Among many recent mileposts, it’s been nine years since Edward Snowden went public, six years since the Panama Papers were released, and almost five years since the Luxembourg Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Antoine Deltour.
As momentous and impactful as these events have been, how much real progress has there been for the cause of whistleblowing and protecting vulnerable witnesses of corruption?
French attorney William Bourdon is in a prime position to know. He co-represented Deltour in the LuxLeaks case, is a member of Snowden’s legal team, and has assisted dozens of whistleblowers, human rights victims and political prisoners over a 40-year career. Among his most recent victories was helping to free bribery whistleblower Jonathan Taylor from extradition proceedings in Monaco this past March.
“Since I’ve been a whistleblower lawyer, it would be wrong not to underline the fact that there has been progress,” Bourdon told WNN. “Things that would be unlikely 20 years ago are today considered common practice. Some whistleblowers feel more protected.”
Bourdon says he is cautiously optimistic about the series of new whistleblower laws enacted in recent years, including the 2019 EU Directive, which led directly to France passing an updated law in February. Bourdon said the new French law establishes a “confidential channel” for people to report misconduct to public authorities and includes penalties for people who retaliate against whistleblowers.
“France is in a...
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