Council of Europe: SLAPPs as a symptom of democratic regression in Europe
This week the Fourth Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe-also known as the Council of Europe Summit-is taking place in Reykjavik to reinforce the Council’s key mission of safeguarding and promoting human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
This is the fourth Council of Europe Summit since its establishment in 1949 and thus an opportunity for civil society and member countries to address the important human rights challenges highlighted by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, in the 2023 Annual Report on the State of Democracy, Human Rights and the Rule of Law
Based on the findings of the various Council of Europe bodies, including the European Court of Human Rights, the Secretary General’s report assesses strengths and weaknesses in areas such as political institutions and judicial independence, freedom of expression and association, human dignity, anti-discrimination and democratic participation.
The report identifies strategic lawsuits against public participation as an example of the current democratic backlash in Europe.
In particular, the upward trend in the number of SLAPP suits, also highlighted in the annual report of the partner organizations of the Council of Europe Platform to Promote the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists (2022), is seen as a notable manifestation of the weaknesses of the legal framework for the protection of freedom of expression in many countries.
Therefore, the General Secretariat calls on countries to review their legal frameworks and redouble their efforts to implement the Court’s judgments adequately.
The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights raised the alarm on SLAPPs already in 2020, followed by an alert from the General Secretariat in 2021. Furthermore, in 2022, the European Court of Human Rights referred to SLAPPs in its judgment in the case of OOO Memo v. Russia, holding that a defamation case brought by a public authority against journalists did not pursue any legitimate aim. In addition, in 2022 the Committee of Ministers set up the Committee of Experts on Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation, composed of representatives of member states and independent experts, to work on a recommendation to be finalized by the end of 2023.
The annual report serves as a warning of the dangers of democratic backsliding but highlights the need for collective action to defend democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
Not surprisingly, the General Secretariat also underscores the growing demand for judges, prosecutors and lawyers to be trained especially in ethics. Indeed, only well-trained and qualified legal professionals can play a key role in strengthening the rule of law through the implementation of European standards in the country.
Our PATFox project pioneered this demand: by developing Europe’s first anti-SLAPP curriculum and training European lawyers on how to strategically counter these abusive lawsuits, our project represents one of the collective actions needed to address democratic backsliding in Europe.
Madrid, 19 / 05 / 2023
