Council of Ministers Regulation No. 405/2017
COUNCIL OF MINISTERS REGULATION TO PROVIDE FOR DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION FOR PUBLIC INTEREST
This Regulation is issued
by the Council of Ministers pursuant to Article 5 of the Definition of Powers
and Duties of the Executive Organs of the Federal Democratic Republic of
Ethiopia Proclamation No.916/2015 and Article 37 (3) of the Freedom of the Mass
Media and Access to Information Proclamation No.590/2008.
PART ONE
General
1. Short Title
This Regulation may be
cited as the “Disclosure of Information for Public Interest Council of
Ministers Regulation No. 405/2017”.
2. Definition
In this Regulation unless
the context requires otherwise:
1/ “public interest disclosure” means a disclosure of
information made in good faith in accordance with this Regulation and includes
any assistance or information given during an investigation on the basis of the
disclosure;
2/ “Institution of the Ombudsman” means the Ethiopian
Institution of the Ombudsman established under Proclamation No. 211/2000;
3/ “head of a public body” means an official who has been
authorized by law to lead any government institution;
4/ “employee” means any person who works for the public
service or public enterprise excluding the national intelligence service
personnel;
5/ “concerned public body”
means a body to which information is disclosed pursuant to Article 6 of this
Regulation.
3. Scope of Application
1/ This Regulation shall apply to any public interest
disclosure concerning a serious danger posed to the health or safety of the
public, the environment or any other harmful act committed in violation of duty
and on the employee who discloses such impropriety.
2/ Notwithstanding to the provision of sub-article (1) of
this Article, these Regulations shall not apply on information concerning to
the national defense force, police force and national intelligence service
institutions.
PART TWO
Channels of Public
Interest Disclosure
4. Disclosure
1/ Any employee may, in the interest of the
public, make disclosure of information on matters covered under Article 3(1) of
this Regulation.
2/ The identity of an
employee who makes disclosure of information in the interest of the public
shall be kept confidential.
5. Disclosure of information to Head of a Public Body
1/ Any employee shall first make a public interest
disclosure to a head of the public body where the impropriety is alleged to
have been committed or to a person delegated by him.
2/ Notwithstanding the provision of sub-article (1) of this
Article, a public interest disclosure may be made directly to the concerned
public body where:
a) there is a reason to believe that it is likely that
evidence relating to the impropriety will be concealed or destroyed; or
b) the disclosure made is related to a very urgent matter.
3/ An employee who disclosed information to a legal counselor
with an intention of seeking legal advice may not be considered as defying his
disclosure obligation to the head of the public body
4/ An employee may make public interest disclosure to the
concerned public body where the head of the public body to which disclosure is
made has not taken action within a reasonable period or the employee is
dissatisfied with the decision.
6. Disclosure of Information to a Concerned Public Body
A public interest
disclosure shall be made to the following concerned officials of the public
bodies:
1/ if the disclosure is related to the health or safety of an
individual or the public, to the Minister of Health;
2/ if the disclosure is related to the well-being of the
environment, to the Minister of the Environment, Forest Development and Climate
Change;
3/ if the disclosure is related to any other serious danger,
to the head of the appropriate public body.
7. Disclosure of Information to the Mass Media
Any employee, who made a
public interest disclosure in accordance with Article 6 of these Regulations,
may make the disclosure of information to the mass media where the head of a
concerned public body has failed to commence an investigation within 15 days or
decided not to investigate the impropriety.
PART THREE
Receipt, Investigation and
Decision-Making of Public Interest
Disclosure
8. Duty to Receive Public Interest Disclosure
/ The head of any public body who is in charge to receive
public interest disclosure in accordance with Articles 5 and 6 of this
Regulation shall register the information, give to the employee acknowledgement
of receipt in writing and keep the record confidential.
2/ The disclosure of information shall contain
at least the following particulars:
a) the full name, address and occupation of the employee who
made the disclosure;
b) the nature of the impropriety;
c) the name and particulars of the person alleged to have
committed the impropriety;
[
d) the time and place where the alleged impropriety took
place, if possible;
e) any additional evidence under the possession of the
employee.
9. Investigation
1/ The head of any public body who is authorized to receive
public interest disclosure in accordance with Articles 5 and 6 of these
Regulations shall immediately commence investigation upon receipt of
information.
2/ The head of any public body who received public interest
disclosure may require evidence necessary for the investigation from any person
who is in control of such evidence.
3/ Any employee who made public interest disclosure has the
right to assist during the investigation and know its outcome.
4/ If the disclosed information does not fall under his
jurisdiction, the head of any public
body shall immediately refer the disclosed information to the concerned public
body and notify same to the employee who made the disclosure.
10. Decision-making
1/ The head of any public body who received public interest
disclosure shall give decision immediately upon the completion of an
investigation.
2/ The decision made in accordance with sub-article (1) of
this Article shall be given to the public body where the impropriety is alleged
to have been committed.
PART FOUR
Protection to an Employee
Who Makes
Public Interest Disclosure
11. Conditions of
Protection
Any employee who makes
public interest disclosure shall enjoy protection specified under this
Regulation where he:
1/ makes the disclosure in good faith;
2/ makes the disclosure to the public body authorized in
accordance with these Regulations; and
3/ maintains the confidentiality of his identity and the
disclosed information.
12. Immunity from Liability
No employee shall be
liable to criminal, civil and/or administrative proceedings for making a public
interest disclosure in accordance with the provisions of Article 39 of the
Freedom of the Mass media and Access to Information Proclamation No.590/2008.
13. Burden of Proof
Where an employee who
makes public interest disclosure lodge a complaint, the burden of proof lies on
the person against whom the complaint is made.
14. Protection against any Retaliatory Measure
1/ Any retaliatory measure against an employee who made
public interest disclosure shall be prohibited.
2/ For the purpose of these Regulations retaliatory measure
means disciplinary measures taken by the public body against an employee who
made a public interest disclosure and includes the following:
a) dismissal, suspension or demotion;
b) transfer against his will or refusal of transfer when he
is entitled;
c) denial of promotion or training opportunities;
d) denial
of any employment benefits; or
e) any measure that result in adverse effect on the
employee.
15. Lodging of Complaint
1/ Any employee who is subjected to a retaliatory measure as
a result of his public interest disclosure may lodge his complaint to the
Institution of the Ombudsman.
2/ The Institution of the Ombudsman shall, upon investigating
the disclosure, take redressing measures within 30 days from the receipt of the
complaint.
3/ If the Institution
of the Ombudsman proves that a retaliatory measure has been taken against the employee
who made the disclosure, it shall give the appropriate order to the public body
who took the retaliatory measure to reinstate the employee to his position held
prior to such measure.
PART FIVE
Miscellaneous Provisions
16. Reporting
1/ The head of any public body that is authorized to receive
public interest disclosure shall submit to the Institution of the Ombudsman a
report containing the type, number and decisions made on such disclosure within
15 days of its disclosure.
2/ The Institution of the Ombudsman shall, based on the
report, shall cause rectification measure to be taken.
17. Inapplicable Laws
No regulation, directive
or customary practice shall, in so far as it is inconsistent with the
provisions of these Regulations, be applicable with respect to matters provided
for in this Regulation.
18. Power to Issue Directive
The Chief Ombudsman of the
Institution of the Ombudsman may issue directives necessary for the proper
implementation of this Regulation.
19. Effective Date
This Regulation shall
enter into force on the date of publication in the Federal Negarit Gazette.
Done at Addis Ababa, this
26th day of May 2017.
HAILEMARIAM DESSALEGN
PRIME MINISTER OF THE FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA
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