The Ethical ‘Dilemma’ of Whistleblowers in the Italian Legal Environment

The success of whistleblowing practice resides both on law enforcement and on cultural attitude towards the disclosure. Therefore, only a balanced and comprehensive approach could face the whistleblowing’s dilemma (and fear) when deciding whether or not reporting wrongdoings. In this way, we will first explore the evolution of the Italian legislation on this topic and then we analyse whether the Italian legislative efforts where effective and tailored to the specific characteristic of the Italian legal and cultural environment. Finally, in the conclusion of this paper, we consider the possibility of a different approach in preventing corruption, emphasising good practices and nudging positive behaviours within the Public Administration, which could also lead to a more precise and well-intended disclosures and curb the ‘egoistic-blowers’ issue