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The price of reputation : freedom of the press and proportionality in Real Madrid v Le Monde : ECJ 4 October 2024, Case C-633/22, Real Madrid Club de Fútbol and AE v EE and Société Éditrice du Monde
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1574-0196; 1744-5515
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European constitutional law review, 2025, OnlineFirst
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MILEWSKA, Paulina Magdalena, The price of reputation : freedom of the press and proportionality in Real Madrid v Le Monde : ECJ 4 October 2024, Case C-633/22, Real Madrid Club de Fútbol and AE v EE and Société Éditrice du Monde, European constitutional law review, 2025, OnlineFirst - https://hdl.handle.net/1814/93879
Abstract
In recent years, the threat posed by strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) has come sharply into focus in the EU. The case of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who faced over 40 defamation actions before her assassination, became emblematic of how powerful actors use litigation to silence critical reporting.1 These lawsuits can chill public debate and undermine press freedom, particularly when paired with excessive damages claims. The term ‘SLAPP’ was first coined by US scholars Penelope Canan and George W. Pring in the 1980s to describe lawsuits brought with the primary aim of silencing speech on matters of public interest.2 Such actions typically involve a stark power imbalance: the claimants are often corporations, political figures, or other powerful actors, while the targets tend to be journalists, activists, nongovernmental organisations, or academics. The objective is rarely to win the case on the merits, but rather to burden the defendant with legal costs, time, and stress, thereby introducing a chilling effect. SLAPPs are particularly harmful when paired with disproportionate damages claims, as they can financially and psychologically exhaust their targets, even when the speech in question serves the public good.
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Published online: 20 October 2025
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This article was published Open Access with the support from the EUI Library through the CRUI - CUP Transformative Agreement (2023-2025)