Download This PaperEuropean Whistleblower Protection: Tiers or Tears?
A GLOBAL APPROACH TO PUBLIC INTEREST DISCLOSURE, pp. 15-35, D. Lewis, ed., Cheltenham/Northampton MA, Edward Elgar, 2009
25 Pages Posted: 28 Mar 2011
Date Written: June 2009
Abstract
This paper offers an assessment of whistleblower protection in Europe. All 27 countries of the European Union are included except for the UK, which is discussed in McMullen’s chapter in this book. Switzerland, although not a member of the European Union, is also included, and the position of the whistleblower within the European Institutions is also discussed. The assessment is made against a “3-tiered model” derived from the UK PIDA. Although the sole stated purpose of the UK PIDA is to protect the whistleblower, I argue that the successive recipient tiers make previous tiers accountable for investigating and dealing with suspected wrongdoing, thereby serving other purposes than mere protection.
Keywords: whistle-blowing, corporate governance, legislation
JEL Classification: J53, J59, M12, M14
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation