Mayor Katja Dörner welcomes the fact that the arbitration proceedings have come to an end with this result. "I am delighted that the Council followed the administration's proposal by a large majority last night and made today's result possible. It is important that the repeatedly demanded acceptance of responsibility and an apology have now been made. The monetary payments underline this. A political and legal conflict that has lasted for more than a decade has come to an end, allowing us to focus on the present and look to the future."
The details of the agreement reached today were announced by the Münster Higher Administrative Court in two press releases: https://www.ovg.nrw.de/behoerde/presse/pressemitteilungen/index.php (opens in a new tab)
Press release of the OVG Münster on the settlement with the former Mayor of Bonn
City of Bonn and its former Mayor of Bonn reach an agreement in the dispute over claims for damages in connection with the construction of the World Conference Center in arbitration proceedings
The City of Bonn and its former Mayor of Bonn, Barbara Dieckmann, have amicably ended their legal dispute over claims for damages in connection with the construction of the World Conference Center Bonn (WCCB) with the mediation of a court of arbitration.
The City of Bonn had demanded compensation of 1 million euros from Ms. Dieckmann for the considerable financial losses for which the then Mayor of Bonn was responsible due to the insolvency of the company commissioned with the construction of the WCCB at the time, whose managing director was later convicted of fraud in this context. The administrative court upheld the claim. In the appeal proceedings, the competent senate of the Higher Administrative Court pointed out that the prospects of success of the defendant's appeal were open. The case raised complicated legal issues, as was evident not least from the defendant's substantiated objections to the legal assessments of the administrative court. Against this background, the parties had agreed, at the suggestion of the Senate, to seek an amicable solution to the long-standing dispute within the framework of independent and confidential arbitration proceedings under the mediation of a judicial mediator. This has been achieved with the agreement concluded today, which was approved by the City of Bonn Council at its meeting yesterday.
Part of the agreement is a public statement by former Mayoress Dieckmann, which reads as follows:
"(I have) as the then responsible Mayor of (the city of Bonn) in (my) speech on 17.09.2009 assumed political responsibility for the events in connection with the realization of the WCCB. I expressly reiterate this today and declare in addition:
I have borne and fulfilled my responsibility to the best of my knowledge and belief. Irrespective of the legal aspects, I am aware that both the administration and the political representatives of the City of Bonn have had to bear enormous burdens over the years. I deeply regret that it has come to this.
Naturally, we all know more today than we knew before the decisions were made. I also know today that there are people involved who did not feel sufficiently informed. This applies in particular with regard to the decision by Sparkasse KölnBonn on October 25, 2005, the subsequent approval of the ancillary agreement and the approval of the supplementary agreement to the ancillary agreement with Sparkasse KölnBonn.
In retrospect, I believe that it would have been politically and, based on the opinion of the Cologne Administrative Court, legally appropriate to involve the entire Council to a greater extent and to specify the text submitted to the Council in more detail.
I would therefore like to take this opportunity to formally apologize to those affected. I deeply regret that this has happened."
The parties involved have also agreed on a sum of money to be paid by Ms Dieckmann to the City of Bonn in the amount of 200,000 euros. Against this background, the City of Bonn has declared the withdrawal of its lawsuit in the settlement.
Press release of the OVG Münster on the settlement with the former city director
City of Bonn and its former city director reach an agreement in the dispute over claims for damages in connection with the construction of the World-Conference-Center in arbitration proceedings
The City of Bonn and its former city director have amicably ended their legal dispute over claims for damages in connection with the construction of the World Conference Center Bonn (WCCB) with the mediation of an arbitrator.
The City of Bonn had demanded compensation of EUR 1 million from its former city director for what it considered to be considerable financial damage caused by the insolvency of the company commissioned with the construction of the WCCB at the time, whose managing director was later convicted of fraud in this context. The administrative court upheld the claim. In the appeal proceedings, the competent senate of the Higher Administrative Court pointed out that the prospects of success of the defendant's appeal were open. The case raised complicated legal issues, as was evident not least from the defendant's substantiated objections to the legal assessments of the administrative court. Against this background, the parties had agreed, at the suggestion of the Senate, to seek an amicable solution to the long-standing dispute within the framework of independent and confidential arbitration proceedings under the mediation of a judicial mediator. This has been achieved with the agreement concluded today, which was approved by the City of Bonn Council at its meeting yesterday.
Part of the agreement is a public statement by former city director Mr. Hübner, which reads as follows:
"In connection with the realization of the WCCB, I signed a side agreement between the City of Bonn and Sparkasse KölnBonn in March 2007 as the then city director and coordinator of the project together with the treasurer at the time. The version of the side agreement that I signed contained a textual amendment to the final draft of the side agreement from December 2005, which the Council had authorized me to sign. According to the findings of the Cologne Administrative Court in its ruling of September 10, 2020, this amendment meant that the liability of the City of Bonn not only extended to the long-term loan granted to the investor, but also covered the equity pre-financed by Sparkasse KölnBonn. At the time, I did not believe that this change could be accompanied by an extension of liability. In view of the apparently possible different interpretations of the amended ancillary agreement, which I was not aware of at the time, it was, in retrospect, a mistake not to inform the Council again about the textual amendment before signing the ancillary agreement. On the basis of the administrative court decision, I should have worked to ensure that the district government was also notified of the amendment to the ancillary agreement. Sparkasse KölnBonn did not affirm an extension of liability at that time either.
I expressly regret that, as the project progressed, Sparkasse KölnBonn made a claim against the City of Bonn with reference to this ancillary agreement due to the considerable increase in construction costs - after I retired from active service - and that the city ultimately had to make a substantial compensation payment."
The parties also agreed on a sum of EUR 30,000 to be paid by Mr. Hübner to the City of Bonn. The parties thus ended the proceedings by mutual agreement.