Daphne’s Law officially published as EU directive

Daphne’s Law, an anti-SLAPP directive inspired by the challenges faced by Daphne Caruana Galizia, has officially become European legislation after being published in the Official Gazette.

Adopted by the European Parliament in February, the law has now become a rule for EU member states six years and six months since the journalist was assassinated, the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation said in a statement.

The law sets out minimum standards intended to protect journalists and other public watchdogs from abusive litigation across the EU.

“Malta now has 24 months to transpose the provisions of the directive into national legislation, as a first step to ensuring that abusers will no longer be able to weaponise the law to silence their critics,” the foundation said.

The directive, they said, was inspired by Caruana Galizia’s experience with vexatious lawsuits, having been facing 48 cases at the time of her assassination, some of which remain active to this day.

Now, national legislation across the EU will have to meet or exceed the standards set by Daphne’s Law.

The new rules will allow defendants to apply for the early dismissal of unfounded claims and the SLAPP initiators will have to sufficiently prove their case is sound.

Courts will also be able to impose dissuasive penalties on claimants, usually represented by lobby groups, corporations or politicians. The courts can oblige the claimant to pay all the costs of proceedings, including the defendant’s legal representation.

The Daphne Foundation said that the legislation must now be accompanied by other measures, including the training of the judiciary and lawyers, to ensure the anti-SLAPP system is robust.

The foundation also recalled how Malta had promised to be the first EU country to introduce anti-SLAPP rules and said it hopes the government intends to make good on this.

“It is now up to Malta’s government and parliament to ensure this happens without compromising the spirit and standards of Daphne’s Law,” it said.