Blowing in the Wind? Whistleblowing in the Security Sector Benjamin S. Buckland and Aidan Wills (DCAF) Working Draft (September 2012) Not for citation without prior permission 1 Contents Contents ....................................................................................................................................................................... 2 List of Acronyms ...................................................................................................................................................... 5 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 8 1.1 Scope and definitions ................................................................................................................................. 9 1.2 Context and relevance ............................................................................................................................. 12 1.2.1 Timeliness ............................................................................................................................................ 12 1.2.2 The special case of the security sector ..................................................................................... 15 1.2.3 Whistleblowing and accountability ........................................................................................... 17 1.2.4 Whistleblowing and human rights ............................................................................................ 20 1.3 The legal framework ................................................................................................................................ 21 1.4 Structure of the study .............................................................................................................................. 24 2. Obstacles to whistleblowing ........................................................................................................................ 25 2.1 Inadequate legal framework ................................................................................................................. 25 2.2 Adverse consequences ............................................................................................................................ 26 2.2.1 Prosecution.......................................................................................................................................... 26 2.2.2 Retaliation ............................................................................................................................................ 28 2.2.3 Lack of faith in procedures and mechanisms ........................................................................ 29 2.2.4 Increasing reach and strength of state secrecy laws .......................................................... 30 2.2.5 Judicial deference to the executive on national security. ................................................. 30 2.3 Practical impediments ............................................................................................................................ 31 2.4 Cultural aversion to whistleblowers ................................................................................................. 33 3. Coverage of protected disclosure legislation ........................................................................................ 35 3.1 Types of wrongdoing ............................................................................................................................... 35 3.2 Classification and confidentiality........................................................................................................ 39 2 3.3 Motive ............................................................................................................................................................ 40 3.4 Proof ............................................................................................................................................................... 42 3.5 Who may make a disclosure? ............................................................................................................... 43 3.6 An obligation to make a disclosure? .................................................................................................. 45 4. Internal disclosures ......................................................................................................................................... 47 5. Inspectors general ............................................................................................................................................ 50 6. Disclosures to independent oversight bodies ....................................................................................... 54 6.1 The importance of external channels for making disclosures ................................................ 56 6.2 Disclosures to parliament ...................................................................................................................... 58 6.3 Disclosures to specialised non-parliamentary oversight bodies ........................................... 62 6.4 Accessing independent oversight bodies ........................................................................................ 65 7. Reprisals ............................................................................................................................................................... 70 8. Protections........................................................................................................................................................... 77 8.1 Legal protections against reprisals .................................................................................................... 77 8.2 Confidentiality ............................................................................................................................................ 79 8.3 Penalties for retaliation against whistleblowers ......................................................................... 80 8.4 Capacity of internal and independent bodies to provide protection ................................... 82 8.5 Burden of proof regarding retaliation .............................................................................................. 82 9. Disclosures to the media and public at large ......................................................................................... 84 9.1 The media as a (more effective) last resort? .................................................................................. 85 9.2 Disclosures to the media outside the security sector ................................................................. 86 9.3 Disclosures to the media by security sector personnel ............................................................. 88 10. Criminal law defences for unauthorised disclosures to the media and public at large .... 91 10.1 Necessity and other defences ............................................................................................................ 92 10.2 Public interest defence ......................................................................................................................... 94 10.2.1 Why the public interest defence matters ............................................................................. 95 3 10.2.2 The components of a public interest defence ..................................................................... 96 10.2.3 Arguments against the public interest defence .............................................................. 103 11. Conclusions .................................................................................................................................................... 109 Annex 1: Selected Whistleblowing Cases ................................................................................................. 113 Bibliography ......................................................................................................................................................... 119 4 List of Acronyms ACLU – American Civil Liberties Union AFP – Australian Federal Police CIA – Central Intelligence Agency CSE – Communications Security Establishment CSRA – Civil Service Reform Act CTIVD – Dutch Review Committee on the Intelligence and Security Services DCAF – Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces ECHR – European Convention on Human Rights ECtHR – European Court of Human Rights ETA - Euskadi Ta Askatasuna EU – European Union FAIR – Federal Accountability Initiative for Reform FBI – Federal Bureau of Intelligence HMSO – Her Majesty's Stationery Office ICCPR – International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICWPA – Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act IG – Inspector General IGIS – Inspector General of Intelligence and Security 5 IPCC – Independent Police Complaints Commission ISC – Intelligence and Security Committee KIA – Kosovo Intelligence Agency LPSK – Witness and Victim Protection Agency MP – Member of Parliament MSPB – Merit Systems Protection Board NSA – National Security Agency NSW – New South Wales OSA – Official Secrets Act OSC – Office of Special Counsel OSF-JI – Open Society Foundations, Justice Initiative PID – Public Interest Defence PIDA – Public Interest Disclosure Act PACE – Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe PSDPA – Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act POGO – Project on Government Oversight