national Assembly Addresses Whistleblower Protection and Access to Facts

The national Assembly is convened in an extraordinary session, on August 18, to look at four bills adopted during the last Council of Ministers.

The most important legislation concerns the protection of whistleblowers. According to the presentation of the reasons, a whistleblower is defined as “a natural person who, within the framework of his professional activities, reports, communicates or discloses in good faith information relating to the Commission or the attempted committee of acts relating to a crime or a financial crime, a threat or a prejudice for the general interest, a violation or an attempt to conceal the concealment of violation, both in the public and private sector.”

However, the bill includes safeguards to prevent misuse: facts, information and documents relating to the secrecy of national defense, the secrecy of judicial deliberations, the secrecy of the inquiry or judicial education, to medical confidentiality or to the secrecy of relations between the lawyer and his client, and any other secrecy protected by the laws or regulations in force, are excluded from the scope of reporting.

Currently, both the whistleblower and the “nominee” benefit from 10 measures to protect against various forms of reprisals such as suspension, layoff, dismissal or equivalent measures, demotion or refusal of promotion, transfer of function, imposed or administered disciplinary measures, reprimands or other sanctions, including a financial sanction, coercion, intimidation, harassment or ostracism, discrimination, disadvantageous or unfair treatment, the non-confusion of a fixed-term employment contract or a temporary contract in a permanent contract, when the worker could legitimately benefit from permanent employment, non-renewal or early termination of a fixed-term employment contract or a temporary contract.

The bill also addresses self-denunciation and the restitution of illicit assets. A special fund for the collection of goods and assets from fraud, corruption and economic and financial crimes is being created, which will allow for the payment of monetary awards for whistleblowers and funding for social projects and programs. This fund will be fed by funds allocated by technical and financial partners, and financial resources from illicit assets from reimbursements or restitutions. The proposed award is set at up to ten percent (10%) of the amount recovered or the amount steadfast by the anti-corruption body.

In addition, the future Access to Information Act aims to promote the consolidation of democracy and the rule of law, and also the improvement in the business habitat. It also seeks to establish a “constructive public debate and to give citizens the legal and operational means allowing them to base their opinions on information emanating from” public sources.

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