Source: whistleblowingnetwork.org
A new paper “Beyond Paper Rights: Implementing Whistleblower Protections in Central and Eastern Europe,” published by the Central and Eastern European Law Initiative Institute raises concerns regarding the transposition of the EU Directive on Whistleblowing in Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Romania.
The report examines the current state of implementation and identifies challenges and opportunities for ensuring effective protection in the region.
On Czechia, the report concludes:
“The law is somewhat above a minimalistic transposition, although it could have gone significantly further. The material scope of the law extends beyond only breaches of European Union law to include criminal offences and misdemeanours to a particular level of financial penalty. This will mean most workplace-related issues will fall within scope which is important, although the material scope could have been wider. Anonymous reporting is also permitted and protected, although more narrowly than would be desirable. Finally, a point of contention has been the delegation of whistleblowing responsibilities to the Ministry of Justice, which will be the primary external channel–albeit its functions are largely limited to receipt of disclosures, and then coordinating with relevant investigative authorities. Giving this function to a core government department, rather than independent authority, will limit its effectiveness.”