EUROPE’S FIRST RULES TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS FROM ABUSIVE LAWSUITS APPROVED​

By Ane Barcos / Aquí Europa

MEPs have approved this Tuesday, February 27, 2024, with 546 votes in favor, 47 against and 31 abstentions the law agreed with Member States last December that aims to ensure the protection of journalists, media organizations, activists, academics, artists and researchers from unfounded and abusive legal proceedings

The so-called anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation) law will apply in all cross-border cases, except where both the defendant and the plaintiff are domiciled in the same Member State as the court or where the case is only relevant to one Member State.

MEPs have strengthened the protection of victims of abusive claims through new financial safeguards, such as the early dismissal of unfounded claims and the possibility for the claimant to bear the costs of the proceedings.

Measures have also been put in place to prevent forum shopping and to ensure that judgments issued in third countries on unfounded or abusive proceedings against persons or institutions of the Union are not recognized.

In addition, Member States undertake to provide access to information on procedural safeguards and legal aid, and to publish judgments on cases of strategic claims against public participation.

After the vote in plenary, the Social Democrat MEP, Tiemo Wölken, stressed that strategic lawsuits against public participation in the EU “are a threat to the rule of law and seriously undermine the fundamental rights to freedom of expression, information and association”.

In that sense, he has emphasized that they constitute a form of legal harassment and an abuse of the judicial system, “to which more and more powerful individuals and organizations are resorting to evade public scrutiny”.

Thus, this Directive will seek to combat strategic lawsuits and prevent people from using the courts to intimidate journalists and activists and prevent them from disclosing information.

For her part, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, has assured through her X account to feel very proud of the leading role of the Parliament in the anti-SLAPP Directive that protects journalists and activists from threats and harassment. The Maltese said it was a “historic vote”.

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This article was originally published in Here Europe, with whose permission we reproduce it.