The number of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) in Armenia is growing over the years. In 2023 and 2024, we documented at least 33 such lawsuits against environmental activists, human rights activists and journalists. These lawsuits are filed by public officials or large corporations to suppress public participation processes. The goal is to silence people who voice about questions and problems that significantly matter to the public. Normally, these lawsuits are based on claims that seek redress for damage inflicted upon the claimants’ honor, dignity or business reputation – a matter regulated by Article 1087.1 of the Civil Code of Armenia. The claimants pursue particularly large and disproportionate claims and use judicial tricks to prolong and make the trials more costly. As part of larger campaigns against criticism directed at them, the abuse of the judicial processes pursues the goal of terrifying, harassing or intimidating the defendants.
A number of important developments occurred in 2024 in the international law around the issue of lawsuits against public participation. In April 2024, the EU adopted the Anti-SLAPP Directive as well as the Anti-SLAPP Recommendation. The Directive sets out minimal measures that EU member-states have to take in order to counter SLAPPs. While Armenia is not a member of the EU, it has taken commitments under the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement signed on November 24, 2017 to gradually approximate its legislation to that of the EU.
In 2024, the Council of Europe adopted a Recommendation[4] outlining more comprehensive measures for countering and eradicating SLAPPs. While the Recommendation is not a binding document, it mirrors the case law of the European Court of Human Rights according to which discussions around issues of public interest deserve special protection. The CoE Recommendation also sets out access to mechanisms which enable dismissal of abusive lawsuits at early stages. As a member-state of the Council of Europe, Armenia has to take this Recommendation into consideration.
The first section of this report provides a summary of the characteristic indicators of strategic lawsuits against public participation and discusses the specific issues related to such lawsuits. The report goes on to present the international regulations of SLAPPs and analyses the SLAPP cases in Armenia. The report concludes with recommendations addressed to various state and non-state actors in Armenia.