SLAPP: Abuse of the right to judicial protection with the aim of restricting freedom of expression

Abstract

SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) is a phenomenon that has been present around the world for decades, threatening various human rights and freedoms and undermining the very meaning and the purpose of judicial protection of rights. Considering that conducted research indicated a high probability of their presence in the Republic of Serbia, the aim of the paper is to present and analyze the notion of SLAPP, as well as to deliberate over some potential solutions that can be implemented in order to prevent use of this legal tool. After presenting numerous SLAPP examples from comparative case-law and analyzing the SLAPP concept, the paper turns to the rights that are most endangered by the submission of these lawsuits and provides an overview of relevant jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. Results of the research show not only that ratified international instruments require prevention of abuses embodied in SLAPP suits, but also that the real purpose of these lawsuits can be achieved by using other methods, that will be more complicated to suppress. Finally, given that the initiative to combat this legal anomaly has already been launched within the European Union, the paper concludes that the Republic of Serbia should use the momentum and start tackling this issue sooner rather than later.

Keywords

• slapp
• freedom of expression
• european court of human rights
• the right to a fair trial
• abuse of rights