How are the reports of users not provided with credentials managed?

It should be noted that the law refers exclusively to public and private employees and presupposes the identification of the whistleblower whose name must be kept confidential. The public employee must therefore use the reporting form and declare their personal details that will be kept confidential.

An area is also available in which it is possible to receive anonymous or non-certified reports on which a good part of the total amount of reports is actually based.

The reception and management of these reports are however different from those specifically provided for by the whistleblowing law.

The anti-corruption supervisor, in compliance with the regulatory framework, will keep the reports confidential and will evaluate the possibility of verifying them.

The Whistleblower’s identity

The reports and the identity of the public employee who submits the report are highly confidential. The software, following procedures that strictly comply with the law, separates the report from the identity of the reporter. Access to the identity of the whistleblower is therefore granted exclusively to the person responsible for prevention and corruption through a strict security procedure, which registers the access to the identity, with a request for motivation.

The software records all activities and accesses, including motivated access to the whistleblower’s identity by the anti-corruption officer.

The software also generates the message track that is sent by e-mail or certified e-mail to the whistleblower in order to guarantee that the messages forwarded are unaltered and can not be changed.

Therefore, from an IT point of view, the absolute inviolability of the systems and the maximum confidentiality are guaranteed.

Why the software WB? Should not wrongdoing reports be made to the magistracy?

First of all because it is a regulatory requirement. Furthermore, not all wrongdoings are criminally relevant and can be reported to the magistracy. Denouncing to the magistracy implies that the illegal act has already been performed and therefore the conditions for prevention are missing.

The main purpose of Whistleblowing is indeed to prevent or solve a problem internally and promptly, and give the possibility to report a wrongdoing using a highly secure and confidential tool. Moreover, several wrongdoings are susceptible to precautionary disciplinary actions that the public administration must undertake jointly with the respective report to the competent judicial authority.

How are reports regulated in Italy?

The Italian Law 179/2017 on Whistleblowing protects the public or private employee  who reports an offence to the appointed authorities from any possible retaliation by colleagues or superiors.

A.N.A.C. ( the Italian National Authority Against Corruption), with its Determination number 6 of April 28th 2015, has issued the “Guidelines on the protection of the public employee who reports wrongdoings (whistleblower)” with the clear indication that the reports, in order to effectively protect the whistleblower, must be elettronically processed with computerized and cryptographic systems.

A.N.A.C. has salso established that “the adoption of the necessary initiatives must be included in the Triennial Plan for the prevention of corruption as an intervention to be realized promptly”.

Who is responsible for receiving and managing the reports?

According to the law, if the Whistleblower does not make a compliant to the judicial authority, to Court of Auditors or to the A.N.A.C., “they ought to submit it to their hierarchical superior”.

The Anti-Corruption Authority in interpreting the legislative provision states that ” at an administrative level, the corruption prevention system governed by law 190/2012 confides in the Supervisor responsible for the prevention of corruption to which the delicate and important task of proposing instruments and measures to counteract the corruption phenomena is entrusted.

They are therefore to be considered the appointed person who is functionally competent in recognizing any illicit facts and who can consequently undertake the appropriate measures for strengthening the corruption prevention plan. , on pain of, however, the activation of specific forms of responsibility in his comparisons.

Should they fail to fulfill their duties, they will be called to take responsibility for it.

What facts or acts can be the subject of a report?

A specific list of offences or irregularities that can be the subject of whistleblowing does not exist. Relevant reports are those  concernernig behaviors, risks, offences or irregularities to the detriment of the public interest. Whistleblowing does not deal with the whistleblower’s personal complaints, usually handled with other kind of procedures.

In particular the report can be related to actions or omissions, committed or attempted:

• criminally relevant;
• made in violation of the Code of conduct or other company regulation and that may be subject to disciplinary measures;
• likely to cause financial harm to the administration or to any other public authority;
• likely to ruin the reputation of the institution;
• likely to be detrimental to the health or safety of employees, users and citizens or to demage the environment;
• harm users or employees or any other person who perform their activities at the institution.

What is the whistleblowing and who is the whistleblower?

The whistleblower is a worker who detects unethical activities or a workplace wrongdoing and decides to notify it to the anti-corruption Supervisor or to an authority that can effectively do something about it.

The whistleblower acts in the public interest, as they promptly make their community or the institution they belong to, aware of problems or risks related to the reported wrongdoing.

histleblowing consists of regulating all the procedures that protect and preserve the anonimity of the whistleblowers and encourage the report of wrongdoings.