The Office of the Chancellor of Justice has set up the centralised external reporting channel for whistleblower protection on 1 January 2023. The Whistleblower Act safeguards people who report misconduct. In this case, “whistleblower” refers to a person who, in the course of their work, discovers a breach of European Union or national law concerning public procurement, financial services, or food safety, for example, and reports the breach via a reporting channel.
Internal reporting channels preferred
Primarily, breaches should be reported through the organisation’s internal reporting channel. As a rule, if an organisation employs at least 50 people, it must establish an internal reporting channel for receiving and processing reports. In some cases, reports may be made through the centralised external reporting channel of the Office of the Chancellor of Justice. For example, the centralised external reporting channel may be used if the whistleblower cannot use the internal reporting channel or they have a legitimate reason to believe that the internal reporting channel is insufficient for effectively investigating the breach.
Forwarded reports are investigated by the competent authority
The Office of the Chancellor of Justice does not investigate reports and instead forwards them to the competent authority. The competent authority investigates the report and takes the measures it deems necessary. The Office of the Chancellor of Justice does not forward reports that are clearly excluded from the scope of the Whistleblower Act. These reports are also not processed as complaints by the Office of the Chancellor of Justice.
Background and additional information
The purpose of whistleblower protection is to allow people to safely report breaches without their identity being compromised. Retaliation against whistleblowers is prohibited by law. The Whistleblower Act is enacted to implement the European Union’s whistleblower directive.
Read more about the centralised external reporting channel of the Office of the Chancellor of Justice.
Additional information:
Pekka Liesivuori, Senior Legal Adviser to the Chancellor of Justice, tel. +358 29 516 2538, [email protected]
