European Union Proposes Law To Curb Lawsuits Against Journalists

European Union authorities proposed on Wednesday new laws aimed at curbing excessive litigation aimed at silencing critical journalists and human rights advocates by governments and businesses, a form of harassment it proposed was gaining in popularity from Croatia to Poland.

As part of its latest assessment of the state of democracy in the EU, the Brussels-based European Commission noted that such so-called SLAPPs - or strategic lawsuits against public participation - are presenting a serious concern.

As the European Commission noted in its proposal for new remedies for the bloc, "Manifestly unfounded or abusive court proceedings against public participation are a recent, but an increasingly prevalent phenomenon in the European Union.".

A number of these disproportionate lawsuits, often based on defamation clauses, are intended to intimidate the target, exhaust their resources, and tie the target up in multiple legal proceedings, sometimes in multiple jurisdictions, according to the Commission. The claim is usually brought by claimants with more money or political power, and has a chilling effect on those targeted, a group that also includes academics, environmental activists, LGBT activists, and labor unionists, the report states.

According to the report, investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was involved in more than 40 defamation cases at the time of her murder in 2017. The deputy director of values and transparency for the Commission, Vera Jourova, stated that wealth and power do not have any advantage over truth in a democratic society. "We are helping to protect those who take risks and speak up when the public interest is at stake."

At the moment, no EU country has specific safeguards against SLAPPs, and only four are considering them. In the new rules, which Brussels will present to the member states and the European Parliament for their input and approval prior to taking effect, there would be an early dismissal of such cases and the claimant will be responsible for all legal costs.

It would cover cross-border cases of broad public interest, such as those related to money laundering or climate change, and would provide training and assistance for SLAPP targets. According to the green faction of the European Parliament, the proposal does not go far enough, partly because it does not require that members states ensure the same anti-SLAPP protections for domestic cases and consider them under civil law rather than criminal law.

The European Parliament, in its own report on this subject last year, expressed concern about SLAPPs being funded by state budgets. The proposal by the Commission on Wednesday would allow SLAPP targets to sue for damages, and courts would be able to impose penalties against the defendants to dissuade them from using such tactics in the future.

Additionally, it would allow EU countries to ignore cases brought against their residents by third countries, such as Britain, the jurisdiction of choice for a large number of Russian oligarchs, among others.