Anti-SLAPP ‘Daphne’s law’ receives overwhelming support in European Parliament

The European Parliament voted in favour of a proposed directive known as Daphne’s Law that will protect journalists and human rights activists from abusive cross border civil proceedings, known as strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs)

87.5% of the MEPs, including all six Maltese MEPs, voted in favour of the Directive. 47 MEPs, chiefly from the far-right and non-aligned members, vote against while another 31 abstained.

The Directive enables judges to identify SLAPPs and order their early dismissal, sparing the journalists or activists targeted by such proceedings the need to defend the manifestly unfounded claim brought against them in bad faith with the sole purpose of harassing them.

Malta, like all EU member states, have two years to implement the law, that is by 2026.

European Parliament president Roberta Metsola, who as MEP had been entrusted with the drafting of the own initiative report that was presented to the European Commission in 2021, said she was proud that MEPs had a strong anti-SLAPP directive.

“Before her assassination, Daphne Caruana Galizia was facing more than 40 lawsuits. She was a target because she was a threat. We promised this law to her family, to her parents and her sisters. We worked hard for it. We delivered. Today, I want to thank all those who were part of this journey: Daphne Caruana Galizi’'s sons, lawyers and experts, journalists, media freedom organisations, civil society and ultimately, MEPs who supported our cause from the very beginning. Daphne, Rose, this is for you.”

Journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated in Malta on 16 October, 2017. The alleged mastermind, Tumas magnate Yorgen Fenech, has yet to be tried by a jury.

Nationalist MEP David Casa, the first MEP to call for the directive in early 2018, called on the Maltese government not to delay the transposition. “While we fight for stronger laws and protections, the bottom line is that a government antagonistic to press freedom is harmful for our democracy.”

Casa started his campaign after Maltese media houses received threatening letters from Pilatus Bank in the aftermath of the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. The letters demanded that media houses alter their content or face financially crippling legal action in other jurisdictions. “Initially our main hurdle was finding a legal basis that would empower the EU to legislate. Thanks to the work of Vice President Věra Jourová, that hurdle was overcome. But it is true that the EU could only go so far, and the Directive primarily caters for cases that have a cross-border element,” Casa said.

Together with the Directive, the Commission also issued a Recommendation which makes it clear that the provisions of the Directive should also be applied to purely domestic cases.

Following the plenary vote, lead MEP Tiemo Wölken (S&D, Germany) said: “SLAPP lawsuits are a threat to the rule of law and seriously undermine the fundamental rights to freedom of expression, information and association. They are a form of legal harassment and an abuse of the justice system, increasingly used by powerful individuals and organisations to avoid public scrutiny. Our courts should not be abused like this for personal gain. This directive will help fight SLAPPs, stopping people from using the courts to intimidate and deter journalists and activists from making information public and enforcing a kind of self-censorship.”

The Daphne Foundation said Malta must now transpose Daphne’s Law into national legislation as a first step to ensuring that abusers will no longer be able to weaponise the law to silence their critics.

“The legislation must be designed to close off any opportunity for the legal system to be abused and the enactment of legislation must be accompanied by measures such as training of the judiciary and lawyers, in line with the European Commission’s anti-SLAPP Recommendation and the upcoming Council of Europe Recommendation, to ensure the system of anti-SLAPP protection is robust.

”Daphne’s Law was brought about by a coalition of the willing in Malta and beyond, inspired by the horrific experience of Daphne Caruana Galizia who faced 48 abusive lawsuits at the time of her assassination, some of which are still active more than six years after her death. In September 2021, Malta had promised to be the first European country to introduce anti-SLAPP legislation. It is now up to our government to make this happen. We believe that this is achievable without compromising the spirit and standards of Daphne’s Law.”