Azerbaijan discusses whistleblower protection and reward law

The Milli Majlis committees on Defense, Security, and Anti-Corruption and Legal Policy and State Building have discussed a new draft law regarding the encouragement and protection of individuals who report corruption-related violations.

The draft law, consisting of 5 chapters and 19 articles, establishes legal and organizational frameworks for reporting and investigating corruption within state and local self-government bodies, public legal entities, and budget organizations. It specifies that providing false or defamatory information for personal gain does not qualify as legitimate reporting. However, disclosing professional, commercial, or investigative secrets, as well as personal and family life information, in the interest of protecting legal rights will not be considered an illegal disclosure.

Under the proposed legislation, if a report is confirmed, the informant may receive a financial reward from the organization's budget or extra-budgetary funds, as decided by the head of the organization. This payment must be made within 10 working days of the informant being notified of the confirmation. The reward amount is capped at 25 times the minimum monthly wage and will be determined based on the nature of the violation, the number of facts provided, the significance of the information, and the amount of damage caused or assets recovered. All processes regarding the reward must maintain strict confidentiality to protect the informant's identity.