EU COUNCIL AND PARLIAMENT REACH AGREEMENT ON LEGISLATION PROTECTING JOURNALISTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
The EU has taken an important step towards protecting journalists and human rights defenders against unfounded claims or abusive legal proceedings. The Spanish Presidency of the Council and the European Parliament reached a political agreement on a directive that would protect them from strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP).
The use of such lawsuits to silence people who speak out on issues of public interest is a growing phenomenon. The directive would establish procedural safeguards against such claims in civil matters with cross-border implications. “Our democracies are at risk when the rich and powerful can silence critics in court just because they speak out on matters of public interest. With this new law, the EU defends journalists and human rights defenders against unfounded and abusive court cases,” said Spanish Justice Minister Félix Bolaños.
Persons subject to SLAPP cases will benefit from a series of procedural guarantees and protections. They can ask the court to dismiss a claim at an early stage. If a claim is considered manifestly unfounded, the judge can decide to dismiss it at the earliest possible stage of the proceedings. The court should expedite requests such as this from the defendants. It may also require a financial guarantee from the person or company that filed the claim. A court may decide to require the plaintiff, i.e., the person or company that initiated a SLAPP case, to provide security for the costs of the proceeding. Or seek other types of remedies: a court may decide, for example, that the plaintiff must bear the costs of the proceeding, including the costs of legal representation of the SLAPP victim. A judge may also decide that the party who initiated the SLAPP case could be subject to a penalty or other equally effective measures.
CROSS-BORDER SLAPP CASES
The Council and the European Parliament agreed on how to define the cross-border nature of a SLAPP case. A case will be considered to have cross-border implications unless both parties are domiciled in the same Member State as the defendant court and all other elements relevant to the situation are located in that Member State.
THIRD COUNTRY JUDGMENTS
If a person living in the EU is the subject of a SLAPP case in a third country, EU member states must refuse recognition and enforcement of this third country judgment if it would be considered manifestly unfounded or abusive in the member state concerned.
SUPPORT MEASURES FOR SLAPP VICTIMS
To further support SLAPP victims, member states should provide, in one place, information on procedural safeguards and remedies.
To better understand the scope of the phenomenon, Member States will also collect specific data available on SLAPP cases in court.
NEXT STEPS
Today’s agreement will need to be endorsed by Member States’ representatives in the Council (Coreper). If approved, the text will have to be formally adopted by both the Council and the European Parliament.
SLAPPs are often initiated by powerful individuals, pressure groups, corporations and state bodies. Their purpose is to censor, intimidate and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition.
Typical targets of SLAPPs are journalists and human rights defenders. Others involved in public participation, such as researchers and academics, may also be targeted.
The rise of SLAPPs has been documented in a number of rule of law reports, European Commission assessments examining rule of law developments in EU member states, and Council of Europe analyses.
This news was originally published in Aquí Europa. If you use it, please cite the media.
