The Committee of Experts on Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation held its first meeting (hybrid) on 4-5 April 2022. The Committee is composed of member States’ representatives, elected by the Steering Committee on Media and Information Society (CDMSI), and independent experts, appointed by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, with recognised expertise related to freedom of expression, media law and civil and criminal procedure.

The Committee of Experts is tasked with preparing a draft recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to the member states on strategic lawsuits against public participation, by the end of 2023.

The Committee of Experts elected Ms Karmen TURK (Estonia) as Chair of the MSI-SLP and Mr Željko Martyn SAMPOR (Slovak Republic) as Vice-Chair. Ms Flutura KUSARI and Mr Tarlach McGONAGLE were designated as drafting Rapporteurs. Ms Evelyn BORG COSTANZI was appointed as Gender Equality Rapporteur.

Committee members and other participants held constructive discussions on the scope, elements and structure of the future draft recommendation. For further information, see the MSI-SLP website.