1. in order to give citizens the opportunity to inform themselves about the members of the City of Bonn Council, the members of the district councils and the expert citizens and expert residents appointed to the specialist committees (hereinafter referred to as "elected representatives" - see footnote 1), a "Handbook of municipal elected representatives of the City of Bonn" has been created. This is available in printed form and on the Internet.

2. the members of the Council of the City of Bonn and the knowledgeable citizens and residents must inform the Mayor of Bonn, and the members of the district councils - unless they are also members of the Council or a specialist committee - must inform the head of the district council of the following for inclusion in the handbook of municipal mandate holders of the City of Bonn:

2.1 The professions currently practiced, provided the security interests of the employer do not conflict with this, namely

1. in the case of employment: details of employer with sector, details of own function or official position;
2. for self-employed persons: Type of business and company name;
3. for liberal professions and other self-employed professions: Specification of profession and branch of profession.

If several types of profession are practiced at the same time, the focus of the professional activity must be indicated.

2.2 Previously practiced professions, insofar as they were given up in anticipation of or in connection with the acceptance of the mandate.

2.3 Remunerated and honorary activities as a member of a management board, supervisory board, administrative board, other governing body or advisory board of a company, cooperative, a company operated in another legal form or a corporation, foundation or institution under public law as well as in the German Bundestag or state parliament.

2.4 Remunerated and honorary functions in trade associations, trade unions, professional associations, other interest groups or similar organizations, clubs and associations.

2.5 Remunerated activities of consultancy, representation of third-party interests, provision of expert opinions, journalistic and lecturing activities, insofar as these activities are not within the scope of the profession currently or formerly exercised (see footnote 2) and the remuneration for this exceeds the amount of the monthly expense allowance of a city councillor (currently EUR 322.00) in individual cases. The duty of disclosure does not include the disclosure of facts about third parties for which statutory rights to refuse to testify or duties of confidentiality are asserted.

3. in addition to the information to be provided in accordance with section 2, the following additional information must be provided to the Mayor of Bonn:

1. Date of birth and marital status (see footnote 3)
2. Real estate within the territory of the City of Bonn,
3. shareholdings in companies with their registered office or main activity in the City of Bonn.

This information must be treated confidentially. It may only be published in the Handbook of Municipal Mandate Holders of the City of Bonn with the express consent of the mandate holder. In individual cases, the Mayor of Bonn shall grant members of the Council, district councils and committees access to these documents if there is a proven legitimate interest.

4. elected representatives must notify the Mayor of Bonn immediately of any changes to the information on their financial and personal circumstances within the meaning of these guidelines, and must notify the Mayor of Bonn of the information in section 2.5 on a quarterly basis.

Irrespective of this, at the beginning of each year, the Mayor of Bonn shall send a written request to all elected representatives to check the data they have provided under items 2 and 3 again and to confirm or, if necessary, correct it to the administration.

Notifications relating to item 2. that are received in the course of a year will be posted on the Internet after notification; the printed version of the handbook will be updated annually. This also applies to advertisements under item 3 as soon as the consent of the elected representative has been given for their publication.

5. local elected representatives may not accept money, inappropriate benefits in kind that go beyond customary social attention or other inappropriate benefits in money's worth and/or benefits - including non-material benefits - that are offered to them on the basis of their membership of one of the aforementioned bodies, including for third parties (e.g. the city or relatives). This provision is to be explained in detail in an attached guideline.

6. a council member should not be a full member of more than two related specialist areas (municipal utilities, savings bank, housing industry, etc.) in supervisory boards or bodies of commercial enterprises to which he or she is delegated by a corresponding resolution of the council or proposed for election by a corresponding body.

6.1 The general rates of compensation paid to members of supervisory boards and other bodies of commercial enterprises are listed separately in the appendix to the handbook for municipal elected officials. If the general rates of compensation are not disclosed by the respective company/organization, the elected representative working there undertakes to inform the Mayor of Bonn of the type and amount of the compensation payments.

6.2 If an elected representative participates in a council, district council, committee, supervisory board or other body to which he/she has been elected in this capacity in the deliberation or voting on a matter in which he/she or another person for whom he/she works for remuneration has a direct personal or economic interest, he/she must disclose this link of interest (see footnote 4) beforehand in the relevant body.
The provisions of the North Rhine-Westphalia Municipal Code (GO NRW) on Sections 31 et seq. GO NW remain unaffected by this. The duty of disclosure does not include the disclosure of facts about third parties for which statutory rights to refuse to testify or duties of confidentiality are asserted.

