Internal reporting of whistleblower signals
INTERNAL CHANNEL FOR SUBMITTING REPORTS UNDER THE ACT ON THE PROTECTION OF PERSONS WHO REPORT OR PUBLICLY DISCLOSE INFORMATION ON BREACHES
Information on the conditions and procedure for receiving, registering and handling reports at the Institute for the State and the Law at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences under the Act on the Protection of Persons Who Report or Publicly Disclose Information on Breaches.
The Act on the Protection of Persons Who Report or Publicly Disclose Information on Breaches (the Whistleblower Protection Act, “the Act”) aims to protect persons who report or publicly disclose information on breaches of Bulgarian law or of acts of the European Union (EU) that threaten or harm the public interest, which has come to their knowledge in the course of or in connection with their work or official duties, or in another work-related context.
Pursuant to Art. 13(1) of the Act, as an obliged entity under Art. 12(1)(1) of the Act, the Institute for the State and the Law at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (ISL-BAS) has set up a channel for the internal submission of reports under the Act. In accordance with Art. 14(1) of the Act, an employee responsible for handling reports under the Act has been designated by order of the Director of ISL-BAS.
Reports under the Act are submitted to the employee responsible for handling them, in writing or orally, in any of the following ways:
- by e-mail: signali.idp@gmail.com;
- through the mailboxes in the building of ISL-BAS;
- by telephone: +359 878 891 135;
- in room No. 8 of ISL-BAS, 4 Serdika Street, 3rd floor, Sofia.
When submitting a written report, the reporting person uses the report form under the Act.
Once the form is completed, the reporting person signs it by hand or with a qualified electronic signature.
Each report must contain at least the following information:
- the full name, address and telephone number of the reporting person, and an e-mail address, if any;
- the names of the person against whom the report is made and their place of work, if the report concerns specific persons and they are known;
- specific information about a breach or a real risk of one being committed, the place and period of the breach, if committed, a description of the act or the circumstances and any other facts known to the reporting person;
- the date of the report;
Apart from by telephone, an oral report may also be made in a personal meeting with the employee designated to handle reports under the Act, who will document it on the spot by completing the Form for registering a report of information on breaches under the Act.
Any kind of source of information supporting the statements in the report and/or references to documents may be attached to it, including details of persons who could confirm the reported information or provide further information.
Each report is checked for admissibility and regularity, registered with a unique identification number and then checked for credibility by the employee designated by the Director of ISL-BAS.
IMPORTANT! If the report does not meet the requirements of the law, the reporting person is sent a notice to remedy the irregularities within 7 days of receipt of the report. If the irregularities are not remedied within that period, the report and its attachments are returned to the reporting person.
Reports that fall outside the scope of the Act and whose content manifestly gives no grounds to consider them credible are not examined. Reports containing manifestly false or misleading statements of fact are returned with an instruction to correct them, if possible, and with information on the reporting person's liability for false accusation. Anonymous reports are not examined either.
Within no more than 3 months of acknowledging receipt of the report, the employee responsible for handling reports under the Act provides the reporting person with feedback on the results of the check and the action taken.
Protection under the Act is granted to the reporting person from the moment the report is submitted, provided the conditions of Art. 6 of the Act are met. Persons entitled to submit reports under the Act, and persons connected with them, are protected against unjustified disclosure of their identity, except in the cases permitted by the Act. Retaliation against protected persons is prohibited, including: temporary suspension from work; imposing financial or disciplinary liability; physical or verbal coercion; threats; hostility; harm to their dignity; discrimination, etc.
The person named in the report as the person concerned is entitled to compensation for all pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage where it is established that the reporting person knowingly submitted a report containing false information.