Due to the fragmentation and inconsistency of whistleblower protection legislation across EU Member States, the EU adopted the Whistleblowing Directive on 23 October 2019. The Whistleblowing Directive sets minimum standards for the protection of whistleblowers in the EU, which has been in force since 16 December 2019. Member States were required to transpose it into national law by 17 December 2021.

In this regard, the Czech Republic failed to implement the Whistleblowing Directive within the implementation period. As a result, the Whistleblowing Directive has direct effect from 18 December 2021, although imposing obligations only on public entities (such as state and municipal authorities, public universities, public healthcare institutions, and publicly owned companies) rather than private enterprises. The Ministry of Justice issued guidelines on the Whistleblowing Directive’s direct effect, which was last updated on 15 December 2021.