Abstract
Law may to some extent protect the whistleblower without a specific treatment of whistleblowing – even if that sounds as a paradox – and that is frequently the case in countries where the disciplinary dismissal requires a faulty breach of the employment contract by the employee, particularly if the employee is entitled to reinstatement if the dismissal is unlawful.
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Notes
- 1.
This scarcity of judicial cases is by no means restricted to Portugal. The same seems to be true, for instance, in Italy. See MARIA TERESA CARINCI, Whistleblowing in Italy: rights and protections for the employers, WPCSDLE “Massimo D’Antona”. INT, n.° 106/2014 (http://csdle.lex.unict.it), p. 2. This writer explains the rarity of judicial cases concerning whistleblowing stating that the Italian citizen in average is not that much concerned with the common good.
- 2.
Acórdão Tribunal da Relação de Coimbra, 27/09/2012, 471/11.0T4 AGD.C1 (LUIS MIGUEL FERREIRA DE AZEVEDEO MENDES), available (in Portuguese) in www.dgsi.pt.
- 3.
Acórdão Tribunal da Relação do Porto, 08/10/2012 (PAULA LEAL DE CARVALHO) available (in Portuguese) in www.dgsi.pt.
- 4.
Neither, perhaps, the main reason. See TERRY MOREHEAD DWORKIN, SOX and Whistleblowing, Michigan Law Review 2007, vol. 105, pp. 1757 et seq, pp. 1763–1764.
- 5.
GÜNTHER WIESE, Zur innerbetrieblichen und ausserbetrieblichen Kommunikation von Arbeitnehmern, Festschrift für Hansjörg Otto zum 70. Geburtstag, De Gruyter Recht, Berlin, 2008, pp. 621et seq, p. 634: “keine Veranlassung besteht, diesen Begriff zu übernehmen”.
- 6.
See, for instance, LUCIEN FLAMENT/PHILIPPE THOMAS, Le Whistleblowing: à propos de la licéité des systèmes d’alerte éthique, JCP, La Semaine Juridique, Édition Sociale 2005, n,° 17, 1227, pp. 15 et seq, p. 17 and PATRICE ADAM, Le retour des sycophantes? (à propos du whistleblowing), Le Droit Ouvrier 2006, pp. 281 et seq.
- 7.
The legal discussion itself is at times somewhat emotive or even irrational, a danger pointed out by a number of writers. See ANDREI KIRÁLY, Whistleblower in Deutschland und Grossbritannien, RdA 2012, pp. 236 et seq, at p. 236 and RAMON RAGUÉS I VALLÈS, Whistleblowing, Una aproximación desde el Derecho Penal, Marcial Pons, Madrid, 2013, p. 23.
- 8.
The same view was defended in Italy by ROBERTO LATTANZI, Prime Riflessioni sul c. d. Whistleblowing. Un Modello da Replicare “ad Occhi Chiusi”?, RIDL 2010, I, pp. 335, p. 344.
- 9.
As a matter of fact such protection should go beyond labour law, protecting the whistleblower, for instance, against civil liability, as correctly pointed out by, SEVERIN GLASER/PETER KOMENDA, Whistleblowing in Österreich – Gefahren, Probleme, und Lösungsmöglichkeiten, JRP (Journal fur Rechtspolitik), 2012, pp. 207 et seq, p. 221.
- 10.
As correctly pointed out by GREGOR THÜSING/GERRIT FORST, Whistleblowing around the World, A Comparative Analysis of Whistleblowing in 25 Countries, p. 13.
- 11.
MIKE SCHULZ, Compliance – Internes Whistleblowing, Betriebs-Berater 2011, pp. 629 et seq, p. 630.
- 12.
The same seems to be true in Italy: see FABRIZIA SANTINI, Il Diritto di Critica del Lavoratore alla Luce della Più Recente Ricostruzione dell’Obbligo di Fedeltà, RIDL 2009, parte II, pp. 921 et seq, p. 924.
- 13.
Some German writers, albeit possibly a minority, however, do not consider necessary to introduce specific legislation on whistleblowing in labour law. Compare MICHAEL SIMONET, Notwendigkeit eines Gesetzes zum Schutz von Whistleblowern?, RdA 2013, pp. 236 et seq (against such a need) and GERRIT FORST, Whistleblowing im internationalen Vergleich – Was kann Deutschland von seinen Nachbarn lernen?, EuZA 2013, pp. 37 et seq (in favour of such a legislation).
- 14.
The protection of the whistleblower is seen as a result of the interdiction, as a rule, of private justice, by PETER GÄNSSLE, Der Whistleblower im Spannungsfeld zwischen Korruptionsbekämpfung und arbeitsrechtlichen Pflichten, Kritische Justiz 2007, pp. 265 et seq, p, 270.
- 15.
See also DAVID LEWIS, Whistleblowing at Work: on what Principles should Legislation be based?, Industrial Law Journal 2001, pp. 169 et seq.
- 16.
GERRIT FORST, Strafanzeige gegen den Arbeitgeber – Grund zur Kündigung des Arbeitsvertrags?, NJW 2011, pp. 3477, pp. 3480–3481, considers that the motives of the whistleblower ought to be irrelevant, at least whenever the whistleblowing refers to crimes. He reiterates this opinion in Whistleblowing im internationalen Vergleich – Was kann Deutschland von seinen Nachbarn lernen?, EuZA 2013, pp. 37, p. 71. Similar remarks were made by PETER BOWAL, Malice and Whistleblowing, E-Journal of International and Comparative Labour Studies, 2013, vol. 2, n.° 3, pp. 94 et seq, p. 96.
- 17.
JAMES GOBERT / MAURICE PUNCH, Whistleblowers, the Public Interest and the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, The Modern Law Review 2000, vol. 63, pp. 25 et seq, p. 43.
- 18.
REYES CALDERÓN-CUADRADO/ JOSÉ LUIS ÁLVAREZ-ARCE/ISABEL RODRÍGUEZ-TEJEDO/SRELLA SALVATIERRA, “Ethics Hotlines” in Transnational Companies: A Comparative Study, Journal of Business Ethics 2009, vol. 88, pp. 199 et seq, draw a distinction between a “compliance approach” and a “value-based approach”. The later preferred by many North-American multinational enterprises attempts to strengthen the internal cohesion of the enterprise around a set of values.
- 19.
MARIE-THESES TINNEFELD/ JUDITH RAUHOFER, Whistleblower: Verantwortungsbewusste Mitarbeiter oder Denunzianten?, DuD (Datenschutz und Datensicherheit) 2008, pp. 717 et seq, p. 717.
- 20.
On this debate see SUSANNE MAYER, Anzeigepflicht des Arbeitnehmers, ZAS 2010, pp. 186–187 and JOHANNA NADERHIRN, Whistleblowing im Arbeitsrecht – Ausgewählte Aspekte, DRdA 2014, n.° 1, pp. 14 et seq, pp. 22–25.
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Gomes, J. (2016). Portugal: The Protection of the Whistleblower from the Perspective of a Country Without Specific Legislation. In: Thüsing, G., Forst, G. (eds) Whistleblowing - A Comparative Study. Ius Comparatum - Global Studies in Comparative Law, vol 16. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-25577-4_12
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