7. in professional and business matters, references to membership of the Council of the City of Bonn, a district council or specialist committees of the Council must be omitted.

8) Municipal mandate holders are subject to the statutory obligations arising from § 30 GO NRW (duty of confidentiality - see footnote 5), § 31 GO NRW (grounds for exclusion due to bias - see footnote 6) and § 32 GO NRW (duty of loyalty).

9 In case of doubt, the mandate holder is obliged to check the interpretation of the provisions by making enquiries with the specialist department(s) appointed by the Mayor of Bonn. The inquiry must be answered as quickly as possible, at the latest within 14 days, unless it is not possible to process it within the deadline for reasons for which the specialist department(s) is/are not responsible (e.g. lack of cooperation on the part of the elected representative concerned). 10.

10. if it is alleged that an elected representative has violated the provisions of the municipal code and/or the code of honor, the Mayor of Bonn must clarify the facts of the case through the responsible specialist department(s) and hear the member concerned, who is entitled to clarification, in the presence of the chairperson of the parliamentary group to which he/she belongs or by which the expert citizen was nominated.

In the case of members of a district council - unless they are also members of the council or a specialist committee - this task is the responsibility of the responsible district leader. The Mayor of Bonn shall provide official assistance in accordance with sentence 1. The spokesperson of the parliamentary group may be present in the district council in place of the chairperson of the parliamentary group.

11 The council shall form an honorary council for the duration of an electoral term. This can be called upon to decide whether an elected representative has violated the obligations of the NRW municipal code or the provisions of the honorary regulations.

11.1 The Honorary Council is composed of the Mayor of Bonn, one representative of each parliamentary group and an equal number of persons who are neither members of the administration nor of the political bodies and who are elected by the Council by consensus. If no consensus can be reached, the election must be carried out by a ¾ majority. If the member nominated by the parliamentary group is unable to attend (e.g. due to personal bias, illness , etc.), the respective parliamentary group shall nominate a deputy.

11.2 The Honorary Council convenes on the initiative of the Mayor of Bonn, a parliamentary group or at the request of a quarter of the members of the Council. It shall also take action at the request of an individual elected representative if allegations within the meaning of Section 10 are made against them and the specialist department(s) has/have confirmed this in their vote.

11.3 The members of the Honorary Council work on an honorary basis and are therefore obliged to maintain confidentiality in accordance with § 30 GO NRW even after the end of their activities.

11.4 The information available to the Mayor of Bonn must be made available to the Honorary Council in order to clarify the facts of the case. The data protection regulations must be observed.

11.5 The meetings of the Honorary Council are not public. The elected representative concerned has the right to be heard by the Honorary Council on the allegations made against him/her in the presence of legal counsel.

11.6 The assessment of the Honorary Council is made by resolution. The Mayor of Bonn shall inform the Council of the decision of the Honorary Council, which is to be classified as a recommendation to him/her.

12. members of the Council of the City of Bonn, a district council or expert citizens who are elected by the Council to corporate bodies or other institutions that pay an attendance fee or an expense allowance shall receive the attendance fee determined by law or ordinance. If the Council determines the amount of compensation, they receive 1.5 times the overtime pay of the highest pay group of the TVÖD. The payment of an attendance fee or an expense allowance also includes the time required to adequately prepare for meetings of the corporate bodies or other institutions and the travel time actually required. The total preparation time may not exceed two hours per meeting. Attendance fees are also calculated for training, further training or other activities directly related to the performance of activities in the committees or institutions.

If the amount of compensation is determined by the company or institution, the Council expects these persons to use the part of the compensation that exceeds 1.5 times the overtime remuneration of the highest remuneration group of the TVÖD per hour or part thereof to promote charitable purposes. These amounts are to be paid into a special account of the parliamentary group to which they belong. The donors decide on the respective use in agreement with the parliamentary group. The rates specified in the compensation regulations are listed separately in the appendix to the handbook for local elected representatives.

Footnote 1: The term "elected representative" in the Code of Honour also covers citizens who are only indirectly elected as experts (Section 58 para. 3 GO NRW) and residents who are experts (Section 58 para. 4 GO NRW).

Footnote 2: The explicit reference makes it clear that the mandate holder can only refer to the profession exercised before retirement with regard to the exemption provisions regulated in Section 2.5.

