Magdalena Zabrocka

Contact

• workRoom A35 (available in C84) Law & Social Sciences Building
  King's Meadow Campus
  Lenton Lane
  Nottingham
  NG7 2NR
  UK
• Magdalena.Zabrocka@nottingham.ac.uk

Biography

Magdalena Zabrocka is a doctoral researcher at the School of Law, University of Aberdeen and a faculty member at the School of Law, University of Nottingham while she has also taught at the University of Aberdeen, the University of Essex Online & KOL, and acted as an Affiliated Lecturer at the Brunel Law School. Magdalena is a Visiting Lecturer at the School of International and Advanced Problems of Public Law, Faculty of Law & Administration, University of Gdańsk, Poland. Additionally, she has practical experience in the legal sector as well as varied Pro-Bono background.

Magdalena's core research focus concerns citizenship by investment ('CBI') schemes in the EU. Having completed her English law degree and the LLM in public international law & international relations with a focus on international human rights as well as socio-legal studies in Aberdeen, Magdalena's broader areas of expertise include European Union ('EU') law and international human rights while she has also worked extensively within the field of UK public law. Magdalena's recent research relates to strategic lawsuits against public participation ('SLAPPs') and continues after her co-authorship of a study commissioned by the European Parliament Committee on Legal Affairs ('JURI') on 'The Use of SLAPPs to Silence Journalists, NGOs and Civil Society' (Study, PE 694.782, European Parliament, Committee on Legal Affairs, June 2021). Magdalena is a member of the Anti-SLAPP Research Hub which she recently represented as a delegate during an expert seminar on legal and economic threats to the safety of journalists organised by the UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights ('OHCHR') (April 2023).

Magdalena acts as the PGR (Postgraduate) Associate Director of the Aberdeen Centre for Constitutional and Public International Law ('ACCPIL'). She is a member of the Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC), the International Law and Security Centre (ILSC) in Nottingham, several ECPR Standing Groups, as well as the Society of Legal Scholars, among other professional memberships.

Expertise Summary

Magdalena's main expertise includes European Union law and human rights. Further research areas are public law, socio-legal studies, as well as feminist legal scholarship, among others. Most of Magdalena's research engagement is policy-related with her present work being devoted to investment migration (CBI & RBI) as well as strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs).

Magdalena has also worked on interdisciplinary projects and research while focusing on areas of Gender Studies, Feminist Legal Scholarship, Law and Linguistics, International Relations, Law and Violence, as well as Minorities' and Women's Reproductive Rights.

Having supervised various students' dissertations at LLB&LLM levels, Magdalena is eager to supervise projects in broadly construed EU law, public law, public international law & human rights, socio-legal work, minorities' rights and equality laws, reproductive rights, and the rule of law, among others.

Research Interests

Exemplar Subjects

Investment Migration Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation The Rule of Law & Democratic Backsliding in the EU Women's Reproductive Rights Minorities' Rights within the EU

Broader Areas

EU Law International & European Human Rights UK Public Law Constitutional Law Administrative Law & Human Rights Migration Studies and Nationality Laws

Teaching Summary

Throughout her academic career in various institutions, Magdalena has supervised LLB&LLM projects, was responsible for assessment and marking, and has taught a variety of subjects, including:

European Union Law

EU Institutions and Law

UK Constitutional Law

Administrative Law and Civil Liberties

Public Law

Introduction to the UK Legal System

International Human Rights

Human Rights in the United Kingdom

Introduction to Public International Law

The Use of Force in International Law & IHL

English Criminal Law

Legal Method and Scholarship

Legal Skills

Introduction to Legal Theory

Gender, Violence, Law & Society

Foundations of the Legal System

Law & Society

Legal Skills & Context

Civil Liberties, Political Rights & Human Rights

Guest Lectures:

- SLAPPs

- Investment Migration

Research Summary

Magdalena's doctoral work concerns Citizenship by Investment (CBI) schemes from the EU perspective, attempting to critically reflect on the split of competence between the EU institutions and Member… read more

