The protection of sources and whistle-blowers 2015, para. 37
Paragraph- Paragraph text
- Where other mechanisms to disclose information about wrongdoing are unavailable or ineffective, the whistle-blower may disclose information of alleged wrongdoing to external entities, either the media or others in civil society, or by self-publishing. The public-disclosure whistle-blower in such circumstances should be protected. The European Court of Human Rights weighs six factors in assessing the legitimacy of restrictions imposed on those who make public disclosure. Those factors are whether the whistle-blower had available any "competent authority" to which he or she could make disclosure, or "any other effective means of remedying the wrongdoing"; the public interest in the information, which "can sometimes be so strong as to override even a legally imposed duty of confidence"; the information's authenticity, requiring a person to "carefully verify, to the extent permitted by the circumstances, that it is accurate and reliable"; the damage that the public institution may suffer by public disclosure, including whether it outweighs the public's interest in knowing the information; the motive and good faith of the whistle-blower, which could implicate the "level of protection" available; and an evaluation of the proportionality of the penalty imposed upon the whistle-blower.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Paragraph type
- Other
- Reference
- SR Freedom of Opinion, Report to the UNGA (2015), A/70/361, para. 37.
- Paragraph number
- 37
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Date added
65 relationships, 65 entities