With journalists being sued by elected Irish politicians, there is increasing pressure on the government to protect free speech from improper use of the already very expensive legal system. These are often referred to as SLAPPs or ‘strategic lawsuits against public participation’ and these often vexatious lawsuits can bankrupt newspapers or human rights groups just to defend an article or an opinion. 

The EU is preparing a Directive to ban the practice, which Ireland would then have to implement, but it will come too late for some companies. Mark Tottenham presents the legal podcast The Fifth Court.