20 October 2022
07:30 – 18:00
07:30 – 08:45
Registration
08:45 – 09:25
Opening Remarks
Moderator
Flutura Kusari, Senior Legal Advisor, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
Speakers
Roberta Metsola, President, the European Parliament
Věra Jourová, Vice President, Values and Transparency, the European Commission
Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General, the Council of Europe
Dunja Mijatović, Commissioner for Human Rights, the Council of Europe
09:25 – 09:45
Welcoming Remarks
Lutz Kinkel, Managing Director, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
Flutura Kusari, Senior Legal Advisor, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
09:50 – 10:40
Panel 1 – European Initiatives to Counter SLAPPs
SLAPPS are a problem all over Europe and very often even feature cross-border elements. This makes it vital that solutions are proposed from a multilateral and international perspective. In this panel, members of the European Union, the European Parliament, and the Council of Europe will discuss European initiatives against SLAPPs and their future plans for countering them.
Moderator
Flutura Kusari, Senior Legal Advisor, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
Speakers
Karmen Turk, Chair of the Council of Europe Expert Committee on Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation (MSI-SLP), Lecturer, University of Tartu and Partner at the Law Firm TRINITI, Estonia
Pierre Rabourdin, Policy and legal officer, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers Democracy Team – Unit: Union citizenship and free movement European Commission
Pia Lindholm, Deputy Head of Unit for Civil Justice in Directorate-General Justice and Consumers, the European Commission
Tiemo Wölken, Member of the European Parliament (SPD-S&D), JURI Rapporteur on the Anti-SLAPPs Directive
10:40 – 11:10
Coffee Break
11:20 – 12:10
Panel 2 – National Initiatives to Counter SLAPPs
To counter SLAPPs, it is not enough to raise awareness and fight in the courtroom. It is also necessary for governments to act against them. Recently, some governments have developed initiatives to push back against SLAPPs, but when can we expect concrete results? And what are the best ways to counter SLAPPs from a governmental perspective? In this panel, several national governmental initiatives will be presented and discussed.
Moderator
Charlie Holt, Legal Counsel Campaigns, Greenpeace
Speakers
Andrew Munro, Head of Policy for Civil Justice, Department of Justice, Ireland
Naomi Cachia, Member of the House of Representatives, Malta
Beatriz Brown, Policy Lead – Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), Ministry of Justice, UK
12:15 – 13:05
Panel 3 – Testimonies from Recent SLAPP Cases and How Media are Dealing with SLAPPs
In recent years, SLAPPs have been keeping the courts busy and civil society alert. The topic has become increasingly relevant in media freedom discussions, but how exactly is the media landscape affected by SLAPPs and how are media organisations handling them? Through testimonies from recent SLAPP cases, this panel aims to give journalists the opportunity to raise their voices as one of the groups most affected by SLAPPs.
Moderator
Matthew Caruana Galizia, Director, Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation
Speakers
Gillian Phillips, Director of Editorial Legal Services, The Guardian
Andrew Rettman, Foreign Affairs Journalist, EU Observer
Hind Fraihi, Investigative Journalist, Apache
Piotr Stasiński, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Gazeta Wyborcza
Julia Nebel, Director, Luhze Newspaper
13:05 – 14:30
Lunch Break
14:30 – 15:20
Panel 4 – Role of Civil Society Organisations in Fighting back against SLAPPs
Throughout civil society, many organisations have put SLAPPs on their agenda as a ubiquitous problem, prevalent in almost every country in the world. But what exactly is their role in fighting back against SLAPPs? This panel tries to provide answers through discussions with members of civil society, experts, and those who have been SLAPPed.
Moderator
Maria Ordzhonikidze, Director, Justice for Journalists
Speakers
Dirk Voorhoof, Prof. em. Human Rights Centre Ghent University, Legal Human Academy and Member of the CoE MSI-SLP Committee on Anti-SLAPP
Lukas Straumann, Executive Director, Bruno Manser Fond (Switzerland)
Susan Coughtrie, Deputy Director, Foreign Policy Centre and co-chair of the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition (United Kingdom)
Walter Strobl, Press Club Concordia (Austria)
15:20 – 15:35
Break
15:35 – 16:25
Panel 5 – Advocacy and Practical Support for SLAPP Victims
When someone gets SLAPPed, the impact it has on their work and life can be devastating. However, there are multiple ways in which the victims of SLAPPs can be supported. This panel will focus on advocacy and practical support as tools to back the person or institution concerned, looking at concrete design and implementation of support initiatives, as well as their effectiveness.
Moderator
Julie Majerczak, Representative to the European Institutions, Reporters Without Borders
Speakers
Camille Petit, Communications and Project Officer, European Federation of Journalists
Sarah Clarke, Head of Europe and Central Asia, ARTICLE 19 Europe
Tom Gibson, EU Representative and Advocacy Manager, Committee to Protect Journalists
Gordana Miladinovic, Member Center Coordinator, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP)
Tabea Caspary, Legal Assistant, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom
16:25 – 17:00
Coffee Break
17:00 – 17:30
CASE EVENT: The European SLAPP Contest Award Ceremony
The CASE announces the winners of the second European SLAPP Contest to recognise the most abusive lawsuits and litigants Europe has to offer. Reflecting the wide-ranging impact of SLAPPs, the contest awards powerful individuals and corporations in six different categories: Corporate Bully of the Year, SLAPP Politician of the Year, Litigation Addict of the Year, Bully Lawyers of the Year International Bully of the Year, and People’s Choice.
Read more about the European SLAPP Contest here.
17:30 – 18:00
