I am incredibly grateful to be this year’s recipient of the Transparency International NZ Dame Suzanne Snively Scholarship. As someone who has experienced financial hardship at university, this support is especially meaningful and will enable me to devote more time to my studies. I am also excited by the opportunity to engage with Transparency International, as its commitment to democracy, ethical governance, and fighting corruption aligns deeply with my own values.
My dissertation examines the phenomenon of Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPP) and asks what legal mechanisms New Zealand could adopt to prevent SLAPPs while preserving access to justice. A SLAPP is a legal claim brought for the primary purpose of silencing speech or protest on matters of public interest. One of the most famous examples is the McLibel case, where McDonald's sued activists who had distributed leaflets criticising the company for animal cruelty, environmental harm, and poor employment practices.
My dissertation evaluates both procedural reforms and substantive changes to the tort of defamation. Procedural reforms include changes to strike-out rules and early disposal mechanisms for claims that can be identified as SLAPPs, while potential substantive changes to the law of defamation center around the harm threshold. The second part of my dissertation adopts a more jurisprudential approach, examining whether these reforms are consistent with broader principles and theories of private law.
My interest in this topic grew from reading investigative journalism by writers such as Patrick Radden Keefe, and hearing the stories of whistleblowers associated with companies such as Theranos and Facebook.
I believe that a free and independent press is crucial in promoting transparency and holding both public and private institutions to account. SLAPPs threaten this function, limiting the dissemination of public interest information both by burdening the target of the claim and through a wider chilling effect.
This topic is particularly significant in the social media age as mainstream media companies face growing financial pressures and are harder hit by threats of litigation. Meanwhile, the rise of disinformation has sometimes been used to discredit legitimate reporting or to advocate for greater restrictions on the media.
There is currently little New Zealand-based literature focused on examining responses to SLAPPs. My dissertation aims to fill this gap, doing so in a way that is consistent with private law rights and access to justice. I hope to honour the generosity of Transparency International by writing a paper that makes a meaningful contribution to the scholarship.
