Prepared by Council of Europe experts — Kirsten Roberts Lyer, with the collaboration of Peter Maassen — within the framework of the Education Department project “Academic Freedom in Action,” exploring the key challenges and policy responses that shape academic freedom in Europe

Context

Under the Secretary-General's New Democratic Pact for Europe initiative, ensuring open, evidence-based dialogue is a strategic priority. However, lawsuits that seek to "misuse or abuse the legal process to prevent, inhibit, restrict, or punish freedom of expression on matters of public concern and the exercise of rights associated with public participation," known as SLAPPs, are increasingly being used by powerful actors to silence academics by suppressing their scholarly research, teaching, publications, and speech.

Fuelled by overbroad laws and exploiting resource imbalances, SLAPPs and other legal threats draw academics into costly, protracted battles regardless of the likelihood of success, often using 'litigation as punishment'. This can encourage self-censorship, undermine the free flow of evidence-based information, and erode trust in institutions. Such legal attacks on the production, sharing and dissemination of knowledge jeopardise the Council of Europe's commitment to protect democracy, the second pillar of the Pact.

Facts & Figures

The use of SLAPPs is widespread, targeting journalists, activists, NGOs, academics and others engaged in public interest work. According to a 2024 report by the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE), between 2010 and 2023, 1,049 such lawsuits were filed by private parties, mainly in positions of power, in 41 European countries; 42.5% were brought by business interests and 35.5% by politicians, with 9.4% being "cross-border" cases. A significant number (21.7%) were criminal cases. They also note that "in the vast majority of cases, the target remains an individual". Monitoring groups suggest that these figures are under-reported, given the reluctance of victims to come forward. As the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers has reported, they are often initiated by powerful economic actors who 'weaponise' the judiciary. Rights groups note that SLAPPs and other forms of legal intimidation, such as 'insult' laws, 'foreign agent' laws or national security charges, are often closely linked to other intimidation tactics, such as smear campaigns, threats and even physical assaults, reinforcing the overall chilling effect on free inquiry. While the number of recorded cases of SLAPPs against academics is comparatively low, a 2021 comparative study showed that academics were targeted in a number of Council of Europe countries, and Scholars at Risk and CASE have warned that these numbers are on the rise.

Key Challenges & Developments

The Council of Europe has recognised the problem of SLAPPs and recently recommended the introduction of comprehensive safeguards through Recommendation CM/REC(2024)2. At the EU level, the 2024 Anti-SLAPP Directive also aims to curb abusive civil litigation through early dismissal, cost shifting, penalties for abusive litigants and protection from foreign SLAPP judgments.

Some US states have enacted anti-SLAPP laws, which also suggest that early dismissal and cost-shifting provisions can deter vexatious claims.

European institutions are increasingly recognising SLAPPs and other forms of legal intimidation as a direct threat to academic freedom. The European Parliament's Forum on Academic Freedom highlights how legal intimidation distorts research agendas, while ministers in the European Higher Education Area have reaffirmed the democratic imperative to protect academic inquiry.

Despite the emergence of a robust regional framework, most Council of Europe member states still lack adequate anti-SLAPP and legal threat protection mechanisms that recognise the position of academics.

Coordinated responses, reinforced by national reforms, are essential to uphold academic freedom and the Council of Europe's leadership in higher education and democratic governance.

Policy Implications for Further Action

Safeguarding academic freedom requires that scholars are free to investigate, publish and speak out on matters of academic interest without fear of reprisal. Reflecting the Pact's imperatives and building on CM/Rec(2024)2 and international standards, key actions include:

• Adopt comprehensive anti-SLAPP provisions in line with CM/Rec(2024)2, covering civil, criminal and administrative proceedings, with specific recognition for academics.
• Building on CM/Rec(2024)2, establish a structured monitoring framework at the Council of Europe level to track SLAPPs and other legal threats against academics in order to better identify emerging patterns and assess the impact of countermeasures.
• Decriminalise defamation and introduce exceptions for academic discourse. Pending legal reform, judicial guidelines should support procedures that prevent the punishment of academic speech.
• Particular attention should be paid to provisions for cross-border litigation, where plaintiffs exploit foreign jurisdictions or file coordinated lawsuits in multiple courts.
• Legislation should clarify protections for individual scholars, institutions and related organisations (such as research NGOs and university presses).
• Targeted judicial training and awareness-raising should be undertaken to prevent abuse of the legal system against scholars.
• Strengthening university autonomy will further protect scholars. Ensure that universities provide legal defence funds, have independent governance, and maintain transparent, democratic governance. Institutional policies must explicitly commit to defending the academic community against legal intimidation. Adequate support structures should be in place.
• Encourage systematic reporting of cases of legal intimidation in cooperation with civil society networks such as Scholars at Risk and CASE.

