A healthy democracy depends on the active participation of its citizens. But increasingly, citizens face damaging and silencing lawsuits for doing no more than speaking out. Public criticism of a corporation, whether for its labour, human rights or environmental record, can land a law-abiding citizen in court.

SLAPP stands for “Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation” a phrase coined by American researchers to describe a class of lawsuit which seems designed more to silence public criticism than to provide legitimate compensation.