Providing an Alternative to Silence:
Towards Greater Protection and Support for
Whistleblowers in the EU
COUNTRY REPORT: SLOVAKIA
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This report belongs to a series of 27 national reports that assess the adequacy of whistleblower
protection laws of all member states of the European Union.
Whistleblowing in Europe: Legal
Protection for Whistleblowers in the EU, published by Transparency International in November 2013,
compiles the findings from these national reports. It can be accessed
at www.transparency.org. All national reports are available upon request at
xx@xxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.
Responsibility for all information contained in the report lies with the author. Views expressed in the
report are the author’s own, and may not necessarily reflect the views of the organisation for which
they work. Transparency International cannot accept responsibility for any use that may be made of
the information contained therein.
The project has been funded with support from the European Commission. The sole responsibility
lies with the author and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of
the information contained therein.
With financial support from the Prevention of and Fight against Crime Programme of the European Union.
European Commission – Directorate-General Home Affairs
2
Providing an Alternative to Silence:
Towards Greater Protection and Support for
Whistleblowers in the EU
Country report:
SLOVAK REPUBLIC
August 2012, Bratislava
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1.
Introduction
Reporting of illegitimate practices is not a strength of the Slovak society. Despite of stringent criminal
obligation, citizens opt for the risk of being subjected to prosecution for the offence of Failure to Report
about Crime, rather than for the reporting and possible subsequent retaliation. Non-existence of a stand-
alone piece of legislation is not the most severe obstacle to the strengthening of civic activity; however,
the adoption of a law on whistleblowing would certainly help to increase awareness and positively
influence the standpoint of the public, business sector or courts.
Mechanisms for the filing of reports exist both in the public and private sectors. Likewise, certain proven
communication tools in the form of anti-corruption hot-lines, web forms, and external consulting
companies have been successfully implemented. On the other hand, communication and training aimed at
employees and business partners considerably lag behind, and this fact is in turn associated with a
relatively low number of recorded cases. Information about investigated cases and their results is missing,
which results in a loss of potential educational effect. Another shortcoming is the investigation of filings
itself, since these are in majority of cases solved by their referral to the police or other authority. This
results in a situation, where the whistleblower is not notified of and also loses the possibility of
supervision over the investigation of the case in question.
Based on the published cases and their development, it can be observed that the Slovak Republic is not
capable of providing sufficient protection for notifiers of illegitimate practices. Despite the improvement
of such protection by means of a prospective change in legislation, the confidentiality of the
whistleblower's identity will be essential for the development of a trustworthy system of reporting and
investigation. Even a potential monetary reward will not be able to compensate for the risks associated
with the reporting of illegitimate practices.
In addition to an analysis of legislation, this research has also been focused on the gathering of
information concerning the situation in the area of whistleblowing in Slovakia with the use of other
research methods. In particular, questionnaires and personal meetings have been important for the
obtaining of information concerning the application of statutory provisions in practice and attitude toward
the solution of the issue of protection of whistleblowers. The data has been gathered through written
contact in the form of a questionnaire. The entities we have contacted included, in particular ministries
and other central government bodies, further, the Ombudsman, the Slovak National Centre for Human
Rights, and 45 companies with a share owned by the State or municipal governments. In addition to
replies to the questions, in the case of the public sector we have also reviewed the Staff Regulations,
Conditions of Employment, and other internal corporate regulations. In the case of private companies, we
have also been interested in their Codes of Ethics, Annual Reports, and websites.
Slovak society needs an increase in the trust in the reporting of illegitimate practices, and therefore, the
protection of whistleblowers is an essential task in this process.
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2.
A compilation, description and assessment of WB protection laws
The legal order of the Slovak Republic contains within various legislation provisions which by their nature
either ensure protection for the notifier of illegitimate practices or impose on such person certain
obligations during the revealing of such practices. A stand-alone piece of legislation governing the issue of
whistleblowing does not exist in Slovakia.1 Also, such notion or any other term corresponding in content
to the notion of whistleblowing is not directly used in any piece of legislation valid and in effect in the
Slovak Republic. Therefore, it is necessary to search for the individual features of whistleblowing in
several pieces of legislation. Such legislation may be divided into 4 groups: 1. legislation governing the
employment relationship; 2. criminal laws; 3. legislation governing the handling of information; and 4.
other legislation. In the following section, we will discuss the respective groups and how they govern
certain aspects of whistleblowing.
2.1 Legislation governing the employment relationship
The legal order of the Slovak Republic contains three pieces of legislation governing the relationship
toward the employee, depending on the nature and legal form of the employer. The most detailed
regulation - in the form of a separate law - is in place for civil servants. Further, it is the employees
working for state authorities or municipalities not being in the civil service. This group is regulated by a
separate law, while issues not governed by that law are governed by the Labour Code. The last group
consists of private sector employees who are subject to the Labour Code. In addition to the legislation
governing the basic relationships between the employer and employee, the legal order defines, by means
of a separate procedural rule, the filing and handling of complaints. We will take a closer look at the
provisions contained in the respective laws related to whistleblowing.
