The Government has initiated the process to establish an anti-SLAPP mechanism — effective solutions are now expected

After the first meeting of the working group for establishing an anti-SLAPP mechanism was held on 25.03.2026, an important phase in the institutional addressing of one of the more subtle, but increasingly dangerous pressures on journalism and the public interest begins.

The working group was formally established by a conclusion of the Government adopted at the session of 27 January 2026, and at the previous initiative of the Journalists’ Association of Macedonia. With that decision, the group was tasked with analyzing domestic practices, European regulations and recommendations for strategic lawsuits against public participation – SLAPP, to propose concrete solutions in order to harmonize with European standards.

For some journalists, this may still be a new or insufficiently explained topic. SLAPPs are strategic lawsuits against public participation, i.e. legal proceedings that are not used primarily to obtain justice, but to exert pressure, to silence critical speech, to intimidate the defendant and to exhaust his financial, professional and psychological resources. The Council of Europe warns that such proceedings have a negative effect on freedom of expression and participation in matters of public interest.

That is why SLAPPs are now recognized as a new and serious risk for journalists. In conditions where formal censorship is less common, pressure increasingly comes through long and expensive court proceedings, with which powerful political, business or other centers of influence try to discourage investigative reporting, critical questions and raising issues of public interest. The risk is not only in the possible outcome of the dispute, but also in the procedure itself, in the cost, time, stress and the message sent to other journalists, that any raising of sensitive issues can be punished in court.

For AJM, this issue did not begin with the government decision to establish this working group in January 2026, in which a representative of the association is also a member. On the contrary, it is a topic that AJM has been opening, arguing for and institutionally pushing into the public and political space for a long time, through direct communication with decision-makers, public events, analyses and publications. Back in 2023, AJM prepared and presented the analysis “How to achieve more effective protection from strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP)?”, which was published as part of a project dedicated to this very issue. It not only explains the phenomenon, but also develops Indicators for identifying SLAPPs and General Guidelines and Recommendations for protection against SLAPPs.

This is particularly important due to the timetable. AJM’s analysis was prepared and presented to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to adopt Recommendation CM/Rec(2024)2 on 5 April 2024. In other words, AJM opened the topic systematically and in a timely manner, even before it received today’s stronger European institutional framework. In public space, this publication was also indicated as the first publication of its kind in the Western Balkans, which further confirms the role of AJM as an organization that approached this issue early and seriously.

Hence, AJM enters the work of this group not just as another participant, but as an organization that has already built an institutional memory, analytical basis and practical knowledge on the topic. This experience is important because this issue requires not only goodwill, but also a clear understanding of the local context, legal gaps, risks for journalists and European standards that need to be followed.

It is positive that this issue is finally receiving a formal institutional framework and that a structured process is beginning in which relevant institutions, judicial and expert representatives, as well as part of the civil society sector, are involved. But it is equally important that this process results in clear, applicable and sustainable solutions. The working group is expected to open a substantive debate on how these lawsuits will be recognized in domestic legislation and practice, how the space for their abuse will be reduced, what support will be available to journalists, and how legal certainty for reporting on matters of public interest will be strengthened.

At the same time, this issue also has a clear European dimension. Directive (EU) 2024/1069 stipulates that the Member States of the European Union should adopt the necessary measures for harmonisation no later than 7 May 2026. Although North Macedonia is a candidate Member State, approximation to these standards is important both for the protection of journalism and for the credibility of the country in the European integration process, especially when the Government itself has tasked the working group with working towards harmonization with European standards.

AJM, through its representative, will continue to participate in this process constructively and with specific proposals, with the expectation that the work begun will result in a mechanism that will objectively contribute to the protection of journalists, freedom of expression and the public’s right to be informed.

According to AJM’s internal register of SLAPP lawsuits, a total of 25 cases of this type of legal pressure on journalists and media workers have been recorded in North Macedonia since 2021. Of these, one case was registered in 2025 and 2026, eight cases in 2024, six in 2023, five in 2022 and four in 2021.