BERLIN, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- German Justice Minister Katarina Barley called on Friday for an overhaul of the law which would allow authorities to punish corporations for criminal wrongdoing rather than just being able to prosecute individual members of staff.
Speaking to German newspaper Handelsblatt, Barley explained that criminal offenses would still be attributed to individuals under the new model. However, it would also become possible to impose sanctions against companies if they were found to be structured in ways which aid and abet criminal behavior.
"In cases where fraud or corruption is systemic, there should be possibilities in the future to charge the company itself," Barley said.
The German ruling parties had pledged to establish provisions for new corporate fines of up to 10 percent of annual gross revenue for companies with more than 100 million euros (115.7 million U.S. dollars) in revenue.
The ministry of justice wants to present concrete proposals to enact such legislation within the next months and is treating the policy as a "matter of priority" for Chancellor Angela Merkel's government.
"A right to sanction companies only makes sense if the measures hurt. It must have a deterring character," Barley said.
Barely referred specifically to the ongoing "dieselgate" scandal as an example. "Whoever behaves incorrectly must be liable and hence also pay," she said.
The Braunschweig State Prosecution Office currently lists 49 suspects in its investigations into diesel emissions-cheating practices by German car makers.
The German Environmental Action (DUH) lobby group and politicians have recently called for emissions-cheating car manufacturers to be fined after a court ruled that a partial diesel driving ban was needed in Berlin from 2019 onwards to improve air quality in the German capital.
According to Handelsblatt, DUH president Juergen Resch welcomed Barley's reform proposals on Friday. "We finally need a criminal law for corporations like most Western countries already have," Resch said.
By contrast, the German Federation of Industries (BDI) told the newspaper it did "not support the creation of a corporate criminal law". The industrial lobby group warned that sanctions would have an adverse effect on companies as well customers, suppliers and employees.