A/ Act No. 400/2009 Coll., on Civil Service („
the Civil Service Law“), as amended governs the rights
and obligations of employees within the state administration.2
Within the meaning of the Civil Service Law,3 a civil servant may file a complaint in the matters of
performance of the civil service, if he/she believes that his/her rights under that Law, other generally
binding legislation, and Staff Regulations have been violated.4 Further, the Law defines the person to
whom such complaint is to be filed.5 Beside this right, there is also the obligation of the civil servant6 to
notify his/her supervisor or law enforcement authority of a loss, damage to, destruction, and
misappropriation of the property owned by or under the administration of the service office. If the civil
servant believes that an instruction imposed on him/her is contrary to the generally binding legislation or
Staff Regulations, he/she is obliged to notify his/her supervisor in writing of such fact before he/she
starts to fulfil such instruction. Should the supervisor insist on the fulfilment of the instruction, he/she is
obliged to notify the civil servant thereof in writing.
The civil servant shall be obliged to keep confidential the facts he/she has learned in connection with the
performance of the civil service and which shall not be, in the interest of the service office, disclosed to
other persons.7 No exception defined under law exists to such obligation.
1 Ministers of Interior of the previous and current governments have promised to prepare such piece of legislation, while its working version
already exists. This working version has been subject to review and its new wording is currently under preparation.
2 They include, e.g. the employees at ministries or employees of central and local government authorities.
3 Sec. 65, Par. 1 of the Civil Service Law
4 within an organization, e.g. also by discriminatory practices and other sanctions
5 The Head of the office shal have the competence for the handling of the complaint. In the event that the complaint is directed against the Head
of the office, the entity competent for the handling of the complaint shal be the responsible Director of the service office being a state
administration body performing the function of the founder in relation to the service office pursuant to a special regulation. The competence for
the handling of a complaint against a civil servant holding a public post in a service office being a ministry or ultimate central government body
shal lie with the respective Minister or Head of the ultimate central government body; competence for the handling of a complaint against the
Head of the ultimate central government body shal lie with the Prime Minister.
6 within the meaning of Sec. 60, Par. 2(g) of the Civil Service Law
7 within the meaning of Sec. 60, Par. 1(c) of the Civil Service Law
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The Civil Service Law enables for the issuance of an internal regulation – Staff Regulations enabling also
for a more precise definition of rules for the reporting of illegitimate practices. However, the current
wording of Staff Regulations at ministries fails to contain such provisions.
B/ Act No. 552/2003 Coll., on Performance of Work in Public Interest, as amended („
Act on
Performance of Work in Public Interest“) regulates the rights and obligations of public administration
employees,8 and states that if a natural person or legal entity notifies the employer of the violation of an
obligation or restriction by an employee under this Law, the employer shall be obliged to find out whether
the employee has breached the obligation or restrictions, and to notify, within 30 days of the receipt of the
notification, such legal entity or natural person of the result, as well as of the measures adopted.9
Within the meaning of the Act in question, the employer shall be obliged to issue the Conditions of
Employment,10 and thereby also to define in more detail the filing of submissions concerning illegitimate
practices. This group of employees is also subject to the Labour Code, more closely discussed in the
following section of the present report.
C/ The private sector is governed in particular by Act No. 311/2001 Coll., the Labour Code, as amended
(„
the Labour Code“). Within the meaning of the Labour Code,11 the exercise of rights and obligations
resulting from the employment relationships must be in accordance with morality principles. No one shall
be allowed to misuse such rights and obligations to the detriment of another participant of the
employment relationship or co-employees. No one can be persecuted or otherwise sanctioned at the
workplace in connection with the performance of the employment relationship in result of the filing of a
complaint, action or petition for the commencement of criminal prosecution in respect to another
employee or employer.
An employee who believes that his/her rights or interests protected under law have been affected, he/she
may refer to a court and seek for legal protection laid down by a special law on equal treatment in certain
areas and on protection against discrimination and on the amendment of certain laws (Anti-
Discriminatory Law).
This provision may be regarded as the fundamental guarantee against victimisation for the reporting of
illegitimate practices. However, stipulation of other tools for the achievement of better protection against
victimisation is missing.
The provision of the Labour Code12 under which an employee is obliged to keep confidential the facts
he/she has learned of during the performance of employment and which shall not be, in the interest of
the employer, disclosed to other persons, is conflicting as well.
D/ Act No. 9/2010 Coll., on Complaints („
the Complaints Law“) may be regarded as a general
procedural regulation of the filing of complaints, and thus, it complements e.g. the regulation of the
handling of complaints from a civil servant under the Civil Service Law. The Complaints Law allows for
the filing of a submission to a state body, and at the same time, it imposes on the state body a duty to
process such submission. Complaints are submitted both by natural persons and legal entities. This means
that the group of potential complainants is not restricted in any way. The public administration bodies
registering, handling, and supervising the handling of complaints within the meaning of this Law are: state
bodies and organizations established by them, local self-government bodies and organizations established
by them, legal entities and natural persons entrusted by law with making decisions concerning the rights,
interests protected under law or obligations of other persons.
