Co-authored by Philip S. Boni of Higgs and
Johnson
Approximately two years after it was enacted to protect public
and private sector employees who report wrongdoing, the
Whistleblower Protection Law, 2015 went into effect on February 1,
2018. One reason advanced for the delay in implementing the law was
the inadequacy of mechanisms and institutions to enforce the law.
These inadequacies will be addressed in part by the merger of the
Office of the Complaints Commissioner, which has not had a
permanent leadership for years, with the Information
Commissioner’s Office. An ombudsman will oversee the merged
commission and will have responsibility for monitoring
whistleblower cases.
The proposal for whistleblower legislation in the Cayman Islands
was prompted in part by a 2014 report from the Complaints
Commissioner's office, which focused on allegations of
wrongdoing within the civil service. According to news reports, the
then complaints commissioner had allegedly
