About the Institute

In accordance with Article 10 of the Whistleblowers Protection Act (hereinafter: the ZZPri), the whistleblower protection officer provides information on legal options (remedies) to the reporting person who is subject to retaliation and assist him/her in administrative and judicial proceedings due to retaliation, as follows:

• provide the reporting person with comprehensive information on the protection and support measures and other legal options available considering the type of specific retaliation;
• issue the reporting person with a certificate of the filed report or provide the reporting person with the supporting documents from the reporting procedure that the reporting person needs for further retaliation proceedings.

If the reporting person believes that they need a certificate of eligibility for protection under the ZZPri in order to invoke the protection measures, the whistleblower protection officer shall refer the reporting person to the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption, which the whistleblower protection officer may also consult on the specific options for the protection of the reporting person. The whistleblower protection officer my also refer the reporting person to NGOs that provide counselling, legal assistance and representation in retaliation proceedings or psychological support to the reporting person.

The reporting person is eligible for protection under the ZZPri if:

• he/she is an employee of the entity at which they are reporting the breach, or is a volunteer, trainee, apprentice, contractor, student, participates in the call for tender procedures as a candidate at the entity, holds office, is a shareholder, a member of the supervisory or management body, or otherwise participates in the activities of a legal or natural person carried out by self-employed persons under contract, or works under the supervision and guidance of external contractors, subcontractors or suppliers, irrespective of the remuneration or whether the relationship has already ended or is being established through a recruitment procedure or negotiation prior to the signing of the contract (point 7 of Article 4 of the ZZPri);
• he/she reported a breach or suspected an actual or potential breach of regulations that has occurred or is likely to occur at the entity under the first indent;
• the report is not manifestly unfounded;
• the reported breach is still ongoing or ceased less than two years ago (third paragraph of Article 5 of the ZZPri);
• he/she is subject to retaliation from the entity referred to in the first indent.