A further step towards the protection of whistleblowers: the creation of the Independent Authority for the Protection of Whistleblowers of the Community of Madrid
The Spanish Law 2/2023, of 20 February, regulating the protection of persons who report regulatory breaches and the fight against corruption (hereinafter, Law 2/2023) represented a paradigm shift in the fight against corruption and the commission of regulatory breaches within companies, establishing obligations for public and private entities regarding the implementation of Internal Information Systems (SII) and measures to protect the Informants. As a basic pillar of the institutional system in the field of whistleblower protection, Law 2/2023 establishes the figure of the Independent Authority for the Protection of Whistleblowers (A.A.I.), whose functions are set out in Article 43 of the aforementioned Law, which basically include the management of the external channel of communications, the adoption of whistleblower protection measures and the processing of sanctioning procedures and the imposition of sanctions on them entities, public or private, that fail to comply with the provisions of Law 2/2023.
In this regard, the creation of the Independent Authority for the Protection of Whistleblowers was recently approved at the state level by Royal Decree 1101/2024, of 29 October, approving the Statute of the Independent Authority for the Protection of Whistleblowers, A.A.I. Likewise, Law 2/2023 establishes the possibility for the Autonomous Communities to approve Independent Authorities analogous to the state one, with a scope of regional competence.
Thus, on 27 December 2024, the Assembly of Madrid approved Law 8/2024, of 26 December, on measures to improve public management at the local and regional level of the Community of Madrid. Through its Article 9, the aforementioned Law amends Law 10/2019, of 10 April, on Transparency and Participation of the Community of Madrid, assigning to the Madrid Transparency and Data Protection Council the exercise, within the scope of the Autonomous Community, of the functions attributed by Law 2/2023 to the Independent Authorities, in accordance with the provisions of article 43 of Law 2/2023.
It should also be noted that the Madrid Transparency and Data Protection Council will have sanctioning powers in the regional and local public sector of the Community of Madrid, with the president of said Council being responsible for agreeing to initiate and issuing a resolution in sanctioning proceedings.
At this point, it should be noted that Article 8.3 of Law 2/2023 establishes that both the appointment and dismissal of the Heads of the SII must be notified to the A.A.I., or, where appropriate, to the competent bodies of the Autonomous Communities, within ten (10) working days. Therefore, presumably, the Transparency and Data Protection Council must be notified of the designation of the Heads of the SII of the Madrid entities, once it enables the corresponding platform to carry out such communication.
In this way, the Community of Madrid joins the rest of the Autonomous Communities that already have their respective Independent Whistleblower Protection Authorities, such as Catalonia, Galicia, the Valencian Community, Navarre, Andalusia and Castilla-La Mancha.
The Compliance Department of Molins Defensa Penal is available to those organizations that wish to implement and/or manage Internal Information Systems, as well as to adapt them to the requirements of Law 2/2023 or meet information requirements from the regional Authorities in the matter, among other issues.
Compliance Department of Molins Defensa Penal.