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Risky Rescues and the Duty to Blow the Whistle

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Abstract

This article argues that whilst the idea of whistleblowing as a positive duty to do good or to prevent harm may be defendable, legislating that duty is not feasible. We develop our argument by identifying rights and duties involved in whistleblowing as two clusters: one of justice and one of benevolence. Legislative arguments have evolved to cover the justice issues and the tendency exists of extending rights and duties into the realm of benevolence. This article considers the problematic assumptions and implications of whistleblowing as a positive duty, by examining the extent to which the Good Samaritan argument holds with regard to whistleblowing. We argue that three criteria necessary for whistleblowing as a legally enforceable positive duty are not met, namely that we need to be able to (1) specify who should know what, (2) minimize the risk to the whistleblower and (3) adequately deal with mistaken concerns being raised.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Greenwich Business School, Park Row, London, SE10 9LS, U.K.

    Wim Vandekerckhove

  2. RMIT University, GPO Box 2476V, Melbourne, VIC 3001, Australia

    Eva E. Tsahuridu

Authors
  1. Wim Vandekerckhove
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  2. Eva E. Tsahuridu
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Correspondence to Wim Vandekerckhove.

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Vandekerckhove, W., Tsahuridu, E.E. Risky Rescues and the Duty to Blow the Whistle. J Bus Ethics 97, 365–380 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0513-2

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