8 e.g. employees of municipalities, schools under the responsibility of local self-government, municipal undertakings
9 Sec. 13 of Act on Performance of Work in Public Interest
10 Sec. 12 of Act on Performance of Work in Public Interest
11 Sec. 13, Par. 3 of the Labour Code
12 Sec. 81(f) of the Labour Code
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The filing of a complaint shall not become an impulse or reason for the drawing of consequences causing
any harm to the complainant.13 Upon the complainant's request, the public administration body shall be
obliged to keep confidential the identity of the complainant.14
The Complaints Law does not allow for the handling of an anonymous complaint, although the state
bodies assert that they occupy themselves with such complaints based on their own initiative.15
2.2 Criminal Legislation
From the perspective of the issue of whistleblowing, in particular Sec. 340 of the Criminal Code is
important, within the meaning of which a person who credibly learns that another person has committed
e.g. one of the crimes of corruption, and fails to report such crime or offence without delay to a law
enforcement authority or police service, shall be punished by a maximum of three years' imprisonment.
This provision may be regarded as the laying down of a general whistleblowing obligation in the case of
certain offences (including corruption), under the sanction of a maximum imprisonment of three years.
However, the provision in question is double-edged, since it can also act as a threat against the
whistleblower should he/she fail to report without undue delay to law enforcement authorities or simply
within his/her own organization (not to the police). This conclusion is also substantiated by the low level
of willingness of citizens to report offences despite the existence of criminal sanctions.16
The Slovak Republic has a separate regulation for the protection of the witness and his/her close
persons17. Such protection is conditioned by a testimony within criminal proceedings.
On the contrary, recourse against the person reporting illegitimate practices may bring about the
fulfilment of preconditions of offences of False Allegation and False Testimony and Perjury.18
In this connection, we can also mention the Civil Code which guarantees protection of personality for
every natural person, and also grants rights to defence before the court.19
2.3 Regulations governing the handling of information
The issue of legislation governing the handling of information from the perspective of the notifier can be
divided into two groups: the first one guarantees the notifier's anonymity, i.e. it precludes the imposing of
sanctions upon the notifier, and
de facto guarantees the freedom of handling of information, and the
second group of legislation imposes upon the notifier the obligation of confidentiality.
When handling submissions from civil servants and public administration employees, the procedures
pursuant to the Complaints Law shall be applied. Upon the complainant's request, the public
13 Sec. 7 of Complaints Law
14 Sec. 8, Par. 1 of Complaints Law
15 A complaint must contain the name, surname, permanent or temporary residence address of the complainant. In the event a compliant is filed
by a legal entity, it must contain its title and official address, name and surname of the person authorized to act on its behalf. Should a complaint
fail to contain such information, the public administration body shal adjourn such complaint.
16 See Section 3 of the present report
17 Act No. 257/1998 Coll., on Witness Protection, as amended
18 Within the meaning of Sec. 345 and 346 of the Criminal Code.
False allegation: A person who falsely accuses another person of an offence
with the intention to induce prosecution of the latter, shal be punished by a sentence of imprisonment of one to five years.
False testimony and
perjury A person who as a witness within proceedings before the court or within criminal proceedings or for the purpose of criminal proceedings
abroad before a prosecutor or police officer or before a judge of an international body recognized by the Slovak Republic does not testify
according to the truth with regard to a fact of substantial importance for the decision or conceals such fact, shal be punished by a sentence of
imprisonment of one to five years. A person who within criminal proceedings before the court or for the purpose of criminal proceedings abroad
does not, after taking an oath, testify according to the truth with regard to a fact of substantial importance for the decision or conceals such a fact,
shal be punished by a sentence of imprisonment of two to five years.
19 A natural person shall have the right to protect his/her personality, in particular life and health, reputation, and human dignity, as wel as privacy, good name, and expressions of personal nature. A person who in result of an
unauthorized infringement of the right to protection of personality causes damage, shall be liable for such damage pursuant to the provisions of this Act on Liability for Damage. In this way, the affected person would be able to defend
himself/herself.
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administration body shall be obliged to keep confidential the identity of the complainant.20 Neither the
Labour Code nor other legislation intended for the private sector stipulates such obligation.21
Should the notifier refer to the media, the Act No. 167/2008 Coll., on Periodicals and Agency News
Service, and on the Amendment to Certain Acts (the Press Law) guarantees protection of the notifier.22
The second group includes the provisions of the Civil Service Law and Labour Code, and special
legislation for the protection of a secret.
A civil servant shall be obliged to keep confidential the facts he/she has learned in connection with the
performance of the civil service and which shall not be, in the interest of the service office, disclosed to
other persons.23 The Labour Code contains a provision24 under which an employee is obliged to keep
confidential the facts he/she has learned of during the performance of employment and which shall not
be, in the interest of the employer, disclosed to other persons.
Restrictions applicable to the provision of information result from several pieces of legislation concerning
the protection of a secret. 25
2.4 Other regulations
We have identified a special provision associated with the reporting of illegitimate practices by patients.
