全球揭弊者法制之比較研究

A Comparative Study on Global Whistle-Blower Protection Legislation

揭弊者保護（whistle-blower protection 有時中譯為吹哨者保護）立法是全球反貪運動的重要趨勢。佔全球GDP 約85%的二十國集團（G20），2010年首爾高峰會宣言中明確支持各國立法保護揭弊者。揭弊者是救濟政府失靈或市場失靈的重要媒介之一。當公部門以國家安全與機密等級分類為理由，拒絕揭露關鍵事實，或是行政怠惰引起公益爭議時，揭弊者扮演重要之警示功能。私部門之揭弊者亦然，若無適當機制保護與鼓勵，例如黑心食用油等戕害公益案件將無從制度化的揭露，而只能依賴偶發型之善心人。
在台灣，既有之揭弊者保護法制為民國八十九年公布施行之證人保護法。但該法限於刑事案件，民法及行政法案件則不在保護之列。事實上公眾利益的範圍不限於刑事犯罪，因此先進國家對於揭弊者之保護已從刑事案件之證人保護條款，擴大至非刑事犯罪，並且傾向於另立專法保護揭弊者。
本文作者近五年（2012年迄今）來持續從事全球反貪運動之研究與行動倡議，並且以法務部外部委員身分深度參與法務部審查揭弊者保護法草案（公部門）。基於學術與實務經驗，本文以際透明組織等多個國際非政府組織發布之研究報告為基礎，首先剖析全球立法趨勢。其次，歸納揭弊者保護法制之最佳實踐模式（the best practices model），第三節為立法面與執法面落差的批判並且提出結論與建議以利台灣公部門於起草法案時同時考慮立法與未來執法之可行性。
綜合先進國家立法與執法經驗，本文發現全球趨勢正從聯合國反貪公約規定之限制性保護揭弊者（限於向權責公部門舉報）轉向全面周延的法制化；其次，匿名揭弊者之保護至關重要；第三，保護原則之例外規定往往過於空泛抽象，例如國家安全豁免條款可能抵銷對於揭弊者之保護規定。

Whistle-blower protection legislation is a growing trend of global anticorruption movement. G20 countries, which account for 85% of the world GDP, have expressed their firm support to enact domestic laws protecting whistle blowers in the Seoul Summit 2010. Whistle-blower is an agent to address either the government failure or market failure or both. When public sector applies national security and classified information as convenient excuses to refuse to disclose key facts or when public servants' inertial leads to public interests controversial, whistle blower can play a pivotal role of warning and alarming. So is the whistle blower in private sector. Without proper mechanism of protection and encouragement, public interest cases such as dirty cooking oil, which was make from recycled restaurant waste, would be reported by sporadic Samaritans rather than by institutional design.
The exiting whistle-blower protection law in Taiwan is the Witness Protection Law, which was promulgated in 2000. However, this legal protection is limited to criminal cases provided in the Criminal Code. Cases involving civil or administrative liabilities are excluded from applicability. Public interest protection, however, extends beyond criminal violations. Therefore, the global trend, with special reference to advanced countries, moving towards to enact dedicated law protection whistle blowers both in criminal and noncriminal cases.
The author has been dedicating himself to the research and action advocacy of global anti-corruption movement since 2012. He was heavily involved in reviewing the draft of whistle-blower protection law (for public sector only) as an external committee member of the Ministry of Justice in Taiwan in 2015. Based on both academic and practical experiences, this paper first examines global legislative trend in the context of multiple reports published by OECD, Transparency Interactional, and other INGOs. The second part of the paper induces the best practices model in protecting whistle-blowers and followed by a critique of the gap between legislation and enforcement. The conclusion and policy recommendations provides reference for decisionmakers to enact the law and enforce it.
To summarize the findings, this paper finds that the global trend is to expand the scope of protecting whistle blowers from limited applicability (only protect those who report to appropriate authorities) according to the UNCAC to comprehensive legal protection. Secondly anonymous reporting is an essential key to success. Finally the exemption of protection, such as national security exemption clauses, may be counterproductive to whistleblower protection law.