Footnote 3: The mandate holders should be informed in a separate letter that - if they give their consent - only the year of birth should be included in the handbook of municipal mandate holders for security reasons.

Footnote 4: Section 6.2 contains a duty to provide information to the Mayor of Bonn or the district leader that goes beyond the statutory provisions of the municipal code. This is because a prohibition of cooperation pursuant to Section 31 (2) No. 1 GO NRW is limited to those cases in which a conflict of interest can be assumed based on the actual circumstances, in particular the nature of the employment. These conditions may be fulfilled in particular if the person concerned is in a dependent position in relation to his/her employer or employer due to a service or employment relationship. However, they may also exist if there is a strong operational interest due to a managerial function or if the authority or company exerts influence on the decision-making of the person concerned or this is to be expected, for example if the person concerned must fear losing their job as a result of the decision. Such a conflict situation is not required under Section 6.2 of the Code of Conduct. This is because, in contrast to a "conflict of interest" pursuant to Section 31 para. 2 no. 1 GO NRW, a "linking of interests" - which requires disclosure - already exists if, at the time of the consultation and/or vote, the person concerned has a formal legal obligation ("working for remuneration") to a principal or employer and the latter has a personal or economic interest in the decision.

Footnote 5: A breach of the duty of confidentiality pursuant to Section 30 GO NRW may result in claims for damages under civil law pursuant to Section 823 (2) or Section 839 BGB; the person concerned may even be held criminally liable pursuant to Sections 353 b) and 353 d) StGB. This is because a mandate holder, if he performs administrative tasks, for example as a member of a supervisory board, is in this respect a public official, see BGHSt 51, 44, 52 ff., confirmed by BGH NStZ 2007,36.

Footnote 6: If the voting behavior of the relevant elected representative was decisive for the result of the vote, the violation of a prohibition of participation in accordance with § 31 GO NRW results in the invalidity of the resolution in accordance with paragraph 6 of this provision. If the municipality suffers damage as a result of this, the person concerned may be held liable for damages in accordance with § 43 Para. 4 letter b) GO NRW.

City of Bonn, April 27, 2005

Summary of the main provisions of the Act to Improve the Fight against Corruption and to Establish and Maintain a Public Procurement Register in North Rhine-Westphalia (Anti-Corruption Act - KorruptionsbG) of March 1, 2005 on § 5 of the Honorary Regulations

The following overview deals with those provisions of the Act that relate to elected officials or are of particular interest to them with regard to the Code of Ethics.

1. The Anti-Corruption Act is intended to close existing regulatory gaps. It contains two pillars that are intended to combat corruption: The creation of greater transparency and deterrence through the binding introduction of a public procurement register. (see draft bill by the SPD parliamentary group and the Bündnis 90/DIE GRÜNEN parliamentary group dated September 14, 2004, printed matter 13/5952, general part A)
   According to the general explanations on the draft bill of the SPD and Bündnis 90/DIE GRÜNEN parliamentary groups of September 14, 2004, corruption includes in particular criminal acts in which public officials exploit their position or the powers conferred on them to obtain material or immaterial benefits for themselves or third parties, but also criminal acts by third parties and the unlawful acceptance of rewards, gifts and other benefits (as before).
   
   One area that is particularly susceptible to corruption is the awarding of public contracts. In addition to individual personnel and organizational measures to be installed, the establishment of a public procurement register, in which persons and companies are stored due to unreliability, is considered to be a particular deterrent.
2. The individual provisions of the Anti-Corruption Act:

1. Pursuant to Section 1 ( 1) No. 2 of the Corruption Act, this Act applies, among other things, to municipalities and, pursuant to No. 5, to the members of their bodies and committees, the district councils and to knowledgeable citizens pursuant to Section 58 (3) of the NRW Municipal Code (GO NRW) (hereinafter referred to as mandate holders).
   In contrast to the Code of Honour, the scope of the law therefore does not extend to knowledgeable residents in accordance with Section 58 (4) GO NRW. According to the explanatory memorandum to the draft bill by the SPD and Bündnis 90/DIE GRÜNEN parliamentary groups, the persons named in this provision are public officials in their function as mandate holders. The status of public official pursuant to Section 11 para. 1 no. 2 c StGB requires an appointment to an authority or other body that performs public administration tasks. According to the explanatory memorandum to the draft bill, an election is also sufficient as an appointment in this sense. (see draft bill by the SPD parliamentary group and the Bündnis 90/DIE GRÜNEN parliamentary group, printed matter 13/5952, Part B, Explanatory Memorandum to Section 1 of the Corruption Act)
2. For the municipalities, theauditing bodies within the meaning of this Act are the municipal audit offices in accordance with Section 2 of the Corruption Act. Pursuant to Section 2 (2) KorruptionsbG, the audits under this Act relate in particular to the areas susceptible to corruption that are to be assumed where influence can be exerted on contracts, subsidies or on approvals, bids and bans. The definition of these areas is the responsibility of the mayors of the municipalities.

