Whistleblowers protected by law
Newsletter 76
The National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia adopted the Law on Protection of Whistleblowers (“Official Gazette of RS”, No. 128/2014), which entered into force on 4 December 2014, and will become applicable as of 05 June 2015.
This Law seeks to provide protection to persons reporting suspicions relating to corruption, violation of human rights or the exercise of public authority contrary to the entrusted purpose, danger to life, public health, safety, environment, and prevention of major damage.
A whistleblower, as a natural person, is entitled to protection in accordance with the Law, if he/she makes the disclosure within a year from the day he/she learned about the action which is subject to disclosure, and no later than ten years from the performance of such action, providing that, at the moment of disclosure, based on available information, an average person with similar knowledge and experience as the whistleblower would believe that the disclosed information is true.
The Law distinguishes between three types of whistleblowing:
- internal whistleblowing if disclosure is made to the employer,
- external whistleblowing when disclosure is made to a competent body,
- public whistleblowing, made through the media, via the Internet, at public meetings and otherwise made publicly available.
