Whistleblowing

The law is aimed at whistleblowers:

• working in the private or public sector
• having obtained information about violations in a professional context (this may be a current, past or future employment relationship), including:
• employees (including civil servants and state employees);
• self-employed;
• shareholders and members of the administrative, management or supervisory body of a company, including non-executive members as well as volunteers and paid or unpaid interns;
• any person working under the supervision and direction of contractors, subcontractors and suppliers.

It is also aimed at :

• facilitators (natural persons who help a whistleblower in a confidential way);
• colleagues or relatives of the whistleblower who are at risk of retaliation; and
• legal entities belonging to the whistleblower for which he/she works, or with which he/she has professional connections;
• persons who have reported or disclosed information about violations anonymously, but who are identified subsequently and are the subject of retaliation;
• persons who report violations to the competent institutions, bodies or organisms of the European Union.

A violation within the meaning of the law on whistleblowers encompasses all acts or omissions which:

1. are unlawful; or
2. go against the object or purpose of the provisions of national or European law of direct application.

Information about violations, including reasonable suspicions, concern:

• actual or potential violations; or
• attempts to cover up such violations;
• actual or potential violations that have occurred or are very likely to occur:
  • in the organization in which the whistleblower works or has worked; or
  • in another organization with which the whistleblower is or has been in contact in the course of his/her work.

Are not covered by the law on whistleblowers:

• reports of violations relating to national security;
• whistleblowers who are subject to:
  • medical secrecy;
  • confidentiality rules applying between lawyers and their clients;
  • professional secrecy to which a notary or a judicial officer are bound;
  • secrecy of judicial deliberations;
  • rules on criminal proceedings.

ALIA’s competence to receive external reports extends to violations that occurred in a professional setting in connection with:

1. a breach of the provisions referred to in article 35sexies of the amended law of July 27, 1991 on electronic media, of a provision of one of the grand-ducal regulations adopted in execution of this law as well as of the concessions, authorizations and specifications associated with the latter. This relates in particular to violations of the rules on:
   • a) the prohibition of any incitement to violence or hatred aimed at a group of people or a member of a group based in particular on race, gender, opinion, religion or nationality;
   • b) the respect of human dignity;
   • c) the protection of minors;
   • d) the content (prohibition of clandestine commercial communications, subliminal techniques and any discrimination, protection of human dignity, health, safety and the environment), the form (advertising, sponsorship, product placement, tele-shopping) and the cumulative duration of commercial communications;
2. the failures by a provider of video-sharing platforms in accordance with the provisions of article 28seventies of the law, which provides for the appropriate measures to be taken by this category of providers. These include, in particular, failures of such providers to comply with their obligation to take appropriate measures to protect:
   • a) minors from programmes, user-created videos and audiovisual commercial communications that may impair their physical, mental or moral development;
   • b) the general public from programmes, user-created videos and audiovisual commercial communications involving incitement to violence or hatred;
   • c) the general public from programmes, user-created videos and audiovisual commercial communications with content of which the dissemination constitutes one of the criminal offences provided for in article 28seventies, paragraph 1, letter c of the law;
3. the failures by an organiser of public cinematographic representations in relation to the rules provided for in the law of April 20, 2009 on the access to public film performances, which govern the classification in the appropriate age category of the films and the display of this classification; and
4. the breaches of obligations relating to the publication, dissemination and comment of any opinion poll directly or indirectly relating to a referendum, a popular consultation or to communal, legislative or European elections, as defined by articles 2 and 3 of the law of December 14, 2015 on political opinion polls.

Note : Whistleblowers cannot disclose information that they have obtained or to which they gained access by committing a criminal offense.

The law prohibits any form of retaliation, including threats and attempts to retaliate against a whistleblower. This includes in particular the prohibition of the:

1. suspension of an employment contract, layoff, dismissal, non-renewal or early termination of a fixed-term employment contract or equivalent measures;
2. demotion or refusal of promotion;
3. transfer of functions, change of the place of work, reduction of the salary, change of working hours;
4. suspension of training;
5. disciplinary measures imposed or administered, reprimand or other sanction, including a financial sanction;
6. non-conversion of a temporary employment contract into a permanent contract, when the employee could legitimately hope to be offered a permanent job;
7. performance evaluation or a negative work certificate;
8. early termination or cancellation of a contract for goods or services ;
9. cancellation of a licence or permit;
10. coercion, intimidation, harassment or ostracism;
11. discrimination, disadvantageous or unfair treatment;
12. harmful behaviour, including damage to the person’s reputation, in particular on social networks, or financial losses, including loss of activity and loss of income;
13. blacklisting by a formal or informal agreement at the sectoral or industry level, which may imply that the person will not find a job in the future in this sector or industry;
14. referral to psychiatric or medical treatment.

