On 12 February 2025, the Belgian anti-SLAPP Working Group launched a model law, which was subsequently submitted as a law proposal on 18 February 2025 in full to Parliament by two Ecolo-Groen party politicians, including its explanatory memorandum.
On 1 April 2025, the Minister of Justice informed the anti-SLAPP Working Group that the Justice Department is drafting a government-backed law project to transpose EU Directive 2024/1069.
On 28 May 2025 the Parliamentary Commission of Justice requested the Council of State (Department Legislation) for an advisory opinion about the Ecolo-Groen law proposal. This advisory opinion (on the quality of the law proposal) has been delivered on 30 July 2025.
On 11 July 2025 the Minister of Justice has invited several stakeholders, including the Belgian anti-SLAPP Working Group, the Federal Institute for the protection and promotion of Human Rights (FIRM-IFDH) and the High Council of Justice (HRJ-CSJ), for an advisory opinion on a draft government bill transposing EU Directive 2024/1069.
On 1 October 2025 the High Council of Justice has delivered and published its advisory opinion. The HRJ-CSJ is positive about the general approach of the draft law project, including the extension to domestic procedures. The HRJ-CSJ however deplores that the draft project does not include anti-SLAPP guarantees in criminal procedures. A series of observations are of a more technical-juridical nature or signal some lack of coherence between the proposed and the existing rules of procedure.
On 23 December 2025, the Council of Ministers (Federal Government) approved a bill transposing the EU Anti-SLAPP Directive. The bill must now be submitted to the Council of State for advice, before parliamentary proceedings can start. The text of the government’s bill is not yet public, but from the short press release it can be derived that the bill only provides anti-SLAPP safeguards in civil proceedings. The FIRM-IFDH previously noted this as the “biggest shortcoming” in failing to provide for the protection of victims of SLAPP in criminal proceedings, while defamation and insult are still criminal offences in Belgium. The FIRM-IFDH emphasized: “Although the Directive does not mandate it, the absence of such a provision remains problematic.”
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CASE is a coalition of European NGOs that recognize the threat posed to public watchdogs by Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs).
The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) was founded in 2015 in Leipzig, Germany, and operates under European press freedom charters.
CASE is a coalition of European NGOs that recognize the threat posed to public watchdogs by Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs).
The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) was founded in 2015 in Leipzig, Germany, and operates under European press freedom charters.
Mapping Media Freedom documents press and media freedom violations across Europe. The documented incidents are publicly accessible and can be explored, filtered, and searched through the interactive Alert Explorer.