On October 17, 2019, the parliament passed the law on the protection of corruption whistleblowers (Law No. 1010 on amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Corruption Prevention”). As a result, whistleblowers will be protected as of January 1, 2020, when the law comes into effect.
As the explanatory note explains, the law was drafted in an effort to determine the legal status of corruption whistleblowers (persons who reported committing a corruption or corruption-related offense), establishing the rights, guarantees and mechanisms of protection of such persons and persons equal to them.
Local stakeholders welcome the law and consider it as a positive development, as it establishes the following progressive positions:
- determines the procedure of how reports from corruption whistleblowers are considered;
- secures the right of corruption whistleblowers to free legal aid;
- ensures the right of the corruption whistleblowers to anonymity and confidentiality;
- introduces financial incentives for corruption whistleblowers and defines an appropriate procedure;
- dismisses corruption whistleblowers from legal responsibility for disclosure of corruption-related offenses.
The law is an important step to protect corruption whistleblowers and determine their rights in Ukraine. However, certain provisions of the bill need further improvement: for example, local groups will push for a broader definition of a whistleblower to include people reporting wrongdoings from across a wider range of fields, and not only corruption.
More information on the draft law is available here.