Personal commitment

A voluntary agreement is a unilateral declaration of states, organizations, individuals or companies with which they agree to comply with certain rules. This commitment is not legally binding.

A traditional form of voluntary commitment, the Code of Conduct.

Legal Analysis

Voluntary commitments lead to any legal claim of the person concerned. Yet there are some courts of first instance, derived legal claims arising from such commitments.

Motives for voluntary commitment

Avoid legal regulations

Often come "voluntary" commitments under the threat concluded that the legislature, the facts concerned regulates by law (and typically more rigid ).

Examples:

• Thus, the banks had to declare ready to pressure the legislature to perform a basic bank account, even if this is not cover costs for the banks.
• The National Pact for Training and Young Skilled Workers a commitment by the employer was committed to training. The discussion of this pact was overshadowed by the debate on the legal introduction of a training levy.
• After the introduction of euro notes and coins in 2001, most retailers participated as part of a voluntary agreement until February 28, 2002 D- Mark cash only.

Influencing public opinion

In many cases serve commitments also the public relations ( PR ). Through the commitment is - at first even without active measures - the image of the organization transported as a responsible partner in the public. This aspect can also be lobbying abused as a delaying tactic or worst, to deliberate deception.

Effectiveness of self-regulation

The effectiveness of voluntary agreements is controversial. The scientific evaluation of voluntary commitments appears so far to no expression.

On the one hand there are clearly successful self-regulation ( such as the international agreement to protect the ozone layer (see CFCs) ).

However, the results of most commitments are controversial. For example, while banks refer to the more than 800,000 Anyone accounts as a success of the voluntary agreement, criticize consumer protection organizations that it continues to give people who would refuse a checking account.

Cooperative measures in environmental policy tend to unsatisfactory results if no sanctions in case of proven ineffectiveness of the obligation to be agreed.

Commitment and censorship

In the case of external (eg, state ) " prescribed " commitment, self-control can degenerate into self-censorship. Here, institutions are committed under the pretext of protection and the rights of certain civil rights, national integrity, etc. to avoid the disclosure and publication of certain, not opportune the prescribers information.