Bulgaria Strengthens Whistleblower Law
Bulgaria's Parliament has passed final amendments to the Whistleblower Protection Act, improving safeguards for individuals reporting legal violations. The revisions clarify that only communications protected by legal professional privilege — specifically between lawyers and clients — are exempt from protection. Professionals such as lawyers, notaries, and enforcement agents will now receive protection when reporting violations, despite their duty of professional secrecy, CE Report quotes BTA
The law has also been expanded to cover service providers, in addition to factory and office workers. Oral whistleblower reports may now be archived in durable recorded formats rather than transcripts.
A new provision calls for municipal ethics committees to handle unethical conduct alerts, though reports of corruption or conflicts of interest involving councillors will be referred to national authorities.
Justice Minister Georgi Georgiev emphasized that attorney-client privilege remains intact and that the changes aim to better protect workers who suffer retaliation after reporting misconduct. He added that the reform is crucial for unlocking €653 million under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and aligns with Bulgaria's goals for joining the OECD.
