Law on Whistleblowers Protection (AL0042)

Currently, the trust of the public towards the public administration is low, while the risk that an informant will have when denouncing cases of corruption is very high. In Albania, there is no clear framework which ensures cooperation with informants and protects whistleblowers. This law, together with the awareness campaign that will follow, will ensure that informants that will entrust the enforcement agencies with information regarding corruption in sectors where they work or are involved, will be protected. This law will not only enhance transparency and reporting of cases of corruption, but also the credibility of the administration. A draft law currently exists and is under consultation. The law is in line with the National Strategy on the Fight Against Corruption 2014-2017 which provides for both preventative and awareness-raising objectives. Furthermore, the adoption of the law is also part of the Roadmap Priority Nr. 3 commitment for the fight against corruption in the context of Albania’s integration in the EU. There will be abroad consultation with government agencies and donors, while there are also planned consultation meetings for the civil society and business sector. Following these consultations, the draft will be edited to reflect comments, and after further internal and external consultations, the law is expected to be finalized in fall and adopted before the end of the year.

For Commitment details, see Albania Mid-Term Report 2014-2016.

Commitment 4.1. Law on Whistleblower Protection

Cluster 1: Denouncing Corruption – 1.1 and 4.1

Editorial Note: This cluster (C.1) combines two individual commitments pertaining to legislation and bylaws in the fight against corruption.

Commitment 1.1. Standardization of Corruption Complaints

Commitment 1.1. Text: The Minister of State for Local Issues, in the role of the National Coordinator for Anti-Corruption, will undertake the standardization of the process related to complaints addressing corruption. Currently, although many ministries have been given green lines or forms to denounce corruption, there is no standardized procedure, which ensures transparency in the review of the complaint and concrete deadlines to ensure a good service. Some of the indicators and milestones set for this commitment are the drafting of relevant guidelines for addressing corruption complaints, Integrating them in each ministry transparency plan rules, publish them online. Given the specifics and difficulty of the fight and investigation of corruption, this system, through the standardization of processes, can increase confidence in the administration and increase the number of informants. Ministries will have to officially publish relevant standards and inform the public on the progress of specific issues, thus raising the level of accountability of the public administration. This commitment will help improve the transparency regarding the complaint procedures in fact until now there is no clear information on how a citizen can actually address a complaint in corruption cases. The publication of this “standards” will not only create uniformity in the way the complaint will be address but will also serve in raising the efficiency of the public administration while handling corruption complaints.

Responsible institution: Minister of State for Local Issues (MSLI)

Supporting institution(s): Ministries, Parliament

Start date: 2014 End date: 2016

Commitment 4.1. Law on Whistleblower Protection

Commitment 4.1. Text: Currently, the trust of the public towards the public administration is low, while the risk that an informant will have when denouncing cases of corruption is very high. In Albania, there is no clear framework which ensures cooperation with informants and protects whistleblowers. This law, together with the awareness campaign that will follow, will ensure that informants that will entrust the enforcement agencies with information regarding corruption in sectors where they work or are involved, will be protected. This law will not only enhance transparency and reporting of cases of corruption, but also the credibility of the administration. A draft law currently exists and is under consultation. The law is in line with the National Strategy on the Fight Against Corruption 2014-2017 which provides for both preventative and awareness-raising objectives. Furthermore, the adoption of the law is also part of the Roadmap Priority Nr. 3 commitment for the fight against corruption in the context of Albania’sintegration in the EU. There will be a broad consultation with government agencies and donors, while there are also planned consultation meetings for the civil society and business sector. Following these consultations, the draft will be edited to reflect comments, and after further internal and external consultations, the law is expected to be finalized in fall and adopted before the end of the year.

Responsible institution: Minister of State for Local Issues (MSLI)

Supporting institution(s): Ministries, Parliament

Start date: 2014 End date: 2016

Commitments Aim:

Various civil society organizations have concerns about the standardization of the corruption complaints procedure and the Whistleblower Protection Law. Both commitments are currently part of Albania’s Anti-Corruption Strategy 2015–2020 and its 2015–2017 action plan.

Commitment 1.1 aims to standardize the corruption complaints procedure through the creation and operation of an online portal for reporting corruption cases. The commitment also includes the disclosure of transparency rules within each ministry.

