2023-11-30 09:13:07
Published on: 11/30/2023 – 10:13
1 mn
This European legislation concerns, for reasons of jurisdiction, proceedings in civil matters of a cross-border nature, in particular cases where the complainant, the targeted person and the court seized are not in the same country.
The European Commission proposed this draft directive in April 2022 to combat these abusive procedures, expressing concern regarding their increase.
These appeals are generally introduced by figures in positions of power, in the economic or political field, with the aim of preventing revelations.
“I welcome the agreement on the directive, which will protect those who try to reveal disturbing truths. Like Daphne Caruana Galizia, who paid the ultimate price for this,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X , regarding the Maltese journalist murdered in 2017. Specializing in corruption cases, she was the target of legal harassment.
The compromise text provides that the person targeted by a SLAPP procedure will be able to request a rapid rejection by the courts of a manifestly abusive appeal.
A court may also decide to make the plaintiff bear the costs of the proceedings, in particular the lawyer’s fees of the person being prosecuted. He can also order sanctions to the initiator of such an abusive procedure.
The agreement will still need to be formally approved by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU (member states).
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