Anti-SLAPP Conference

Strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) are abusive legal threats and actions brought by powerful and wealthy people against public watchdogs with the aim of silencing them. Due to the high cost of defending a case, public watchdogs can effectively be silenced even when what they have said is accurate and in the public interest. When SLAPPs successfully drive information out of the public domain, it is much more difficult to hold power to account. SLAPPs have proliferated globally in recent years and Ireland has previously been identified as a jurisdiction of concern.

The Council of Europe and the European Union have, this year, introduced measures aimed at countering SLAPPs. All EU Member States now have until May 2026 to transpose the EU Anti-SLAPP Directive into national legislation. The Council of Europe's non-binding Recommendation, adopted in April, should help ensure that Member States enact the most robust anti-SLAPP legislation possible, while also providing a roadmap for those jurisdictions - like Northern Ireland - that are not subject to the EU Directive.

At this full-day conference, attendees will hear from a wide-range of stakeholders, including campaigners, academics, journalists, lawyers and politicians from across the island, as we discuss how SLAPPs have manifested themselves in an Irish context. The full line-up of speakers will be announced in due course. Subscribe our newsletter to stay informed.

The event is organised by Index on Censorship in association with the Digital Repository of Ireland, TCD Law School, the Council of Europe's Safety of Journalists' Platform, the Coalition against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE), and the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition.

Host or Publisher Index on Censorship