Detectors. For and against

21/ 09/ 2021

Author: Maria Petrenko, lawyer of Dynasty Law & Investment Legislators, implementing the European policy in the direction of combating corruption, adopted a law to regulate certain issues of protection of whistleblowers, which together with the amendments to the Law On Prevention of Corruption took an important place and the implementation of anti-corruption legislation. Interestingly, the topic of whistleblowers in different legal systems, which promote different values, is equally successfully implemented. The only difference is in the purpose of their application, and the phrase The goal justifies the means sounds aptly here. In the ryadan system of law, enemies of the people were identified in this way; in the modern democratic system, we find essentially other enemies of the people — the corruptors. What kind of system is this? First, concepts such as internal channels of communication about possible facts of corruption or corruption-related offenses and regular channels of communication have been introduced. As proposed by the legislator, such channels should be anonymous for the disclosure of information by the whistleblower to the head or authorized body, legal entity in which the whistleblower works, undergoes service or training or on whose behalf he performs work. Hence the duty of such bodies and individuals to ensure the functioning of such channels. The law imposes the same obligation on law enforcement agencies - the Prosecutors Office, the National Police, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, the State Bureau of Investigation and the National Agency. But the legislator does not stop there and proposes to create a single portal of whistleblower messages and special telephone lines for round-the-clock access. The single whistleblower portal guarantees individuals confidentiality and anonymity, as well as whistleblowers access to information on the status and results of their reports, and is an official internal source of information on whistleblowers. It is assumed that in such circumstances, the whistleblower needs proper protection of his rights: it is anonymity, confidentiality, the right to all types of legal assistance (including free), psychological assistance, exemption from any legal liability in the presence of conditions, on information on the investigation of the reported information and other rights specified by law. Interestingly, the employer cannot dismiss such a person, his labor rights are also protected and must be restored. However, lets move on to the order of numbers, namely the reward that the whistleblower deserves according to the law, so the whistleblower who reported a corruption crime, the amount of which or the damage caused to the state from which is about 11 million hryvnias. At the same time, the amount of remuneration is 10 percent of the monetary amount of the subject of the corruption crime, ie approximately UAH 1 million, after the conviction of the court. The amount of remuneration may not exceed UAH 7 million. At the same time, it should be noted about the competitiveness of such a reward, because payment is guaranteed equally if the same crime was reported by several whistleblowers. Undoubtedly, such an initiative will lead to changes in the detection of corruption crimes, but whether the guarantees and rewards provided by law will be trusted in society remains an open question.

Author: Maria Petrenko, lawyer of Dynasty Law & Investment

Legislators, implementing the European policy in the direction of combating corruption, adopted a law to regulate certain issues of protection of whistleblowers, which together with the amendments to the Law “On Prevention of Corruption” took an important place and the implementation of anti-corruption legislation.

Interestingly, the topic of whistleblowers in different legal systems, which promote different values, is equally successfully implemented. The only difference is in the purpose of their application, and the phrase “The goal justifies the means” sounds aptly here. In the ryadan system of law, “enemies of the people” were identified in this way; in the modern democratic system, we find essentially other enemies of the people — the “corruptors.”

What kind of system is this? First, concepts such as internal channels of communication about possible facts of corruption or corruption-related offenses and regular channels of communication have been introduced. As proposed by the legislator, such channels should be anonymous for the disclosure of information by the whistleblower to the head or authorized body, legal entity in which the whistleblower works, undergoes service or training or on whose behalf he performs work.

Hence the duty of such bodies and individuals to ensure the functioning of such channels. The law imposes the same obligation on law enforcement agencies – the Prosecutor’s Office, the National Police, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, the State Bureau of Investigation and the National Agency.

But the legislator does not stop there and proposes to create a single portal of whistleblower messages and special telephone lines for round-the-clock access.

The single whistleblower portal guarantees individuals confidentiality and anonymity, as well as whistleblowers’ access to information on the status and results of their reports, and is an official internal source of information on whistleblowers.

It is assumed that in such circumstances, the whistleblower needs proper protection of his rights: it is anonymity, confidentiality, the right to all types of legal assistance (including free), psychological assistance, exemption from any legal liability in the presence of conditions, on information on the investigation of the reported information and other rights specified by law. Interestingly, the employer cannot dismiss such a person, his labor rights are also protected and must be restored.

However, let’s move on to the order of numbers, namely the reward that the whistleblower deserves according to the law, so the whistleblower who reported a corruption crime, the amount of which or the damage caused to the state from which is about 11 million hryvnias. At the same time, the amount of remuneration is 10 percent of the monetary amount of the subject of the corruption crime, ie approximately UAH 1 million, after the conviction of the court. The amount of remuneration may not exceed UAH 7 million. At the same time, it should be noted about the competitiveness of such a reward, because payment is guaranteed equally if the same crime was reported by several whistleblowers.

Undoubtedly, such an initiative will lead to changes in the detection of corruption crimes, but whether the guarantees and rewards provided by law will be trusted in society remains an open question.