Leaks Whistleblowing And The Public Interest

This book is the first of its kind to provide an in-depth treatment of the law of unauthorised disclosures in the United Kingdom. Drawing upon extensive data obtained using freedom of information as a methodology and examples from comparative jurisdictions, the book considers the position of civil servants, employees of the security and intelligence services and service personnel in the armed forces. It considers the protections available, the consequences of leaking and a full assessment of the authorised alternatives.

Whistleblowing is the public disclosure of information with the purpose of revealing wrongdoings and abuses of power that harm the public interest. This book presents a comprehensive theory of whistleblowing: it defines the concept, reconstructs its origins, discusses it within the current ethical debate, and elaborates a justification of unauthorized disclosures. Its normative proposal is based on three criteria of permissibility: the communicative constraints, the intent, and the public interest conditions. The book distinguishes between two forms of whistleblowing, civic and political, showing how they apply in the contexts of corruption and government secrecy. The book articulates a conception of public interest as a claim concerning the presumptive interest of the public. It argues that public interest is defined in opposition to corporate powers and its core content identified by the rights that are all-purposive for the distribution of social benefits. A crucial part of the proposal is dedicated to the impact of security policies and government secrecy on civil liberties. It argues that unrestrained secrecy limits the epistemic entitlement of citizens to know under which conditions their rights are limited by security policies and corporate interests. When citizens are denied the right to assess when these policies are prejudicial to their freedoms, whistleblowing represents a legitimate form of political agency that safeguards the fundamental rights of citizens against the threat of unrestrained secrecy by government power. Finally, the book contributes to shifting the attention of democratic theory from the procedures of consent formation to the mechanisms that guarantee the expression of dissent. It argues that whistleblowing is a distinctive form of civil dissent that contributes to the demands of institutional transparency in constitutional democracies and explores the idea that the way institutions are responsive to dissent determines the robustness of democracy, and ultimately, its legitimacy. What place dissenters have within a society, whether they enjoy personal safety, legal protection, and safe channels for their disclosure, are hallmarks of a good democracy, and of its sense of justice.

In this book, David Lewis brings together leading international experts to address the state of whistleblowing law and policy in America, Europe, Australia and South Africa. As well as outlining recent changes to whistleblowing laws and reporting major whistleblower studies, the contributors mount convincing criticisms of current laws and suggest some significant reforms. This book will provoke new thinking among those who view whistleblowing as an important practice, as well as those who are sceptical about its value in organizational life. Rodney Smith, The University of Sydney, Australia This timely and important book assesses the impact of legislation on public interest disclosures internationally, as well as setting an agenda for future research on whistleblowing. Combining both theoretical and practical methods, this unique book offers a detailed examination of some of the key statutory provisions in the UK and explores the way courts have interpreted them. The expert contributors compare the UK model with the different approaches taken in Australia, the US as well as the rest of Europe, and focus on the lessons that can be learned from the current practice of whistleblowing. They evaluate the contents and application of confidential reporting/whistleblowing procedures, and draw upon significant empirical research. This book will be of great interest to academics, postgraduate students, practitioners and policymakers in the fields of employment law, human resource management, business ethics and corporate governance.

The Committee calls for better and more accessible procedures for civil servants to raise concerns about the conduct of government. A route should to be established whereby evidence that a minister had misled Parliament or the public could be reported to Parliament following a complaint by a civil servant. Leaks damage trust within government and trust in government. The Committee concludes that leak investigations are often hamstrung by the fact that many leaks are politically motivated, including leaks from ministers and special advisers. The most effective way to prevent leaks by civil servants is to have accessible, effective and visible ways for individuals to raise concerns about the conduct of government, either internally or through an external oversight body, the Civil Service Commissioners. The report makes the following key recommendations: the Civil Service Commissioners should have the power to report to Parliament evidence indicating that the government was misleading Parliament or the public or the fact that the Civil Service has refused to act on a justified complaint; the Commissioners should also conduct independent investigation of breaches of confidentiality by special advisers; the leaking of information should only be a criminal matter where there is a breach of the Official Secrets Act or there is evidence of serious criminal misconduct; the Cabinet Office, Heads of Departments and the Civil Service Commissioners should do more to ensure that potential whistleblowers know how to raise concerns and have the confidence to come forward with them.

This book analyzes whistleblowing platforms and the adoption of encryption tools in journalism. Whistleblowing platforms are becoming an important phenomenon for journalism in this era and offer safer solutions for communicating with whistleblowers and obtaining leaks. WikiLeaks and the Snowden case have been powerful game changers for today’s journalism, showing the potentials of and needs for encryption for journalistic purposes, together with the perils of surveillance. Whistleblowing platforms are also an interesting example of journalists and hackers coming together to support investigations with new tools and practices. The book introduces this phenomenon and features a qualitative study about whistleblowing platforms and their adoption in the journalistic field.

Government Accountability: Australian Administrative Law presents a thorough account of the administrative state and the mechanisms that exist to bring it to account for its actions. It contextualises the theory and explanation of administrative law through carefully chosen case studies and events that offer practical examples of the principles discussed and how they are applied. The third edition has been thoroughly updated to incorporate recent legal developments and includes expanded discussion of 'materiality' in the context of jurisdictional error. The examples used illustrate the operation of legal principles and reflect contemporary social and political circumstances. Written by a team of experts, and known for its clear, consistent and straightforward narrative with logical progression, Government Accountability remains a student-friendly guide to complex administrative law concepts. Government Accountability: Australian Administrative Law is accompanied by a casebook, Government Accountability Sources and Materials: Australian Administrative Law, which provides curated cases and primary legal materials with helpful commentary.

First introduced in the United States, whistleblower laws have become increasingly popular around the world. This book illustrates the regional efforts undertaken by European organizations to promote whistleblower protection in Europe. To provide context, the first part of the book presents an overview of the international best practices for whistleblowing legislation and explores the status of whistleblower under international law. It also assesses the global hot topics regarding whistleblowing, from the cases of Edward Snowden and Julian Assange to the silencing of whistleblowers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The following parts focus on the European approach to whistleblower laws. It illustrates the influence of the Council of Europe in putting whistleblower protection on the European agenda and discusses the European Court of Human Rights’ case law on whistleblowing under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the final part, the author analyzes the evolution of the European Union’s approach to whistleblowing and the legal significance of the EU Whistleblower Directive adopted in 2019. In the respective parts, the author also examines the effectiveness of the international organizations’ own internal rules on whistleblowing, from the United Nations and the World Bank Group to the Council of Europe and the European Union.

Commentators have shown how a ‘culture of security’ ushered in after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 has involved exceptional legal measures and increased recourse to secrecy on the basis of protecting public safety and safeguarding national security. In this context, scholars have largely been preoccupied with the ways that increased security impinges upon civil liberties. While secrecy is justified on public interest grounds, there remains a tension between the need for secrecy and calls for openness, transparency and disclosure. In law, secrecy has implications for the separation of powers, due process, and the rule of law, raising fundamental concerns about open justice, procedural fairness and human rights. Beyond the counterterrorism and legal context, scholarly interest in secrecy has been concerned with the credibility of public and private institutions, as well as the legacies of secrecy across a range of institutional and cultural settings. By exploring the intersections between secrecy, law and society, this volume is a timely and critical intervention in secrecy debates traversing various fields of legal and social inquiry. It will be a useful resource for academic researchers, university teachers and students, as well as law practitioners and policymakers interested in the legal and socio-legal dimensions of secrecy.