(1) The meetings of the Committee of Inquiry on Allegations of Scientific Misconduct shall not be public. In cases where the participation of a Committee member would give rise to the appearance of a conflict of interest, that Committee member shall not participate in deliberations on the specific case or in the adoption of a resolution in this regard. 

(2) The respondent shall be heard orally at their request; they may be accompanied by a person of their confidence for assistance and support. This also applies to others to be heard in the case. If an allegation is raised for the first time in the procedure before the Committee of Inquiry, the respondent may submit a statement on this at the meeting of the Committee. If this is not possible, the respondent must be given the opportunity to submit a statement before the matter is referred to the Committee. 

(3) Any audio or video recording of the deliberations and hearings before the Committee of Inquiry that has not been authorised in advance by the Committee members present shall be inadmissible. 

(4) he identity of the complainant is confidential. The complainant’s identity is only disclosed in individual cases if there is a legal obligation to do so or if the respondent would otherwise not be able to defend themselves properly because, by way of exception, the identity of the complainant is crucial for the purpose of defence. 

(5) The Committee of Inquiry shall examine, based on a free appraisal of the evidence, whether scientific misconduct has occurred and which sanctions pursuant to § 20 should be proposed to the Joint Committee for adoption. 

(6) If the Committee of Inquiry finds that scientific misconduct has been proven and that a sanction is to be imposed, the Committee submits the results of its investigation and a recommendation for action to the DFG’s Joint Committee. Otherwise the procedure shall be discontinued. Discontinuance may be due to unproven scientific misconduct or due to insignificance. 

(7) There is no right of remonstration in the event of discontinuance as per (6). The complainant and the respondent shall be informed of the discontinuance and the main reasons for it.