SLAPPs, a directive drafted by civil society organizations

This paper was drafted at the initiative of a coalition of non-governmental organisations from across Europe that have been working together over the past years to raise awareness and urge policy makers to protect public watchdogs such as journalists, rights defenders, activists and whistleblowers from Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs). 

SLAPP suits are a form of legal harassment. Pursued by law firms on behalf of powerful individuals and organisations who seek to avoid public scrutiny, their aim is to drain the target’s financial and psychological resources and chill critical voices to the detriment of public participation. 

Currently, no EU member state has enacted targeted rules that specifically shield against SLAPP suits. EU-wide rules providing for strong and consistent protection against SLAPP suits would mark a crucial step forward towards ending this abusive practice in EU member states and serve as a benchmark for countries in the rest of Europe and beyond. Together with other legislative and non-legislative measures, it would contribute to secure a safer environment for public watchdogs and public participation in the EU.

This is why civil society has engaged a wide range of experts including academics, lawyers, practitioners, SLAPP victims and policy and advocacy specialists, to look into the value added, the feasibility and the key components of possible EU anti-SLAPP legislation. This paper is the result of this collaborative work: a model EU anti-SLAPP legislation proposing a set of rules which, if in place, would make sure that in each EU country SLAPPs are dismissed at an early stage of proceedings, SLAPP litigants pay for abusing the law and the courts, and SLAPP targets are given means and assistance to defend themselves.

As democracy and the rule of law come increasingly under pressure in a number of member states, this paper supports the call on EU policymakers by the undersigned organisations to urgently put forward an EU anti-SLAPP Directive to protect public watchdogs that help hold the powerful to account and keep the democratic debate alive. 

Signatories

1. ARTICLE 19 
2. Articolo21, liberi di...
3. Association of European Journalists (AEJ)
4. Association of European Journalists (AEJ-Belgium)
5. Associazione Stampa Romana
6. Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC)
7. Centre for Peace Studies
8. Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties)
9. Civil Rights Defenders
10. Civil Society Europe
11. Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
12. The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation
13. D.i.Re Donne in rete contro la violenza, Italy (network of women’s crisis centres)
14. Earth League International (ELI)
15. European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
16. European Civic Forum
17. European Environmental Bureau (EEB)
18. European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
19. FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
20. Forum Trentino per la Pace e i Diritti Umani
21. FNSI, Federazione Nazionale Stampa Italiana (The Union of Italian Journalists)
22. Free Press Unlimited (FPU) 
23. Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD)
24. Greenpeace EU Unit
25. Government Accountability Project
26. Guardian News and Media Limited 
27. Human Rights Centre “Antonio Papisca”, University of Padova, Italy
28. Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF) 
29. Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU)
30. Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC)
31. IFEX
32. ILGA-Europe (European region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association)
33. Index on Censorship
34. International Media Support (IMS)
35. International Press Institute (IPI)
36. Justice and Environment (J&E)
37. Media Defence 
38. Media Diversity Institute (MDI) 
39. NGO Shipbreaking Platform
40. OMCT (World Organisation Against Torture), within the framework of the Observatory for the         Protection of Human Rights Defenders
41. Pištaljka
42. Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP)
43. Open Society Initiative for Europe (OSIFE)
44. Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT)
45. Ossigeno per l’informazione
46. Oživení 
47. PEN International 
48. Platform for Independent Journalism (P24)
49. Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
50. Rights International Spain (RIS)
51. Sindacato Cronisti Romani (Regional Journalists’ Union, Italy)
52. Sindacato Giornalisti del Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol (Regional Journalists’ Union, Italy)
53. South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO)
54. SpeakOut SpeakUp Ltd (United Kingdom)
55. The Good Lobby
56. Towarzystwo Dziennikarskie, Poland (Society of Journalists)
57. Transparency International EU 
58. Umweltinstitut München 
59. UNESCO Chair "Human Rights, Democracy and Peace", University of Padova
60. Whistleblowing International Network