TOWARDS CONVERGENCE IN WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION IN EUROPEAN LAW
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18042/cepc/rdce.79.07Abstract
The last few years have witnessed the worldwide expansion of legal protection for whistleblowers, in line with the emergence of cases of global scope. This has also occurred in Europe. In the Council of Europe system, the European Court of Human Rights has derived it from the freedom of expression recognised in the European Convention on Human Rights. Recently, in 2023, in the Helt Grand Chamber Judgment, it has evolved its general doctrine towards greater protection for whistleblowers, in line with the most guarantee-oriented trends and with the principles set out in the Recommendation CM/Rec(2014)7 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the protection of whistleblowers of 30 April 2014. In parallel, the European Union approved Directive (EU) 2019/1937, of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 october 2019, on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law. This paper analyses these protection systems and concludes with a reflection on their significant level of harmonisation and the generalist nature of the Council of Europe system compared to the fragmentation of the European Union system, derived from their different level of competences.
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