Source: likumi.lv
Latvia has taken an important step towards the strengthening of whistleblower protection
New whistleblowing legislation in Latvia was adopted by Parliament in October 2018 and came into effect on 1 May 2019 – it was drafted while taking into consideration the provisions of the EU Directive on Whistleblowing which must be transposed into national law before the 17 December 2021.
On the 11 October 2018, the Saeima of Latvia adopted the current law which aims to enable whistleblowers to expose offences which concern public interests or interests of certain social groups. It will also help design and implement a whistleblowing protection framework, as well as provide appropriate compensation to those who have disclosed wrongdoing.
The Cabinet of Ministers is also tasked with producing and passing the Saeima amendments to the Civil Procedure Law by 1 December 2019 to ensure efficient application of temporary protective orders in civil cases involving whistleblowers.
The Law defines what a whistleblower is, sets out how to raise concerns and stipulates the basic requirements for processing a whistleblowing report. In Latvia, the work on the whistleblowing mechanism began back in 2014. Representatives from the government, the Saeima and the society all participated in the drafting of the legal text.