Also, the issue of personal data processing and protection against retaliation for damage is closely
connected with whistleblowing. In more detail in the following section:
A/ Rights of patients within health care
Act No. 576/2004 Coll., on Health Care, Services Associated with the Provision of Health Care, and on
Amendment to Certain Acts states in Sec. 11 that no one can misuse these rights and obligations to the
detriment of another person. A person cannot be persecuted or otherwise sanctioned in connection with
the performance of his/her rights in result of the filing of a complaint, action or petition for the
commencement of criminal prosecution in respect to another person, health care employee or provider.
B/ Personal data protection
The processing of data of natural persons within an information system is subject to obligations within the
meaning of Act No. 428/2002 Coll., on Personal Data Protection. In particular, registration and reporting
obligations for private entities during the implementation of whistleblowing schemes thereby arise.
C/ Remedies
The Civil Code defines the general liability for damage. Within the meaning of provisions of Sec. 420, Par.
1 of the Civil Code, everyone is responsible for the damage caused by an infringement of a legal
20 Sec. 8, Par. 1 of Complaints Law
21 There is only the employee's right to submit a complaint to the employer in connection with the non-compliance with the conditions concerning the non-sanctioning for the filing of a notification of illegitimate practices; the
employer shall be obliged to reply to the employee's complaint without undue delay, provide for remedies, waive from behaviour in question, and remove the consequences thereof.
22 The publisher of periodicals and the news agency shall be obliged to keep confidential the source of information obtained for publication in periodicals or news service, and the content of such information, so that it is not possible
to ascertain the identity of the source, if the natural person providing such information has requested so, and so that the rights of third persons are not infringed in result of the disclosure of content of such information; they are
obliged to handle written documents, printed matter, and other data media, in particular video recordings, audio recordings, and audio-video recordings, based on which the identity of the natural person providing the information
might be established, in a way preventing from the disclosure of identity of the source of such information. The confidentiality obligation shall not apply in the case of legal obligation to preclude the committing of a crime.
23 within the meaning of Sec. 60, Par. 1(c) of the Civil Service Law
24 Sec. 81(f) of the Labour Code
25 For example, Act No. 215/2004 Col ., on the Protection of Classified Information, and on Amendment to Certain Acts, Sec. 91 to 93(a) of Act No. 483/2001 Coll., on Banks, and on Amendment to Certain Acts, as amended, Sec.
40 of Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 566/1992 Coll., on the Slovak National Bank, as amended, Sec. 264 of the Criminal Code, Sec. 11 of Act No. 563/2009 Col ., on Tax Administration (the Tax Code), as
amended.
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obligation. Thus, both public and private sector employees could request certain compensation. Further,
the Labour Code refers to the regulation governing the ban on discrimination the institutes of which may
also be used for the protection of a whistleblower within court proceedings. Should adequate satisfaction
be not sufficient, in particular if non-compliance with the principle of equal treatment has resulted in
substantially degraded human dignity, social respect or social amenity of the injured person, such person
may also seek monetary compensation for non-material damage. The amount of the non-material damage
in cash shall be determined by the court taking into account the gravity of the non-material damage
incurred and all the circumstances of the occurrence thereof.26
The remedies in practice consist in particular in the form of a court decision on the invalidity of
employee's dismissal, if it has been served in connection with the reporting of illegitimate practices. In
such case, the employee shall also be entitled to wage compensation for the period without employment.
Neither in the public nor in the private sector exists and is granted a form of special financial reward for
the reporting of illegitimate practices.
D/ Protection against reprisal/retaliation:
Legally defined protection only exists in the Labour Code, stating that no one can be persecuted or
otherwise sanctioned at the workplace in connection with the performance of the employment
relationship in result of the filing of a complaint, action or petition for the commencement of criminal
prosecution in respect to another employee or employer. The Civil Service Law contains no provisions in
such extent, and states, within the section dedicated to discrimination, that the service office shall not in
any way sanction or penalize a civil servant in result of legally seeking his/her rights resulting from the
state/employment relationship.
There is no other form of protection in place. Employees take advantage of assistance provided by the
Slovak National Centre for Human rights and by NGO's.27
The sanctioning of employees does not occur in direct form. Employees are either forced (mobbing,
bossing) to leave the job or their employment is terminated based on organizational reasons. In principle,
the Labour Code does not create major obstacles for an employer, if he/she wants to part with an
employee. The Labour Inspectorate exercising supervision over the legal compliance within the meaning
of Sec. 2 of Act No. 125/2006 Coll., on Labour Inspection, recommends to the notifiers, following
inspections in such organizations, to seek their rights before the court within the meaning of Sec. 13 of
the Labour Code.
