Poles’ Attitudes to the Concept of Whistleblowing. Historical and Present Background

The issue of whistleblowers is one of great interest and controversy because of EU Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law. While the English meaning of “whistleblowing” is inherently positive and not associated with anything negative, the Polish translation of the word, “sygnalista”, often does not evoke positive associations. Blowing the whistle versus snitching are two types of activity and it is important to understand the essence of these terms. Unfortunately, the linguistic connotations indicate that Poles do not always read the proper intentions when hearing the word “whistleblower”. Whistleblowing is often seen in Poland as a reprehensible activity, and whistleblowers are usually referred to as denouncers. The meaning of the word “whistleblower” in Poland is rather pejorative. European history, experienced through Nazi practices, the spying age of the Cold War and invigilation by the Soviet Union, has developed firmly established hostility against so-called informers. That is why it is so difficult to attain a level of positive understanding of the meaning of this word in Poland. The current realities of operating an organization, regardless of its legal nature, force it to conform to certain standards. These standards, arising either from legal norms or good practice, form the so-called compliance system. Regulations on whistleblowing are inevitably part of it.m.kun-buczko@uwb.edu.plMagdalena Kun-Buczko – PhD, Assistant Professor at the Department of Public International and European Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Białystok, PolandUniversity of Bialystok, PolandCeva E., Bocchiola M., Is Whistleblowing a Duty? Cambridge 2019.Code of Criminal Procedure of 19 March 1928 – consolidated text Journal of Laws 1928, no. 33, item 313.Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 2 April 1997, no 78, item 483.Decree on especially dangerous crimes during the period of national reconstruction of 13 of June 1946 no. 30, item 192.Decree on State Protection of 30 October 1944, no. 10, item 50.Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law, O.J. UE L 305/17.Jagura B., Rola organów spółki kapitałowej w realizacji compliance, Warsaw 2017.Lewicka-Strzałecka A., Instytucjonalizacja whistleblowingu w firmie jako wyzwanie etyczne, “Diametros” 2014, no. 41, pp. 77–98.Makowski G., Waszak M., Gnębieni, podziwiani i… zasługujący na ochronę. Polacy o sygnalistach, Warsaw 2019.Ochmann-Staniszewska S., Pisma polityczne z czasów panowania Jana Kazimierza Wazy 1648–1668. Publicystyka- eksorbitancje-projekty-memoriały, vol. 3, 1665–1668, Warsaw – Wrocław 1991, t.3.Ożóg M., Sygnalizacja naruszeń prawa a zasada praworządności w dziejach prawa polskiego – zarys problematyki (in:) B. Baran, M. Ożóg (eds.), Ochrona Sygnalistów. Regulacje dotyczące zgłaszających nieprawidłowości., Warsaw 2021, pp. 241–261.Tazbir J., Silva rerum historicum, Warsaw 2002.Tokarczyk D., Whistleblowing i wewnętrzne postepowania wyjaśniające, Warsaw 2020.Yurttagul H.Ch.L., Whistleblower Protection by the Council of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights and the European Union, Brussels, 2021.Ziółkowska K., Whistleblowing jako przejaw dbałości o dobro zakładu pracy (in:) B. Baran, M. Ożóg (eds.), Ochrona Sygnalistów. Regulacje dotyczące zgłaszających nieprawidłowości, Warsaw 2021.27412113