The Importance of Whistleblowers in the Field of Environmental Crime Prevention
Keywords:
whistlebowers, environmental protection, environmental crime, prevention.
Abstract
Whistleblowing is an important activity not only for combating corruption, but also other irregularities and illegal actions. Protection of the enviornment is certainly a matter of public interest, and the prevention of crimes that violate its integrity is useful above all from the aspect of protecting peopleˋs lives and health. In a large number of cases, environmental crime is very difficult to detect and prove. The role of the whistleblower is of particular importance for the timely detection of environmental offenses and the reduction of occurence or mitigation of harmful consequences. In this paper, we start from the assumption that whistleblowers in the field of environmental protection are faced with a large number of challenges and arenˋt adequately protected. They are mostly either fired by their employer or forced due to various pressures to quit without the possibility of new employment. Considering the importance of their role in the field of environmental protection, the possibility of improving their postition should be reconsidered. In order to make recommendations for the improvement of both national regulations and practices related to the protection of whistleblowers, in this work we primarily use the method of content analysis, as well as the dogmatic-legal method.
References
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Batchelor, M. Exclusive interview with ESG expert and DWS whistleblower Desiree Fixler, Ceo Magazine, 24. 10. 2023, https://www.theceomagazine.com/business/management-leadership/desiree-fixler/.
Becker, E. (2015) Calling Goul: deficiencies in approaches to envirronmental whistleblowers and suggested reforms, Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate and Environment, Vol. 6, Issue 1, 65-97.
Bodrožić, I. (2014) Opravdanost krivičnopravne zaštite životne sredine, Revija za kriminologiju i krivično pravo, Vol. 52, No. 1, 71-92.
Commission Staff Working Document Evaluation of the Directive 2008/99/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on the protection of the environment through criminal law (Environmental Crime Directive), SWD/2020/0259 final, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52020SC0259.
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Dussuyer, I., Armstrong, A. & Smith, R. (2015) Research into Whistleblowing, Protection Against Victimisation, Journal of Law amd Governance, 10(3), 34-42.
Đurić, V. & Vranješ. N. (2020) Pravni okvir uloge lokalne samouprave u ostvarivanju javnog interesa – primeri Republike Srbije i Republike Srpske, Godišnjak Fakulteta pravnih nauka, 10, 48-63.
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Edgerly, M. Whistleblower: State didnˋt get enough money in 3M deal on water pollution, 23.2.2018, https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/02/23/whistleblower-fardin-oliaei-not-happy-over-state-deal-with-3m-on-water-pollution.
Environmental Whistleblowing Toolkit, A Practical Toolkit to help you understand your rights when raising environmental concerns in the workplace, 2023, https://protect-advice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Environmental-Whistleblowing-Toolkit-FINAL-October-2023.pdf.
EUROPOL, EU Socta 2021 – Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment, A Corruptinginfluence: The Infiltration and Undermining of Europe’s Economy and Society by Organised Crime,https://www.europol.europa.eu/cms/sites/default/files/documents/socta2021_1.pdf.
Groen, M. Dr. Fardin Oliaei, ‘Whistle Blower’ Has Same Warning, 20 Years Later, The Alley, 1.7.2023, https://alleynews.org/2023/07/dr-fardin-oliaei-whistle-blower-has-same-warning-20-years-later/.
INTERPOL, Environmental Crime and its Convergence with other Serious Crimes, 30. October 2015, Lyon: INTERPOL Environmental Crime and its Convergence with other Serious Crimes.
Kostić, J. (2022) Zaštita uzbunjivača: između javnog i privatnog interesa, Strani pravni život, Vol. LXVI, No. 2, 205-220, DOI: 10.56461/SPZ_22202KJ, 205-220.
Martin B. (2003) lllusions of whistleblower protection, https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1016&context=artspapers.
Martić, M. (2016) Uporedno-pravni apsekti pojma uzbunjivača, Strani pravni život, 60(1), 201-214.
McGachey, K. Desiree Fixler: I have no regrets about blowing thewhistle on DWS, Financial News, 24. 8. 2023, https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/desiree-fixler-i-have-no-regrets-about-blowing-the-whistle-on-dws-20230824.
Republic Public Prosecutorˋs Office, Report on the work of public prosecutorˋs offices to combat crime and protect constitutionality and legality in 2022, http://www.rjt.gov.rs/docs/Izvestaj_Republika_Srbija_Republicko_javno_tuzila%C5%A1tvo_mart2023.pdf.
Sebastião Vieira de Freitas Netto et al. (2020) Concepts and forms of greenwashing a systematic review, Environmental Sciences Europe, 32, 1-12, DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-020-0300-3.
Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of the
environment through criminal law and replacing Directive 2008/99/EC, Brussels, 15.12.2021 COM(2021) 851 final
2021/0422 (COD), https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52021PC0851.
Radulović, U. (2023) The role of Whistleblowing as a mechanism to prevent state capture: A case from the global south, NBP, Nauka, bezbednost, policija, vol. 28, No. 3, 62-74, DOI: 10.5937/nabepo28-47438.
The Directive (EU) 2016/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) against their unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure L 157/1, https://wipolex.wipo.int/en/text/423032.
The 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, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eudr/2019/1937.
The Directive (EU) 2024/1203 of the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law and replacing Directives 2008/99/EC and 2009/123/EC, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ%3AL_202401203.
The Focus: Who is Rick Parks, the Whistleblower from Three Mile Island, May 11th 2022, In: The News, Meltdown, Nuclear Regulation, https://whistleblower.org/in-the-news/the-focus-who-is-rick-parks-the-whistleblower-from-three-mile-island/.
The Whislteblower Protection Act (Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 128/2014).
Unger, H. S. Rick Parks - (Barus Awardee 1986). Online Ethics Center, DOI:. https://onlineethics.org/cases/award-winners/rick-parks-barus-awardee-1986.
Višekruna, A. (2016) Modeli podsticanja aktivnosti uzbunjivača na finansijskom tržištu, Pravo i privreda, 4-6, 368-385.