In addition to the existing legal regulation, also a non-public draft Act on Whistleblowing has been
prepared. The draft in question has been focused on the civil law protection of the notifier against
reprisals at work, if he/she has made contribution to the detection of a criminal activity. Protection should
be ensured by the prosecutor and Labour Inspectorates through the issuance of consents or
disagreements with the employer's actions directed against an employee – notifier. The above-mentioned
draft has also envisaged the possibility of granting a financial reward. At the present, the draft in question
is with a working group established at the Government Office of the Slovak Republic for the purpose of
revision.28
26 In Sec. 9, Par. 3 of Act No. 365/2004 Coll. the Anti-Discriminatory Act
27 In the letter as of 14 August 2012, the Centre has informed us that it keeps statistics concerning discrimination within employment relationships
in the form of il egitimate sanctions. In 2011, the Centre recorded 12 motions, in 2010 nine motions, and in 2009 17 motions. The Centre keeps
no special statistics concerning the so-cal ed “whistleblowing”.
28 The author of the present report is a member of the working group for the preparation of a new draft of Act on Whistleblowing.
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3. Perceptions and political will
Reporting of facts concerning third persons to official institutions is not perceived positively by the Slovak
society. We can observe that a certain negative role in this case is played by the communist past and
practices employed by secret services. Files containing information about citizens gathered by communist
secret services in the past are being gradually disclosed to the public, including the lists of agents.
As far as the willingness of citizens to report illegitimate practices to the police is concerned, only 5% of
citizens would certainly report that some one has requested a bribe from them or that they know some
one who accepts bribes. This is a relatively small number. On the contrary, almost two thirds (64%) of
respondents would not report bribery, while 36% would probably and 28% certainly not report it.29 As the
reason for not reporting corruption, the respondents state that it makes no sense (31%) or the fear of
revenge (26%).30 On the one hand, the statistics presented prove the distrust of citizens in the reporting to
the police, but also the unwillingness to solve cases through personal activity.
Similarly to the general public, also certain public life representatives holding high posts, be it politicians
or private sector representatives, have not identified themselves with the supporting of the reporting of
illegitimate practices. As an example of such negative attitude we can provide the opinion expressed in a
blog by Igor Vida, the President of the Slovak Bank Association and Chairman of the Board of Directors
of Tatra banka a.s.: „
Thus, denunciation may achieve the same level within the hierarchy of values of the society as justice,
and I do not think this is right.“31
The response from politicians to the negative attitude of the public toward the reporting of illegitimate
practices have taken and takes the form of verbal public declarations manifesting themselves in practical
life by the strengthening of communication channels for the reporting of illegitimate practices. In certain
cases, the development of such channels has been combined with efforts to present oneself in such way in
the role of a corruption fighter. Based on the replies submitted, we can identify the following
communication channels at ministries: written or personal notifications to the supervisor32, black box in
place33, special e-mail box34, electronic form on the web site35, application within the Intranet network, 36
and telephone lines.37
An anti-corruption hot line has been established at the Government Office of the Slovak Republic on
May 18, 2011. During one year of its operation, 878 citizens have used the line38. Out of these phone calls
only 143 showed elements of suspicion of corruption behaviour, while 49 citizens took the advantage of
the option to report their suspicions anonymously. While during the first months the amount of phone
calls approached 200, in the recent period, the number has stabilized at 40 per month on average.
However, on average only two phone calls per month concern corruption.39
The declining trust of the public in the new tools for the reporting of illegitimate practices can be assigned
to the incompleteness of the technical and personnel background for the investigation of submissions.
Within the meaning of replies received, either the materially competent organizational unit, Control
Department, Head of the Service Office or Minister is charged with this agenda. During the past three
years, the ministries (with the exception of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic – 1 case,
29 Corruption perception in Slovakia, Public opinion survey for TI Slovakia, January 2012
30 Corruption perception in Slovakia, Public opinion survey for TI Slovakia, November 2010
31 Igor Vida: Udávanie ako morálna hodnota (Denunciation as a moral value), Hospodárske noviny, 18.8.2010, available at
http://hnonline.sk/nazory/c1-45752730-udavanie-ako-moralna-hodnota
32 Detailed procedure is defined under Civil the Service Law or Complaints Law, as appropriate.
33 The Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, and Family of the Slovak Republic, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic
34 The Ministry of Healthcare of the Slovak Republic
35 The Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic: http://www.minzp.sk/sluzby/spristupnovanie-informacii/ekospion/,
The Ministry of Education, Science, Research, and Sport of the Slovak Republic: http://www.minedu.sk/index.php?rootId=-2,
The Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic: http://www.minv.sk/?pokyny
36 The Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic
37 The Government Office of the Slovak Republic, the Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic
38 No distinction is made between employees or citizens outside an organization.
39 http://www.vlada.gov.sk/za-rok-sa-na-antikorupcnu-linku-dovolalo-takmer-900-obcanov/, downloaded on 14 August 2012
10
Government Office of the Slovak Republic, and Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic40 – both
operate an anti-corruption hot line) have not recorded any filing that could be regarded as whistleblowing
or do not keep records within such structure, as appropriate. Therefore, it can be observed that they do
not create a sufficiently credible institute enabling for the gathering of knowledge and removal of
shortcomings. Another identified shortcoming is the notification of employees of the existence of such
option. If it happens at all, then it is exclusively at the time of the commencement of the employment or
through a web site, as appropriate. No special trainings are organized, and cases of successful
whistleblowing are not published within the organization. Further, no security procedures for the
protection of the notifier and guarantees of non-disclosure of the notifier's identity are in place.
