Enhancing the Strategic Litigation and Fundamental Rights in the Central and Eastern Europe

ongoing

"The ""Enhancing Strategic Litigation and Fundamental Rights in Central and Eastern Europe (EMPOWER-LITI-CEE)"" project aims to strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations (CSOs), legal practitioners, and human rights defenders in seven EU Member States: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. The project focuses on advancing the protection of fundamental rights through strategic litigation, utilizing the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The project includes a comprehensive training program with seven workshops, complemented by a Compendium and a Database of strategic litigation cases. It will enhance the capacity of 196 legal practitioners and human rights defenders to design effective litigation strategies, advocate persuasively, and manage strategic litigation cases in national courts and the European Court of Justice. The project will strengthen the engagement in litigation practices, enabling stakeholders assisting EU citizens in leveraging available legal remedies to uphold their rights under EU law. It will also focus on equipping legal practitioners, CSOs, and human rights defenders with the knowledge and skills to address and counter Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), specifically considering the EU Anti-SLAPP Directive 2024/1069 and Council of Europe recommendations against the use of SLAPPs. Through a structured training program and the development of practical and supportive tools, the project aims to empower legal professionals and CSOs to advocate for and defend fundamental rights within a challenging legal environment more effectively."