The Maltese government is once again being a catalyst of change in favour of the best interests of journalists through the transposition of the Directive on protecting persons who engage in public participation from manifestly unfounded claims or abusive court proceedings.
Minister for Justice and Reform of the Construction Sector Jonathan Attard announced the publication of the order transposing the Directive on protecting persons who engage in public participation from manifestly unfounded claims or abusive court proceedings under the European Union Act, Chapter 460.
This order will introduce various remedies and safeguards and will apply to matters of a civil or commercial nature with cross-border implications brought in civil proceedings, including procedures for interim and precautionary measures and counterclaims, irrespective of the nature of the competent court or tribunal.
Orders establish that abusive court proceedings against public participation means court proceedings which are not brought to genuinely assert or exercise a right, but have as their main purpose the prevention, restriction or penalisation of public participation, frequently exploiting an imbalance of power between the parties, and which pursue unfounded claims.
The main safeguards and remedies that will be introduced through the transposition of the directive are:
- Security for the estimated costs of the proceedings;
- Early dismissal of the case if the court is convinced that the claim is manifestly unfounded;
- In cases where the Court declares the proceedings abusive against public participation, it may proceed to order the plaintiff to pay the defendant all legal costs of the case.
- The court may also impose a dissuasive penalty on the plaintiff of up to €10,000.
The order also establishes that any person who is faced with proceedings to which this order applies, shall be eligible for legal aid as provided in the Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure.
Minister Attard stressed how this directive followed a number of discussions at European level where the Maltese government was active in contributing to various meetings, including the Council of Ministers. Minister Attard reiterated that the government has consistently called for this directive to be ambitious and to remain loyal to the Commission’s proposal and not to be undermined in the process of the same negotiations.
The Minister for Justice and Reform of the Construction Sector explained that now that Malta is the first country to transpose the directive, it will ensure that it participates and assists other countries, as well as the next step now is to launch the public consultation on the report of the media Expert Committee to further strengthen the framework to protect media freedom and journalism.
