Whistle-blower s and their affiliates have the right to protection, including judicial protection.

The Law of the Republic of Armenia “On the Whistle-Blowing System” defines the right to protection of the whistle-blower and the affiliated persons.

Pursuant to Article 10, the protection afforded to a whistle-blower shall extend to the whistle-blower to the extent that such protection is inherently applicable to it.

The whistle-blower has the right to privacy of his personal data, protection from harmful actions and their consequences.

The whistle-blower who submitted a report, or whose report was sent to criminal prosecution bodies, is subject to protection in accordance with the procedure established by the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia.

Any contract or provision of a contract which purports to deprive or limit a person’s right to whistle-blowing or whistle-blower protection is void.

A person related to the whistle-blower has the right to use the whistle-blower’s remedies if he/she reasonably believes that harmful actions may be taken against him/her due to his/her connection with the whistle-blower.

Whistle-blower is a natural or legal person, who reports, in good faith and as provided for by this Law, information regarding a case of corruption or a violation in respect of conflict of interests, or rules of ethics or incompatibility requirements, or other restrictions or declaration, or other harm to public interests or the threat thereof related to the official or the body, with whom he or she is or was in employment or civil law, or administrative law relations, or to whom he or she has applied for the purpose of rendering services, or who has been mistakenly perceived as a whistle-blower.

Article 11 of the same law also defines the protection of the whistle-blower’s personal data when submitting an anonymous report.

When submitting an anonymous report, it is guaranteed that the personal data of the whistle-blower will not be disclosed both to the competent authority and/or to other persons, except when the whistle-blower discloses his/her personal data.

The competent body does not have the right to take measures to reveal the personal data of the whistle-blower who submitted an anonymous report.

The whistle-blowers and persons affiliated with them have the right to judicial protection.

A whistle-blower against whom adverse action has been taken in connection with whistle-blowing has the right to judicial protection.

A person related to a whistle-blower against whom a harmful action has been taken due to his/her connection with the whistle-blower has the right to legal protection.

The judicial protection of the whistle-blower and his/her related persons is carried out in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia.

You can report through the azdararir.am platform, both openly and anonymously.

We do not forget that whistle-blowers are not “snitchers”, they are decent and law abiding citizens.

This publication was prepared within the framework of the program “Multifaceted Whistle-Blowing Promotion in Armenia”, implemented by the “Armenian Lawyers Association” (ALA) NGO with the support of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), funded by the European Union (EU) within the framework of the “EU for Good, Eastern Partnership” project.

This publication expresses the position of the author, the ALA, which does not necessarily coincide with the position of the OGP and the EU.