The European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE) and Committe on Legal Affairs (JURI) will vote on Thursday 14 October on the draft report on ‘SLAPPs (strategic lawsuits against public participation)’ tabled by German MEP Tiemo Wölken (S&D) and Maltese MEP Roberta Metsola (EPP) (see EUROPE 12753/19).
In it, MEPs set out details of their position on what needs to be done at EU level to put an end to “SLAPPs”. These are unfounded lawsuits brought by powerful parties in an attempt to intimidate or silence journalists, NGOs and other representatives of civil society.
The compromise amendments that were negotiated by the political groups within the European Parliament regarding this issue were adopted on Monday 11 October. They have already provided an overview of the demands and recommendations that should be voted on in the parliamentary committee on Thursday and that will be submitted to the plenary vote at the beginning of November.
Early dismissal. The draft report therefore now contains a detailed list of criteria on which the Justice could rely in order to allow the early dismissal of a “SLAPP” and to avoid engaging in unfounded proceedings.
The proposed criteria are, in this case, “the number and nature of the lawsuits or actions brought by the claimant, the choice of jurisdiction and applicable law for each case, or the existence of a clear and serious imbalance of power between the claimant and the defendant”.
MEPs have also suggested that the methods for successful applications for early dismissal should include, for example, an obligation on the part of the applicant to justify the legal action and to bear the costs of the proceedings.
“Libel tourism” The compromise amendments that were adopted also provide greater safeguards regarding the phenomenon of ‘libel tourism’ or ‘forum shopping’. In some cases, SLAPPs will make an appeal before a court that they know will be favourable to them, even if it means going abroad.
Regarding this point, MEPs are calling for the ‘Brussels I’ and ‘Rome II’ regulations to be amended in order to establish that the competent court and the applicable law in defamation cases are those of the place in which the defendant habitually resides.
Scope. As noted in the committee meeting, MEPs have also slightly revised the list of people who are particularly vulnerable to SLAPPs.
One of the compromise amendments that was adopted emphasises that this can include people who express themselves both online and offline, in communications, publications or journalistic works such as editorial content, communications, publications or works of a political, scientific, academic or artistic nature.
MEPs hope that the European Commission will listen to them in the long run. The European Commission will present a draft directive and recommendations on “SLAPPs” in the second quarter of 2022. A consultation is currently underway on the subject (see EUROPE 12804/20). (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)