German Minister of Justice Heiko Maas, when will Germany enact an anti-SLAPP statute?

Heiko Maas in "unsightly" Lycra

Minister Heiko Maas,

You seem to delight in making, admittedly ridiculous, suggestions and initiatives to ban sexist adverts in a move to gain some sort of political standing as a member of a political party in perpetual decline, resembling a downhill ride from the Passo Zoncolan.

Whatever it is that (dis)qualifies an ad as being sexist, the move is certainly oh so politically correct. However, I am getting second thoughts, and I say this as an avid road cyclist, about your personal sincerity when I see you posing in Lycra.

You may be interested to learn that a New Zealand hotel bans cyclists in Lycra to cut out 'bulges' at breakfast" as it finds the “bumps and bulges” inappropriate and “unsightly”." Just saying.


Pointing en passant to Poe's law and on a more sincere juridical note, civilized Western countries who truly embrace free speech have enacted years ago an anti-SLAPP statute.

The United States and California constitutions grant every person the right to participate in government and civic affairs, speak freely on public issues, and petition government officials for redress of grievances. Yet, individuals and community groups are often sued for exercising these constitutional rights. These suits are known as "SLAPPs," or "Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation."

Wikipedia writes

A strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) is a lawsuit that is intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition.[1] Such lawsuits have been made illegal in many jurisdictions on the grounds that they impede freedom of speech.

The typical SLAPP plaintiff does not normally expect to win the lawsuit. The plaintiff's goals are accomplished if the defendant succumbs to fear, intimidation, mounting legal costs or simple exhaustion and abandons the criticism. In some cases, repeated frivolous litigation against a defendant may raise the cost of directors and officers liability insurance for that party, interfering with an organization's ability to operate.[2] A SLAPP may also intimidate others from participating in the debate. A SLAPP is often preceded by a legal threat.

 There is a difficulty in that plaintiffs do not present themselves to the Court admitting that their intent is to censor, intimidate or silence their critics. Hence, the difficulty in drafting SLAPP legislation, and in applying it, is to craft an approach which affords an early termination to invalid abusive suits, without denying a legitimate day in court to valid good faith claims. Thus, anti-SLAPP laws target tactics used by SLAPP plaintiffs. Common anti-SLAPP laws include measures such as penalties for plaintiffs who file lawsuits ruled frivolous and special procedures where a defendant may ask a judge to consider that a lawsuit is a SLAPP (and usually subsequently dismiss the suit).

 Are there any plans on your side to prove that Germany is not a Banana Republic, because recent events on your boring TV left me with serious doubts about free speech in Germany?

We, that is my daughter and I, are surised and appalled that you and your labor minister Nahles steadfastly refuse to respond to any of our several emails and pleas. Keeping quiet is certainly a tried and tested tradition of Germans and it worked pretty darn well 80 years ago. Until it didn't.

We are sick and tired of being harassed by German government agencies like the Jobcenter, the Bundesagentur für Arbeit and the Munich Kangaroo Courts that infringed and keep on infringing our right to free speech.

The latest being a criminal online complaint submitted under a false name from the IP address 217.253.91.237 and resulting in yet another confiscation of all our IT equipment. That IP address is pretty near to one German government agency's offices.

So when will you guarantee the legal means to citizens who are being harassed and persecuted and financially ruined for speaking out and publishing their experiences with German government agencies? We feel the acronym DE-SLAPP has an awesome ring. In case you would like to consult someone, I can honestly recommend one of the Popehat gang.

And since I am at it, could you perhaps give any information on the progress of this:

2013/0408 (COD) Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on provisional legal aid for suspects or accused persons deprived of liberty and legal aid in European arrest warrant proceedings COM(2013) 824 final

After all, three years seem to have passed quite uneventful. We do believe those are real issues and areas a minister in the field of justice can keep the derailleur moving and the wheels spinning. Anything else is just, as we say in jargon cyclisme, a chasse-patate.