Protection of speakers

The Public Body "Plačiajuostis internetas" hereby informs you that if you are related to:

1. You are in the process of being recruited by the public body "Plačiajuostis internetaas";

2. You are a member of the management or supervisory body of the Broadband Public Body (including non-executive members and unpaid internships);

3. In an employment or contractual relationship;

4. Other pre-contractual relationships;

5. Or you are any natural person involved in the activities of the public body "Plačiajujuostis internetaas", working under the supervision and direction of contractors, subcontractors and/or suppliers;

and you have observed or become aware of an infringement of the law which threatens or infringes the public interest (e.g. danger to public security or health, life or health of a person; danger to the environment; illegal or non-transparent use of public funds or property, etc.), please report it to us!

What is an infringement? A criminal offence, administrative offence, misconduct in office or breach of professional duties, as well as a serious violation of the mandatory standards of professional conduct, which may have been prepared, committed or perpetrated within the institution, an attempt to conceal the offence in question, or any other offence which threatens or infringes the public interest and which comes to the attention of the person reporting the offence by virtue of the fact that he or she has or would have had the opportunity to do so in the course of his or her service, employment or contractual relationship (consultancy, contracting, subcontracting, traineeship, internship, volunteering, etc.) 

In order to provide adequate opportunities for reporting and to ensure the prevention and detection of violations of the law, the Whistleblower Protection Act establishes:

1. The grounds and forms of protection for persons who report violations in institutions;

2. 2. the rights and obligations of persons who report violations in institutions;

3. Measures for the protection, promotion and assistance of whistleblowers in establishments.

You can report an infringement:

1. Through the internal whistleblowing channel - by emailing praneš[email protected]. We recommend using the following method for reporting Infringement notification form;

2. By submitting a free-form notification, stating who, when, how and in what way the infringement is being committed, is being committed or has been committed, etc.; the date and circumstances of the knowledge of the infringement; your name, surname, personal identification number, place of work, contact details: e-mail address and other contact details (how and when you can best be reached); stating that this information is provided in accordance with the Whistleblowers' Protection Law;

3. Directly to the Competent Entity of the public body "Plačiajujuostis internetas":

Jelena Streikuviene, tel. +370 602 10 477, e-mail: [email protected];
Živilė Mikoliūnaitė, tel. +370 607 33 011, e-mail: [email protected];
4. Directly to the Prosecutor's Office. A person may apply directly to the Prosecutor's Office when at least one of the following circumstances exists:

4.1. the infringement is of fundamental importance for the public interest;

4.2. it is necessary to prevent or terminate the infringement as soon as possible, because serious damage may result;

4.3. Persons having a managerial, employment, service or contractual relationship with the institution may themselves be committing or have committed an infringement;

4.4. Information about an irregularity has been submitted through the internal whistleblowing channel, but no response has been received or no action has been taken in response to the information submitted, or the measures taken have been ineffective;

4.5. there are grounds for believing that the submission of the information on the breach through the internal whistleblowing channel may not protect the anonymity or confidentiality of the whistleblower, or may be intended to cover up the reported breach or to have an adverse impact on the whistleblower;

4.6. the institution does not have an internal whistleblowing channel in place;

4.7. the whistleblower is unable to use the internal whistleblowing channel because he/she does not have an employment, service or other legal relationship with the institution.

5. Publicly. Information on a breach may be provided publicly to report an imminent threat to human life, public health or the environment, where urgent action is necessary to prevent such a threat and time constraints do not allow the breach to be reported by other means or where the breach has not been reported by other means in time for the necessary action to be taken.

Confidentiality will apply to the person providing information about the infringement. The confidentiality requirement does not apply except in cases where:

1. The person providing or submitting the information about the infringement requests it in writing;

2. The person provides knowingly false information.

A person shall not be subject to any contractual or tortious liability, including liability for defamation, as a result of the provision of information on an infringement, provided that, when providing information on an infringement in accordance with the procedure laid down by the law, he or she reasonably believed that he or she was providing true information.

A person shall only be liable for damages resulting from the provision of information on an infringement if it is proved that the person could not reasonably have assumed that the information he or she provided was correct.

The provision of information which is notoriously false, or which constitutes a State or official secret, shall not give the person who has provided the information about the infringement any guarantees under the law. A person who has provided information which is notoriously false or who has disclosed a State or official secret or a professional secret shall be liable in accordance with the procedure laid down by law.

Legal remedies:

1. The rights and remedies of the whistleblower, the facilitator, the whistleblower, and the person involved in the breach may not be waived, limited or denied by labour relations, arbitration or any other agreement.

2. Where the whistleblower is adversely affected, he shall inform the competent authority thereof.

3. Where a person who has provided information on a breach through the internal whistleblowing channel of the public body Broadband Internet is adversely affected, he shall submit the notification to the competent authority, which shall decide on the recognition of the person as a whistleblower.

4. The person who has provided information on the infringement, the whistleblower (family members, relatives of the whistleblower, colleagues working for the public institution "Broadband Internet") may apply to the court for redress in respect of the consequences resulting from the adverse impact measures. A person who has an employment relationship with the public body Plačiajuostis internetaas shall have the right to challenge an administrative decision or other action or omission taken against him/her and having negative consequences, in accordance with the Law on Administrative Procedure.

5. The whistleblower shall be entitled to remuneration for valuable information and to compensation for any adverse effects or potential effects resulting from the report he or she has submitted.

The procedure for submitting information, receiving, evaluating and taking decisions on information on infringements that may have been prepared, committed or are being committed in the public institution "Plačiajujuostis Internetas", as well as the whistle-blower protection measures to be applied, shall be laid down in the description of the procedure for the submission of information on infringements in the public institution "Plačiajuosis Internetas", approved by the Director's Order No. V-57 "On the Adoption of a Description of Procedures for Submitting Information about the Reporting of Information About Irregularities in the Public Institution "Plačiajuosis Internetas"" of 23 September 2021 (the approved Schedule of Procedures is attached).

In order to effectively implement the provisions of the Law on the Protection of Whistleblowers, the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, by Resolution No 1133 of 14 November 2018 "On the Implementation of the Law on the Protection of Whistleblowers of the Republic of Lithuania", approved:

1. Description of the procedure for remuneration of whistleblowers for valuable information;

2. 2. a description of the procedure for compensating whistleblowers for any negative impact or possible consequences resulting from the submitted report;

3. A description of the procedures for the establishment and operation of internal whistleblowing channels.

These documents are available for consultation here.