Bedste besvarelse af prisopgaven for 2009 - Justitsministeriet

VIII. English Summary
Recent years have shown an increase in the number of cases concerning public employee’s
accepting gifts or benefits potentially conflicting with article 144 of the Danish penal code. In
accordance with article 144, it is illegal for an employee of the Danish, foreign or international
public service or duty, to receive or demand an undue gift or other benefit. Conversely there are
exceptions to this. Under certain circumstances the acceptance of a gift or benefit will not be a
breach of article 144; nevertheless it may still be subject to criticism, whereas in other situations
an acceptance might not even give reason to warrant such criticism.
The cases in question have concerned concert tickets and golf and football trips among other
such benefits. Interestingly these cases often have their origins in situations, where the private
party supplying the gift and the public employee accepting the gift have a relationship similar to
that of private business associates. Such a relation does not seem appropriate, when one party is
employed in the public sector; albeit this is the case for many public employees, who have a
relatively close connection to the private business environment through their work.
This thesis examines where the line between bribery and the legitimate acceptance of gifts
and other benefits in the public sector is to be drawn in these situations. This is done by an
examination of the relevant parts of the penal code, with emphasis on article 144. Other laws
with a relevant relation to the subject will also be used in this context. This mainly includes
administrative and tax legislation.
The legal text in itself is used for the examination, as well as motives, declarations and similar
legal documents in relation to the implementation and changes of the law. The legal litterateur
and jurisprudence has also been used and weighted heavily in the assessment of the subject.
Via an examination and comparison of the legal area, it is found that there is room for
questions and therefore uncertainty in relation to two aspects. One is the assessment of whether
a specific acceptance has the necessary link to the public service or duty, which is requirement in
accordance with article 144. Secondly is the assessment of whether the gift or benefit in question
is to be considered insignificant and therefore not undue and not within the grasp of article 144.
The thesis concludes that there cannot be drawn a specific line between bribes and legitimate
acceptance of gifts or benefits in these situations, where public employees interact with private
business associates. Nevertheless the examination has defined the area further. In order to
determinate if such gifts or benefits are legitimate, the financial value and significance of the gift
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