The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Data Protection has today, on his official electronic presentation www.poverenik.rs published, text of the Resolution on Protection of „Vigilantes“ translated into Serbian (insiders, whistle blowers, etc.), www.poverenik.rs/index.php/sr/doc/medjunarodni-dokumenti which has been recently adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Reminding that this Resolution invites all member countries to retest their respective regulations, the Commissioner evaluated that even without that invitation, there are more than enough of reasons for Serbia to secure in its legal system, adequate status and protection to the people who have come into conflict with formal or informal rules about “secrets” in order to protect public interest and oppose criminal and corruption, and therefore they suffer completely undeserved, unpleasant consequences.
In relation to that, the Commissioner, Rodoljub Šabić also stated:
„Readiness to oppose criminal and corruption by showing specific cases in their environment is based on courage and determination of individuals. It is good that there are people with such characteristics, but it is necessary to secure more of them, that the things they say are better heard, and not to be accompanied with dangers for their existence or the existence of their families. One must not allow that silence should be the only safe alternative.
People who consciously, in good faith point out to criminal and corruption and other forms of illegal activities, to serious infringements of human rights endangering or negatively influencing the life, freedom and other legitimate interests of other people, citizens, taxpayers, users of public power services, stakeholders, employees, must not therefore suffer undeserved consequences.
It would be good and useful to introduce, as soon as possible, the solutions to which the resolutions points out. That means, in the area of labor law, full protection from incorrect dismissal shall be secured, and from other forms of „responsibility“, that is, reprisal. In the criminal law field, one should secure protection from prosecution for alleged libel and divulging of secret. In the field of media law, one should secure protection of journalists’ sources. All that, of course, with consistent implementation of specific measures for fight against corruption, like the measures envisaged by Civil-Legal Convention on Fight against Corruption of the Council of Europe, which we have also adopted.
