Authors

Anastasiia Tarasova¹;  ¹ High Anti-Corruption Court, Ukraine

Discussion

The activity of whistleblowers is an important element in the fight against corruption, as it not only helps to reveal criminal offenses, but also increases the intolerance of corruption in society and motivates others to actively fight against corruption. In general, the phenomenon of informants about a committed or planned crime has existed since ancient times, but it was first legalized in the USA in the 19th century, and in the 70s of the 20th century, informants received the name "whistleblowers" there. Now more than 30 countries, including Ukraine, have developed either special laws for the protection of whistleblowers, or included guarantees for the protection of whistleblowers in labor or anti-corruption legislation, and the ethical code.

In Ukraine, the concept of whistleblower (“vykryvach” or exposer in English) appeared during the process of bringing the legislation into line with international treaties and standards. On January 1, 2020, the Law "On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Prevention of Corruption" regarding whistleblowers" entered into force. It identified the whistleblower as a natural person who, with the conviction that the information is reliable, reported possible facts of corruption or corruption-related offenses.

Due to the short period of validity of this law this phenomenon has not yet been sufficiently studied, but data from several reliable sources allow us to outline some current problems, challenges and trends. In general, there is a positive trend in the number of whistleblowers and a more benevolent attitude towards them on the part of society. This is evidenced by statistical data and sociological polls. Thus, the press service of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention reported that as of October 2024, 72 people currently have whistleblower status, and more than 4,100 whistleblower reports have been received at the Unified whistleblower reporting portal. According to the results of a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology  at the request of the Program for the Promotion of Public Activity "Join!" in cooperation with the USAID, the level of public approval of people who report corruption to authorized bodies increased from 71% in 2021 to 81% in 2023.

At the same time there are serious problems that inhibit the effective activity of whistleblowers in Ukraine. Among them one can mention the prejudice against whistleblowers, inherited from the former USSR, where mass denunciations by the population took place, especially during the period of Stalinist repressions. It also affects the passivity of the population, who are afraid to be whistleblowers because they fear persecutions in case of an unfavorable results of the criminal investigation. There is also strong opposition from corrupt authorities. This presentation will be devoted to a detailed analysis of these issues.