2024-03-19 19:20:12
Journalists and human rights activists in the EU should be given greater protection once morest unjustified lawsuits in the future. The EU states gave the green light for an EU law on Tuesday, they announced. The aim is to protect people and organizations working in areas such as fundamental rights, the environment or the fight once morest disinformation and corruption. So-called slap lawsuits should be dismissed more quickly if they are obviously unfounded.
The short form Slapp stands for strategic lawsuits once morest public participation. These aim to intimidate or silence people who speak out on issues of public interest.
A well-known victim of Slapp is the murdered investigative journalist and blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia from Malta. She was one of the best-known journalists in the EU island state and in 2017 had researched corruption in connection with a contract for a power plant and connections to the highest levels of politics. That same year she was killed in a car bombing. According to the EU Commission, there were 47 lawsuits once morest them.
According to the new directive, those affected by abusive lawsuits might be compensated in the future. In addition, judges can impose deterrent penalties once morest plaintiffs such as lobby groups, companies or politicians. EU states must also introduce regulations that enable associations, organizations and unions to support the defendant or provide information in the proceedings. And contact points must be set up for victims of such abusive lawsuits.
Once the legal text has been published in the EU’s Official Journal, the 27 EU member states have two years to convert the regulations into national law.
The organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) described the political agreement as an important milestone, but at the same time called for ambitious implementation into German law. “The requirements of the directive are a minimum standard that Germany should go beyond in its law,” the organization said in response to a request from the German Press Agency. “It should be made clear at what point an intimidation proceeding becomes so obviously abusive that it can be dismissed early by a court.” In order to make protection once morest intimidation lawsuits effective in practice, the topic must also be incorporated into the further training of lawyers.
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