A slightly better situation from the perspective of the structure developed for the investigation of
suspicions can be found within some of the approached companies.41 They use various communication
channels for the purpose of gathering information, e.g. a contact form42, e-mail address,43 black boxes44 or
personal filings. Either the control department, specially established committee, external entity45 or
company director is charged with the investigation of notifications. Also, in the case of business
companies we have not been able to obtain relevant statistical data concerning the number of cases of
whistleblowing due to the absence of records using such structure or non-existence of such cases.46 As far
as the education of employees is concerned, business companies make use of internal rules, but also of
internal corporate computer network, trainings47 or corporate magazine.48
Several whistleblower cases have appeared in the media, e.g. the case of an employee of the Ministry of
Labour, Social Affairs, and Family of the SR49, case of employees of the public undertaking Forests of the
Slovak Republic (LESY SR),50, the case of an officer from the Admissions Office at the Faculty of Law,
Ms. Zuzana Melicherčíková51 or the case of an ex-police officer, Mr. Jozef Žatko.52 In the last from the
above-mentioned cases, a police officer has reported illegitimate practices of his colleagues in connection
with the fuel used in official cars. He was subjected to persecution and disciplinary proceedings, also
resulting in the reduction in his wage. Some of the proceedings have been discontinued, while others are
still before the court. Subsequently, he has left the police service upon his own request.
Decision of the Supreme Court of the SR53 has referred the interpretation of sanctions imposed upon the
notifier to the next competent
authority. The court has observed that if other employees have been
granted a reward to which no legal entitlement existed and the only reason for the non-disbursement of
such reward to the complainant has been the fact that he filed a complaint on his employer (objections to
his statement), such action represents a discriminatory action contrary to the provisions of Sec. 13, Par. 5
of the Labour Code.
Negative appraisal can be assigned to the activities of the Ombudsman who could play an important role
in the protection of notifiers, since according to the reply to our request: „
Since the time of its establishment, the
40 During 2011, the Ministry of Defence of the SR handled approximately 1,000 submissions, including submissions from employees and ex-
employees.
41 By means of a request for information, 45 business companies with a share owned by the State or municipalities have been contacted; the list
of companies is available at http://firmy.transparency.sk/sk/sets/firms2012/rank
42 http://www.slovakrail.sk/index.php?id=kontakt
43 E.g. Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa: xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xx, where clients, and also employees of this insurance company can send their questions
and submissions of various nature. If an e-mail contains a submission or complaint, it is sent to the relevant branch office or directly to the
Internal Control Department for the opinion of persons designated for this purpose (a list of contact persons for e-mail communication and
complaints).
44 In the lobby of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NÚSCH, a.s.), there is a mailbox (Comments & Submissions) intended for
employees but also for the public for the purpose of expressing any complaints and submissions.
45 The law firm providing services to the Military Forests and Estates (Vojenské lesy a majetky SR, š. p.)
46 Within the replies, we have received several specific cases recorded in business companies.
47 E.g. JAVYS, a.s.
48 E.g. The Slovak Post Office (Slovenská pošta, a.s.)
49 http://www.sme.sk/c/6394844/vyhodenu-agentku-beru-naspat.html, downloaded on 14 August 2012
50
http://www.tyzden.sk/casopis/2010/6/statne-lesy-bez-rebelov.html, downloaded on 14 August 2012
51 http://www.sme.sk/c/5666957/biela-vrana-dostala-styri-pracovne-ponuky.html, downloaded on 14 August 2012
52 Nominated by TI Slovakia for the Integrity Award 2012,
http://www.sme.sk/c/6486973/poukazal-na-ksefty-u-policajtov-navrhli-ho-na-cenu.html, downloaded on 14 August 2012
53 The Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic 2 M Cdo 19/2007
11
Office of the Ombudsman has not registered and has no knowledge of any completed or ongoing lawsuits or petitions for court
proceedings concerning whistleblowing.“ 54
As already mentioned above, there is an effort on the part of the political representation to regulate the
issue in question by means of a single piece of legislation, while also the possibility of financial motivation
of notifiers is being considered.55
54 Reply from the Ombudsman as of 3 August 2012
55 http://aktualne.atlas.sk/lipsic-chce-davat-odmeny-oznamovatelom-korupcie/dnes/kauzy/, downloaded on 14 August 2012
12
4. Strengths, weaknesses and recommendations
Overall, the legislative regulation, level of application of the existing tools in practice, and results achieved
in the area of whistleblowing can be rated as low. Also due to this reason, we recommend to regulate the
issue by means of a separate piece of legislation and to open a wider discourse concerning the promotion
of
the socially required behaviour of notifiers. Other weak points and recommendations for their
removal are as follows:
In particular, it is necessary to render the reporting easier by developing anonymous communication
channels. The focus should lie on the gathering of relevant information concerning illegitimate
practices, rather than on the person of the notifier. Such communication system should be unified at least
within the public administration. In this respect, anti-corruption hot lines have proven as relatively
successful with regard to the number of submissions received.
