Clifford Chance

German Act on Fighting Corruption in the Healthcare Sector – Strengthening criminal anti-corruption law with regard to healthcare professionals

28 June 2016

On 4 June 2016 the German Act on Fighting Corruption in the Healthcare Sec-tor (Gesetz zur Bekämpfung der Korruption im Gesundheitswesen) ("Act") en-tered into effect under which the criminal offences of taking and giving bribes in the healthcare sector were incorporated into the German Criminal Code ("StGB") as sections 299a and 299b. The Act aims to close the legal loopholes identified by the German Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof) in its decision dated 29 March 2012, whereby the German Federal Supreme Court declared that private practitioners could not be held criminally liable as perpetrators of the corruption offences in force at that time since they are neither public officials nor employees or agents of a business.

Download PDF