statement without consent, either in or out of court, in relation to matters which are confidential under statutory provisions or under the Rules of Procedure of the German Bundestag.
(2) The President of the German Bundestag shall be responsible for granting consent. If authorities outside the German Bundestag have been involved in originating the matter which is to be kept confidential, consent may be granted only with their agreement.
(3) Consent may only be refused if the testimony or statement would adversely affect the welfare of the Federal Republic or a Land or would seriously jeopardise or substantially impair the performance of public duties.
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