Council of Europe report notes Malta's failure to fully implement anti-SLAPP protection

Malta lost out when it failed to implement full anti-SLAPP protections for journalists and set a precedent for other countries.

This was one of the instances in which Malta was mentioned in a Council of Europe report compiled by its platform for the protection of journalism and journalist safety.

The report notes that Malta transposed the EU directive against SLAPPs, which only covers cross-border SLAPPs. This led civil society NGOs to express that Malta missed an opportunity to provide comprehensive anti-SLAPP protection and serve as an example for other nations. 

The report urged EU member states to effectively implement anti-SLAPP recommendations and harmonise domestic laws to better protect journalists from abusive lawsuits.  

It was authored by the platform’s partner organisations—a coalition of 15 press freedom NGOs and journalists’ associations.

Last July, government transposed EU's anti-SLAPP directive, but only laid down the minimum requirements in the directive.

The Daphne Foundation was among other NGOs who noted that it was ironic for Malta to be the first member state to transpose the European law, while not providing a more comprehensive protection that would set a positive example for other countries.

“We are disappointed that the government has chosen to limit the anti-SLAPP legislation to those minimum requirements, covering only SLAPP cases with cross-border implications,” the groups said.

Meanwhile, government has left its long overdue White Paper for a media reform on a shelf.