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A proposal to transpose the EU Directive on whistleblowing is in development in Lithuania
The current Law on Protection of Whistleblowers came into force in January 2019. At the moment, there is no publicly available information on the process of the transposition of the EU Directive. However, in January 2021 the representative from the Ministry of Justice told Transparency International (TI) Lithuania that the Law amendments, that are being drafted in accordance with the EU Directive, are currently being reviewed by the internal European Union Law group within the Ministry of Justice. The status of transposition was also confirmed during the Whistleblower Protection Forum on 18 February 2021, an event organized by TI Lithuania and the Prosecutor General’s Office. It is foreseen that the amendments will be sent to the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Special Investigation Service for review. No timeline is currently publicly available. However, as mentioned by the Ministry of Justice representative during the Forum, the EU Directive will be transposed on time.
According to the representative from the Ministry of Justice, the amended law will expand the existing definition of the whistleblower, list of the events in which information about the infringements shall be reported, article on ensuring confidentiality, will establish clearer timeliness, sanctions for institutions for non-complying with their responsibilities, penalties for persons who hinder or attempt to hinder reporting, retaliate against reporting person.