Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation – commonly referred to as SLAPPs – have been widely recognised as a growing threat to freedom of expression and particularly, but not only, to civil society actors such as journalists, academics, environmental defenders, and authors.

SLAPPs are lawsuits or threats of legal action that engage abusive litigation tactics in proceedings which concern public participation on matters of public interest. Abusive litigation tactics take many forms, including making exaggerated or unfounded claims for damages, amending or withdrawing claims or pleadings, exploiting appeals procedures, or initiating multiple proceedings (sometimes in multiple jurisdictions).

An urgent review of the law with a view to preventing the use of SLAPPs has been called for within Scotland, in line with similar calls across England, Wales and wider Europe. More about the history of SLAPPs can be found here.

To inform this review, the Scottish Government is running a consultation to for anyone who has ever been subject to SLAPPs to offer views on their experience of strategic lawsuits against public participation and the potential for reform of the law in Scotland. The Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation Consultation closes for views on Friday 23 May 2025.

For further information and to access this consultation, please visit the Citizen Space on Scottish Government‘s website, or contact their team by email: SLAPPconsultation@gov.scot