Madeleine Petersen Weiner: “Despite all concerns about the functioning of public discourse without fear of reprisals or influence, it is clear that in a democratic constitutional state, the right to protection from false allegations and defamation must be just as protected as the right to freedom of expression.”

The fact that the Higher Regional Court in Dresden, Germany based its decision on a directive that has not yet been implemented is unusual and raises a number of questions. In order to ensure effective and comprehensive protection against SLAPP claims and to clarify potential uncertainties among judges, the legislator must swiftly and fully transpose the directive into German law.

Attorney Dr. Jonas Kahl: "When dealing with SLAPPs, it is particularly important to be able to separate any smokescreens from the actual core of the dispute. Only on this basis can clients gain a realistic view of the actual risks of the dispute."

SLAPPs are often successful in silencing critical voices. Many victims who have been successfully intimidated are reluctant to speak out about their cases, let alone proactively or publicly. This leads to a serious lack of data that obscures the true scale of the problem.

Are you being intimidated by legal action? You may have been the victim of a SLAPP. To help those affected, we have compiled a comprehensive questionnaire which enables an initial assessment.

Attorney Dr. Robert Brockhaus: "It is important that society becomes more aware of what SLAPPs are and what instruments are available to legally defend against them."

Blueprint for Free Speech’s coordinator of the No SLAPP contact point in Germany, Philipp Wissing, shared insights on the rising threat of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) in Europe at the "Global Corruption and Public Integrity: The Human Factor" conference.

In a surprising move, the Volkswagen Group has withdrawn its application for a temporary injunction against the traffic turnaround activist Tobias Rosswog.

Attorney Prof. Dr. Roger Mann: “Anyone who researches carefully and reports responsibly on this basis will certainly still need good nerves in the event of intimidation events - but no wonder.”

Our German No SLAPP contact point is supported by legal experts to ensure that the training courses and other services offered by the drop-in center are of the highest professional standard. In this series of interviews, we introduce the advisory board members individually.

In addition to the financial dimension, the psychological dimension is one of the central pressure points of SLAPPs: being legally prosecuted represents a psychological burden in various ways. Further research promises a better understanding and effective approaches.

SLAPP cases stand out because of the imbalance of power between the plaintiff and the defendant, and the lack of merit. In Croatia, this is usually accompanied by relatively high damages claims and by more than one lawsuit brought by the same plaintiff.