Commitment 4.1 aims to finalize and adopt the draft law on whistleblower protection, which will help combat corruption in the public sector.

Status

Commitment 1.1

Midterm: Substantial

On 5 March 2015, the prime minister issued an order adopting the regulation on the procedures for registering, handling, and storing corruption complaints. These regulations and procedures have been integrated into the anti-corruption portal, http://www.stopkorrupsionit.al. The portal was launched in February 2015 and allows citizens to submit corruption complaints online and to upload evidence, such as photos, videos, or documents. Citizens may choose to disclose their identities or submit claims anonymously.

By the midterm assessment, many ministries had not published their transparency programs, registers of requests, and responses. The government’s self-assessment says this commitment is implemented. However, it does not disclose the number of central institutions that have integrated transparency rules and standards by the end of the reporting period. ^{IRM progress report, http://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2001/01/Albania_Second%20IRM%20Report_for%20public%20comment.pdf.}

End of term: Complete

As of 30 June 2016, the anti-corruption portal has had approximately 9,900 visits during 2016, with 14,410 reports submitted since its launch. Out of 14,410 cases, 6,330 were solved, 6,260 were rejected, and 1,037 were under review. The average review process per complaint takes 16 days. ^{Anti-corruption portal, http://www.stopkorrupsionit.al.}

At the end of the implementation period, all governmental ministries have published transparency programs ^{IRM monitoring of government ministries’ websites.} containing all categories of publicly available information. In addition to this program, all ministries have published information on the coordinators for the right to information and the register of requests for information.

Commitment 4.1

Midterm: Limited

The deadline for the adoption of the law on whistleblow protection was postponed from the end of 2014 to mid-2015. According to the 2015–17 action plan of the Inter-sectoral Strategy against Corruption 2015–20, the implementation of other measures related to this law (i.e., adoption of bylaws and establishing and strengthening state structures for implementation) was expected to conclude by the end of 2016. ^{IRM progress report, http://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2001/01/Albania_Second%20IRM%20Report_for%20public%20comment.pdf.}

End of term: Complete

In June 2016, the Parliament adopted the Whistleblower Protection Law (Official Gazette No.115, 23 June 2016). The law entered into force on 8 July 2016. At the time of writing the end-of-term report, the Government was drafting the bylaws and other acts. With the support of the Netherlands Embassy, Partners Albania, a civil society organization based in Tirana, is carrying out a national awareness campaign and a series of roundtables on the implementation of the law.

Did it open government?

Commitment 1.1

Public accountability: Marginal

Civil society representatives have raised concerns about the government’s response to citizens’ complaints made via the portal. In 2015 CSOs suggested that there was an absence of information related to “what happened after the report was made and what concrete measures followed.” The lack of follow-up information could cause the public to lose interest and even become skeptical of these tools. ^{IRM progress report, http://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2001/01/Albania_Second%20IRM%20Report_for%20public%20comment.pdf.} In order to improve transparency and access to information, the portal has added a “statistics section” (http://stat.stopkorrupsionit.al/). The number of submitted reports sharply decreased in 2016. The numbers dropped from 7,000 in the first half of 2015 (six months) to fewer than 3,000 between July 2015 and September 2016 (almost 15 months). As of September 2016, the portal did not provide any information on the outcome of solved reports.

Commitment 4.1

Public accountability: Marginal

This commitment has a significant potential impact for enabling public-sector employees to report corruption. ^{Civil society stakeholders have confirmed this expectation during the consultations on the draft law (2015) and, currently, during various awareness-raising activities on the implementation of the Whistleblower Protection Law.} However, because the law is new, it is too soon to see any tangible results affecting public accountability. Nevertheless, the government has shown signs of ensuring the law’s implementation. For instance, in July 2016 the MSLI, the High Inspectorate of Declaration and Audit of Assets and Conflict of Interests (HIDAACI), and Partners Albania signed a memorandum of understanding, which is the first step in an intensive awareness-raising campaign for public officials.

CSOs interviewed for this report view the adoption of the law positively but note that its success and tangible impact will largely depend on the judicial reform which Albania is currently implementing.

Carried forward?

The commitment on the anti-corruption portal has not been carried forward in the new 2016–2018 action plan. The new action plan does include the commitment on the Whistleblower Protection Law, focusing on reinforcing the law’s implementation, regarding capacity building and subsequent amendments and bylaws.