Prof. Dr. Werner Jann
The Governance of Public Agencies and Authorities
Bratislava, 22 November 2001 Country Report Germany
Agencies and autonomous bodies in Germany
• long tradition of public agencies and authorities outside core ministerial departments at both the federal (Bund) and state (Länder) level • authorized through a clause in the Constitution (Grundgesetz Art. 87 (3)) • implementation of laws is largely a domain of Länder • very few federal departments have any regional or local implementation structure (Defence, Customs, Inland Waterways, Border Police) • hardly any new agencies in the last decades - post and telecommunications - mergers or restructuring of existing agencies Country Report Germany
Public Employees in Germany
Employees In %
Federal Government 320.459 6,9 % States (Länder) 2.312.103 50,0 % Local Government 1.537.379 33,2 %
Indirect (mittelbar) 457.083 9,9 % of which federal 275.400 6,0 % Total 4.627.024 100 % Country Report Germany
Positions in the Federal Administration in Germany
Positions In %
Ministries 17.910 6 % Federal Agencies 67.591 22 % Tax and Customs 45.080 15 % Inland Waterways 16.536 5 % Federal Boarder Police 38.283 13 % Civilians in the Military 118.205 39 %
Total 303.605 100 % Country Report Germany
Structure of German Federal Non-Ministerial Administration
4 Basic Legal Forms
• Direct Federal Administration Unmittelbare Bundesverwaltung • Indirect Federal Administreation Mittelbare Bundesverwaltung • Private Law Administration Bundesverwaltung in Privatrechtform • Charged Administration Privatrechtliche Auftragsverwaltung Country Report Germany
Types of Agencies
Examples
Charged é TÜV Administration é VDI é Deutscher Outsorcing Motoryachtverband
é Statistisches Direct Bundesamt Government é Ministries Administration RegTP Parliament é BfArM Ministers Type 1 é Bundesbeauftragter Stasi
é Bundesanstalt für Indirect Arbeit Administration é Bundesversicherungs- anstalt für Angestellte Type 2 é Treuhand
é Deutsche Private Law Flugsicherung GmbH· Administration é DFG é Kreditanstalt für Corporatization Wiederaufbau Country Report Germany
Structure of German Federal Non-Ministerial Administration
Legal Form Direct Federal Administration Unmittelbare Bundesverwaltung Type of law Public law Legal entity Federal Republic of Germany Legal type Federal Authority Federal Commissioner Requirements for creation Statutory act, enabling law Legal foundation Basic law Governance Legal and functional oversight Typical functions Regulation Sectoral oversight Research Country Report Germany
Structure of German Federal Non-Ministerial Administration
Direct Federal Administration Unmittelbare Bundesverwaltung Bundesoberbehörde (federal authority) Beauftragte (federal commissioner) • Statistisches Bundesamt (Statistics) • Bundesverwaltungsamt (Administration of Programs) • Bundeskartellamt (Competition) • Regulierungsbehörde für Telekommunikation und Post (RegTP) • Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte (Drugs) • Bundesaufsichtsamt für das Kreditwesen (Banks) • Bundesamt für die Anerkennung ausländischer Flüchtlinge (Immigration) • Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung (Agriculture) • Bundesbeauftragter für die Unterlagen der Staatssicherheit (Stasi) Country Report Germany
Structure of German Federal Non-Ministerial Administration
Legal Form Indirect Federal Administration Mittelbare Bundesverwaltung Type of law Public law Legal entity Subject or foundation of public law Legal type Body of public law Requirements for creation Statutory act or directive Legal foundation Basic Law Governance Legal oversight, Boards Self-Administration (Selbstverwaltung) Typical functions Social security Health Research Country Report Germany
Structure of German Federal Non-Ministerial Administration
Indirect Federal Administration Mittelbare Bundesverwaltung Anstalt d.ö.R. (institution of public law) Körperschaft d.ö.R. (public law corporation) Stiftung d.ö.R. (foundation of public law) • Bundesbank (Central Bank) • Bundesanstalt für Arbeit (Labour Market) • Bundesanstalt für Angestelltenversicherung (Social Security) • Bundesverband für den Selbstschutz (Civil Defence) • Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung (Physicians) • Bundesstiftung Mutter und Kind (Young Mothers) • Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz (Castles and Museums) • Treuhandanstalt (und Nachfolger) (Privatization) Country Report Germany
