CASE

We Pledge

To act in solidarity with each other when sued for speaking out in the public interest.

To expose and fight back against the use of lawsuits to bully and intimidate into silence

To support public watchdogs struggling to resist these tactics

AN ATTACK ON ONE IS AN ATTACK ON ALL

We have the Anti-SLAPP Directive!

The Anti-SLAPP Directive sets the minimum standards for protecting public watchdogs against abusive litigation. The responsibility now lies with Member States to build on this foundation and draft effective national legislation.

Join Us

Civil society is at its strongest when it is united. By speaking out with one voice we can ensure no group is marginalised, isolated, or otherwise left exposed to Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs): lawsuits designed to block accountability and suppress critical speech. We welcome groups representing different public watchdogs, promoting different causes, operating in different countries, and advancing different strategies. The more diverse we are the better. Please contact us through this form below or at contact@the-case.eu (note: Members of CASE commit to the shared goal of ending SLAPPs. Individual members do not necessarily endorse or participate in every action conducted in the name of the coalition)

It’s time to reclaim the shame. It’s time to strip away the facade of legal respectability and expose the aggressive bully tactics underneath. It’s time to show the faces of some of the worst legal bullies in Europe.

What others are saying

  • SLAPPs… pose a significant and growing threat to the right to freedom of expression in a number of Council of Europe member states, perverting the justice system and the rule of law more generally

    — Dunja Mijatović, Commissioner for Human Rights, Council of Europe, 2020

  • [T]he increasing use of so-called ‘strategic litigation against public participation’ suits is of concern because of the chilling effect the proceedings may have on the legitimate expression of dissent or opposition, including through peaceful protest.

    — Maina Kiai, UN Special Rapporteur for assembly and association Rights, 2015

  • SLAPPs have seen a significant increase worldwide, with certain legal frameworks proving to be particularly fertile ground for [their] proliferation.

    — Annalisa Ciampi, UN Special Rapporteur for assembly and association Rights, 2017

  • [the Special Rapporteur has observed] the consolidation of more sophisticated forms of silencing their voices and impeding their work, including the application of legal and administrative provisions or the misuse of the judicial system to criminalize and stigmatise their activities. These patterns not only endanger the physical integrity and undermine the work of human rights defenders, but also impose a climate of fear and send an intimidating message to society at large.

    — Margaret Sekaggya, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, 2013

  • Business entities commonly seek injunctions and other civil remedies against assembly organizers and participants on the basis, for example, of anti-harassment, trespass or defamation laws, sometimes referred to as strategic lawsuits against public participation

    — Joint report of the UN Special Rapporteur on assembly and association rights and the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions on the proper management of assemblies, Maina Kiai and Christof Heyns, 2016

  • Corporations should not be allowed to weaponize our legal system against the ordinary citizen and activists in order to intimidate and silence them. (…) Litigation that is not aimed at vindicating legitimate rights, but is part of a broad and purposeful strategy to intimidate, distract and silence public criticism, constitutes an improper use of the judicial process and is vexatious. The improper use and abuse of the judicial process interferes with due administration of justice and undermines fundamental notions of justice and the integrity of our judicial process

    — High Court of South Africa (Western Cape Division, Cape Town), in the case of Mineral Sands Resources v Christine Reddell and others


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