Parliament: UOO Transformation Advances to Second Reading

Bratislava, 2 December (TASR) - The draft bill proposed by the Interior Ministry under which the Whistleblowers Protection Office (UOO) is to be transformed into the new Office for the Protection of Crime Victims and Whistleblowers of Anti-social Conduct has proceeded to its second reading in Parliament following a vote on Tuesday, TASR has learnt on the same day. Parliament is debating the proposal via a fast-track legislative procedure. In addition to the agenda concerning whistleblowers of criminal activity, the new office should also take on compensation for crime victims, which currently falls within the remit of the Justice Ministry. The new office is to be established as an independent central government authority with nationwide powers in protecting the rights and legitimate interests of victims of crime and whistleblowers reporting anti-social conduct. According to the interior ministry, setting up a single authority will provide the basis for immediate and coordinated protection of persons at risk. "The existing model of institutional protection for crime victims and whistleblowers of anti-social conduct is currently divided among several state authorities, which leads to its reduced effectiveness," added the ministry. According to the bill, the employer of a protected whistleblower would be able to ask an administrative authority or a prosecutor to review the decision granting protection within 15 days of receiving a notification. Currently, only whistleblowers who weren't granted protection are allowed to ask a superior prosecutor to review the reasons for the refusal within 15 days. "However, in the cases where protection is granted, no comparable mechanism currently exists for the employer," stated the ministry, adding that the new law would also allow employers to request a regular review of the grounds for continued protection of whistleblowers, but not sooner than six months after the preceding request. If certain conditions are met, a prosecutor or an administrative authority could also revoke the decision on whistleblower's protection. Furthermore, the proposal establishes that protection should apply only to those whistleblowers' reports that are clearly linked to employer's scope of activities. jrg