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2009 Assessment

Azerbaijan: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Azerbaijan: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Whistle-blowing Measures
Indicators		Score
48	Are employees protected from recrimination or other negative consequences when reporting corruption (i.e. whistle-blowing)?	0
49	In law, is there an internal mechanism (i.e. phone hotline, e-mail address, local office) through which civil servants can report corruption?	100
50	In practice, is the internal mechanism (i.e. phone hotline, e-mail address, local office) through which civil servants can report corruption effective?	63

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Are employees protected from recrimination or other negative consequences when reporting corruption (i.e. whistle-blowing)?

48a: In law, civil servants who report cases of corruption, graft, abuse of power, or abuse of resources are protected from recrimination or other negative consequences.

Score:

YES

Comments: The legislation in force is silent about reporting cases of corruption for civil servants. There is also no legal statute for public sector whistleblowers. In other words, no specific protection is provided to civil servants reporting corruption cases other than general security measures for witness protection prescribed by the Law on State Protection of Persons Participating in Criminal Proceedings. However, the draft Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interests in the Activities of Public Officials, which is now under consideration in Parliament, specifically regulates this issue. For instance, it is stated in Article 23.4 of the draft Law that every public official shall have the obligation to report directly and without undue delay to the direct superior or to the enforcement agency any information concerning conduct which he/she reasonably knows to involve a violation of this Law and related laws. The draft Law further determines that the intentional failure of a public official to make this required report shall constitute a cause for disciplinary penalty. Furthermore, Article 23.6 of the draft Law enables the management to take any appropriate action to protect the official and reverse any act of retaliation against him/her.

References: The Law on State Protection of Persons Participating in Criminal Proceedings [ LINK ]

48b: In practice, civil servants who report cases of corruption, graft, abuse of power, or abuse of resources are protected from recrimination or other negative consequences.

Score:

100

Comments: In practice, civil servants who report cases of corruption, graft, abuse of power, or abuse of resources are not protected from recrimination or other negative consequences, as there are no laws on whistle-blower protections for individuals who lodge complaints about corruption. Therefore, public sector whistleblowers generally face negative consequences, such as losing a job, relocating to a less prominent position, or some form of harassment. However, the draft Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interests in the Activities of Public Officials, which is now under consideration in Parliament, specifically regulates this issue.

References: 1) GRECO (Group of States against Corruption) Evaluation Report on Azerbaijan, June 19-23, 2006 [ LINK ]" target="_blank">[ LINK ] 2) GRECO Compliance Report on Azerbaijan, Oct. 10, 2008 http://www.coe.int/greco 3) Newspaper materials and articles of the Radio Liberty-Azerbaijan [ LINK ]

48c: In law, private sector employees who report cases of corruption, graft, abuse of power, or abuse of resources are protected from recrimination or other negative consequences.

Score:

YES

Comments: The legislation in force is silent about reporting cases of corruption. There is also no legal statute for private sector whistleblowers other than general security measures for witness protection prescribed by the Law on State Protection of Persons Participating in Criminal Proceedings.

References: The Law on State Protection of Persons Participating in Criminal Proceedings [ LINK ]

48d: In practice, private sector employees who report cases of corruption, graft, abuse of power, or abuse of resources are protected from recrimination or other negative consequences.

Score:

100

Comments: In practice, private sector employees who report cases of corruption, graft, abuse of power, or abuse of resources are not protected from recrimination or other negative consequences. There is also no legal statute for private sector whistleblowers other than general security measures for witness protection prescribed by the Law on State Protection of Persons Participating in Criminal Proceedings.

In law, is there an internal mechanism (i.e. phone hotline, e-mail address, local office) through which civil servants can report corruption?

49: In law, is there an internal mechanism (i.e. phone hotline, e-mail address, local office) through which civil servants can report corruption?

Score:

YES

Comments: The legislation is silent about specific internal mechanisms for reporting corruption cases for civil servants. However, civil servants like other citizens may apply to the specialized body in the area of prevention corruption, which is the Commission on Combating Corruption. It should also be noted that the majority of agencies have websites, hot-lines and emails, where they can be contacted.

References: The Commission on Combating Corruption [ LINK ]; The Statute of the Commission on Combating Corruption [ LINK ]

In practice, is the internal mechanism (i.e. phone hotline, e-mail address, local office) through which civil servants can report corruption effective?

50a: In practice, the internal reporting mechanism for public sector corruption has a professional, full-time staff.

Score:

100

Comments: The Commission on Combating Corruption has a permanent secretariat, which is a public body and has staff sufficient to fulfill its basic mandate.

50b: In practice, the internal reporting mechanism for public sector corruption receives regular funding.

Score:

100

Comments: The Commission on Combating Corruption receives regular funding from the state budget.

References: 1) 2008 Report of the Commission for Combating Corruption on Implementation of the National Strategy (2007-2011) for Increasing Transparency and Combating Corruption [ LINK ] 2) Freedom House, Nations in Transitions, Report on Azerbaijan, 2008 [ LINK ] 3) Interview with an officer of the Commission for Combating Corruption, September 2009 4) Newspaper materials and articles of the Radio Liberty-Azerbaijan [ LINK ]

50c: In practice, the internal reporting mechanism for public sector corruption acts on complaints within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: Generally, complaints to the Commission for Combating Corruption are resolved according to the Law on the Procedure for Consideration of Applications from Citizens, to be reviewed within one month, or 15 days if no additional review or inspection is needed, unless shorter periods are provided for in legislation. However, it should be noted that since there is high political dependency from the executive, the Commission is unwilling to take on politically powerful offenders and to do something without the top approval.

50d: In practice, when necessary, the internal reporting mechanism for public sector corruption initiates investigations.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: When irregularities are discovered, the agency/entity is aggressive in investigating the government or in cooperating with other agencies\' investigations. <p>50 Score Criteria: The agency/entity starts investigations, but is limited in its effectiveness. The agency/entity may be slow to act, unwilling to take on politically powerful offenders, reluctant to cooperate with other investigative agencies, or occasionally unable to enforce its judgments. <p>0 Score Criteria: The agency/entity does not effectively investigate. The agency/entity may start investigations but not complete them, may refuse to cooperate with other investigative agencies, or may fail to detect offenders. The agency/entity may be partisan in its application of power.$

Comments: Under Article 7.8 of the Charter of the Commission on Combating Corruption, if there are complaints of corruption offenses, the Commission shall send materials to the relevant authorities for consideration. The Commission itself does not investigate but it cooperates with other investigative bodies such as the Department on Combating Corruption under the General Prosecutor's Office, the Unit for Special Investigation Measures on Corruption Crimes under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, etc. It should be noted that since there is high political dependency, the Commission is unwilling to take on politically powerful offenders and to do something without the top approval.