Eco-SLAPPs: Legal Intimidation as a Weapon to Silence Environmental and Public Space Defenders
In recent years, a somewhat ironic acronym has become increasingly prevalent in public discourse: the term “SLAPP,” which sounds like the word “slap,” is actually an abbreviation for the term “Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation”. The term began to be used in the 1980s by professors at the University of Denver to describe lawsuits that lack—wholly or partially—a genuine legal basis but are filed with the purpose of intimidating defendants and preventing their participation in public discourse or criticism of powerful actors.
