Whistleblowing

Contributing Editors

In this new age of accountability, organisations around the globe are having to navigate a patchwork of new laws designed to protect those who expose corporate misconduct. IEL’s Guide to Whistleblowing examines what constitutes a protective disclosure, the scope of regulations across 24 countries, and the steps businesses must take to ensure compliance with them.

Learn more about the response taken in specific countries or build your own report to compare approaches taken around the world.

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22. What procedure must the whistleblower follow to receive protection?

22. What procedure must the whistleblower follow to receive protection?

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Croatia

Croatia

  • at Babic & Partners
  • at Babic & Partners

To receive protection as granted under the WBP Act, the whistleblower must either:

  • submit an internal whistleblowing report as per the whistleblowing procedure established by  company and the WBP Act;
  • submit an external whistleblowing report to the competent authority for external reporting (which in Croatia is the Croatian Ombudsman) as per the regulations adopted by that authority and the WBP Act; or
  • publicly disclose information on irregularities as per the WBP Act (please see question 18).
Last updated on 29/07/2022

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Germany

  • at Oppenhoff
  • at Oppenhoff

To obtain protection, the whistleblower generally has to contact the responsible internal or external reporting offices. Disclosure of information about violations directly to the public is subject to strict conditions. This is only permissible, for example, if there is a risk of irreversible damage or in cases where the external reporting agency has not taken the required measures (section 32 (1) HinSchG).

The whistleblower providing the information must further act in good faith (ie, must have reasonable cause to believe, at the time of the report or disclosure that the information disclosed is true, and the information relates to violations that fall within the material scope of the Whistleblower Protection Act (section 33 (1) No. 2 and 3 HinSchG).

Last updated on 28/09/2023