Janine ZwierschowskiDer Schutz des Whistleblowers vor strafrechtlichen Sanktionen

About this book deutschenglish

This book identifies the existing criminal law risks for whistleblowers and examines the suitability of existing approaches at both European and national level to protect whistleblowers from criminal sanctions. Special consideration is given to the tension between the confidentiality interests of companies and the rights of whistleblowers as well as the interest of criminal prosecution.

First, the requirements for protection against criminal sanctions arising from constitutional law and EU law are examined. To this end, both Directive (EU) 2016/943 on the protection of trade secrets and Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on the protection of whistleblowers are taken into account and contradictions between these two directives are identified. At the national level, the effects of the GeschGehG, which came into force in 2019 (in particular the privileged status of Section 5 GeschGehG), and the HinSchG, which only came into force in 2023, on the protection of whistleblowers from criminal sanctions are then analyzed in more detail. Another focus of the dissertation is a comparison with the French legal situation, the development of which is comprehensively reconstructed from the entry into force of the Sapin II law to the adjustments required in the course of the Whistleblower Directive (in particular by Law No. 2022-401). Differences to the transposition of the Whistleblower Directive into German law are highlighted and a possible adoption of the French approaches for German law is discussed. Subsequently, own approaches for the protection of whistleblowers from criminal sanctions are developed, taking into account a reasonable balance with the interests of confidentiality.