Civil servants should be sanctioned more quickly under disciplinary law for misconduct. This is provided for in a draft law that the cabinet has now passed. Criticism comes from the union side.
In order to get rid of enemies of the constitution working in the public service more quickly, the federal government has launched a reform of disciplinary law. In future, the loss of civil service rights will also apply to six months imprisonment once a person has been convicted of incitement to hatred. So far, the limit here is one year.
On Wednesday, the cabinet approved a corresponding proposal from Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD). The draft law is intended to enable the respective employer to issue a disciplinary order themselves in the future. “The lengthy disciplinary action, with which the employer had to apply for status-relevant disciplinary measures in court, is no longer necessary,” the Federal Ministry of the Interior announced. “By bringing forward the pronouncement of these status-relevant disciplinary measures to the official level, a faster conclusion of the procedure is possible,” says the draft law.
GdP boss sharply criticizes the plans
According to their own statements, the declared aim of the draft is also supported by the police union (GdP). She emphasized on Wednesday that she would not tolerate extremists damaging the reputation of the police officers.
The GdP federal chairman, Jochen Kopelke, nevertheless sharply criticized the project. He said the draft not only includes cases of extremism, but also applies to “ordinary misconduct intended to lead to demotions or demotions”.
From the point of view of the trade union, the draft also lacks guidelines on how falsely accused officials should be rehabilitated after the investigation has been completed. It should not be forgotten to do everything possible to restore their reputation in the respective department. According to the GdP, it would also be important to set deadlines for the initiation and implementation of investigations and objection procedures.
The civil servants’ association had previously reported concerns. In a statement by the dbb, it was said that the reform might even take longer, “because in addition to the tried-and-tested official disciplinary proceedings and a judicial process of appeal with up to three stages, there is also an official objection procedure”.
Faeser emphasizes the importance of a democratic constitutional state
Faeser emphasized on Wednesday: “We will not allow our democratic constitutional state to be sabotaged from within by extremists.” So far, the procedures in such cases have taken far too long. The Minister emphasized that the legal protection of those affected will remain guaranteed even after the planned change.
“We Greens have achieved an extension of the deadline in the draft law, so that past service violations can be punished and used longer,” said the chairman of the Greens parliamentary group in the Bundestag’s interior committee. This is necessary because an anti-constitutional worldview only becomes so clear and serious through the sum of individual statements and actions that it can be consistently punished.
In the parliamentary procedure, his parliamentary group will bring in further proposals, since they still see a need for “fine tuning” the project, said Emmerich. “It’s about the removal of members of banned associations, other serious criminal offenses that lead to immediate dismissal and the question of how retired civil servants can be held more accountable.”
Source: Stern
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