The Law on whistleblowers’ protection was approved on 29 June 2022 by the Chamber of Deputies.
The final version of the law is not yet available for analysis; however, it is known that the form approved by the Senate in April 2022 was partly amended by this decisional legislative forum.
Assuming no constitutionality control and no request for the reexamination of the law by the Parliament, the law shall be enacted within a 20-day term from the receipt thereof by the President of Romania.
According to information available throughout the legislative process to date, the law shall come into force within 3 days from its publication in the Official Gazette of Romania.
Once this law in force, several categories of employers, including private legal entities managing a workforce exceeding 249, shall be under an obligation to create internal reporting channels and to adopt procedures for internal reporting, for verification and resolution on reportings and, where case, for remediation of reported breaches.
Conformity with the provisions of this legislative item is meant to prompt the unveiling of actions or inactions which do or might be deemed to breach the law in public interest domains, by securing a minimum protection of whistleblowers against potential retaliation by the entities or the individuals exposed to sanctions as a result of the reportings.
Important: the provisions of the Law on whistleblowers’ protection do not offer efficient means to deter potential abuse and to compensate employers for the prejudice they may incur as a result of a reporting of unreal breaches. Employers may manage their exposure by way of good practices (internal procedures and actions) customized to fit the organizational culture and implemented under the supervision of a conformity officer or of a different person designated for such specific purpose.
This information shall be updated after the publication of the Law on whistleblowers’ protection in the Official Gazette of Romania.
By Adriana Gaspar, Senior Partner, Co-head Corporate/M&A Practice, NNDKP
