Second Anti-SLAPP training in Spain focuses on New threats to Democracy

On June 14th, within the framework of the European project PATFox (Pioneering AntiSLAPP Training for Freedom of Expression), FIBGAR held the workshop "New threats to democracy: How to counter SLAPPs".

The event took place in A Coruña, in the region of Galicia, northwest Spain, and was organised with the support of the Provincial Bar Association.

In Galicia, in 2020, environmental activist Manuel García was sued for €1 million by intensive livestock business Coren for exposing Coren’s alleged illegal livestock waste management practices causing pollution of the As Conchas reservoir in a TV programme aired in September 2019. This lawsuit came after Coren had threatened to sue other activists and scientists who were researching the nitrate levels in the local waters.

During the training, information was provided on the different types of SLAPP suits and the legal-technical mechanisms used, with special attention to the Spanish context. The proposal for a Directive on the protection of persons who carry out acts of public participation against manifestly unfounded or abusive legal claims ("strategic claims against public participation") was also analysed in depth.

The event was attended by lawyers, academics and representatives of the ICA Coruña, who congratulated FIBGAR for the initiatives it is carrying out to help counter these new anti-democratic threats.

During the workshop, an interesting process of reflection and debate was opened among the participants on the challenges of counteracting abusive lawsuits in Spain.

The journal of the A Coruna Bar Association has published an article about the training.