Whistleblower Protection

Bělina & Partners advokátní kancelář s.r.o. (law office), Id. No.: 01614606, with its registered office at Pobřežní 370/4, 186 00 Prague 8 (the “Law Office”) has established an internal whistleblowing system in accordance with Act No. 171/2023 Coll., on the protection of whistleblowers, as amended (the “Whistleblower Protection Act”), for the purpose of reporting possible unlawful conduct that:

  •  has the features of a criminal offence;
  • has the features of an infraction subject to a fine with the upper limit of at least CZK 100 000;
  • violates the Whistleblower Protection Act or any other national legal regulation or regulation of the European Union in the area defined in Section 2 (1)(d) of the Whistleblower Protection Act.

Who is authorised to use the internal whistleblowing system:
A report may be submitted through the internal whistleblowing system by a natural person in connection with work or other similar activity that the person performs or has performed for the Law Office pursuant to the Whistleblower Protection Act. The Law Office has excluded persons not performing work or other similar activities for the Law Office pursuant to Section 2 (3)(a), (b), (h) or (i) of the Whistleblower Protection Act from the internal whistleblowing system.

Competent person responsible for receiving reports submitted through the internal whistleblowing system:
Kateřina Gottvaldová
Email: oznameni@belinapartners.cz
Tel.: +420226287013
Mailing address: Pobřežní 370/4, 186 00 Prague 8

The competent person may not disclose the data from the report to any third party other than a competent person, except for the transmission of information to the competent public authority under other legal regulations.

Means of reporting through the internal whistleblowing system:

  • By email to the above email address, which has been set up solely for the receipt of reports submitted under the Whistleblower Protection Act and which can be accessed only by the competent person authorised to receive the reports.
  • By post to the above mailing address. The letter must be addressed directly to the competent person and marked “Into the addressee’s own hands”.
  • By phone at the above telephone number. Calls on this line are not recorded.
  • In person by prior arrangement with the competent person. Appointments can be arranged by phone or email. The competent person must receive the report in person within a reasonable period of time (but not later than within 14 days).

Procedure after submitting the report:
Within 7 calendar days, the whistleblower will receive a confirmation that the notification has been received. The competent person must assess the justification of the report and notify the whistleblower in writing of the results of the assessment within 30 days of the date of receipt of the report. If the facts or legal aspects of the case are complex, this deadline may be extended by up to 30 days, but not more than twice. The competent person must notify the whistleblower of the extension of the deadline and the reasons for its extension in writing before its expiry.

Whistleblower’s obligations:
The whistleblower should act in good faith that his/her report is based on credible facts and evidence. The whistleblower must not knowingly make false reports. When obtaining documents proving the facts reported, the whistleblower should not commit any act that could have the features of a criminal offence.

Means of reporting through the external whistleblowing system of the Ministry of Justice:

In addition to (or instead of) the Law Office’s internal whistleblowing system, the whistleblower may also use the external system established by the Ministry of Justice, which is available (in Czech) at: want to submit a report – public – Whistleblower (justice.cz)

Detailed information for whistleblowers under the Whistleblower Protection Act is available (in Czech) at: Information for whistleblowers under the Whistleblower Protection Act – Whistleblower (justice.cz)