A project of European directive intends to limit the increase in these practices which aim to intimidate people.
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It’s been a long time since this practice exists, but until recently, it remained confidential. The assassination of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017 changed things. We then discovered that she was the subject of around forty trials, which aimed to suffocate him financially and to prevent him from continuing his investigations on corruption in his country.
Wednesday, April 27, the European Commission presented a proposal to combat these bay procedures-or, as they are called in the Anglo-Saxon world, Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP). Most often launched for defamation, they have no other object, in fact, than to intimidate and silence journalists, whistleblowers and other activists. Whatever the outcome, as long as they waste time, energy and money to people who are the target.
“We worked on behalf of Daphne,” began the vice-president of the Commission, Vera Jourova, who did not hide her difficulties in developing an effective device. Brussels’ skills are limited to these subjects that affect freedom of expression and legal systems of member states. 2> “It’s David against Goliath”
In this context, the European executive can only ambition to legislate on cross -border cases. This has the consequence of reducing the field of the future directive. The coalition against SLAPPs in Europe (box), which brings together several NGOs, has identified, between 2010 and 2021, 570 cases of baye procedures, of which only 10 % were engaged in another country than that where the journalist is located or the target activist.
“We have given a broad definition of the transnational nature of the case: if the subject is part of the general interest and concerns other countries than that where the legal procedure is initiated, then the legislation of the commission can s ‘Apply “, replies a European official, who quotes the case of an activist of an NGO or a journalist who would be attacked for his work on climate change.
In this context, the community executive hopes that judges be able to quickly reject abusive procedures, launched by companies, businessmen or public authorities who have much more means than the individual they attack.
“It’s David against Goliath,” comments Vera Jourova. She quotes the case of British journalist Catherine Belton, author of the book Putin’s People (William Collins, 2020), who has been the subject of several attacks in justice, in London and Australia, notably by the Roman oligarch Abramovitch.
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