Poland introduces new law against SLAPP lawsuits aimed at silencing critics

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Poland’s president has signed into law a government bill designed to protect journalists, activists and other participants in public debate from so-called SLAPP lawsuits, a term used for legal actions intended to intimidate and silence critics through costly and prolonged court proceedings.

“The courts will no longer be a tool for intimidating citizens,” announced the justice ministry. “For years, politicians, corporations and public institutions have used lawsuits to silence people who ask difficult questions and participate in public debate. Now that is changing.”

The law, which implements a European Union directive, requires courts to assess at an early stage whether a claim serves a legitimate purpose or is primarily intended to deter someone from speaking out on matters of public interest.

Judges will be able to dismiss, under expedited procedures, clearly unfounded claims and cases deemed an abuse of process.

Courts will also be able to classify a case as a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) even if parts of the claim are upheld, provided the action is found to be primarily aimed at discouraging scrutiny or criticism through burdensome litigation.

In cases deemed to be SLAPPs, judges will be able to impose financial penalties on claimants and award defendants full reimbursement of legal costs. Fines can reach up to 100 times the monthly minimum wage in Poland, which currently stands at 4,806 zloty (€1,128) but is increased every year.

The law also requires claimants to demonstrate that their case is not intended to silence public debate and sets out criteria helping courts identify a SLAPP, including excessive damages claims and actions aimed at hindering defendants’ ability to defend themselves.

Nawrocki’s decision to sign the bill into law was welcomed by the justice ministry, which said the measures would “end intimidation of citizens with baseless lawsuits”. The president is aligned with the right-wing opposition and has used his veto power more often than any previous Polish president.

Human rights organisations also welcomed the new law. However, they warned that the legislation is unlikely to eliminate attempts to intimidate critics through the courts altogether.

Citizens Network Watchdog Poland, an organisation that promotes transparency in public life, said the adoption of the anti-SLAPP law demonstrated that “determination, consistent action and social pressure bring results”.

“The new regulations do not solve all the problems, but they constitute an important step towards more effective protection of participants in public debate,” said Zuzanna Nowicka, head of the Freedom of Speech Programme at the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR).

HFHR said it would monitor how the new legislation is applied in practice and continue to support people facing attempts to silence them through abusive legal action.

SLAPPs have become an increasing area of concern in Poland over the last decade. The former Law and Justice (PiS) government, which ruled from 2015 to 2023, was regularly accused of using lawsuits to intimidate critics.

A 2021 report by the Journalism Society said state-linked actors, including public bodies, state-owned firms and officials, filed 187 lawsuits against journalists and media outlets between 2015 and 2021, with 66 cases showing signs of SLAPPs.

In 2023, Reporters Without Borders noted that, in Poland, “ruling politicians and their entourages regularly launch verbal attacks and SLAPPs against critical journalists“.

Human rights groups have also accused the authorities of using criminal investigations and other legal action to intimidate activists and volunteers providing humanitarian assistance to migrants who have irregularly crossed Poland’s eastern border from Belarus.

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: Martyna Niecko / Agencja Wyborcza.pl

Alicja Ptak

Alicja Ptak is deputy editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She has written for Clean Energy Wire and The Times, and she hosts her own podcast, The Warsaw Wire, on Poland’s economy and energy sector. She previously worked for Reuters.