Legal, media, environmental, anti-corruption and human rights bodies today urged the prime minister to propose legislation against so-called SLAPP (strategic litigation against public participation) behaviour in the next King's speech. The call by the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition follows the failure of three Solicitors Regulation Authority prosecutions of alleged SLAPP-like conduct.
In an open letter with 127 signatures, the coalition states that in the five years since its foundation 'SLAPPs have been documented against journalists, tax transparency experts, online reviewers, patients, environmental campaigners, local residents, sexual violence survivors, whistleblowers, academics, tenants, victims groups and advocates, and social media users, to name a few'.
In these cases, it states, 'wealthy and powerful claimants have misused the British justice system and the costs associated with participating in pre-trial and court proceedings to stifle protected speech and public participation.This is a society-wide issue that requires a society-wide remedy.'
The letter describes current anti-SLAPP legislation, in the 2023 Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA) as 'limited in scope and flawed in approach'. It proposes 'universal anti-SLAPP measures' including an 'effective early dismissal mechanism, an objective test for filtering SLAPPs out of court, and the ability to minimise costs and penalise bad conduct'.
It concludes: 'At a time of unprecedented pressure on our judicial system, court resources should not be wasted on SLAPPs, which are by definition an abuse of the court process.'
No date has been set for the King's speech, which is expected in May.
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