Companies operating in Germany should implement reporting mechanisms or adapt their existing ones to comply with the new legal requirements.
The German Whistleblower Protection Act (Hinweisgeberschutzgesetz -- HinSchG) will enter into force on 2 July 2023. The HinSchG is the (albeit late) German implementation of the EU Whistleblower Directive,1 which entered into force on 16 December 2019 and aims to establish uniform protection standards for whistleblowers throughout the EU. The transposition period for the directive ended on 17 December 2021.
The HinSchG is the result of a comparatively long legislative process in Germany, following a rejection of the original draft by the German Federal States (Bundesrat). The German parliament (Bundestag) subsequently slightly revised the scope of the draft law. On 9 May 2023, the Mediation Committee (Vermittlungsausschuss) deliberated on the revised draft law, producing some amendments. On 11 May 2023, the Bundestag accepted the Mediation Committee's proposal, and the law was passed.
Background
Prior to the HinSchG, the protection of whistleblowers was not regulated uniformly in the EU Member States, and some Member States did not have any such legislation in place. As a result, the protection of whistleblowers was inconsistent across the EU. In Germany, only isolated regulations for the protection of whistleblowers exist in specific legal areas.2 Moreover, the protection of whistleblowers in Germany is partly based on case law...
The Dangote Group has become aware of a publication titled “Aliko Dangote Speaks Out on Why He Distanced Himself from Tony Elumelu,” which is false, malicious, and baseless. At no time did the Pre...