It is necessary to further modify the Complaints Law and to enable for the handling an anonymous
complaint as well, given that it „
contains specific data suggesting the violation of legislation“. Such legal regulation
was applicable in the Slovak Republic in the past.
Investigation of submissions should be regulated by written procedural rules. Large differences in the
approach to the handling and assessment of submissions have been identified in various organizations.
Appropriate personnel and material resources of the control body within the given entity are a must. From
the perspective of organizational structure, the control body should be independent and answerable to the
supreme director or minister, as appropriate, within the organization in question.
In addition to internal mechanisms, an external tool should be in place enabling for the handling of
failures of standard procedures. Such powers could be granted e.g. to an ombudsman who would
subsequently solve submissions directly with the management of the organization in question.
Criminal sanctions, confidentiality obligation, civil actions represent a real threat to the notifier. The legal
order should explicitly solve the conflict between the enforcement of public interest and breach of loyalty
toward the employer. Given the fulfilment of the defined conditions (failure of the existing tools or
justified presumption of such failure), explicit option and protection to address the media which
substantially contribute to the protection of whistleblowers should exist.
Establishing the facts of the crime of Failure to Report about Crime is problematic. Making use of a
whistleblowing scheme and failure to make a complaint of a crime may result in the complainant's
prosecution for the above-mentioned crime. Justifiability of such widely formulated legal regulation is
questionable.
Sanctions against employees take place in the form of institutes permitted under the Labour Code
concerning the termination of employment, e.g. an agreement on termination, dismissal due to
organizational reasons. In such cases, the judicial protection of an ex-employee is very problematic. The
employee is in an unequal situation vis-à-vis the employer, since he/she loses lawsuits due to formal
reasons. Formally, a dismissal is sound, although it is evident that the reasons for its serving have been
different. In this connection, we recommend to consider the possibility of specialization of one court for
the entire territory of Slovakia which would bring faster implementation of international standards in the
application of law.
Regular education and notification should be the norm. Annual reports should also include information
concerning submissions investigated and results thereof.
Further, we recommend the centralization of practical information on how whistleblowers should proceed
at one place. Fragmentation of legal regulation and differences in application represent an information
barrier when making the decision whom to contact and how. The first point of contact providing basic
information for a whistleblower could be a suitable solution.
13
Development of statistics concerning the cases of whistleblowing enabling for the monitoring of filings
and processing thereof. Regular evaluation and publication of results. The Ministry of Justice of the SR
keeps the statistics, therefore, an extension for certain data enabling for the monitoring of whistleblowing
would be sufficient.
Financial motivation for notifiers for the reporting of illegitimate practices. Such motivation could have a
form e.g. of a share in the saved financial means of the employer.
14
5. References and sources
Act No. 400/2009 Coll., on Civil Service, as amended
Act No. 552/2003 Coll., on Work Performed in Public Interest, as amended
Act No. 311/2001 Coll., the Labour Code, as amended
Act No. 9/2010 Coll., on Complaints
The Criminal Code
Act No. 167/2008 Coll., on Periodicals and Agency News Service, and on Amendment to Certain
Acts (the Press Law)
Act No. 215/2004 Coll., on the Protection of Classified Information, and on Amendment to
Certain Acts
Act No. 483/2001 Coll., on Banks, and on Amendment to Certain Acts, as amended
Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 566/1992 Coll., on the National Bank of
Slovakia, as amended
Act No. 563/2009 Coll., on Tax Administration (the Tax Code), as amended
Act No. 428/2002 Coll., on Personal Data Protection, as amended
Act No. 125/2006 Coll., on Labour Inspection, as amended
Act No. 211/2000 Coll., on Free Access to Information, as amended
Reply from the Ministry of Education, Science, Research, and Sport of the SR as of 7 August 2012
Reply from the Ministry of Inferior of the SR as of 3 August 2012 (received on 8 August 2012)
Reply from the Ministry of the Environment of the SR as of 8 August 2012
Reply from the Ministry of Culture of the SR as of 8 August 2012
Reply from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the SR as of 9 August 2012
Reply from the Ministry of Economy of the SR as of 10 August 2012
Reply from the Ministry of Health Care of the SR as of 10 August 2012
Reply from the Ministry of Finance of the SR as of 13 August 2012
Reply from the Ministry of Defence of the SR as of 9 August 2012 (received on 13 August 2012)
Reply from the Ministry of Justice of the SR as of 14 August 2012