Structure of German Federal Non-Ministerial Administration
Legal Form Private Law Administration Bundesverwaltung in Privatrechtsform Type of law Private law Legal entity Subject of private or corporate law, government-owned Legal type Private or stock company, Registered society or corporation Requirements for creation Not regulated Legal foundation Federal budget code Governance Owner or shareholder instructions
Typical functions Public banks Research, Funding Culture, Utilities Country Report Germany
Structure of German Federal Non-Ministerial Administration
Private Law Administration Bundesverwaltung in Privatrechtsform GmbH, AG ,e.V., Stiftung • Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH (Air Trafic) • Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (High Level Research) • DAAD (Academic Exchange) • Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (Public Bank) • Goethe Institut e.V. (German Culture) • Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst GmbH (Foreign Aid) • Stiftung Warentest (Consumer Protection) • Post AG • Bahn AG Country Report Germany
Structure of German Federal Non-Ministerial Administration
Legal Form Charged Administration Privatrechtliche Auftragsverwaltung Type of law Private law Legal entity Subject of private or corporate law, chartered Legal type Private or stock company, registered society Requirements for creation Not regulated Legal foundation Federal budget code Governance Agreement, contract Typical functions Technical norms Consumer Protection Gemeinnützige Zwecke Country Report Germany
Structure of German Federal Non-Ministerial Administration
Charged Administration Privatrechtliche Auftragsverwaltung GmbH, AG ,e.V.
• TÜV (Technical Safety) • Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Verbraucher (Consumer Protection) • Verein Deutscher Ingenieure VDI (Licensing) • Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung e.V. (Annual Nutrition Report) • Deutscher Motoryachtverband (Drivers License for Boats) Country Report Germany
Legal and Organizational Framework
• legal foundations usually codified within enabling laws for a certain public task • detailed definition of functions and instruments, very little about organizational structure • legal personality does not restrict capacity to operate (e.g. sign contracts, appear before courts etc.), depends on enabling law • no official systematic effort to define or classify federal authorities • in contrast to standard assumptions about the well-ordered public sector in Germany, organizational and legal categories often remain ambiguous Country Report Germany
Internal Governance Structure
• principle of monocratic leadership (Präsident) • clear hierarchical structure (like ministries) • decision making boards mostly in indirect federal administration • agency heads are subject to civil service laws (no political civil servants, temporary appointment possible, but unusual) • budgets are within overseeing ministerial departments (direct administration) • controlled by Federal Audit Office Country Report Germany
Policy Coherence, Oversight and Accountability
• legality more important than efficiency and effectiveness (Rechtsstaatsprinzip) • all public law authorities are subject to ministerial oversight - legal oversight (Rechtsaufsicht) - functional oversight (Fachaufsicht) • agencies report to parent ministry • every citizen can sue against any administrative act issued by a public authority • reliability of reporting and compliance with laws are taken for granted Country Report Germany
Policy Coherence, Oversight and Accountability
• very few "autonomous agencies" (Bundesbank, Bundeskartellamt) • but many agencies enjoy considerable (de facto) independence (“auto-pilot”) • hierarchical oversight and interference “if necessary” (rather “fire alarm” than “police patrol”) • accountability always to the minister • co-ordination is done by the parent ministry, informal horizontal co-ordination • regular reports, but mostly highly technical Country Report Germany
Summary
• large variety of different forms of government agencies and authorities • long tradition in Germany • two main types, but large variations and some ambiguity in the legal structure • principle of ministerial and departmental responsibility • very few exceptional failures or successes • very little discussion about future development - more independent agencies - contract steering - transparency - performance