The official responsible for recording and processing reports in cases of internal and external whistleblowing is:

 

Ruzan Harutyunyan
Position: Deputy General Secretary
Phone: +374 10 540 264
Email: ruzan.harutyunyan@scws.am

What is Whistleblowing?
Whistleblowing is a written or oral report provided by a whistleblower to an authorized person or body provided by law regarding a case of a corrupt nature, conflict of interest, violation of ethics rules, incompatibility requirements, other restrictions, declaration-related violations, or other damage directed at public interests, or the threat thereof.

Who is Considered a Whistleblower? 
A whistleblower is a physical or legal person who, in the manner prescribed by law, in good faith reports information regarding a case of a corrupt nature, conflict of interest, violation of ethics rules, incompatibility requirements, other restrictions, declaration-related violations, or other damage directed at public interests, or the threat thereof, related to the official or body with whom they are or have been in employment, civil-law, or administrative-law relations, or whom they have applied to for the purpose of receiving services, or who has been mistakenly perceived as a whistleblower. A person is considered a mistakenly perceived whistleblower if they were perceived as a whistleblower by other persons without whistleblowing, or against whom harmful actions were applied.

What are the Aims of Whistleblowing?

1. To uncover cases of a corrupt nature, violations related to conflicts of interest, ethics rules, incompatibility requirements and other restrictions, declarations, and other harms directed at public interests.
2. To reduce and prevent corruption.
3. To contribute to the formation of public intolerance toward corruption.

What is Internal Whistleblowing? Internal whistleblowing is considered the submission of a report to one's immediate supervisor, or their superior, or another person exercising supervision over them, or a person authorized by the head of the competent body.

What is External Whistleblowing? External whistleblowing is considered the submission of a report to a competent body.

How is Internal Whistleblowing Proceedings Implemented? Internal whistleblowing begins with the submission of a report by the whistleblower to their immediate supervisor, or their superior, or another person exercising supervision over them, or a person authorized by the head of the competent body.

If the report is received by the whistleblower's immediate supervisor, their superior, another person exercising supervision over them, or a person not specified in point 1, they are obliged to immediately forward the report to the head of the competent body or their authorized person.

The head of the competent body or their authorized person:

1. Ensures the immediate registration of the report, but no later than within one working day.
2. Within the scope of their competence, in the presence of grounds, ensures the initiation of proceedings within three working days from the moment of registering the report.
3. Ensures the confidentiality of the initiated proceedings.
4. Within the scope of their competence, takes measures to verify the authenticity of the report.
5. Within the scope of their competence, if apparent signs of a crime are discovered while verifying the authenticity of the report, immediately reports this to the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Armenia.
6. Within the scope of their competence, takes measures to protect whistleblowers from harmful actions, as well as to eliminate harmful actions and their consequences.
7. Ensures the non-disclosure of the whistleblower's personal data, unless otherwise provided by law.
8. At the request of the whistleblower, ensures the provision of information about the progress of proceedings and measures taken.
9. Provides the whistleblower with the opportunity to submit clarifications, documents, and applications.

Failure to perform the listed duties entails liability prescribed by law.

How is External Whistleblowing Proceedings Implemented? External whistleblowing begins with the submission of a report by the whistleblower to a competent body. If the report concerns an employee of the competent body, the whistleblowing is carried out to the head of the competent body.

If the report concerns the head of the competent body, it is submitted to the head of the superior body of the competent body. In the absence of a superior body of the competent body, the report is submitted to the public service ethics commission of the relevant body (if any), and in the case of high-ranking officials, to the authorized body in the field of corruption prevention.

The competent body:

1. Ensures the immediate registration of the report, but no later than within one working day.
2. Within the scope of its competence, in the presence of grounds, initiates proceedings within three working days from the moment of registering the report.
3. Ensures the confidentiality of the proceedings.
4. Within the scope of its competence, takes measures to verify the authenticity of the report.
5. Within the scope of its competence, if apparent signs of a crime are discovered while verifying the authenticity of the report, immediately reports this to the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Armenia.
6. Within the scope of its competence, takes measures to protect whistleblowers from harmful actions, as well as to eliminate harmful actions and their consequences.
7. Ensures the non-disclosure of the whistleblower's personal data, unless otherwise provided by law.
8. At the request of the whistleblower, ensures the provision of information about the progress of proceedings and measures taken.
9. Provides the whistleblower with the opportunity to submit clarifications, documents, and applications.

Failure to perform the listed duties entails liability prescribed by law.

If the whistleblower has not given consent regarding the disclosure of their personal data, the body that received the report submitted by the whistleblower and is not authorized to initiate proceedings is obliged to obtain the whistleblower's prior consent before sending the report according to jurisdiction, unless otherwise provided by law. In the absence of the whistleblower's consent, the report is sent according to jurisdiction without disclosing the whistleblower's personal data.

What is the Maximum Duration of Initiated Proceedings? The maximum duration of proceedings initiated on the basis of internal and external whistleblowing is 30 days. As a result of the initiated proceedings, a relevant act is adopted, regarding which the whistleblower is notified within a three-day period from the moment of adopting the act.

What Consequences Will a Whistleblower's Bad-Faith Actions Cause? If during the proceedings it turns out that the whistleblower acted in bad faith when submitting a report in the manner prescribed by law, the head of the competent body or their authorized person terminates the provision of protection to the whistleblower, which they notify the whistleblower about within a three-day period from the moment of making the decision.

If the whistleblower's bad-faith action contains elements of a crime, the person who received the report is obliged to immediately report this to the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Armenia.

What Protection Measures are Provided to the Whistleblower in Cases of Internal and External Whistleblowing? In case of whistleblowing, document management is carried out through an official appointed by the competent body in order not to disclose the whistleblower's personal data.

In the event of initiating proceedings, the fact of whistleblowing and the whistleblower's personal data are not indicated in the act on initiating proceedings and other documents related to the proceedings.

In order to protect the whistleblower from harmful actions or their consequences, the competent body, within the scope of its competence:

1. Ensures the confidentiality of information.
2. Creates sufficient conditions for the unhindered performance of official duties by the whistleblower.
3. Ensures that the whistleblower is not artificially overloaded with assignments by establishing supervision over assignments.
4. In case of unjustified and illegal interference in the whistleblower's activities, takes appropriate measures to eliminate them.
5. If necessary, transfers the whistleblower to another office, if possible.
6. Takes appropriate measures to restore the whistleblower's labor rights, including reinstating the whistleblower to work and compensating for damages suffered by them.
7. Takes other necessary measures arising from the situation aimed at protecting the whistleblower.

What is the Unified Electronic Whistleblowing Platform? Through the unified electronic whistleblowing platform, a whistleblower can anonymously report information about a crime.

Through the unified electronic platform, the Republic of Armenia—represented by the authorized body of the Government of the Republic of Armenia (the Ministry of Justice of the RA)—guarantees the protection of the whistleblower by ensuring their anonymity.