The National Working Group for Combating SLAPPs strongly condemns the new, third lawsuit, filed by Court of appeals judge Dušanka Đorđević against KRIK journalists and their Database “Judge Who Judges.”
Judge Dušanka Đorđević has now filed a criminal complaint seeking a 10-month prison sentence and a two-year ban on practicing journalism for KRIK editors Bojana Jovanović and Jelena Radivojević, alleging a violation of the right to privacy. Proceedings are still ongoing in the first two lawsuits, which were filed against KRIK editor Stevan Dojčinović and journalist Bojana Pavlović.
The judge and her husband, lawyer Aleksandar Đorđević, filed the new complaint after allegedly learning during the court proceedings against KRIK that Jovanović and Radivojević were involved in the creation of the judicial database “Judge Who Judges.” It is interesting that journalist Radivojević had contacted Judge Đorđević with an interview request and specific questions during the research for the database.
We emphasize that this lawsuit represents a textbook example of a SLAPP case – its goal is not to seek justice, but to exert pressure on journalists, financially exhaust them, and intimidate them into ceasing their work on topics of public interest.
KRIK’s database “Judge Who Judges” was created to increase transparency in the judiciary. The specific profile of Judge Đorđević contains information on the cases she has presided over, as well as property data regarding her and her husband. Nothing was published in the profile that could endanger their safety, which is the alleged reason behind these lawsuits.
The first two lawsuits (civil and criminal), in which the Đorđević demanded financial compensation, prison time, and a journalism ban, were labeled as “classic SLAPP lawsuits” by the international Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE). These lawsuits are filed without merit and are aimed at pressuring journalists to stop reporting on certain topics.
The very fact that a judge is seeking prison time for journalists clearly shows that the goal of these lawsuits is to silence journalists and shut down the database, which would be a serious blow to the transparency of such publicly available data and would open the door to further censorship of the press.
It is particularly concerning that such a lawsuit is being filed by a judge — a public official who should serve as a guarantor of the rule of law, not someone who misuses the judicial system to retaliate against journalists. Such conduct seriously undermines the integrity of the judiciary and erodes public trust in the courts. Public officials must accept public criticism and scrutiny related to the performance of their duties, regardless of whether they feel personally offended by the publication of such information or opinions.
SLAPP lawsuits have already been recognized as a serious threat to democracy — the Council of Europe and the European Parliament have called on member states to introduce mechanisms to prevent them. Unfortunately, the term SLAPP is still not officially recognized in Serbia, but the practice of repeated and identical lawsuits clearly shows an abuse of the judiciary aimed at silencing critical voices.
The National Working Group for Combating SLAPPs calls on the state to urgently acknowledge the issue of SLAPP lawsuits and, in accordance with recommendations from the Council of Europe and the European Union, introduce the necessary measures to prevent them. We also call on members of the judiciary to take this issue seriously and more consistently and strictly apply existing procedural mechanisms to protect journalists from such lawsuits.
Belgrade,
October 14, 2025
National Working Group for Combating SLAPPs, composed of:
Civic Initiatives
Partners Serbia
Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS)
Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation
KRIK
Independent Journalists’ Association of Vojvodina (NDNV)
Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights – YUCOM
Association KROKODIL
Belgrade Centre for Human Rights
BIRN Serbia
