Whistleblowing as reporting of misconduct inside the entities is also present in international organisations. Although more attention may be paid to the issue of whistleblowing in national legislations, both in the common law and civil law countries, international organisations have also commenced to regulate this question for their own employees, given the pressures from the public and their Member countries, as well as the necessity to safeguard their reputation. The latter is nowadays specifically relevant, since many international organisations advise countries on how to deal with whistleblower protection and fight against corruption, fraud and other illegal activities in general. Provisions relating to whistleblowing have been developed relatively late and due to scandals, which increased awareness of the public about the lack of relevant policies. International organisations remained free in doing so and quite legitimately there is some doubt as to whether these arrangements are adequate given the specific status of international civil servants and the related limitations. This master thesis touches on the regulation of whistleblowing in some international organisations, including the European Union, and observes how they protected their employees. As the phases of protection against retaliation, i.e. the prima facie review, the investigation, the determination of retaliation measures, the recommendations on the disciplinary measures and their possible implementation, are centralised in the administrations of these organisations, questions concerning the process are also taken into account. These include different modalities, which can substantially affect the protection of whistleblowers, such as the appointment of responsible offices, the establishment of time frames and the possibility of control over the relevant decisions. Based on the previous experiences in case-law of international tribunals, complemented by the absence of regulations in the internal rules of international organisations with regards to certain issues, this master thesis concludes by focusing on the areas of improvement, which would help to increase protection of whistleblowers and indirectly encourage employees to report misconduct.
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