Administrative bureaucracy — The complex system of government offices, procedures, and officials that implement and enforce laws and regulations; in this context, weaponized to create barriers for civil society organizations.
Anti-torture groups — Human rights organizations specifically dedicated to documenting, preventing, and providing rehabilitation for victims of torture.
Arbitrarily suspended — Legal term describing the cancellation or freezing of organizational activities by state authorities without due process, fair procedure, or legitimate legal basis.
ASILE Project — European Union-funded research project examining asylum systems and refugee protection in Europe.
Asylum seekers — Individuals who have fled their country and applied for international protection and refugee status but whose claims have not yet been legally determined.
CEPS — Centre for European Policy Studies, a Brussels-based think tank that produced research on justice at sea and NGO operations in the Mediterranean.
Civic space — The legal, policy, and practical environment that enables individuals and groups to participate in civic life, express views, assemble peacefully, and associate freely without fear of reprisal.
Climate of intimidation — A pervasive atmosphere of fear and threat created by state rhetoric and actions that pressures individuals and organizations into silence or self-censorship.
Codes of Conduct — Specific regulatory mechanisms, such as those imposed on Mediterranean rescue NGOs, that establish binding rules beyond standard legal requirements to restrict and control operations.
Covert — actions, information, or objects that are hidden, disguised, or kept secret rather than openly shown.
Delegitimization — The strategic process of undermining the credibility, authority, or acceptance of individuals or organizations, making them vulnerable to further repression.
Democratic accountability — The principle and practice by which those in power answer for their actions to the citizenry, with civil society serving as a crucial monitoring and oversight mechanism.
Discretionary interpretation — The power of state officials to apply vague legal provisions according to their own judgment, enabling selective targeting of disfavored organizations.
Draconian — Characterized by extreme severity or cruelty; derived from Draco, an ancient Athenian lawmaker known for prescribing death for minor offenses; describes harsh “anti-NGO” legislation.
Eviscerate — deprive (something) of its essential content.
Facilitation — In migration law, the act of assisting irregular entry or stay; the Greek law criminalizes even basic humanitarian aid as “facilitation” punishable by felony charges.
Felonies — a crime regarded in the US and many other judicial systems as more serious than a misdemeanour.
Foreign agent — Technical legal designation originating in Russian law requiring organizations receiving international funding to register as agents of foreign influence, now replicated globally to stigmatize civil society.
Freedom of association — The fundamental human right of individuals to form and join groups, organizations, or associations to pursue common interests, protected under international human rights law.
Global South — Term for developing economies primarily in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Oceania, generally characterized by histories of colonialism and disproportionately affected by global policies and crises.
Humanitarianism — the promotion of human welfare.
Impounding vessels — The seizure and detention of ships by state authorities, used against Mediterranean rescue NGOs to prevent further search and rescue operations.
Independent legal representation — the retention of a lawyer by a party to a transaction or dispute, who is completely separate from the other party and has no conflicts of interest, ensuring that the attorney acts solely in that client’s best interest. It protects against coerced agreements, unequal bargaining power, and ensures informed decision-making.
Mandates — give (someone) authority to act in a certain way.
Misdemeanors — a non-indictable offence, regarded in the US (and formerly in the UK) as less serious than a felony.
Nationalist sentiment — Public emotional attachment to national identity and interests, strategically mobilized by political leaders to frame civil society as threats to sovereignty and cultural authenticity.
NGO — Non-Governmental Organization; a non-profit, voluntary citizens’ group operating independently from government, organized on local, national, or international levels to address social or political issues.
Refugees — Persons who have fled their country due to well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, with legal status defined under the 1951 Refugee Convention.
Rule of law — The principle that all persons and authorities are subject to and accountable under publicly promulgated, equally enforced, and independently adjudicated laws; here, converted into a tool of state control.
Selective enforcement — The discriminatory application of laws against disfavored groups while ignoring violations by allies, enabled by vague legal provisions and official discretion.
Self-censorship — The voluntary restraint of one’s own speech or expression due to fear of negative consequences, induced by state-created climates of intimidation.
