Members of the Croatian Parliament have expressed broad support for the Act on the Protection of Persons Engaged in Public Participation from Manifestly Unfounded or Abusive Court Proceedings, while opposition MPs warned that the legislation fails to protect individuals from abusive criminal proceedings. The ruling HDZ argued that the law represents an important step forward for democracy.
The legislation transposes the EU Anti-SLAPP Directive into Croatian law, providing protection for journalists, whistleblowers, artists, trade unions, non-governmental organisations, academics and other civil society actors against unfounded lawsuits and abusive legal proceedings, commonly referred to as SLAPP lawsuits.
Speaking during Wednesday’s parliamentary debate, Anita Curiš Krok (SDP parliamentary group) said her party firmly opposes SLAPP lawsuits, which are designed to financially exhaust journalists and publishers and encourage self-censorship. She stressed that effective protection is essential not only for journalists but also for civil society organisations and everyone engaged in public participation, HINA reported.
She warned that a SLAPP lawsuit becomes a punishment in itself, even when the claimant ultimately loses, because journalists spend years defending themselves, investing time, money and energy, with the inevitable consequence being increased self-censorship to avoid future litigation.
“That ultimately leads to the collapse of democracy, because without investigative reporting on public scandals, many of them would probably never come to light,” she said.
Milorad Pupovac (SDSS parliamentary group) likewise argued that a SLAPP lawsuit is “a weapon that wins even when it loses,” because the legal battle itself intimidates, exhausts and silences its targets.
“SLAPP lawsuits are a manifestation of the power held by those with money and influence, people who can use various means to reshape, silence and restrict our public sphere as a space for democratic participation,” Pupovac said.
He also pointed out that more than 60 percent of journalists in Croatia work under freelance or copyright contracts, leaving them economically vulnerable and often unable to investigate influential individuals or institutions.
“This is a form of censorship that requires no official decree. It arises naturally out of fear for one’s own precarious livelihood,” he added.
Pupovac further criticised the fact that criminal proceedings remain excluded from both the EU Directive and the Croatian legislation, despite also being used as instruments of pressure and intimidation. He called on the Ministry of Justice and the Government to find ways to address this gap.
Urša Raukar Gamulin (Možemo! parliamentary group) also criticised the law for applying only to civil and commercial proceedings, while criminal proceedings for defamation and insult remain outside its scope.
“That is a serious problem because criminal defamation and insult proceedings have for years been among the most common tools used against victims of SLAPP lawsuits,” she said.
In her view, once the new law enters into force, abusive lawsuits are likely to shift from civil litigation into the criminal justice system. She therefore argued that amendments to the Criminal Code are necessary to prevent the malicious misuse of criminal provisions.
Raukar Gamulin also questioned the legislation’s definition of what constitutes a manifestly unfounded claim, arguing that the lack of precision leaves judges with excessive discretion and may result in inconsistent court practice.
Anka Mrak Taritaš (Centre, People’s Party – Reformists and GLAS parliamentary group) similarly emphasised the need for greater consistency in judicial practice, warning that implementation would be the law’s greatest challenge.
“Public participation is referred to in the proposed legislation, but it is not defined clearly or precisely enough,” she said.
She also expressed concern that many SLAPP lawsuits would continue to be pursued through criminal complaints for defamation, insult and harassment.
“That remains a blind spot that has not been addressed,” she warned.
Recalling that Croatia has been named Europe’s “SLAPP champion” three times in the past five years, Dalibor Paus (IDS, PGS, UNIJA and ISU-PIP parliamentary group) argued that the law should establish concrete procedural deadlines for courts to respond to and decide SLAPP cases.
He also predicted that abusive litigation would simply “spill over” from civil proceedings into criminal cases, once again calling for amendments to the Criminal Code to strengthen protection for those engaged in public participation.
Josip Jurčević (Most parliamentary group and independent MP) argued that the law would fail to achieve its objectives unless accompanied by broader reforms of judicial practice and court procedures. He cited the case of whistleblower Vesna Balenović, which, in his view, demonstrates that acting in the public interest is not sufficiently protected in Croatia.
Speaking on behalf of the ruling HDZ, Hrvoje Zekanović welcomed the legislation, arguing that it would strengthen Croatian democracy by protecting journalists from abusive lawsuits.
“This law ensures that no one, simply because they are powerful, wealthy or influential, can file an unfounded lawsuit in order to pressure a media outlet into reporting the way they want,” Zekanović said.