A Lei nº 93/2021 de 20 de dezembro

: uma transformação cultural no âmbito do compliance ou um regresso à cultura dos chibos/bufos?

Abstract

Cultural transformation is the motto imposed by the new Whistleblower Protection Regime. This is a complex issue, umbilically linked to fraud, corruption and related crimes, scourges that undermine the foundations of the State in clear violation of Democracy. We live in an increasingly developed world, a real window of opportunity for criminality, where the judicial and dministrative authorities can only detect a small proportion of infringements and irregularities. In view of the countless financial scandals that have marked recent times, a
subject much talked about and scrutinised by the public, the figure of the whistleblower assumes capital importance and, in particular, their protection as a form of incentive for them to develop their activity, Whistleblowing, marked by the institute of denunciation, essential tools to fight crime and move towards a culture of transparency and strengthening of the integrity of organisations.
It is in this context that recently approved diplomas, Decree-Law 109/E/2021, of
december 9, which creates the National Anti-Corruption Mechanism (MENAC) and establishes the General Regime for the Prevention of Corruption (RGPC) and, with emphasis, Law n.º 93/2021 of 20 december, which establishes the general regime for the protection of whistleblowers, transposing Directive (EU)
2019/1937 of the European Parliament to adopt a series of measures (repressive but also preventive) as a way to uncover and combat economic crime and the associated culture of dishonesty. Proof of the correlation between this kind of
crime and Whistleblowing is the fact that the RGPC foresees the implementation of instruments such as compliance programes, which should include, among others, reporting channels. In short, we are facing a multifaceted and transversal theme that affects a series of aspects of entities and organisations, with emphasis on the imposition of prerogatives and concerns of corporate compliance, which presupposes a cultural change in our worldview as a society and which pleads for the implementation of an ethical culture of denunciation, but which, however, may come into collision with an ingrained culture little compatible with these issues: the snitches.

Date of Award	9 Oct 2023
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Germano Marques da Silva (Supervisor)