More than 80 judges and public prosecutors from across North Macedonia have strengthened their understanding of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) and their chilling effect on freedom of expression and media freedom, following a series of four capacity-building sessions completed in Bitola on 29 October. The sessions helped legal professionals recognise abusive legal proceedings and help prevent the misuse of the justice system to silence journalists and other public watchdogs.

 
The discussions highlighted the importance of safeguarding freedom of expression, preventing the misuse of legal proceedings to silence journalists and other public watchdogs, and ensuring a fair balance between the protection of reputation and the right to freedom of expression.
With the session in Bitola, the cycle of four cascade sessions organised throughout 2026 was successfully completed, reaching more than 80 judges and public prosecutors from across North Macedonia. The sessions, held in Skopje (28 April), Gostivar (26 May), Stip (30 September) and Bitola (29 October), provided opportunities for legal professionals to deepen their understanding of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, relevant case law of the European Court of Human Rights and European standards on countering SLAPPs. Through practical case discussions and exchanges of professional experience, participants explored the identification of abusive legal proceedings, procedural safeguards against SLAPPs and the importance of protecting journalists and other public watchdogs from undue legal pressure.
The completion of this capacity-building cycle marks an important step towards strengthening the consistent application of European freedom of expression standards in national judicial practice, contributing to a safer and more enabling environment for independent journalism, media freedom and public participation in North Macedonia.
This initiative was implemented by the Division for Cooperation on Freedom of Expression within the framework of the action “Protecting Freedom of Expression and of the Media in North Macedonia” (PRO-FREX), under the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”.