The government has transposed the EU’s anti-SLAPP directive, saying in a statement it was the first EU member state to transpose the law.

"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 people who engage in public participation from manifestly unfounded claims or abusive court proceedings," the Justice Minister said in a statement.

The transposed order is set to introduce remedies and safeguards for journalists and will apply to matters of a civil or commercial nature with cross-border implications, including procedures for interim and precautionary measures and counterclaims, the ministry added.

The main safeguards and remedies 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 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.
• Court may also impose a dissuasive penalty on the plaintiff of up to €10,000
• Those faced with proceedings will be eligible for legal aid as provided in the Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure.

SLAPPs (strategic lawsuits against public participation) are court proceedings intended to harass and intimidate people involved in protecting the public interest, such as journalists.

Justice Minister Jonathan Attard subsequently unveiled plans to pass three Bills concerning media reform into law and described the plan as a “historic” one. 

But the proposals faced severe pushback from journalists and media analysts, who demanded that the plans be opened to public consultation and were even disowned by the committee of experts itself, which said that many of its most salient recommendations had been watered down. 

As international scrutiny on the government’s plans cranked up, Prime Minister Robert Abela met with the Institute of Maltese Journalists to discuss their concerns and later announced that the Bills would be frozen until the committee consulted further and provided updated recommendations. 

The Media Experts Committee revisited the legislation following public consultation and submitted its final report in July last year.