"Das gezielte Aufdecken geheimer Informationen durch Insider („Whistleblowing“) wird innerhalb von Unternehmen, Organisationen und Behörden oft kritisch gesehen, die Enthüllung von Staatsgeheimnissen häufig sogar strafrechtlich verfolgt. Auch demokratische Rechtsstaaten tun sich schwer mit Wh
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istleblowern und ihrem Tun. In fast allen Mitgliedsstaaten der Europäischen Union gibt es mittlerweile sogenannte Hinweisgeberschutzgesetze, mit denen eine entsprechende EU-Richtlinie zum Schutz von Whistleblowern in nationales Recht umgesetzt wird. Nicht nur das deutsche Umsetzungsgesetz nimmt dabei die Weitergabe von Geheiminformationen, die wesentliche Sicherheitsinteressen des Staates berühren, von diesem Schutz aus." (https://www.bpb.de)
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"There are three imperatives for advancing whistleblower protection: (1) to draft and enact comprehensive antiretaliation laws that reflect global best practices by learning from and acting on mistakes or omissions in less sophisticated pioneer laws; (2) to turn paper rights into reality by ensuring
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laws are used and implemented as intended; and (3) to improve the development of and access to technologies that facilitate confidential reporting of misconduct to protect the privacy of whistleblowers and their families [...] I n this report, we examine the strength of national whistleblower laws on paper, comparing their provisions to global best practices. We then review their track records to assess whether they are in fact making a difference. To test the effectiveness of whistleblower laws, we explored whether whistleblowers utilised the laws and the win-loss rates. The results, as detailed in the findings section, suggest that in many of the 37 countries we examined, the effectiveness of national whistleblower laws appears questionable due to a lack of public access to case decisions and data on settlement agreements, a lack of utilisation of the laws for disputes, a poor success rate for whistleblowers and meagre compensation for the few whistleblowers who prevail." (Abstract)
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"In 2019, the European Union adopted the “Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law” (Whistleblower Protection Directive). EU Member States are required to transpose the provisions of th
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e Directive into national law by 17 December 2021. This is an opportunity for all EU countries to bring their national legal framework on whistleblower protection in line with international standards and best practice. The Directive contains many advanced provisions, such as the obligations for a wide range of entities to establish internal whistleblowing mechanisms, to follow up on reports and to keep the whistleblower informed. However, it also has some significant gaps [...] It is important therefore that EU Member States adopt national legislation on whistleblower protection that not only meets the minimum standards of the Directive but that also goes beyond the Directive, to meet international standards and best practice. As such, this methodology is designed to enable assessment of national legislation on whistleblower protection against both the minimum standards set by the EU Directive and best practice." (Introduction, page 3)
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"Following the enormous political, legal, and media interest that has surrounded high profile cases of whistleblowing, such as Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden, the fundamental ethical questions surrounding whistleblowing have often been obscured. In this fascinating book Eric Boot examines the et
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hical issues at stake in whistleblowing. Can the disclosure of classified government documents ever be justified? If so, how? Why does it require justification in the first place? Can there ever be a duty to blow the whistle? When is breaking the law justified? On a more practical level, this book also considers the various whistleblower protection documents and finds them often lacking in consistency and clarity, before providing an argument for a plausible "public interest" defense for whistleblowers." (Publisher description)
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"The insights in this study identify that we should not only deal with the whistleblowing concerns much further upstream, but we should also support whistleblowers much earlier in the process by ensuring that not only is the concern dealt with but that the individual who raised it is provided with t
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he necessary support and protection from the outset before any detrimental treatment or retaliatory action can take place. All of the whistleblowers interviewed for this study suggested that they had wanted their concern to be addressed and for it to be the end of the matter. Unfortunately, a chain of events, often led by retaliatory practices by their organisations, meant that the whistleblowers suffered, and continue to suffer unnecessarily. This highlights that whilst it is extremely important for states, and the European Union as a whole, to consider the implementation of whistleblower protection laws, we must not lose sight of the fact that we also need to educate and support organisations and society as a whole to treat whistleblowers better in the first place, thus removing the need for individuals to have to make a choice between not raising the concern and years of life-changing psychosocial, physical and familial consequences. For some jurisdictions and some organisations, supporting and handling whistleblowers from the outset of them raising their concerns will require a substantial shift in understanding towards a more inclusive and accepting response towards whistleblowers. Civil society and other actors working on whistleblowing can support this process by actively engaging with stakeholders at multiple levels. The below table provides an illustration of the different suggested levels, potential stakeholders and several examples of engagement and technical assistance." (Conclusion)
