The thesis deals with the study of legislative and theoretical issues of the administrative legal mechanism for protecting the rights of whistleblowers in Ukraine.
The thesis research aims to improve the notions of “whistleblower” and “whistleblower reporting on corruption”, “legal status of the whistleblower”, “mechanism for protecting the rights of whistleblowers”, “administrative legal methods for protecting the rights of whistleblowers”, “administrative legal methods for protecting the rights of whistleblowers”, etc.
The thesis specifies the concept of the whistleblower, its rights and obligations, guarantees of activity and responsibilities. It is proposed to enshrine the exhaustive list of rights and obligations of the whistleblowers at the regulatory level. The principles of disclosure of corruption cases by whistleblowers are as follows: good faith; honesty; reliability; voluntary participation, and reasonability. It is argued that the whistleblower, as a person, acting warranted by law knowingly and voluntarily, exclusively in the interests of security and welfare of the society, having a reasonable belief that the information is reliable, reports violation of the law by another person, is the subject of police activity.
The thesis determines the essence, elements, stages of the mechanism for the protection the rights of whistleblowers, and the place of administrative rules. A mechanism for protecting the rights of whistleblowers is disclosed as a separate area of the legal mechanism for ensuring human rights; as a whole, it is a combination of interconnected regulatory elements, with the help of which conditions and opportunities are created for the implementation and protection of the rights of whistleblowers. The stages and elements of the mechanism for protecting the rights of whistleblowers are highlighted. The thesis improves approaches to administrative legal methods for the protection of the rights of whistleblowers. The information support of administrative activities in the field of protecting the rights of whistleblowers in the public and private sectors is disclosed.
The author investigates the powers of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption and the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights in the field of ensuring the rights of whistleblowers. Various types of public control over ensuring the rights of whistleblowers are characterized.
The thesis considers the rights of whistleblowers as a component of the European administrative space. The experience of foreign countries in the legal regulation of the protection of the rights of whistleblowers is summarized. The thesis studies the policy of the European Union and the practice of the European Court of Human Rights in the field of protection of the rights of whistleblowers and proposes areas for using positive experience in Ukrainian lawmaking and law enforcement. The Directive of the European Parliament and the Union on the Protection of Persons Reporting on Breach of the Union Law, adopted in April 2019, was examined, and it was argued that Ukraine should in any form agree to be bound by the rules of this international treaty to create a national concept and further a strategy for ensuring the rights of whistleblowers.
The practical significance of the thesis is reflected in the proposals for amendments and supplementation of a number of legislative acts in the terms of the legislative consolidation of the rights of the whistleblowers on the protection of health, life and property, as well as the right to free legal aid. For this purpose, it was proposed to introduce changes and additions to Part 1 of Article 14 of the Law of Ukraine “On Free Legal Aid” No. 3460-VI dated June 2, 2011, as well as Part 1 of Article 2 of the Law of Ukraine “On Ensuring the Safety of Persons Participating in Criminal Proceedings” No. 3782-XII dated December 23, 1993; to develop and adopt the Law of Ukraine “On Public Anti-Corruption Expertise”; to amend the questionnaire that is contained in the guidelines for organizing work with reporting on corruption by whistleblowers (decision of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption No. 286 dated July 6, 2017), the issue of evidence (written, electronic, photo, video, audio) and liability for knowingly false reports of a crime, with links to articles of the law with the mandatory indication of sanctions.
Keywords: whistleblower, whistleblower reporting on corruption, disclosure, voluntary reporting, corruption prevention, human and civil rights and freedoms, mechanism for protecting the rights of whistleblowers, administrative and legal means and ways to protect the rights of whistleblowers.
