MISS MAGDALENA ZABROCKA

Biography

Magdalena, having completed her BA degree in English Studies and qualified as a teacher at the University of Gdansk, joined the School of Law in 2019 as a Master of Laws student. She obtained her LLM degree in International Law and International Relations in 2020 and started her Postgraduate Diploma in Law at the BPP University. As a student at the University of Aberdeen, Magdalena was one of the editors for the ASLR while her research focus included international human rights, public international law and EU law. Magdalena has volunteered in a number of pro-bono projects, including legal advice clinics, and completed various legal internships. Her most recent employment before moving to the UK was as a project coordinator of EU-funded projects completed in cooperation with foreign partner institutions, and later on a paralegal.

In 2019, she won a national literary competition and received a joint bursary from the University of Gdansk and Trinity College Dublin. In 2021, Magdalena co-authored a study commissioned by European Parliament Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) on ‘The Use of SLAPPs to Silence Journalists, NGOs and Civil Society’ and became a member of the Anti-SLAPP hub with other scholars at the University of Aberdeen, responsible for providing guidance to legal practitioners and professionals in Member States on strategic lawsuits. In 2022, Magdalena authored an analysis on the CJEU Case C-673/20 EP v Préfet du Gers concerning human rights aspects of some Brits being deprived of their electoral rights, following Brexit (Oxford Human Rights Hub).

Magdalena started her PhD at the School of Law in January 2021 and, following her roles as an UG Tutor and a Research Assistant, she is currently employed by the UoA as a Teaching Fellow. Magdalena’s research concerns citizenship and residence by investment (CBI/RBI) schemes in EU Member States. Her broader interests include EU law, human rights, and public law.

Prizes and Awards

• First place and a joint bursary from the University of Gdansk and Trinity College Dublin in a national literary competition for a research paper (2019).

Research Overview

• Research Areas:

European Union Law

International Human Rights Law

Human Rights Law

Public Law

Constitutional Law

Administrative Law

Public International Law

• Expertise:

EU Law

International Human Rights

Public Law and Human Rights

Current Research

Magdalena is currently exploring the subject of citizenship and residence by investment (CBI/RBI) schemes in the European Union. Her doctoral research is aimed at analysing legal routes for an intervention at EU level and identifying potential arguments against the investment programmes. Other aspects closely related to the main subject of the thesis that are being analysed include the concept of national and EU citizenship, the scope and applicability of EU Treaties, EU competence on nationality matters, contractual character of the Treaties, as well as access to citizenship and human rights. 

Magdalena's secondary research focus is currently on the subject of human rights dimensions of SLAPPs and the public interest test for judicial review in the UK.

Past Research

• Minority Rights and Vulnerable Groups
• Women's Reproductive Rights
• The Rule of Law
• Feminist Legal Scholarship  

     ~ Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) 

     ~ Citizenship by Investment (CBI) 

Knowledge Exchange

• Advisor at BPP Legal Advice Clinic
• Student Director at LEASE project at the BPP Pro Bono Centre
• Volunteer at Streetlaw project at the BPP Pro Bono Centre
• Volunteer at Brent Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) & Clyde & Co Skype Clinic
• Volunteer at BPP National Legal Translation Service
• Co-organised the 1st Postgraduate Law Conference of the Centre for Private International Law 2021

Conferences:

• Human Rights Week - Academic Colloquium on Freedom of Expression 2022 (upcoming)
• GARI 2nd International Conference on Women’s Rights 2022 (upcoming)
• The 1st Postgraduate Law Conference of the Centre for Private International Law 2021
• Samuel Beckett Summer School 2019
• Between ‘Pomiędzy’ Festival Conference 2019

Teaching Responsibilities

• Teaching Fellow
• UG Tutor