CYIL vol. 15 (2024)

CYIL 15 ȍ2024Ȏ WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION IN EUROPE BETWEEN GUJA AND THE 2019 EU … WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION IN EUROPE BETWEEN GUJA AND THE 2019 EU DIRECTIVE. DIFFERENT STANDARDS IN THE LIGHT OF HALET V. LUXEMBOURG Harald Christian Scheu Abstract: In this article, we briefly highlight the key differences between the standards of whistleblower protection established by the Strasbourg jurisprudence on the one hand and the EU Whistleblower Directive on the other. In its judgment in Halet v. Luxembourg , the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR had the opportunity to consider whether the concept of whistleblower protection set out in Guja needed to be revised or modified in the light of the Directive. It is surprising that the Grand Chamber completely ignored the impact of the EU Directive in its deliberations. Surely this was no accident. We find that the Court’s approach in Halet v. Luxembourg sends a strong message not only to the States Parties to the ECHR, but also to the European Union and its Court of Justice. Resume: Tento článek se zabývá hlavními rozdíly mezi standardem ochrany oznamova telů podle štrasburské judikatury a podle Směrnice EU 2019/1937 o ochraně osob, které oznamují porušení práva Unie. V rozsudku ve věci Halet proti Lucembursku měl velký senát ESLP příležitost posoudit, zda je třeba koncepci ochrany oznamovatelů vyplývající z rozsudku ve věci Guja revidovat nebo upravit ve světle směrnice. Je překvapivé, že velký senát této příležitosti nevyužil a při svých úvahách zcela ignoroval dopad směrnice EU. Jistě to nebyla náhoda. Domníváme se, že přístup Evropského soudu pro lidská práva ve věci Halet proti Lucembursku je silným signálem nejen pro státy, které jsou smluvními stranami EÚLP, ale také pro Evropskou unii a její Soudní dvůr. Key words : whistleblower protection, European Court of Human Rights, EU Directive, different standards, legal certainty, Guja model. About the Author : Harald Christian Scheu, Prof., Mag. phil., Dr. iur., Ph.D. , educated at the University of Salzburg (Dr. iur., 1995, Mag. phil., 1996) and the University of Prague (Ph.D. in 1997, Associate Professor in 2006 and Professor in 2021). He has received numerous fellowships (Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht in Heidelberg, University of Bern, European University Institute in Florence, University of Zürich, University of Vienna). From 1997 to 2006 he lectured at the Department of International Law and since 2006 at the Department of European Law of the Law Faculty of Charles University in Prague. He teaches and conducts research in the fields of International and European Law and Human Rights Law. Member of the Council of the Government of the Czech Republic for Human Rights (2013-2024), member of the Czech Government’s Legislative Council (since 2014), member of the Management Board of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (2015-2020), member of the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (2020–2024).

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