To be protected against all forms of retaliation and to benefit from the status of whistleblower, the author of the report must have :

1. had reasonable grounds to believe that the information reported about the violations was truthful at the time of the report and that such violation falls within the scope of the law;
2. filed a report either internally (via the reporting channels of his/her company or administration), or externally (via the reporting channels of the competent authority); and
3. made a public disclosure (following an external report that remained without result).

A whistleblower who has suffered retaliatory measures may request, within 15 days following notification of a measure, by initiating proceedings before the competent court, that this measure be declared null and void and obtain a ruling that this measure should cease.

The person who has not applied for the nullity of retaliatory measures or who has already obtained their nullity may still initiate proceedings to request damages.

It should be underlined that in the context of a reporting procedure (initiated before a court or with a competent authority) concerning a damage incurred by the whistleblower, it is presumed that the damage was caused in retaliation for the report or public disclosure (provided that the whistleblower establishes that he/she has filed a report or made a public disclosure). In such cases, the person who took the harmful measure must establish the reasons for this.

Persons who exercise retaliatory measures or initiate abusive procedures against whistleblowers can be sentenced to a fine of 1,250 to 25,000 Euro.

When people report information about violations or make a public disclosure, they are not considered to have violated a restriction on the disclosure of information and do not incur any liability. However, they must have had reasonable grounds to believe that the reporting or public disclosure of such information was necessary to reveal a violation.

Moreover, whistleblowers do not incur any liability for obtaining information that is reported or disclosed publicly, nor for accessing such information, provided that obtaining or accessing such information does not constitute an autonomous criminal offense. If obtaining or accessing such information constitutes an autonomous criminal offense, their criminal responsibility will be governed by the applicable national and European law.

In legal proceedings, whistleblowers do not incur any liability for reports or public disclosures made under the law on whistleblowers. They have the right to invoke this report or public disclosure to request the end of the proceedings, provided that they had reasonable grounds to believe that the report or public disclosure was necessary to reveal a violation under this law.

Yes, ALIA will examine the report, even if the whistleblower has not previously filed an internal report. However, ALIA encourages whistleblowers to first file an internal report before proceeding with an external report, when:

• it is possible to effectively remedy the violation internally;
• the whistleblower believes that there is no risk of retaliation.

Whistleblowers who publicly disclose a violation benefit from the protection of the law if:

1. they first filed an internal and external report or if they directly filed an external report, but no appropriate action was taken in response to the report within 3 months of the report; or
2. they have reasonable grounds to believe that:
   • a) the violation may represent an imminent or obvious danger to the public interest (for example in case of an emergency situation or a risk of irreversible harm); or
   • b) in the event of an external report, there is a risk of retaliation or there is little chance that the violation will be truly remedied, due to the particular circumstances of the case (for example when evidence may be concealed or destroyed or when an authority may be in collusion with the perpetrator of the violation or involved in the violation).

ALIA processes any report in strict compliance with confidentiality requirements regarding the identity of whistleblowers.

Thus, ALIA will not disclose:

• the identity of whistleblowers without their express consent ;
• any other information, which could directly or indirectly lead to discover the identity of the whistleblower;

except in the case of a necessary and proportionate obligation imposed by the amended law of June 8, 2004 on freedom of expression in the media or by European Union law on investigations conducted by national authorities or in the context of judicial proceedings, in particular with a view to safeguarding the rights of defence of the person concerned.

Disclosures are subject to appropriate safeguarding measures. ALIA informs whistleblowers in writing detailing the reasons before their identity is disclosed unless such information risks compromising the investigations or the legal proceedings.

The person who wishes to file a report can contact ALIA via the reporting platform, accessible on the right side of this page.

Please note that this reporting platform designed for receiving and processing reports guarantees the completeness, integrity and confidentiality of the information transmitted to ALIA. Only authorized ALIA staff members have access to it. They are subject to professional secrecy.

In addition to the reporting platform,

• reports can be filed in writing, by
  • regular mail to the following address:
    Autorité luxembourgeoise indépendante de l’audiovisuel (ALIA)
    Service « Signalements externes »
    18, Rue Erasme L-1468 Luxembourg
  • e-mail to: 

• reports can be filed orally:
  • by phone at the number: 247 -70177
  • by leaving a voicemail message on the phone number: 247-70177
  • at the request of the whistleblower, in a face-to-face meeting.

