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Donations Granted Amongst “Friends” in Public Office— Kindness or Corruption?—There Ain't No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 March 2019

Holger Niehaus

Abstract

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When former state president C. Wulff stood accused of having received benefits from a film producer known to him for several years, he argued: “Is a politician not entitled to have friends?” Before such background, the question of where to draw the line between social life of a public servant or politician and criminal behavior arises. Are such persons subject to permanent threat of criminal prosecution if they accept invitations etc., or is it their obligation to the general public to refrain from accepting donations from persons who have interests in their decisions, even if these persons are long known friends of the public servant?

Type
Special Issue Ethical Challenges of Corrupt Practices
Information
German Law Journal , Volume 17 , Issue 1: Special issue - Ethical Challenges of Corrupt Practices , 2016 , pp. 41 - 51
Copyright
Copyright © 2016 by German Law Journal GbR 

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