| Bulgaria: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Whistle-blowing Measures | ||
| Indicators | Score | |
| 45 | Are employees protected from recrimination or other negative consequences when reporting corruption (i.e. whistle-blowing)? | 6 |
| 46 | In law, is there an internal mechanism (i.e. phone hotline, e-mail address, local office) through which civil servants can report corruption? | 100 |
| 47 | In practice, is the internal mechanism (i.e. phone hotline, e-mail address, local office) through which civil servants can report corruption effective? | 69 |
Indicator and sub-Indicator Details
| 45 | Are employees protected from recrimination or other negative consequences when reporting corruption (i.e. whistle-blowing)? | |||||||
| 45a: 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. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: There is no such law.
Peer Review Comments: There are standard regulations for the protection of whistle-blowers in the Penal Code.
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| 45b: 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. | ||||||||
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Comments: This year there was one case of a whistle-blower in one of the special agencies who was later dismissed from office. It is difficult to draw conclusions on the basis of such anecdotal evidence. Still, it is the case that there are no publicly reported stories of whistle-blowing. References: No objective information on the topic.
Peer Review Comments: There is objective information on this topic.
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| 45c: 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. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: There is no such law.
Peer Review Comments: There are standard regulations for the protection of whistle-blowers in the Penal Code.
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| 45d: 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. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: Interviews with Georgi Ganev, CLS, October 2007
Peer Review Comments: No objective information is available on the topic.
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| 46 | In law, is there an internal mechanism (i.e. phone hotline, e-mail address, local office) through which civil servants can report corruption? | |||||||
| 46: In law, is there an internal mechanism (i.e. phone hotline, e-mail address, local office) through which civil servants can report corruption? | ||||||||
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Comments: References: Although there are no special laws, many public bodies do publish telephone numbers for reporting cases of corruption.
Peer Review Comments: No such law exists, but it is practiced by many institutions.
Peer Review Comments: There are no special phone lines, but all overning institutions publish on their Web sites telephone numbers for anyone to use to report corruption.
Peer Review Comments: As corruption is considered a crime under the Penal Code, all Bulgarian citizens are obliged to report to the police or prosecutors' office if they witness or have information about any crime committed.
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| 47 | In practice, is the internal mechanism (i.e. phone hotline, e-mail address, local office) through which civil servants can report corruption effective? | |||||||
| 47a: In practice, the internal reporting mechanism for public sector corruption has a professional, full-time staff. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: An Inspectorate at the Council of Ministers examines and reviews allegations of corruption.
Peer Review Comments: No objective information exists about whether the internal reporting mechanism for public sector corruption has a professional, full-time staff.
Peer Review Comments: The Chief Inspectorate within the Council of Ministers and the internal inspectorates within the ministries, agencies and municipalities are entitled to receive and investigate corruption allegations. Though many of them are understaffed, some of the inspectorates have proved to have very professional full-time staff, which has successfully investigated and passed to the prosecutors' office major corruption cases (for example, the inspectorate of the Sofia Municipality and the case of Toplofikacia, Tramcar etc.)
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| 47b: In practice, the internal reporting mechanism for public sector corruption receives regular funding. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: Yes, the Inspectorate is funded by the budget.
Peer Review Comments: They probably receive funding from the budget of the institution or its reserves.
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| 47c: In practice, the internal reporting mechanism for public sector corruption acts on complaints within a reasonable time period. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: there are no spectacular cases of corruption exposed by such mechanisms in Bulgaria.
Peer Review Comments: Some institutions report such complaints, but not all.
Peer Review Comments: Complaints are reviewed depending on the case and the availability of personnel.
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| 47d: In practice, when necessary, the internal reporting mechanism for public sector corruption initiates investigations. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: There are no spectacular cases of corruption exposed upon the initiative of administrative supervisors. It is difficult to assess objectively how the system operates in practice.
Peer Review Comments: Yes, some institutions, such as the Ministry of Interior andf General Prosecutor's office, report this.
Peer Review Comments: Due to the inspectorates' lack of administrative capacity or/and political influence, some cases may not be investigated.
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