Filling in the gap: How civil society and lawyers co-create stronger whistleblower protections
On World Whistleblower Day, the European Whistleblowing Institute (EWI) hosted the online event Voices of Power: Whistleblowing for the Public Good. The event underscored the essential role that civil society and legal professionals play in advancing and safeguarding the rights of whistleblowers.
An Urgent Need for Collaboration
Civil society organisations (CSOs) are vital actors in this space. In many cases, they fill gaps left by the legal profession in what remains an emerging and underdeveloped field. Although one of the key objectives of the EU Whistleblower Directive is to prevent retaliation, reprisals against those who speak out remain alarmingly common. It is precisely in this context that a space for cooperation, often pro bono, between civil society and lawyers emerges.
The Slovak Experience: Gaps and Progress
Marianna Leontiev, joining the event from Slovakia, has over a decade of experience working with whistleblowers, including as a member of the working group that drafted the Whistleblower Protection Act in Slovakia. However, when she started working in this field, she admits she was not trained “at all” in what whistleblowing is. Nowadays, more than three years after the deadline has passed for EU Member States to transpose the EU Whistleblower Directive into national law, significant gaps still remain. “Lawyers, and especially judges, in Slovakia, are not trained enough”, said Leontiev, who is also an EWI Fellow.
Global Parallels: The Mexican Context
Across the ocean, the situation is even grimmer. In Mexico, there is no specific law on whistleblowing, but scattered regulations across different laws, as explained by Isabel Ortiz Monasterio, a lawyer at Ritch Mueller who devotes a significant portion of her time to pro bono work. In her country, lawyers are not specifically trained to deal with whistleblowing cases, a situation, she believes, “that is similar around the world”.
“Civil society organizations often act as de facto advisors and play a key role in raising awareness and giving advice.”
Civil Society as First Responders in Romania and beyond
Radu Nicolae, President of the Association for Cooperation and Sustainable Development (ACSD), who works in supporting whistleblowers in Romania, put it straight to the point: “CSOs are, sometimes, the first responders”.
To illustrate the impact civil society can have, Nicolae shared a success story. Some years ago, a whistleblower approached his organisation, fearing job loss after reporting misconduct in a public institution. Nicolae’s team discovered that the employer had failed to comply with its legal obligation to establish an internal reporting channel. Acting swiftly, ACSD mobilised a coalition of CSOs and submitted a formal letter to the employer, reminding them of their statutory duties. In this case, the intervention proved successful: the institution updated its procedures, and the whistleblower retained his position.
“This case illustrates how, if we rapidly coordinate and respond as civil society, we can provide effective support in such early stages”, said Nicolae.
From Local Action to National Impact
In Slovakia, the impact of the collaboration of CSOs was felt at a national level. “Close cooperation among civil society organizations and the dedicated work of CSOs in Slovakia in supporting whistleblowers eventually led to the establishment of the Whistleblower Protection Office”, said Leontiev.
Indeed, the European Whistleblowing Institute, together with other leading organisations in the field, supported local civil society efforts with expertise and legal advice on the amendments proposed to the Slovak Whistleblower Protection Act when, in 2023, there were efforts to backslide on legal protections. Dr Vigjilenca Abazi, EWI's Executive Director, drafted a legal memorandum articulating why Slovakia would be breaching EU law if it were to continue with such amendments. Upon further mobilizations of civil society, the amendments were delayed.
Training Gap Among Lawyers
The speakers agree that lawyers are not sufficiently trained to handle whistleblowing cases. This raises the question: what should a lawyer, who is not an expert in whistleblowing law, do when approached by a whistleblower? For Isabel Ortiz Monasterio, it all comes down to individual responsibility. “It is a matter of responsibility. If you do not have the expertise, I don’t think that, only because you provide pro bono services, you should contribute”, said the lawyer. In these cases, she suggests the lawyer should direct the whistleblower to a CSO and work together on their case.
This lack of experience can, in part, be explained by the fact that this is still an emerging field but Radu Nicolae also attributes it to a lack of incentives. Nicolae’s organization helps whistleblowers access free legal advice but, according to him, these whistleblowers are dissatisfied with these services. Because these services are provided under a mandatory legal scheme, Nicolae argues that this does not incentivize lawyers to become specialized in whistleblowing law because “this is not a very promising market”.
“Most whistleblowers, at least those I encountered, are not wealthy individuals. They are barely able to support representation in court so there are not enough incentives for lawyers to be specialized in this narrow legislation.”
This is where Nicolae sees another space for civil society to fill in existing gaps. He advocates for government funding for CSOs to provide legal and non-legal advice, “complementary” to that offered by the legal authorities.
This event is part of Project BRIGHT 101143232, which is co-funded by the European Commission.
