Amsterdam District Court Renders Interim Judgment In International Anti-SLAPP Dispute

On June 3, 2026, the Amsterdam District Court ("the Court") rendered an interim judgment ("the Judgment") in the ongoing anti-SLAPP dispute between Greenpeace International ("GI") and a U.S.-based energy company ("the Company"). A SLAPP refers to "strategic litigation against public participation": proceedings alleged to be brought not primarily to assert legal rights, but to limit a public participant's (such as NGOs, journalists, and academics) participation in the public debate. The new EU Anti-SLAPP Directive ("the Directive") seeks to protect persons and entities engaging in public participation against manifestly unfounded or abusive proceedings. 

The Judgment relates to U.S. litigation commenced by the Company against GI, concerning GI's protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline. In that U.S. litigation, GI was ordered to pay approximately USD 345 million in damages to the Company, following which GI announced it would appeal this decision.