Daphne’s law becomes reality

Early this morning, negotiators from the European Parliament and the Member States agreed in trilogue negotiations on measures to better protect journalists and civil society representatives from unfounded claims or abusive court proceedings. “Today’s agreement is a landmark step to protect and assist victims of strategic lawsuits. Our position has been clear from the beginning. There should be zero tolerance for silencing those speaking out on issues of public interest,” said Magdalena Adamowicz MEP, the EPP Group's negotiator on the law that aims to prevent legal systems from being abused by those instituting strategic lawsuits against public participation (so-called SLAPPs).

For the EPP Group, this law has always been 'Daphne's Law', in memory of the brave Maltese journalist who was murdered because of her investigations.

The agreement sets minimum standards for the protection of those engaged in public participation and provides strong safeguards against manifestly unfounded and abusive legal proceedings with cross-border implications. Member States shall be able to impose penalties on those who abuse the judicial system to their own advantage. Furthermore, the claimant must pay the high costs of such proceedings, which are often used as a weapon to intimidate journalists. The new law also foresees the accelerated treatment of certain SLAPP cases, as well as the possibility of early dismissal, which will shorten lengthy and costly legal proceedings and reduce the suffering of victims.

“Authoritarianism can easily replace democracy when we allow lies to replace the truth. There can be no place anywhere in the EU for the legal persecution of people who report facts,” Adamowicz stated. “This is not the end of our efforts, we will continue to monitor the implementation of the law and the anti-SLAPP provisions in the Member States with unwavering commitment,” she concluded.

The agreement will be put to a plenary vote early next year.