Ethical and regulatory concerns of whistleblowing

Abstract

Being a lesser used tool of the anti-corruption toolbox at the beginning of the century, whistleblowing is now recognized as an important part of the national integrity systems. Many important cases of external whistleblowing such as the Snowden and Manning affairs or the Wikileaks and Panama papers have raised the profile of the practice in public with whistleblowers often being labelled heroes or villains. Additionally, the new technologies and opportunities for whistleblowing endangered the national security apparatus in many countries which increased the need for both new regulatory and theoretical approaches to the matter. This led to a strong increase in publications and treatises on the matter. Just like many other jurisdictions across the world, the EU has recently introduced a Directive on whistleblowing ensuring that the member states must now also regulate this practice. While this will lead to some unification of the legal solutions, whistleblowing will still depend much on the different contexts in which it is exercised. As the growing evidence from the countries that regulated it testifies, it is hard to predict the number of cases, their relevance and significance for the anti-corruption struggle. Thus, the effect of both the legislation and practice remains difficult to ascertain. In particular, the attitude towards financial rewards for whistleblowers differs from one jurisdiction to the other; while being considered a part of the solution for some, in particular the US and those where US legal experts promoted the regulation of practice, for others it remains an incentive for practices of informing reminiscent of totalitarian regimes. Thus, the regulatory approach in both theory and practice also remains tied to the cultural understanding of the practice. This panel gathers submissions coming from diverse standpoints such as organizational theory, management, political and legal philosophy, corruption and comparative legal studies in order to foster creative discussion around whistleblowing aiming to contribute to the existing debate around ethical and regulatory issues surrounding the theory and practice of whistleblowing.

Title	Details
Leaking black boxes: whistleblowing from Big Tech companies	View Paper Details
Making whistleblowing count: Why Whistleblowing in the EU Public Sector should be rewarded?	View Paper Details
Can anonymity revolutionise whistle-blowing?	View Paper Details
Institutional emulation in the context of the transposition of the EU Whistleblowing Directive	View Paper Details