Reply No. 2 from the Ministry of Justice of the SR as of 14 August 2012
Reply from the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, and Family of the SR as of 13 August 2012
(received on 14 August 2012)
Reply from the Ombudsman as of 3 August 2012
Reply from the Slovak National Centre for Human Rights as of 7 August 2012
Reply from the Government Office of the Slovak Republic as of 10 August 2012
Supplement to the reply from the Slovak National Centre for Human Rights as of 14 August 2012
Reply from the Hospital in Poprad as of 3 August 2012 on the referral of the request
Reply from the Dopravný podnik mesta Žilina, s.r.o. as of 6 August 2012 (received on 7 August
2012)
Reply from Nitrianska investičná, s.r.o. as of 7 August 2012
Reply from Mestský parkovací systém, spol. s.r.o. as of 6 August 2012 (received on 7 August 2012)
on the non-disclosure of information
Reply from Vojenské lesy a majetky SR, š. p. as of 6 August 2012 (received on 8 August 2012)
Reply from Lesy SR, š. p. as of 6 August 2012 (received on 9 August 2012)
Reply from Slovenský vodohospodársky podnik, š. p. as of 9 August 2012 (received on 10 August
2012) on the extension of deadline
Reply from Letisko M. R. Štefánika – Airport Bratislava, a. s. as of 8 August 2012 (received on 10
August 2012)
Reply from Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko, a.s. as of 10 August 2012
Reply from Slovenská konsolidačná, a.s. as of 10 August 2012
15
Reply from Železnice Slovenskej republiky as of 10 August 2012
Reply from Správa majetku mesta Košice as of 10 August 2012
Reply from Bytový podnik mesta Košice, s.r.o. as of 8 August 2012 (received on 10 August 2012)
Reply from Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovna as of 9 August 2012 (received on 10 August 2012)
Reply from Národný ústav srdcových a cievnych chorôb, a.s. as of 13 August 2012
Reply from Letecká vojenská nemocnica, a.s. as of 13 August 2012
Reply from TIPOS, a.s., the national lottery company, as of 13 August 2012
Reply from Jadrová a vyraďovacia spoločnosť, a.s. as of 13 August 2012
Reply from BPM, s.r.o. as of 7 August 2012 (received on 13 August 2012)
Decision of the Municipal Authority of Bratislava - the Capital of the Slovak Republic on
the disclosure of information as of 9 August 2012, and reply from the company Mestský parkovací
systém, s.r.o. as of 10 August 2012 (received on 13 August 2012)
Reply from Slovenská elektrizačná prenosová sústava, a.s. as of 9 August 2012 (received on 13
August 2012)
Reply from Vodohospodárska výstavba, š. p. as of 9 August 2012 (received on 13 August 2012)
Reply from Službyt Nitra, s.r.o. as of 13 August 2012
Reply from Eximbanka SR as of 13 August 2012
Reply from Národná diaľničná spoločnosť, a.s. as of 8 August 2012 (received on 13 August 2012)
on the extension of deadline
Reply from Slovenská záručná a rozvojová banka, a.s. as of 13 August 2012
Reply from Cargo Slovakia, a.s. as of 14 August 2012
Reply from Východoslovenský onkologický ústav, a.s. as of 14 August 2012
Reply from Slovenská pošta, a.s. as of 14 August 2012
Reply from Stredoslovenský ústav srdcových a cievnych chorôb, a.s. as of 13 August 2012 (received
on 14 August 2012)
Reply from Dopravný podnik mesta Košice as of 9 August 2012 (delivered on 15 August 2012)
Corruption perception in Slovakia, Public opinion survey for TI Slovakia, January 2012
Slovak Media Monitoring, The NEWTON MEDIA agency, August 2012
On-line collection catalogue of the library at the Comenius University in Bratislava, On-line
collection catalogue of the library at BVŠP Bratislava, On-line collection catalogue of the University
Library, On-line collection catalogue of the library at the University in Trnava, On-line collection
catalogue of the library at the Economic University, On-line collection catalogue of the Slovak
National Library in Martin, On-line collection catalogue of the library at the University of P. J.
Šafárika, and On-line collection catalogue of the library at the Matej Bell University
16
6. Chart(s)
Complete title of law or regulation Act No. 400/2009 Coll., on Civil Service, as amended
Yes
No
Partial
Notes
Broad definition of
X
whistleblowing
Broad definition of
X
whistleblower
Broad definition of
X
retribution protection
Internal reporting
X
mechanism
External reporting
X
mechanism
Whistleblower
X
participation
Rewards
X
system
Protection of
X
confidentiality
Anonymous reports
X
accepted
No sanctions for
X
misguided reporting
Whistleblower
X
complaints authority
Genuine day
X
in court
Full range of
X
remedies
Penalties for
X
retaliation
Involvement of
X
multiple actors
17
Complete title of law or regulation Act No. 311/2001 Coll., the Labour Code, as amended
Yes
No
Partial
Notes
Broad definition of
X
whistleblowing
Broad definition of
X
whistleblower
Broad definition of
X
retribution protection
Internal reporting
X
not required by legislation
mechanism
External reporting
X
There are some cases where external consultants are involved in
mechanism
business companies.
Whistleblower
X
participation
Rewards
X
system
Protection of
X
confidentiality
Anonymous reports
X
accepted
No sanctions for
X
misguided reporting
Whistleblower
X
complaints authority
Genuine day
X
in court
Full range of
X
remedies
Penalties for
X
retaliation
Involvement of
X
multiple actors
18