Legal harassment and abuse of the judicial system against the media

This special report by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media focuses on three of the most poignant and current topics related to legal harassment: “extremism” and terrorism related charges under public law; defamation claims under public law; and abusive private lawsuits against journalists and other media workers. The report aims to provide general guidance to the OSCE participating States regarding their related commitments

Publication Date: November 2021

Publisher: Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

Research and Editorial Team: Ton van den Brandt

Link: https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/c/f/505075_0.pdf

The report gives an overview of different kinds of abuse of the law, in which media workers are targeted.

An introduction resumes OSCE principles and commitments on legal safety of media, looking back at previous statements and decision to tackle SLAPPs and several abuses.

A general distinction between public law and private law helps identifying the most worrying cases of intimidation and chilling effect against journalists.

The summary of recommendations to Member States is a very comprehensive picture of support tools and preventive measures.

Tags: SLAPP

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