ZAGREB, 10 May (Hina) - A new brochure designed to combat strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) will help judges, lawyers and the wider public more easily recognise and reject these abusive legal actions at an early stage, it was said at the brochure’s launch.
Minister of Culture and Media Nina Obuljen Koržinek highlighted the importance of the brochure and the SLAPP Task Force established in 2021, which brought together experts and stakeholders with relevant insights to help halt this harmful practice.
"What we aimed for has happened, awareness has been raised within both the judiciary and the media profession about the nature of the problem, and early identification of SLAPPs is proving to be a key tool in deterring the judiciary from engaging with such cases," the minister said.
She added that the initiative was also an opportunity to raise awareness among journalists and editors about the professional boundaries of media work in line with the Media Act and other legislation.
Jasna Vaniček-Fila, national coordinator for journalist safety projects at the Council of Europe and the OSCE and a member of the Council for Electronic Media, stressed that the brochure was carefully developed as a clear and expert educational resource, grounded in the April 2024 EU Directive on protecting individuals involved in public participation from manifestly unfounded or abusive court proceedings.
Intimidation and curtailment of public engagement
Regarding the definition of SLAPPs, Vaniček-Fila said that while there is no strict definition at EU level, the brochure includes a chapter from the Directive listing indicators that suggest a lawsuit is a SLAPP. Such lawsuits are not aimed at protecting rights but at curbing public engagement and intimidating individuals.
The brochure also features a QR code linking to the full EU Directive, a QR code for educational materials used by the Judicial Academy, and an email address at the Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation where SLAPP targets can report their cases.
Petra Jurina, head of department at the Ministry of Justice, noted that Croatia's planned national legislation would cover a broader scope than that defined by the EU Directive.