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"This study, which covers 121 UNESCO Member States, represents a global benchmarking of journalistic source protection in the Digital Age. It focuses on developments during the period 2007-2015. The legal frameworks that support protection of journalistic sources, at international, regional and coun
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try levels, are under significant strain in 2015. They are increasingly at risk of erosion, restriction and compromise - a development that is seen to represent a direct challenge to the established universal human rights of freedom of expression and privacy, and one that especially may constitute a threat to the sustainability of investigative journalism. In many of the countries examined in this Study, it was found that legal source protection frameworks are being actually or potentially: overridden by national security and anti-terrorism legislation; undercut by surveillance – both mass and targeted; jeopardised by mandatory data retention policies and pressure applied to third party intermediaries - like ISPs, telcos, search engines, social media platforms - to release data which risks exposing sources; outdated when it comes to regulating the collection and use of digital data, such as whether information recorded without consent is admissible in a court case against either a journalist or a source; and whether digitally stored material gathered by journalistic actors is covered by existing source protection laws." (Executive summary)
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"This book deploys an original comparative framework, as well as archival and pattern-matching research methodologies, to analyze whistleblowing cases from Peru, South Korea, Thailand and the United States of America and to ascertain factors that make for effective whistleblowing. After examining th
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e cases, the study concludes that external whistleblowing, extensive mass media coverage, and strong evidence are essential components of effective whistleblowing. When there is a lack of proper legal protection, whistleblowers experience brutal retaliation, even though their actions are successful in stopping wrongdoing and promoting change in the public sector." (Publisher description)
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"A framework to ensure that whistleblowers are protected by the law and that their public interest reports or disclosures are effectively acted upon will strengthen democratic societies based on human rights and the rule of law. The Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec(2014)7, adopted by the Comm
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ittee of Ministers on 30 April 2014, offers important policy advice to member states on the content of such a framework and this brief guide gives suggestions on how it might be put in place, drawing on existing international practice." (Back cover)
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"Is journalism under threat? The image of journalists, as helmeted war correspondents protected by bullet-proof vests and armed only with cameras and microphones, springs to mind. Physical threats are only the most visible dangers, however. Journalists and journalism itself are facing other threats
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such as censorship, political and economic pressure, intimidation, job insecurity and attacks on the protection of journalists’ sources. Social media and digital photography mean that anyone can now publish information, which is also upsetting the ethics of journalism. How can these threats be tackled? What is the role of the Council of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights and national governments in protecting journalists and freedom of expression? In this book, 10 experts from different backgrounds analyse the situation from various angles. At a time when high-quality, independent journalism is more necessary than ever – and yet when the profession is facing many different challenges – they explore the issues surrounding the role of journalism in democratic societies." (Publisher description)
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"In 2010 the Open Democracy Advice Centre undertook a comprehensive review of the state of whistleblowing in South Africa, entitled 'The Status of Whistleblowing' (2010). Three years on, the whistleblowing landscape is due another review. Research demonstrates that progress has not merely halted in
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the current context, but that in fact South Africa appears increasingly hostile to whistleblowing activities. It is not just legislative provisions that may require review, but other broader environmental recommendations are also needed in order to properly enable whistleblowing. This publication looks at how to create an environment in South Africa that can encourage whistleblowers to act – this means not looking at law alone, and understanding that interventions are required at multiple points in the whistleblowing process if people are to feel supported enough to disclose." (Introduction)
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"This article appraises the general state of investigative journalism in seven Pacific Island countries—Cook Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu—and asserts that the trend is not encouraging. Journalism in general, and investigative journalism in particular
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, has struggled due to harsher legislation as in military-ruled Fiji; beatings and harassment of journalists as in Vanuatu; and false charges and lawsuits targeting journalists and the major newspaper company in the Cook Islands. Corruption, tied to all the major political upheavals in the region since independence, is also discussed. Threats to investigative journalism, like the ‘backfiring effect’ and ‘anti-whistleblower’ law are examined, along with some investigative journalism success case studies." (Abstract)
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