{"id":146871,"date":"2023-12-01T03:00:44","date_gmt":"2023-12-01T02:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cde.ual.es\/?p=146871"},"modified":"2023-11-30T11:37:36","modified_gmt":"2023-11-30T10:37:36","slug":"council-and-eu-parliament-reach-provisional-agreement-on-eu-law-protecting-journalists-and-human-rights-defenders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cde.ual.es\/en\/council-and-eu-parliament-reach-provisional-agreement-on-eu-law-protecting-journalists-and-human-rights-defenders\/","title":{"rendered":"Council and EU Parliament reach provisional agreement on EU law protecting journalists and human rights defenders"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The EU has taken an important step towards the protection of journalists and human rights defenders against unfounded claims or abusive court proceedings. The Spanish presidency of the Council and the European Parliament reached a political deal on a directive which would protect these individuals from strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs).<\/p>\n

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The use of these lawsuits to silence people who speak out on issues of public interest is a growing phenomenon. The directive will put in place procedural safeguards against such claims in civil matters with cross-border implications.<\/p>\n

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Our democracies are in danger when the rich and powerful can silence critics in court just because they speak out on matters of public interest. With this new law the EU is defending journalists and human rights defenders against unfounded and abusive court cases – F\u00e9lix Bola\u00f1os, Spanish minister for justice<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Individuals targeted by SLAPP cases will benefit from a number of procedural safeguards and protections. They can ask the court to:<\/p>\n