The Nationalist Party wants recently-introduced anti-SLAPP legislation to be beefed up and made applicable to cases both in Malta and involving other countries.

PN MPs Karol Aquilina and Claudette Buttigieg have now filed a parliamentary motion seeking to have the law amended.

SLAPP, or Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, are legal cases that are intended to bully critics into silence by those with the financial means to effectively weaponise the legal system.

Malta came under pressure to introduce anti-SLAPP legislation following the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who faced a raft of legal cases and garnishee orders in connection with her reporting.

The country transposed a new EU anti-SLAPP directive into law earlier this year, becoming the first EU member state to do so.

But a foundation named in Caruana Galizia’s memory and focused on advocating for media freedom believes the EU directive does not go far enough and should be bolstered.

So too does the PN, which in a statement on Saturday said that the new law only offers journalists "the minimum level of protection” required.

“The Partit Nazzjonalista views the Anti-SLAPP directive as a significant opportunity for our country not only to adopt laws in line with EU directives but also to offer the highest possible level of protection for journalists from the abuses of those wishing to hide the truth,” the PN MPs said.

Apart from revising the law, the Opposition also wants “broad and effective public consultation” on how the anti-SLAPP directive should be incorporated into national laws, with a March 2025 deadline for that.

The Opposition also wants public consultation on recommendations made by a public inquiry into Caruana Galizia’s assassination and reminded the government that its promise to publish a white paper on reforms to strengthen journalism in Malta has yet to materialise. The government made that promise over one year ago.