Source: bundestag.de
Germany is a step closer towards transposing the EU Directive on Whistleblowing with a new draft law progressing through Parliament.
On 17 March 2023, Government factions introduced two new draft whistleblower protection bills to transpose the Directive at a first reading in the Bundestag.
Civil servants at state and local levels will initially be excluded from the personal scope of the law. This will allow the law to enter into force without the approval of the Bundesrat, yet would be contrary to the Directive’s requirements.
The second draft Bill, which does require approval by the Bundesrat, does not provide for this restriction of the personal scope.
Regrettably, both new draft Bills do not correct the shortcomings of the previous proposals – known as the Hinswiedgeberschutzgesetz – discussed in Parliament. Whistleblower-Network and other experts have long called for the Bill to be improved to facilitate public disclosure and include gross misconduct its material scope.
The previous draft law was rejected in the Federal Council on 10 February 2023 due, primarily due to a perceived excessive burden on small and medium-sized companies, resulting in the redrafting of a compromise agreement.
The Bundestag Legal Committee will discuss the draft Bills at an expert meeting on 27 March 2023 with Annegret Falter, chair of Whistleblower-Network amongst others. Adoption by the Bundestag is planned for 30 March 2023 adopted and could enter into force as little as a month later.
The EU Commission has referred Germany to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to transpose the Directive to date. The deadline for all Member States to fully implement the new rules was 17 December 2023.