A forthcoming Council of Europe recommendation on academic freedom should include these measures and encourage member states to provide comprehensive protection for academics.

Conclusion

References and Additional Reading

Article 19, Poland: Decriminalisation of defamation crucial for combatting SLAPPs, 29 January 2025 https://www.article19.org/resources/poland-decriminalisation-of-defamation-crucial-for-combatting-slapps/

CASE Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe, SLAPPs Report 2024, https://www.the-case.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/CASE-2024-report-vf_compressed-1.pdf

Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights Comment: Time to take action against SLAPPs, 27 October 2020 https://www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/-/time-to-take-action-against-slapps

Council of Europe, Recommendation CM/Rec(2024)2 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on countering the use of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) https://rm.coe.int/0900001680af2805

Council of Europe, Speech of the Deputy Secretary General at the Second European Anti-SLAPP Conference, 14 November 2024 https://www.coe.int/en/web/deputy-secretary-general/-/second-european-anti-slapp-conference-1

EHEA, Rome Ministerial Communiqué, Annex I – Statement on Academic Freedom, https://ehea.info/Upload/Rome_Ministerial_Communique_Annex_I.pdf#:~:text=Academic%20freedom%20is%20also%20an,condition%20for%20challenging%20these%20standards

EU Citizen, Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) in the European Union A comparative study By Judit Bayer, Petra Bárd, Lina Vosyliute, Ngo Chun Luk (2021) https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2022-04/slapp_comparative_study_0.pdf

European Parliament Forum for Academic Freedom, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/stoa/en/ep-academic-freedom

European Parliament, Study Requested by the JURI committee: The Use of SLAPPs to Silence Journalists, NGOs and Civil Society, Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs Directorate-General for Internal Policies PE 694.782- June 2021 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2021/694782/IPOL_STU(2021)694782_EN.pdf Note: Provides a detailed bibliography of relevant caselaw, reports and scholarship on SLAPPs.

European Parliament, Study Requested by the LIBE committee: Open SLAPP Cases in

2022 and 2023 - The Incidence of Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, and Regulatory Responses in the European Union, Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs Directorate-General for Internal Policies PE 756.468 - November 2023 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2023/756468/IPOL_STU(2023)756468_EN.pdf

European Union, Directive (EU) 2024/1069 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 on protecting persons who engage in public participation from manifestly unfounded claims or abusive court proceedings (‘Strategic lawsuits against public participation’) https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2024/1069/oj/eng

Peter Coe, Rebecca Moosavian & Paul Wragg (22 Jan 2025): Addressing strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs): a critical interrogation of legislative, and judicial responses, Journal of Media Law, DOI: 10.1080/17577632.2024.2443096  

Politico, Lawsuits increasingly being used to silence journalists, activists across Europe, new study warns 9 December 2024 https://www.politico.eu/article/lawsuits-europe-study-journalists-romania-italy-ukraine-media-outlet-editors-report-slapp/#:~:text=In%202023%2C%20almost%20half%20of,5%20percent

Public Participation Project, State Anti-SLAPP Laws, https://anti-slapp.org/your-states-free-speech-protection

United Nations, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Margaret Satterthwaite, UN Doc. A/79/362 20 September 2024 https://docs.un.org/en/A/79/362

Scholars at Risk, Free to Think: Report of the Scholars at Risk Academic Freedom Monitoring Project (2024) https://www.scholarsatrisk.org/resources/free-to-think-2024/

Scholars at Risk, Recommendation to include academics in any legislative proposal designed to combat strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), March 2022 https://sareurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/SAR-Europe-SLAPP-Recommendation.pdf#:~:text=While%20the%20number%20of%20SLAPP,the%20targeting