The European Commission has proposed legislation to curtail legal attempts by governments and companies to silence dissident journalists and rights defenders.
Evaluating the state of democracy in the 27-member European Union, the European Commission said last year that what are known as strategic litigation against public participation are “a matter of serious concern”.
Making new legal proposals, the European Commission, in its statement, said, “Clearly baseless or abusive proceedings targeting public participation have become a newly emerging but increasingly widespread phenomenon in the European Union.”
The European Commission noted that disproportionate lawsuits, often based on defamation, are intended to intimidate targets, drain their resources, and often tie their hands with multiple lawsuits in different jurisdictions.
The Commission stated that these lawsuits, filed by plaintiffs with political power or money, had a shocking effect on the targeted people, including academics, members of the LGBT community, environmentalists and trade unionists.
Among the details included in the statement is that nearly 40 defamation cases were filed against journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was investigating corruption in Malta, in 2017, when she was killed.
Vera Jourova, Deputy Commissioner for Values and Transparency of the European Commission, said: “Wealth and power in a democracy can never give anyone an advantage over the truth. We help protect those who take risks and speak out when it comes to the public interest.”
The European Commission underlined that no country in the European Union has taken measures regarding strategic cases against public participation and only four countries are considering taking steps against these cases.
The new rules, which will allow such cases to be dismissed at an early stage and put the responsibility of all legal costs on the plaintiff, must be approved by the European Union member states and the European Parliament in order to enter into force.
The new rules are also expected to have impact on cases with far-reaching social interests with cross-border consequences, such as money laundering or climate-related issues.
The green front in the European Parliament welcomed the proposal, but found it insufficient. This is because the new rules do not oblige member states to take similar measures in domestic cases and consider these cases under civil law rather than criminal law.
The European Union, in its report on this issue last year, expressed concerns about funding strategic cases against public participation from state budgets.
Under today’s draft of the European Commission, those targeted by strategic lawsuits against public participation will be able to sue for damages, and courts will be empowered to file criminal claims against plaintiffs for deterrence.
The bill will also allow European Union countries to drop lawsuits filed against European Union citizens from countries outside the union, including the UK.