1 Pursuant to Section 3 of the Corruption Prevention Act, an information office will be set up where public bodies can exchange information on the reliability of natural persons, legal entities and associations of persons when awarding public contracts. The information office will be set up by the Ministry of Finance and is expected to be IT-supported from May 2005. A local authority that intends to award a contract is obliged to make an inquiry there for awards of EUR 25,000/50,000 or more (§ 8 Corruption Act).

2 Section 5 KorruptionsbG defines the term " misconduct " (paragraph 1) and its entry in the public procurement register (paragraph 2). Misconduct includes

1. 1. Offenses under Sections 331 to 335, 261 (money laundering, concealment of illegal assets), 263 (fraud), 264 (subsidy fraud), 265b (loan fraud), 266 (embezzlement), 266a (withholding/embezzlement of remuneration), 298 (illegal agreements in tenders), 299 (bribery/corruptibility in business transactions), 108e (bribery of members of parliament) StGB and under Section 370 of the German Fiscal Code,
   2. Offenses under Sections 19, 20, 20a and 22 of the War Weapons Control Act,
   3. Violations of Section 81 of the Act against Restraints of Competition (GWB), in particular under Section 14 GWB through price fixing and agreements on participation in competition,
   4. Violations of Section 16 of the Temporary Employment Act,
   5. Violations that may lead or have led to exclusion under Section 21 of the Act to Combat Illegal Employment and Illegal Employment (Act to Combat Illegal Employment) or under Section 6 of the Posted Workers Act.

§ Section 5 KorruptionsbG generally only applies to those persons who are entered in the public procurement register in the event of misconduct (Section 4 para. 3 no. 1 KorruptionsbG). Office holders are not covered by this provision, but may be liable to prosecution as accomplices or participants in the offenses listed in Section 5 para. 1 of the Corruption Act due to their status as public officials.

In particular, the commission or even the appearance of criminal offenses under Sections 331 to 335 of the German Criminal Code (StGB) should also be prevented by Section 5 of the Code of Ethics. These are the criminal offenses of accepting and granting benefits (Sections 331 and 333 StGB) as well as bribery, corruption and particularly serious cases of bribery and corruption (Sections 332, 334 and 335 StGB).

3 Pursuant to Section 11 sentence 1 KorruptionsbG, data protection is ensured by reference to the NRW Data Protection Act. The registers are therefore not publicly accessible without restriction, so that the NRW Freedom of Information Act does not apply to the provisions of Section 2 (sentence 2).

1. Pursuant to Section 12 (1) of the Corruption Act (duty to report), the chief administrative officer in municipalities must report any facts that may constitute evidence of misconduct pursuant to Section 5 (1) of the Corruption Act to the State Office of Criminal Investigation. The same applies in municipalities to the head of the municipal audit office responsible for the audit, who must generally inform the chief administrative officer of the report immediately in such a case.
   
   Although the term "indications" does not go as far as the criminal law term "initial suspicion", concrete facts are required that make it appear possible that a prosecutable criminal offense has been committed. Therefore, no exaggerated requirements can be placed on the indications because the investigation of the facts is precisely the task of the investigation procedure. (This information was taken from the explanatory notes on the Corruption Act agreed between the NRW Ministry of the Interior and the municipal umbrella organizations. In addition to informing the State Office of Criminal Investigation, it is the decision of the head of the authority to also involve the competent public prosecutor's office for combating corruption (as before).
2. Pursuant to Section 15 of the Corruption Prosecution Act (duty to provide information), members must provide the investigating body with unrestricted information on their financial circumstances, such as shareholdings in companies, securities, assets held in trust and real estate, insofar as this is necessary for a case-by-case investigation.
   
