"La corrupción consiste en cobrar dos veces:
oficialmente y extraoficialmente;
en vender la obediencia y no entregarla;
en actuar por cuenta propia a través de una investidura
que implica la renuncia a actuar por cuenta propia"
Gabriel Zaid
A recent ruling by Germany's Supreme Court has caused a public storm over the ethical conduct of doctors and drug companies in the country. Rob Hyde reports from Hamburg.
Self-employed physicians in Germany accepting up to €10 000 from drug companies in cash, or gifts such as computers, equipment, or holidays, will not face corruption charges.
The Federal Court of Justice, in Karlsruhe, Germany's Supreme Court, ruled that drug companies cannot be penalised under current legislation, even when paying German freelance physicians to prescribe their drugs. Similarly these doctors can now officially accept this money without either party facing criminal charges of bribery. The ruling could apply to around 124 000 of 342 000 doctors working in the country, which includes around 121 700 independent physicians working under freelance contracts in Germany's national health system.
The most recent case in question involved a sales representative of a major German drug firm who, via its benefits programmme, paid cash to a group of national health service doctors. Here each doctor received a 5% commission on each product they prescribed. Though the firm officially said the money was remuneration for delivering academic presentations, these seminars never took place. The sales agent was then charged with commercial bribery by a lower court, and fined.
When the sales representative appealed, the case was referred to the Federal Court of Justice. Here the Grand Criminal Panel reversed the lower court's ruling and acquitted the accused. It then also ruled that the physicians were neither civil servants, nor representatives of a state institution, and so could not be charged with “bribery of public officials”, as defined in paragraph 332 of the German Penal Code, or under criminal law. The court further decided that the physicians were also neither employees nor representatives of a business operation, and so could not be charged with commercial bribery under paragraph 299. (Más)
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