The Act on Political Parties (1994, amended 2015) is the main law regulating the financing of political parties in Germany.

There are few limits on the private income of political parties. Donations from foreign entities to political parties are not banned but limited and there are no bans on donations from foreign entities to candidates. There are bans on corporate donations to political parties but not on donations from trade unions. Donations from anonymous donors are only prohibited when over a certain amount. Beyond these groups there are bans on various income sources such as professional organisations and political foundations. There are no limits on the amount of donation that can be received.

There is public funding available for political parties. This is allocated according to the number of votes received in the previous election. There are no specific uses for the allocated public prescribed by the law. Subsidized media access is available and is allocated according to the share of seats. Other sources of indirect public funding include premises for campaign meetings and tax relief.

For regulations on spending there is a ban on vote buying and a ban on some state resources being used in favour or against a political party or candidate. There are no limits on what a party can spend.

Parties are required to report annually on their finances. The reports must provide information on finances in relation to election campaigns, must be made public and is some cases should reveal the identity of donors. Reports are audited by an auditing firm and are overseen by the President of the German Bundestag and the Administration Department of the German Bundestag. There are sanctions for those breaching the provisions of the law in the form of fines, the loss of public funding, forfeiture and imprisonment. 

Germany’s financial disclosure legislation does not apply to its Head of State. Most of the rules applying to Ministers and Members of Parliament were established with the new Code of Conduct which is an annex to the Bundestag Rules of Procedure (1980, last amended 2015). It foresees that Ministers and Members of Parliament declare private interests in a decision before speaking or voting on the matter. Interest in a company, gifts, additional remunerated activities, and stocks that come with 25% of voting rights must be declared. Additional declarations on income from outside employment and membership in advisory bodies of companies or foundations are required from MPs. Fewer regulations apply to Civil Servants, as the Act on Federal Civil Servants (2009, last amended 2016) only requires an authorization of secondary activity before taking it up and a declaration of income from outside employment. In contrast to other public officials, Civil Servants must continue to declare secondary activities that are likely to cause a conflict of interests for three to five years after ending their service.

Neither depository and enforcement body, nor sanctions are specified for Ministers. MPs dispose their declarations with the President of the Bundestag and Civil Servants with their administrative superior. Both MPs and Civil Servants face sanctions for late-filling and non-filling, while no sanctions are specified for making false disclosure statements. Only the statements of MPs are made publicly available on the homepage of the Bundestag.

Most conflict of interests restrictions apply to the Head of State, who is not covered by financial disclosure law. The Basic Law (1949, last amended 2014) does not allow for the President to hold a managerial or advisory position, any salaried office or any outside profession. Regulations for other public officials differ depending on status. Members of Parliament are only subject to a general obligation to avoid conflicts of interests. The Act on Federal Ministers (1953, amended 2015) on the other hand bans Ministers from additional paid employment or membership in advisory bodies. All the while, the Civil Servants Law (2009, amended 2016) restricts Civil Servants from accepting gifts, taking up an additional position in government agencies or financed by government, and performing a legislative function.

The Constitutional Court is the enforcement body for the Head of State, who may face a trial resulting in administrative sanctions if Parliament authorizes it. The President functions as a monitoring and enforcement body or Ministers and MPs. In case of violations, both may face fines. Civil Servants may face trial before the disciplinary court, which can stipulate sanctions ranging from fines to the loss of public office.

The federal legal freedom of information framework in Germany is established by the Freedom of Information Act (2005, amended 2013). The law applies to federal bodies and institutions insofar as they discharge administrative tasks under public law and therefore only applies to administrative documents.

Specific exemptions to disclosure are outlined in the aforementioned FOI law, Criminal Code, and the Federal Data Protection Act (2003, amended 2016). No public interest test exists whereby exemptions to disclosure may be overridden in cases where disclosure of information benefits the public interest.

Appeals are accepted in the first instance at public bodies covered under the FOI law, and may also be filed with the courts as a last resort. Appeals can also be made to the Federal Commissioner for Freedom of Information; this role is performed by the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and is subject to the processes set out in the Federal Data Protection Act.

There are no sanctions specified in the law for violations of FOI provisions. Other than the role played by the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection in receiving appeals, there is no other external agency designated to oversee implementation.

The German public procurement system is regulated by the Regulation on Public Procurement and separate laws contain specific regulation on works, supplies and services. The public procurement body is the Procurement Agency which is an organization under the Ministry of the Interior.

The lowest minimum thresholds for conducting a public procurement tender are:

▪         EUR 135,000 for goods

▪         EUR 522,500 for works

▪         EUR 137,000 for services

The minimum number of bidders is 3 for open procedures, restricted procedures and negotiated procedures and there is no minimum in case of framework agreements. The minimum submission period is 35 days for open procedures, 30 days restricted procedures and 30 days negotiated procedures from dispatch date. The final beneficial owners do not have to be disclosed when placing a bid.

There is no explicit preferential treatment, but contracting authorities can choose the most environmentally sustainable offer according to award criteria and take SME into consideration. There are a few cases for bid exclusion: in case of possible inability to carry out the project with satisfactory quality, in a responsive, responsible and timely manner, the provider can reject bidders. Bids can be also excluded because of abnormally low bid prices. In the case of having MEAT (‘most economically advantageous tender’ criteria), only the best 3 or fewer bids are considered.

In the bid evaluation phase, there is a separate conflict of interest regulation on the composition of the evaluation committee. However, no form of independence of  the contracting authority is mandated for the evaluation committee.

There is a payable fee in case of an arbitration procedure of EUR 2,500-50,000, depending on the size of the contract. Court decisions are publicly released online.