First test case of Daphne's Law opens in the Netherlands

In a first test case of Daphne’s Law, the EU’s legislation to protect freedom of expression and stop abusive lawsuit, Greenpeace International today challenges the US oil pipeline company Energy Transfer in court in the Netherlands. At the same time, together with 39 other organisations across fifteen European countries we’re urging EU governments to transpose the EU “anti-SLAPP” directive effectively into national law.

Daphne’s Law, the EU anti-SLAPP Directive, was passed to protect journalists, activists, and public watchdogs against abusive lawsuits. But one year on, EU governments haven’t delivered. The Directive was inspired by Daphne Caruana Galizia’s experience with abusive lawsuits - 48 at the time of her death - but Malta’s version of Daphne’s Law still doesn’t cover domestic SLAPPs and would not have protected Daphne herself.

Every day, journalists, activists, and human rights defenders face lawsuits simply for doing their jobs: exposing wrongdoing, standing up for communities, telling the truth. These bully legal threats – SLAPPs – are designed to drain time, money, and morale. They aim to scare people into silence and push critical voices out of public life.

Putting the EU’s anti-SLAPP law to work effectively in Malta is urgent. It’s past time for Malta to step up and amend its anti-SLAPP law to meet the human rights standards set by the Council of Europe Recommendation on SLAPPs. This was adopted on 5th April 2024 but Malta’s anti-SLAPP law still doesn’t meet the Recommendation’s standards.