“The courts in Serbia have shown efficiency in the application of the Whistleblower Protection Act. However, a lot of work awaits us in the upcoming period in terms of repressive action”, Justice Minister Nela Kuburović stated at today’s conference “Whistleblower Protection at Central and Local Levels” which was held at Aeroklub.
“I invite the prosecutors’ offices to review whistleblowers’ reports with due care. I wish not to interfere with their independence, but only note that the Republic Prosecutor’s Office ought to be preparing a special annual report which would show how whistleblowers’ reports had been handled“, Ms Kuburović explained. She stressed that she would insist on this matter given that whistleblower protection was one of the Chapter 23 Action Plan priorities which concerned anti-corruption.
The Justice Minister added that the Whistleblower Protection Act had been adopted nearly five years prior, which had not only made Serbia a pioneer in the region, but also the entire European continent. She recalled that its adoption had been one of the Council of Europe’s, i.e. GRECO’s recommendations. ”Fight against corruption was one of the priorities of the then Serbian Government, as it certainly is of the current one“ Ms Kuburović highlighted, reminding everyone that the Lobbying Act had entered into force in August, which was another important statute on anti-corruption.
Discussing numbers, the Justice Minister said that from the enforcement date of the Whistleblower Protection Act to the end of 2018, 622 cases were pending, 533 cases had been closed, and 107 cases of internal whistleblowing had been recorded.
U.S.A. Ambassador to Serbia Mr Kyle Scott said that because fight against corruption was difficult, the protection and the encouragement of those making the brave decision to report corruption were crucial. The Ambassador added that he was pleased the U.S.A. could provide support to the Serbian Government in developing the legal framework for whistleblower protection which was now considered the best international practice, and that his country would continue to offer all the assistance necessary to strengthen whistleblower protection.
“Whistleblower protection is essential to the development and the functioning of democratic societies, and the strengthening of equality. For that reason, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Whistleblower Protection Directive this year, which recognises the highest international standards of whistleblower protection. Serbia has made significant advancement in this area; it has been implementing it and reporting on it. What Serbia has achieved has become an inspiration to us all, even the EU“, said the Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Ms Mateja Norčič-Štamcar. She noted that the end results were yet to show and that progress in matching the key indicators was yet to be made – the indicators being the number of finalised corruption cases and of punished perpetrators –, adding that the EU would continue to be Serbia’s partner on that journey.
Editor-in-Chief of Pištaljka portal Mr Vladimir Radomirović concurred that Serbia had become a role model in whistleblower protection in Europe, the greatest testament to which was the fact that Croatia had copied most of the provisions of Serbia’s Act and introduced them to their legal system. “It ought to be said that we are at very beginning of the Act’s enforcement. The public will have the final say about how successful it has been only once employers have understood that whistleblowers were not their enemies, but allies, and once whistleblowers start reporting irregularities without fear of any consequences“, Mr Radomirović emphasised.
The conference was organized by the Ministry of Justice with the support from the USAID Rule of Law Project, the EU Project Prevention and Fight Against Corruption and Pištaljka portal.