Length of Criminal Proceedings

Defamation cases tended to drag on extensively. As a first-instance decision is the first opportunity for cases to be dismissed, even meritless SLAPP cases can result in lengthy, burdensome proceedings for defendants.

Publication date

Redress Sought by Complainants

The financial compensation sought in the 27 cases for which we had information on whether the plaintiff sought damages ranged in amount from 7,000 soles (1,885 USD) to 324 million Soles (87.25 million USD).

15253045505070801001001001001001602002005002 Million4 Million5 Million5 Million13,5 Million100 Million324 Million324 Million87In thousands, soles19,284 solesis the averageannual salary

In 15 cases, the complainants requested damages ranging from 7,000 to 100,000 soles, amounts several times larger then the average monthly salary in Peru.

In 12 out of the 27 cases, the complainants requested more than 100,000 soles (26,928 USD), a huge sum for any journalist, considering that the average yearly salary in Peru is 19,284 soles (5,494 USD)

In three cases, the financial compensation sought exceeded 100 million soles (28.5 million USD).

The large sums sought suggest the complainants’ desire was to intimidate and silence the defendant journalists, rather than to realistically recover damages.

Application of the 2006 Plenary Decision

The 2006 Plenary Decision is a binding decision issued by the Supreme Court aimed at establishing a uniform approach to these cases. However, we found that courts were not consistently applying it.

Out of 40 decisions, only 22 cited the 2006 Plenary Decision.

With respect to cases concerning public interest speech, the 2006 Plenary Decision was also not consistently applied, despite explicit language in the 2006 Plenary on the subject. Out of the 28 public interest-related cases, the 2006 Plenary was only cited in one-half, or 14 decisions.

Notably, in the 14 public interest cases where the Plenary was cited, only one-half of the decisions (7) ordered an acquittal, while 5 decisions ordered a conviction, suggesting that the public interest nature of the publication in controversy was not necessarily a controlling factor in the courts’ decisions.

chart showing that in half of decisions Plenary was not cited

Analysis of the Jurisprudence: Inconsistencies in Peru’s Case Law

The quantitative analysis presented in the previous section underscores the significant threat that SLAPPs pose to journalists in Peru and demonstrates that the 2006 Plenary Decision has not been adequately utilized by the courts. To better understand the jurisprudence, we conducted a detailed examination of the substance of court decisions in a subset of 40 cases for which we had legal documents.

We found that Peruvian courts took inconsistent approaches to a number of issues critical to the protection of expression and public interest reporting—several of which the Supreme Court’s 2006 Plenary Decision had sought to address.

Journalists' Perceptions and Experiences with Legal Proceedings in Peru

We also administered an online survey to journalists across Peru to better understand their experience with legal complaints.

Nearly one-third of respondents (34 out of 115 respondents) reported having received a legal complaint during their career as a journalist. Out of this group, over one-half (19 out of 34 respondents) indicated the complaint(s) was for aggravated defamation.

Regardless of the outcome of specific cases, legal processes exacted reputational, psychological, and economic consequences on the journalists—impacts that were exacerbated by the lengthiness of the proceedings.

Half of the respondents who received a legal complaint reported that the complaint affected their ability to freely exercise their free speech right

16 (47%) respondents reported facing obstacles to doing their job

13 (38%) respondents reported having experienced psychological pressure and mental health issues

12 (35%) respondents reported having experienced financial stress for legal fees

11 (32%) respondents reported facing obstacles to doing their job

Perception of Effects of Legal Complaints on Journalism

Criminal cases not only impact individual journalists but also have a chilling effect on public interest reporting.

All 115 respondents were asked to consider the overall effect of legal complaints against journalists.

Notably, over half of the respondents said that legal complaints were linked with threats to security and physical integrity.

Moreover, journalists reported that the threat of lawsuits substantially affects how they approach their work.

The overwhelming majority (87.7%) of respondents stated that “knowing that journalists are sued or investigated” affected their work.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx