City council appoints new ombudsman
Lawyer Thomas Leibner was appointed ombudsman for the city of Chemnitz by the city council on Wednesday. He replaces the lawyer Andreas Böhme, who has been the city's anti-corruption officer since 1 April 2010 and whose term of office ends on 30 June 2014.
According to one of the key principles of corruption prevention, rotation, a change in the person of the ombudsman is necessary.
Prior to Andreas Böhme, an ombudsman was appointed to the City of Chemnitz for the first time in 2007 in the person of Peter Lipp. The ombudsman confidentially investigates allegations of bribery, acceptance of benefits and corruption in office and informs the city's Anti-Corruption Coordinator of substantiated cases of suspicion.
The ombudsman works independently and has powers such as an unrestricted right to information. As the ombudsman is obliged to maintain confidentiality, the person making the report need not fear any professional or personal disadvantages.
In addition to this external representative, there is also a city employee who acts as an anti-corruption coordinator to prevent and combat corruption within the administration.
Vita: Thomas Leibner, born in 1975 in Karl-Marx-Stadt, studied law at the University of Leipzig from 1994 to 1999 after completing his A-levels. This was followed from 1999 to 2001 by
legal clerkship at the Chemnitz district court. From 1999, Thomas Leibner worked as a trainee lawyer at the law firm Dr Bock & Collegen, where he was admitted to the bar in 2001.
The new Chemnitz ombudsman is a member of the banking and capital market law and traffic law working groups of the German Bar Association. He also specialises in administrative and social law, criminal law and general civil law.
A corresponding agreement has now been concluded between the City of Chemnitz and Mr Leibner. His work will begin on 1 July 2014 and end on 30 June 2019, during which time the ombudsman will submit an annual report on his activities.
Note: Ombudsman Thomas Leibner can be contacted from 1 July 2014 from Monday to Thursday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 0371/355930 and by email: kontakt(at)ombudsmann-chemnitz.de