First Anti-SLAPP workshop held in Cyprus

On the 22nd of November, Cyprus University of Technology (CUT), one of the PATFox partner organisations, organized the first Anti-SLAPP workshop in Cyprus.

The event was held at the premises of the Cyprus Bar Association (CBA) and the participants were granted 4 credit hours to go towards their continuing professional development. The General Manager of the CBA Mrs Koulia Vaki gave a very welcoming address and congratulated the Patfox partners for this initiative.

The event was attended by 18 participants (9 male and 9 female). All were qualified lawyers from Nicosia and Limassol, two of the major towns in Cyprus.

Awareness of SLAPP as topic is still at its early stages in Cyprus. The aim of the first workshop was to raise the level of awareness on the topic of SLAPPs, and on the proposed Directive as well as to discuss the local legal framework and the challenges lawyers will face in implementing the Directive. The lawyers expressed the wish to learn a lot more on the topic and to be invited on any future events as they wish to build capacity on the topic. We have made the first step towards developing a community of knowledge on SLAPPs in Cyprus.

Mr Theodoros Economou, who was the trainer at this event, made an in-person presentation about the state of art and state of practice in Cyprus and a lot of questions were asked by the participants on how the proposed directive would be implemented in Cyprus.

Professor Justin Borg-Barthet contributed a virtual presentation on the proposed EU Directive and procedural rules.

Professor Maria Krambia-Kapardis presented in person on what one ought to know on forensic investigation and pre-publication strategies - how to best prepare so defendants are not caught up in SLAPP cases in the first place.

A lengthy discussion was held at the end of the event and the participants expressed their desire to know more about the project and the proposed Directive when it is implemented.