Whistleblower Protection Trainings and Campaigns (RS0006)

There is an increasing need to detect corruption, while the possibilities are reduced due to lack of adequate protection of persons willing to provide certain information on corruption of which they have direct knowledge.
Current protection of whistleblowers is regulated by provisions of several laws and bylaws (the Law on Civil Servants, Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance and Law on Anti-Corruption Agency, the Rulebook on protection of a person who reported suspicion of corruption), and it is limited in its scope for several reasons (definition of a person enjoying protection, the extent of protection, cases in which protection is provided, non-regulated field of sanctions for those who take revenge, indemnity, or awarding of whistleblowers). Therefore, it is necessary to establish a uniform legal framework by enacting legislation that will regulate this area in a comprehensive manner. In addition, it is necessary to build public trust and trust of persons who are potential whistleblowers, that their full protection will be provided by the adoption of the law. In that sense, ministry in charge of justice has prepared Draft Law on Whistleblowers Protection, conducted the public debate, and text of the Draft law submitted to the Government. Government has formulated the Bill and submitted it to the National Assembly for consideration and passing the Law.

Commitment 6. Whistleblower protection trainings and campaigns

Commitment Text:

     1.   Conducting professional training of civil servants in the state administration bodies, and employees at local self-government units, on procedures and importance of protection of whistleblowers, as prevention of corruption

                        a. developing a professional training program for civil servants and local self-
government units employees

                        b. conducting the professional training of civil servants and local self-government
units employees

      2.   Conducting campaign for raising awareness of citizens about rights and protection of
whistleblowers;

                        a. developing a program for the campaign

                        b. adoption of the program for the campaign

                        c. implementation of the campaign program

Responsible Institution(s): Ministry of Justice

Supporting Institution(s): Anticorruption Agency; Human Resource Management Office; CSOs

Start Date: Quarter II 2015                                          End Date: Ongoing

Commitment aim:

The commitment aimed at improving the knowledge of civil servants and local self-government employees on the rights and protections of whistleblowers through adequate trainings conducted by the Human Resource Management Office. It also aimed to inform the wider public through an awareness-raising campaign.

Status

Midterm: Substantial

While the government’s self-assessment report indicated that trainings were conducted for civil servants, the IRM researchers could not find reliable answers on whether trainings for local self-government employees were conducted, how many were held, if at all, how long they were, or how many civil servants attended. The awareness-raising campaign on the Law on the Protection of Whistleblowers was conducted in June 2015 with the support of the USAID Judicial Reform and Government Accountability Project (JRGA).^{[Note 24: Campaign Website, [Serbian] http://uzbunjivaci.rs/postupak.html ]} The campaign website provides clear and concise information about the role, rights, and protection of whistleblowers. For more information, see the Serbian 2014-2015 midterm IRM report.

End of term: Substantial

While the awareness-raising campaign was completed substantially in the first year, and completely after the campaign was concluded, the trainings for civil servants remained with limited completion. The IRM researchers were not able to confirm how many trainings were held for civil servants and local self-government employees, but media sources confirm that over 500 trainings for judges were conducted.^{[Note 25: “Prva Presuda u Korist uzbunjivača u Novom Sadu,” RTV, 19 September 2016, http://bit.ly/2gaLeEH%5D} The trainings were intended to continue in 2016, and the next training organized by the Human Resource Management Office is planned for 25 October 2016.^{[Note 26: The website does not give detailed information on past trainings. “Training Schedule,” Human Resource Management Office, Republic of Serbia, http://bit.ly/2g7ioTY ]}

Did it open government?

Access to information: Marginal

Public accountability: Marginal

Whistleblowers are key actors in the fight against corruption, yet the level of their protection and awareness of their rights has discouraged potential whistleblowers. A law to protect whistleblowers was adopted only in 2014. With regards to this commitment’s aims, the trainings established in the commitment are still ongoing and the campaign’s impact can only be comprehensively assessed in the long term. Assessing the impact of the awareness-raising campaign would require longitudinal data about whistleblowing trends in Serbia, which currently are not available given that the law is still fairly new and data exists only for 2014 and 2015. Serbia’s Ombudsman evoked this conclusion in his 2015 annual report. Namely, the Ombudsman stated that it was too early to assess the impact of the law, but that the number of individuals seeking protection under the law increased from three individuals in 2014 to 13 individuals in 2015.^{[Note 27: Protector of Citizens: Ombudsman of Serbia, “Annual Report 2015,” Republic of Serbia, 15 March 2016, http://bit.ly/2eUdkGE%5D} However, the effects of this commitment were limited given that, in the IRM’s consultative meeting in September 2015, civil society representatives outlined issues with the law.^{[Note 28: “CSO Held Consultative Meeting on Open Government in Serbia,” http://bit.ly/2eU95eb ]} CSO representatives noted that it might not be good enough to convince citizens to become whistleblowers because it emphasized preventing corruption rather than protecting citizens,^{[Note 29: “CSO Held Consultative Meeting on Open Government in Serbia,” http://bit.ly/2eU95eb%5D} and the law was not precise enough to protect them if they do report corruption.^{[Note 30: “Zaštita Uzbunjivača u Srbiji [Protection of Whistleblowers in Serbia],” Center for Euro-Atlantic Studies (CEAS), June 2015, [Serbian] http://bit.ly/2fdJDLI%5D}

Overall, this commitment had a marginal effect on access to information in the context of awareness-raising and enabling the protection of whistleblowers. The marginal effect is best seen in the limited increase in individuals seeking protection under the law. It can be explained by the facts that the campaign lasted for a short period of time and that the campaign’s promotional website, although it is concrete, informative, and accessible, does not provide space for interaction with citizens (e.g. for posing questions or doubts).^{[Note 31: Campaign Website, [Serbian] http://uzbunjivaci.rs/postupak.html%5D}

By encouraging the prevention of corruption through the legal framework, but with limited awareness, this commitment has had a marginal effect on the number of individuals engaging in whistleblowing, with 10 additional individuals compared to the previous year.

Nonetheless, the IRM researchers noted that long-term effects of this commitment and its related activities could increase government openness. That largely depends on how the law is enforced. More precisely, the commitment’s impact could increase with adequate enforcement and when citizens and government representatives grow accustomed to the legal framework, the practice of whistleblowing, and the protection of whistleblowers, a relatively new concept in Serbia given that the Law on the Protection of Whistleblowers came into force only in 2014.^{[Note 32: Igor Jovanović, “Whistleblowers Get Better Protection in Serbia,” News, Balkan Insight, 5 June 2015, http://bit.ly/2gaPAfd%5D}

Carried forward?

Although the commitment was not completed, neither the commitment nor commitments related to whistleblower protections are included in the 2016-2018 action plan.