Representatives of the Department for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights participated in the "Vilnius Dialogue" Conference: Fostering the Culture of Public Debate in Europe. The event focused on implementing the requirements of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, strengthening judicial capacity to protect freedom of expression, and countering strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs). It was jointly organised by the Council of Europe and the Supreme Court of Lithuania, under the auspices of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers. Participants included representatives of the judiciary, ministries of justice, experts, and journalists from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine, and other Council of Europe member States.
The Council of Europe project “Safeguarding Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Media in Ukraine” (SFEM-UA) supported the participation of nine Ukrainian representatives in this conference: eight Ukrainian judges from the Supreme Court, and Ms Olga Iurkova, Ph.D., media expert and co-founder of StopFake.org, who joined the panel discussion on Freedom of Expression in Times of War and Emergency to discuss judicial responses to propaganda, disinformation, and maintaining a fair balance in proceedings.
The conference explored the roles of the European Court of Human Rights and domestic courts in safeguarding freedom of expression. Discussions covered defamation cases, the boundaries of permissible criticism of public officials, judges, and law enforcement officers, judicial protection against SLAPPs, and the judiciary’s role in ensuring access to information. Additional themes included countering propaganda and disinformation during times of war and public emergencies.
As part of the discussions on executing judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, the Department presented the Committee of Ministers’ practices in freedom of expression cases and shared best practices for implementing such judgments.
Participants emphasised the importance of implementing the Court’s judgments regarding access to information as a means to significantly enhance democratic processes and improve the quality of public debate. The conference underscored the judiciary’s critical role in protecting freedom of expression while addressing the challenges posed by SLAPPs, propaganda, and disinformation.
Following the adoption of the Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec(2024)2 on countering the use of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) of 5 April 2024 and the EU Directive (EU) 2024/1069 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 on protecting persons who engage in public participation from manifestly unfounded claims or abusive court proceedings (SLAPPs), the SFEM-UA Project is currently assisting the national authorities in promoting these standards, as well as bringing the legal and institutional framework aligned with them.
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The Council of Europe Project “Safeguarding Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Media in Ukraine” (SFEM-UA) is implemented by the Council of Europe Division for Co-operation on Freedom of Expression in the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” 2023-2026.
