Whistleblowing in Europe: an empirical approach

stefano maria corso

Department of Law - Department of Law (DiGiur) - University of Urbino (ITALY)

Abstract

Whistleblowing policies are becoming a familiar document to the majority of General Counsels all over the world. Groups of Undertakings and SMES are implementing new compliance documents pursuant to the recent legislative developments in matter of whistleblowing. In particular, EU legislation, even before national laws in European countries, imposes an obligation of protection of “whistleblowing” as a legal asset through a wide range of goals and purposes (i.e. preventive measures, accountability, inspections and repression) and, in this perspective, the fight against economic and financial crimes that undermine opportunities for investment development, is no exception to the rule. In fact, the community expects that a company should conduct itself in such a way as to demonstrate full compliance with the culture of legality, an essential part of which is the protection of the individual and collective legal assets.

Keywords

"Whistleblowing" , "Corporate Governance" , "Corporate crimes" , "Preventive measures"