Translation of "Rapport de l'agent d'enquête des PSR " (French → English) :

35. Notes that, according to Special Report No 2/2011, “there is still no independent control of the legality of investigative acts in progress, nor is there a code guaranteeing that investigative acts follow a predictable course”, notwithstanding repeated announcements made by OLAF in the past; notes, furthermore, that although there is an explicit will in the Commission’s amended proposal for a Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 (COM(2011)0135) to put in place a review procedure, this will not be equal to an independe ...[+++]nt control of the legality of individual investigations and is thus even weaker in this regard than the initial proposal; recalls that this is a key demand, reflected also in the case-law of the Court of Justice; therefore considers it a must to ensure such a control mechanism, not only in order to protect the rights of the persons or economic operators concerned but also to protect the rights of the investigators of OLAF from legal proceedings initiated by those persons or economic operators; also stresses the need for a clear mandate for OLAF with regard to the other institutions of the Union;

35. Notes that, according to Special Report No 2/2011, ‘there is still no independent control of the legality of investigative acts in progress, nor is there a code guaranteeing that investigative acts follow a predictable course’, notwithstanding repeated announcements made by OLAF in the past; notes, furthermore, that although there is an explicit will in the Commission's amended proposal for a Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 (COM(2011)0135) to put in place a review procedure, this will not be equal to an independe ...[+++]nt control of the legality of individual investigations and is thus even weaker in this regard than the initial proposal; recalls that this is a key demand, reflected also in the case-law of the Court of Justice; therefore considers it a must to ensure such a control mechanism, not only in order to protect the rights of the persons or economic operators concerned but also to protect the rights of the investigators of OLAF from legal proceedings initiated by those persons or economic operators; also stresses the need for a clear mandate for OLAF with regard to the other institutions of the Union;

In any event, before the investigation's final report is drawn up no conclusions referring by name to a natural or legal person may be drawn on completion of an investigation unless the person thus personally implicated has been given the opportunity to make his views known, in writing or at an interview with employees designated by the Office, on all matters concerning him.

4. Where an investigation report is drawn up analysing the circumstances of the incident or accident referred to in paragraph 3 or the conclusions that can be drawn from it, the Tunnel Manager shall forward this report to the Safety Officer, the administrative authority and the emergency services no later than one month after he/she receives it himself/herself.

Therefore, the responsibilities of the Public Service Integrity Officer are: to provide advice to employees who are considering making a disclosure; to review disclosures and requests for review; to establish if there are sufficient grounds for review; to ensure that procedures are in place to manage instances of wrongdoing that require immediate or urgent action; to investigate or review the results of investigations; to prepare reports and make recommendations on how to address the disclosure; in cases when the departmental re ...[+++]sponses are not adequate or timely, to report to the Clerk of the Privy Council; to ensure that the protection of the information is in accordance with the Privacy Act and the Access to Information Act; to protect from reprisal employees who disclose information concerning wrongdoing in good faith; to monitor the type and disposition of cases brought to his attention; and to prepare an annual report to the Privy Council (1620) As for reprisals, employees who claim they are victims of reprisals can make a complaint to the office of the integrity officer only if the original complaint was lodged with that office.

With respect to the HRDC investigation process: (a) why is regional discretion in regard to the department's caution statement permitted to be exercised by HRDC officials; (b) has the department carried out an internal investigation concerning the practice of using the HRDC official consent form to obtain statements from claimants; (c) what is the procedure used by the department to ensure the reliability and credibility of all third party reports used to initiate investigations; (d) are interrogations conducted with the use of audio or video equipment in order to determine the accuracy and validity of testimony provided and technique ...[+++]s used during interrogation by departmental officials; (e) has HRDC considered providing duty counsel to avoid, minimize or eliminate any charter of rights challenges; (f) has the minister been counselled by the department regarding section 2.20 of the HRDC document investigation and control manual and, if so, what measures and directives have been taken to correct the apparent contradictions between this document and subsection 41(5) of the Employment Insurance Act; (g) why does the claimant not receive a copy of the signed statement of declaration; (h) why does the investigation and control manual not emphasize the legal responsibility of providing the claimant with a copy of the signed statement of declaration; (i) what process does the department use to evaluate the investigation control officer's performance; and (j) what specific action has the minister initiated to address the issue of incompetence and inexperience, as noted in the department's prosecution program review report and the auditor general's report regarding the investigation control officer?