   This obligation, which also applies to elected representatives and includes a separate right of the audit office to information, is not expressly regulated in the Code of Ethics. However, the information to be provided to the Mayor of Bonn in accordance with Clauses 2 and 3 of the Honorary Regulations, which at least largely includes the information specified in Section 15 of the Corruption Act, has already been passed on in the past as required to the specialist departments commissioned by the Mayor of Bonn to investigate corruption, including the City Audit Office (see Clause 10 of the Honorary Regulations). In addition, Section 11.4 of the Honorary Regulations allows this information to be passed on to the Honorary Council.

1. In accordance with Section 17 of the Corruption Act (duty of disclosure), members pursuant to Section 1 (1) No. 5 of the Corruption Act, i.e. elected representatives, must provide the chief administrative officer with written information on
   1. the profession exercised and consultancy contracts,
   2. membership of supervisory boards and other supervisory bodies within the meaning of Section 125 (1) sentence 3 of the German Stock Corporation Act (AktG),
   3. membership of the governing bodies of independent areas of responsibility under public or private law of the authorities and institutions listed in Section 1 (1) and (2) of the State Organization Act,
   4. membership of bodies of other companies under private law,
   5. functions in associations or comparable bodies.
      
      This information must be published annually in a suitable form in accordance with Section 17 sentence 2 of the Corruption Act.
      
      In this regard, it should first be noted that the office holders themselves have already undertaken in Section 2 of the Code of Conduct to have the information required in Section 17 (1) to (5) Corruption Act published via the Mayor of Bonn. Due to the decision to publish the details of all elected representatives, including those of the chief administrative officer, in the council handbook for municipal elected representatives or on the Internet, it is no longer necessary to decide where and how the aforementioned details should be published and updated (see section 4 of the Code of Conduct). The only new aspect is that the publication obligation, which was previously only regulated in the Code of Ethics, is now also prescribed by law.
      
      Irrespective of the provisions of the Anti-Corruption Act, the other statutory regulations, in particular Section 43 (3) GO NRW and the provisions of secondary employment law, must of course continue to be observed. This was taken into account when drafting the Code of Ethics.
2. Pursuant to Section 18 of the Corruption Act (obligation to notify secondary employment), the chief administrative officer must notify the Council of his/her secondary employment requiring approval in accordance with Section 68 (1) of the NRW State Civil Servants Act (LBG) before taking up such employment. According to the explanatory notes on the Anti-Corruption Act agreed between the Ministry of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia and the municipal umbrella organizations, there is no obligation to notify the council if the secondary employment had already been taken on at the time the Act came into force (March 1, 2005). The notification must be made to the Council. § Unlike Section 17 of the Corruption Act, Section 18 of the Corruption Act does not provide for publication of the data, as the subject matter falls within the narrower area of personnel matters.
   
   The obligation to submit the list in accordance with Section 18 (2) KorruptionsbG in conjunction with Section 71 LBG (reporting of cases of corruption in the public sector ). § 71 LBG (reporting of additional income) already applies to the 2004 financial year. This is due to the fact that there are no corresponding transitional periods. The statement pursuant to Section 71 LBG does not have to be submitted if the income from secondary employment in the respective year does not exceed a total of EUR 1,200 (Section 15 of the Secondary Employment Ordinance). When determining this sum, all remuneration for secondary employment must be included, irrespective of whether it is subject to approval or not or whether it is subject to the obligation to make payments or not.
   
   The list pursuant to Section 71 LBG does not include activities and remuneration for such activities that are not deemed to be ancillary activities pursuant to Section 2 (4) of the Ancillary Activities Ordinance. (These comments were also taken from the explanatory notes on the Anti-Corruption Act agreed between the NRW Ministry of the Interior and the municipal umbrella organizations).

III. As a result, it should be noted that the aforementioned provisions of the Anti-Corruption Act - insofar as they relate to the duties of mandate holders - are already largely anchored in the Code of Ethics adopted by the Council.

With the Code of Ethics, the mandate holders have subjected themselves to their own, self-determined code of honor, the regulatory content of which goes beyond the intention of the Anti-Corruption Act, which is aimed at combating and preventing corruption. This is merely a partial aspect of the Code of Ethics, which is primarily intended to document to citizens and the administration that elected representatives are also subject to the Code of Ethics.
This is because this is only one aspect of the Code of Ethics, which is primarily intended to demonstrate to citizens and the administration that elected representatives do not operate "in a free space", but rather set their own rules for their political activities, which are binding for their conduct.