C5

Prospective affecting provision: section inserted by Defamation (Amendment) Act 2026 (2/2026), s. 19, not commenced as of date of revision.

F30[34A.— In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires—

"abusive court proceedings against public participation" means defamation proceedings or part thereof that pursue unfounded claims and that are not brought to genuinely assert or exercise a right, but that have as their main purpose the prevention, restriction or penalisation of public participation, frequently exploiting an imbalance of power between the parties, including but not limited to—

(a) where a claim is of a disproportionate, excessive or unreasonable nature,

(b) the existence of multiple proceedings initiated by the plaintiff or associated parties in relation to similar matters,

(c) intimidation, harassment or threats on the part of the plaintiff or his or her representatives, before or during the proceedings, as well as similar conduct by the plaintiff in similar or concurrent cases, or

(d) the use in bad faith of procedural tactics, such as delaying proceedings, fraudulent or abusive forum shopping or the discontinuation of cases at a later stage of the proceedings in bad faith;

"claim" includes part of a claim;

"defamation proceedings" means—

(a) an application under section 33 for an order to prevent the publication of an alleged defamatory statement,

(b) a defamation action, or

(c) a claim for other relief under this Act in respect of an alleged defamatory statement,whether brought as a claim or a counter-claim;

"Directive (EU) 2024/1069" means Directive (EU) 2024/1069 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024² on protecting persons who engage in public participation from manifestly unfounded claims or abusive court proceedings ("Strategic lawsuits against public participation");

"matter of public interest" means any matter that affects the public to such an extent that the public may legitimately take an interest in it, in areas such as—

(a) fundamental rights, public health, safety, the environment or the climate,

(b) activities of a person who is a public figure in the public or private sector, having regard to the right to privacy of an individual,

(c) matters under consideration by a legislative, executive, or judicial body, or any other official proceedings,

(d) allegations of corruption, fraud, or of any other criminal offence, or, where relevant to defamation proceedings coming within the scope of Directive (EU) 2024/1069, of administrative offences in a place other than the State, in relation to such matters, or

(e) where relevant to defamation proceedings coming within the scope of Directive (EU) 2024/1069, activities aimed at protecting the values enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union, including the protection of democratic processes against undue interference, in particular against disinformation;

"public participation" means the making of any statement or the carrying out of any activity by a person in the exercise of the right to freedom of expression and information, freedom of the arts and sciences, or freedom of assembly and association, and any preparatory, supporting or assisting action directly linked thereto, and which concerns a matter of public interest.]