Constitutional Court Suspends Whistleblower Office Reform

Kosice/Bratislava, 17 December (TASR) - The Constitutional Court has suspended the effect of the law on transforming the Whistleblowers Protection Office (UOO) into a new authority, taking this decision at a closed-door session on Wednesday. The court accepted in full for further proceedings a motion filed by a group of opposition members of Parliament. The Act on the Office for the Protection of Victims of Crime and Whistleblowers of Anti-Social Activity, which is to replace the current UOO as of 1 January, was approved by Parliament in December despite a veto by President Peter Pellegrini. In their submission, the opposition MPs argued that the law may be inconsistent with the Slovak Constitution and European Union law, and they also criticised the procedure of its adoption via a fast-tracked legislative process. The MPs pointed, among other things, to the shortening of the term of office of the duly elected chairperson of the UOO and to changes related to the granting and review of whistleblower protection. The motion to the Constitutional Court was also supported by Public Ombudsman Robert Dobrovodsky, who fears irreversible interference in fundamental rights and freedoms. He sees the main problem in a provision allowing already granted whistleblower protection to be reviewed at any time, which he says introduces unpredictability into the system. In addition to the whistleblower agenda, the new authority is set to handle compensation for victims of crime, taken over from the Justice Ministry. It will also deal with reviews of protection within both criminal and administrative proceedings. mf/df