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Resolution 2171 (2017)
Parliamentary scrutiny over corruption: parliamentary cooperation with the investigative media
1. Corruption undermines States’ democratic
and economic systems. Combating this threat is essential to defending
European values and must continue to be a priority for both the
Council of Europe and its member States. The Parliamentary Assembly
is firmly resolved to do its utmost to strengthen the parliamentary dimension
of this fight, in particular through its Anti-Corruption Platform.
2. National parliaments have a vital role to play, not only through
lawmaking but also by encouraging integrity within their own ranks,
by setting an example in terms of transparency and by strengthening
co-operation with civil society and in particular with the media.
3. Investigative journalism is a key weapon in tackling corruption
and, in some cases, it is perhaps the only really effective external
means of prevention. Many cases of corruption would never have come
to light without the patient, difficult and dangerous work done
by journalists and the courage of whistle-blowers. The Assembly therefore
considers investigative journalism to be a “public asset”, which
should be given more recognition and support. The Assembly notes
that financing investigative journalism only through private or
only through State-controlled sources could lead to the public’s
lack of trust in the choice of and reporting on the issues investigated.
4. National parliaments should actively seek synergies with investigative
journalists and media in fighting corruption and financial misappropriation
and, more broadly speaking, in promoting good governance. The Assembly
firmly believes that closer co-operation between parliaments and
investigative journalists would strengthen the role and credibility
of parliaments in tackling corruption and increase citizens’ confidence
in democratic institutions and the media.
5. An environment that is conducive to investigative journalism
– and more generally to freedom of information and of the media
– requires firstly that journalists be given effective protection
against any violation of their safety and their physical integrity,
any unlawful detention, any attempt to intimidate them and any undue pressure
on their independence. The Assembly consistently underlines this.
However, other conditions are also necessary to ensure that investigative
journalism can do more to contribute to the common cause of combating
corruption.
6. The Assembly therefore recommends that member States of the
Council of Europe do more to include the role of investigative journalism
in their anti-corruption strategies and, to this end:
6.1. enact laws that ensure the widest
possible access to information;
6.2. put in place financial mechanisms to support investigative
journalism without compromising its independence;
6.3. provide adequate protection to whistle-blowers, including
by limiting any risk they might face of criminal proceedings or
retaliatory action.
7. In particular, the Assembly recommends that national parliaments:
7.1. as regards access to information:
7.1.1. ensure that the Council of Europe Convention on Access
to Official Documents (CETS No. 205) is ratified as soon as possible,
if this has not already been done;
7.1.2. include the revision and improvement of laws on access
to information on the parliamentary agenda; such laws should, inter alia:
7.1.2.1. also
apply to parliaments and guarantee transparency with regard to the financial
interests of all their members;
7.1.2.2. stipulate that data concerning the owners and the actual
beneficiaries of companies are easily accessible to the public at
large and to investigative journalists in particular;
7.2. as regards financial support for investigative journalism:
7.2.1. consider, in close collaboration with national associations
of journalists, the establishment of a national fund for investigative
journalism, whose statutes should guarantee that it is non-profit
and that its management is transparent and independent of politics;
make provisions to ensure that this national fund could receive
public subsidies and private donations whose transparency must be
guaranteed;
7.2.2. include in the annual budget a subsidy for the funding
of projects entailing enquiries, reporting or journalistic investigations,
the amount of which should ensure the financial sustainability of
the fund; the body responsible for managing the fund should be obliged
to inform parliament and the public on how the fund is being used,
without prejudice to enquiries already in progress or planned;
7.3. as regards improved protection of whistle-blowers:
7.3.1. give a precise but broad definition of “whistle-blowers”
and ensure that they are given protection which is at least equal
to that provided for in Committee of Ministers Recommendation CM/Rec(2014)7
on the protection of whistleblowers; in particular:
7.3.1.1. recognise
a “right to blow the whistle” in all cases where information is disclosed
in all good faith and is clearly in the public interest, for example
where infringements of fundamental rights or of criminal law, including
active or passive corruption, or facts that reveal a threat to safety,
health or the environment are concerned;
7.3.1.2. define the exercise of the “right to blow the whistle”
as an objective criterion for exemption from criminal liability;
forbid and penalise retaliatory measures against or abusive pressure
on whistle-blowers;
7.3.1.3. introduce a reporting line at national level (one that
does not rule out the possibility of directly reporting any wrongdoing
to the judicial authorities) to enable whistle-blowers, without
fear of any negative consequences, to bring a matter before an independent
authority which has the powers of enquiry and intervention required
to follow up the alert, while guaranteeing as appropriate the confidentiality
or anonymity of the whistle-blowers;
7.3.1.4. in this respect, as an alternative to the establishment
of specialist agencies, study as a priority two possible avenues
of action, which are not mutually exclusive: firstly to bring such
matters before parliamentary committees of enquiry and establish specific
procedures in national parliaments; and secondly to bring such matters
before the national ombudsperson, if such a body exists, and explicitly
entrust the ombudsperson by law with this competence, if this is
not already the case;
7.4. as regards collaboration between national parliaments
and investigative journalists and recognition of their work:
7.4.1. promote the image of investigative journalism and the
social recognition of the role it plays in a democratic society;
do more to involve investigative media in discussions on legislative reforms
concerning them and in the work of parliamentary committees of enquiry;
and bring this collaboration and its results to the attention of
the public at large.