European Parliament Approves directive protecting journalists against indictments SLAPP : Qusari gives details

Renowned media lawyer, Butterfly Kusari, has announced the vote of a European Union directive against indictments against journalists known as indictment SLAPPA.

Kusari writes:

“voted

Historic Advantage for Protection of Journalists

Europe's Parliament just approved the European Union's directive against Strategic Criminals Against Public Participation (SLAPP).

Journalists, media and activists will be more protected from baseless indictments made by lawyers and bad indictments in order to intimidate and discourage them.

I am extremely happy that as a member of the European Commission expert group, I have helped draft the directive along with dozens of other experts. The team of experts' work will continue in implementing the directive in practice”.

Through a comment, Kusari has informed more about what this directive implies:

What is this directive, and what does it mean for Kosovo?

The directive is the European Union law that must be applied to member states and member states that aspire to join the EU.

The directive envisions several measures, procedural guarantees and legal means that will help protect journalists and activists from the SLAPP indictments. This law should be transposed and transposed could become a) by drafting and adopting Law Against SLAPP and b lawsuits by changing several laws to accommodate directive requirements. At the same time, other institutions, such as the Oda of Lawyers, the Economic Ods, and all can take steps to implement this directive.

The main elements of the directive are:

Early rejection of groundless indictments allows member states to legally regulate the early rejection of abusive indictments. For example, if a businessman, a person who exercises a public office or anyone else exercises unmanaged indictments against journalists, the courts will be able to dismiss those indictments as soon as possible in the procedure, not waiting for ten years to pass.

Securing expenditures and damages will have the right to impose the plaintiff to pay for the procedure and eventual damages before the trial begins.

The burden of proof to prove that the indictment is based will be carried by the accuser who exercises the indictment.

Exploiting the procedure to the plaintiffs who have exercised abusive lawsuits will be forced to pay all procedural expenses, including the expenses of indictees' lawyers.

Sentences and other measures will be possible to pronounce sentences for all those who conduct abusive lawsuits or other sanctions as publicising the act of justice or paying back damages.

For lawyers and judges these appear hard to implement in the local context, but the same has been the situation with signal protection.

In an ideal world, Kosovo would already have to start preparations for transposing this directive as some states have, but I have zero hopes that anyone has to deal with this sport./ Periscope