Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participations (SLAPPs)
Across Europe and beyond, powerful organisations and individuals abuse the legal system to bully journalists, activists and academics into silence. These cases are known as SLAPPs: Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participations. We are a proud member of CASE – the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe. We are also supporters of the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition.
In November 2022 we joined journalists, editors, publishers and lawyers in presenting a model UK anti-SLAPP law to the Secretary of State for Justice, Dominic Raab. The UK government has promised to introduce anti-SLAPP measures and we continue to keep up the pressure to see that it happens.
In March 2021, we were among 104 organisations urging the Council of Europe to take action. The Council of Europe has now committed to drafting a Recommendation on SLAPPs by the end of 2023. In 2022 CASE drafted a model EU anti-SLAPP directive, and handed over 200,000 signatures to the European Commission, calling for them to act to protect journalists, activists and whistleblowers across the EU.