Reports and the attached documents relating to the alleged facts must be prepared in French, German, Luxembourgish or English.

For further information on the processing of reports, please read “How does ALIA process reports?”

The person who wishes to file a report can contact ALIA via the reporting platform, accessible on the ALIA website.

Please note that this reporting platform designed for receiving and processing reports guarantees the completeness, integrity and confidentiality of the information transmitted to ALIA. Only authorized ALIA staff members have access to it. They are subject to professional secrecy.

In addition to the reporting platform,

• reports can be filed in writing, by
  • regular mail to the following address:
    Autorité luxembourgeoise indépendante de l’audiovisuel (ALIA)
    Service « Signalements externes »
    18, Rue Erasme L-1468 Luxembourg
  • e-mail to: 
• reports can be filed orally :
  • by phone at the number: 247 -70177
  • by leaving a voicemail message on the phone number: 247-70177
  • at the request of the whistleblower, in a face-to-face meeting.

Reports and the attached documents relating to the alleged facts must be prepared in French, German, Luxembourgish or English.

ALIA does not record reports made by phone, but it will, with the consent of the whistleblower, draw up and keep accurate minutes of the main elements of the conversation that the whistleblower can then verify, rectify and sign for approval.

Likewise, ALIA ensures, with the consent of the whistleblower, to keep complete and accurate records of reports filed in person in the form of a recording or minutes. The author of the report will have the opportunity to verify, rectify and approve the minutes of the meeting and sign them.

ALIA also ensures that, when a report is received through channels other than the reporting platform set up by ALIA for this purpose, or by staff members other than those responsible for processing reports, the staff members who receive the report refrain from disclosing any information that would identify the author of the report or the person concerned and that they transmit the report promptly without modification to the staff members responsible for processing reports.

If ALIA receives a report that does not fall within its field of competence, it will send it immediately, in a confidential and secure way, to the competent authority.

In strict compliance with the confidentiality rules governing the identity of the whistleblower, ALIA may request in writing the communication of any information it deems necessary from the entity targeted by the report.

ALIA shall in particular:

• acknowledge receipt of the report within 7 days after its receipt, except in the case of:
  • express request to the contrary from the whistleblower; or
  • reasonable grounds to believe that acknowledging receipt of the report would compromise the protection of the whistleblower’s identity;
• ensure a diligent follow-up;
• and in compliance with the legal obligation on professional secrecy, provide the whistleblower with feedback within 3 months, or 6 months in duly justified cases.

When receiving a report for which it is not competent, ALIA will transmit it within a reasonable time and in a confidential and secure way to the competent national authority, which will then inform the whistleblower.

The Director decides on the admissibility of the report, including the competence of ALIA to investigate.

If the Director finds that ALIA is not competent or that the report is not admissible, this decision will be communicated to the whistleblower.

If the Director, after having ascertained that ALIA is competent to process the report, declares the report admissible, the file is forwarded for investigation to the persons in charge of processing reports.

At the end of the investigation, the investigating officer submits the file with his/her conclusions to the Director.

After examining the file of the investigation, the Director may decide to close the procedure:

• in case of obvious minor violation (without prejudice to other obligations or other applicable procedures aimed at remedying the reported violation);
• in case of repetitive reports, which do not contain any significant new information compared to a previous report, for which the procedure is closed.

ALIA then notifies its decision and the reasons on which it is based to the whistleblower.

If the Director decides not to close the procedure, the investigation file will be forwarded to the Office in charge of processing reports, which may impose an administrative fine.

The Office in charge of processing reports may impose an administrative fine against natural and legal persons who:

1. impede or attempt to impede a report;
2. refuse to provide information or provide incomplete or false information to the competent authorities;
3. violate the confidentiality granted to the authors of reports;
4. refuse to remedy the violation;
5. do not establish the channels and procedures for internal reports and their follow-up, as provided for by law.

The fine can range from 1.500 to 250.000 Euro and may be doubled in case of recurrence within 5 years from the last enforceable sanction.

The Office in charge of processing reports can also impose an administrative fine of 1,250 to 25,000 Euro against people who exercise retaliatory measures or who initiate abusive procedures against whistleblowers.

Please note that the whistleblower who has knowingly reported or publicly disclosed false information, may be sentenced to imprisonment from 8 days to 3 months and a fine of 1,500 to 50,000 Euro. The civil liability of the author of a false report will apply, and the entity that has suffered damages may seek compensation for these damages before the competent court.

Office des signalements
13, rue Erasme, Centre administratif Werner
L-1468 Luxembourg
Tel.: (+352) 247-88564
E-mail: |