Legal Analysis of SLAPP cases against journalists and civic activists in Bulgaria

Recently, the number of publicly announced cases against journalists and civic activists in Bulgaria, having the characteristics of SLAPP cases (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation) have increased. The accumulation of judicial practice on SLAPP cases in the last 20 (twenty) years makes it possible for a systematic review and analysis.

The Anti-Corruption Fund’s legal team studied and analyzed as thoroughly as possible the publicly known cases against journalists and civic activists since 2000 up to now and summarized the tendencies thereof.

The analysis aims to answer several questions:

– What type of cases are most common – criminal or civil?

– What strategies are used by plaintiffs in these cases to achieve their goals of silencing critical journalistic and civic voices?

– What decisions do courts issue on strategic cases, and on what grounds most often?

– Ultimately, are SLAPP cases an effective practice against critical voices – do they succeed in achieving their strategic goals?

– What are the characteristics of the Bulgarian media environment that make the SLAPP case even more dangerous to independent journalists and CSO, as compared to other EU member countries?

– What measures are available to civil society and independent media to counter strategic intimidation cases?

The developing of the analysis is part of a project Press Freedom Research with a special focus on SLAPPs in Bulgaria, implemented by the Anti-Corruption Fund Foundation in partnership with the Association of European Journalists in Bulgaria and with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bulgaria.