EU Council scraps early dismissal of SLAPP in proposal on Daphne’s Law

A draft compromise proposal for the European anti-SLAPP Directive has been dubbed “self-defeating” by the Daphne Foundation, the NGO set up in the memory of assassinated journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

The Foundation said EU Council Presidency’s draft for, informally ‘Daphne’s Law’, ran contrary to the purpose of the Directive. “It undermines its spirit, and fails to meet the expectations of the European Parliament, the European Union’s most important democratic body,” said Corinne Vella.

The draft compromise proposal eliminates several elements of the original anti-SLAPP Directive proposed in April 2022 by EC Vice-President Jourová.

Vella said the draft proposal weakens many of its other provisions.  “To serve the public interest and protect the right to know across the EU, the Directive must cover cross-border cases and include effective anti-SLAPP protection measures, including stay of proceedings and early dismissal of SLAPPs, compensation for defendants’ damages, and penalties for SLAPP claimants, among other considerations. These provisions have been eliminated from the Swedish EU Council Presidency’s draft compromise proposal.”

Vella said that with Maltese prime minister Robert Abela and justice minister Jonathan Attard saying the government would lead the way in introducing anti-SLAPP legislation, they should now set a positive example to Europe by writing to the Swedish presidency to demand the reinstatement of the clauses and provisions and bring it in line with the spirit of the original Directive.

“They should publicly commit to implementing anti-SLAPP legislation in Malta that sets an even higher standard than that proposed by the original anti-SLAPP Directive; and advocate with fellow European Council members to do likewise.”