The EU Commission wants to protect people who act in the public interest from intimidation lawsuits.
Strategic lawsuits against public participation, also known as SLAPP, are primarily aimed at journalists and human rights activists.
Vice-President of the Commission responsible for the rule of law, Věra Jourová, presented a draft law on Wednesday that aims to make such lawsuits more difficult in cross-border cases.
“By taking these steps, we are helping to protect those who take risks and speak out on matters of public interest, such as reporting on allegations of money laundering and corruption, environmental and climate concerns, or other matters that concern us all,” said Jourova.
Thomas Gutschker
Political correspondent for the European Union, NATO and the Benelux countries based in Brussels.
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Courts should be able to dismiss manifestly unfounded court proceedings at an early stage.
In such cases, the burden of proof should lie with the plaintiff;
he must prove that his concern is not manifestly unfounded.
If a case is dismissed as abusive, the Commission proposes that the plaintiff bear all costs, including the defendant's legal fees.
He also has the right to full compensation for all material and non-material damage caused by the lawsuit.
In addition, plaintiffs who repeatedly bring such cases to court should be able to be sanctioned.
Formally, it is a guideline that must be transposed into national law by the states.
The Commission recommends that they also grant similar protection in cases without a cross-border connection.
The initiative was launched following the murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, against whom more than 40 lawsuits were pending.