Defending and protecting human rights: the first anti-SLAPP legal training in Spain
Carlos Brito Siso, President of the Human Rights Section of ICAM, and Alessia Schiavon of FIBGAR
On the occasion of the International Day of the Endangered Lawyer, on January 24th, FIBGAR held the seminar "Defending and protecting HR: How to face strategic lawsuits against Public Participation (SLAPPs)", in the framework of the European project PATFox (Pioneering AntiSLAPP Training for Freedom of Expression).
The event was organised with the support of the Madrid Bar Association (ICAM), with the aim of building up knowledge about SLAPPs, which are not as yet an entirely understood phenomenon among Spanish lawyers.
Carlos Brito Siso, President of the Human Rights Section of ICAM, thanked FIBGAR for organising the first anti-SLAPP legal training in Spain, and congratulated the PATFox project for contributing to counteracting these new threats to our democracy.
Alessia Schiavon, Head of the Legal Department of FIBGAR and coordinator of the PATFox project, introduced the objectives and activities of the PATFox project, and commented on the "Anti-SLAPP Alliance", an initiative launched by FIBGAR, which aims to bring together not only lawyers, but all those who wish to contribute or are interested in being involved in anti-SLAPP activities in Spain.
he first session of the seminar provided an overview of the key elements of the phenomenon, notably relating to the definition, objectives and features of SLAPPs, as well as the range of legal and technical mechanisms and tactics deployed against targets, highlighting the challenges posed by strategic lawsuits against public participation for democracy and the rule of law. The seminar further covered the best practices to manage SLAPPs.
Subsequently, the results of the first research carried out on the phenomenon of SLAPPs in Spain were presented. This second session of the seminar also included the participation of Javier García Raboso, Head of Greenpeace Spain, who emphasised the risks, threats and attacks faced by environmental activists defenders, and Laia Serra Perelló, a expert in freedom of expression, who made an interesting diagnosis of the Spanish context, highlighting the internal weaknesses of the judicial system as a factor that can facilitate the increase of these new forms of anti-democratic threats.
Finally, Justin Borg-Barthet, Professor at the University of Aberdeen and member of the European Commission's expert group on strategic claims against public participation, summarised the new features of the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of persons who carry out acts of public participation against manifestly unfounded or abusive legal claims.
The seminar was held in a hybrid format, being broadcast on ICAM's Youtube channel, where it is now available for replay, and was attended by almost 50 participants, who actively participated in the final discussion.