Strategic Litigation against Public Participation and the Right to Protest

Описание: Around the world, strategic lawsuits against public participation—SLAPPs—are being used to silence critics, criminalize protest, and suppress civil society engagement. These lawsuits, often disguised as defamation or procedural claims, disproportionately target environmental defenders, Indigenous leaders and journalists This roundtable explores SLAPPs as part of a broader trend of shrinking civic space and the legal repression of dissent. We examine their impact on the rights to free expression, peaceful assembly, and environmental advocacy—particularly for Indigenous peoples defending land, water, and sovereignty. Framing the discussion within the context of international legal instruments such as the Aarhus Convention and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, we ask: How can legal frameworks be used to both resist SLAPPs and affirm the legitimacy of protest and participation? What legal and political strategies can protect those on the frontlines of environmental and social justice struggles?

This session is in collaboration with the CMI/LawTransform project PluriLand (NRC Fripro # 300851) and the University of BergenI/LawTransform project Autocratization Dynamics (NRCIntpart # 322644)

Moderator: Esmeralda Colombo (European Institute on Economics and the Environment)
Panel: Rhona Goodarzi (McGill University)
Sofia Rolim (FGV / University of Bergen)
Rasmus Berg (University of Bergen)
Michal Stambulski (Erasmus University Rotterdam)