Selected Publications

• MAGDALENA ZABROCKA, 2023. The Sale of EU Citizenship and the 'Law' Behind It Statelessness & Citizenship Review. 5(1), 44-75
• MAGDALENA ZABROCKA, 2023. Investment Migration and Reproductive Rights: Citizenship by Investment as a Tool of Mobility and Enhanced Access, or Further Deepening of Existing Inequalities? Social & Legal Studies: An International Journal Blog. Available at: <https://socialandlegalstudies.wordpress.com/2023/05/15/investment-migration-and-reproductive-rights-citizenship-by-investment-as-a-tool-of-mobility-and-enhanced-access-or-further-deepening-of-existing-inequalities/>
• MAGDALENA ZABROCKA, 2024. The ML v Poland ‘landmark’ judgment on reproductive rights and the ENNHRI third-party intervention: How ‘landmark’ is it in reality? Oxford Human Rights Hub. Available at: <https://ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk/the-ml-v-poland-landmark-judgment-on-reproductive-rights-and-the-ennhri-third-party-intervention-how-landmark-is-it-in-reality/>
• JUSTIN BORG-BARTHET, MAGDALENA ZABROCKA and BENEDETTA LOBINA, 2021. The Use of SLAPPs to Silence Journalists, NGOs and Civil Society: This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the JURI Committee, analyses legal definitions of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) and assesses the compatibility of anti-SLAPP legislation with EU law. It is recommended that an anti-SLAPP Directive should be adopted, and that the Brussels Ia Regulation and Rome II Regulation should be recast to limit the incidence of SLAPPs. European Parliament Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs.

• View all publications

Current Research

Magdalena's doctoral work concerns Citizenship by Investment (CBI) schemes from the EU perspective, attempting to critically reflect on the split of competence between the EU institutions and Member States on nationality matters as well as map potential routes for approximation of laws on investment migration at supranational level given the agreements underpinning the core EU Treaties, as subject to CJEU's interpretation.

Aside from her PhD, Magdalena is involved in research on Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), working with the Anti-SLAPP Hub, policy-makers, and various NGOs, monitoring the developments at European and international levels concerning Anti-SLAPP legislation as well broader measures.

Past Research

Some of the past research subjects broadly include:

- investment migration

- SLAPPs

- reproductive rights & restrictive abortion laws

- socio-legal analysis & human rights dimensions of various models of criminalising/regulating sex labor

- the rule of law

- feminist legal scholarship & the PIL critique

- judicial review under the English legal system

Future Research

Magdalena hopes to expand on her doctoral work, given the fast-developing situation at EU level concerning investment migration as well as the emerging trends and tendencies at global level.

Furthermore, building on her past work as well as the research presented during various conferences, Magdalena hopes to further explore the theme of SLAPPs and judicial review under English administrative law, mapping the question of locus standi and human rights violations connected to strategic lawsuits as well as the gaps in the current (and proposed) Anti-SLAPP framework in England and Wales. The next steps would include conducting further research, analogous to the aforementioned, however, mapped from the European/international human rights law perspective and thus, having cross-jurisdictional application.

• MAGDALENA ZABROCKA, 2024. The ML v Poland ‘landmark’ judgment on reproductive rights and the ENNHRI third-party intervention: How ‘landmark’ is it in reality? Oxford Human Rights Hub. Available at: <https://ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk/the-ml-v-poland-landmark-judgment-on-reproductive-rights-and-the-ennhri-third-party-intervention-how-landmark-is-it-in-reality/>
• MAGDALENA ZABROCKA, 2023. The Sale of EU Citizenship and the 'Law' Behind It Statelessness & Citizenship Review. 5(1), 44-75
• MAGDALENA ZABROCKA, 2023. Investment Migration and Reproductive Rights: Citizenship by Investment as a Tool of Mobility and Enhanced Access, or Further Deepening of Existing Inequalities? Social & Legal Studies: An International Journal Blog. Available at: <https://socialandlegalstudies.wordpress.com/2023/05/15/investment-migration-and-reproductive-rights-citizenship-by-investment-as-a-tool-of-mobility-and-enhanced-access-or-further-deepening-of-existing-inequalities/>
• MAGDALENA ZABROCKA and SHAHAB SAQIB, 2023. A Joint Seminar with a Guest Scholar Organised by the ACCPIL - 'Citizenship and Borders: The Meaning and Cost of 'Belonging' through the Lenses of the 'Public' and 'Private'' University of Aberdeen School of Law Blog. Available at: <https://www.abdn.ac.uk/law/blog/a-joint-seminar-with-a-guest-scholar-organised-by-the-accpil-citizenship-and-borders-the-meaning-and-cost-of-belonging-through-the-lenses-of-the-public-and-private/>
• FRANCESCA FARRINGTON and MAGDALENA ZABROCKA, 2023. The Anti-SLAPP Research Hub reflects on media freedom on the 30th Anniversary of World Press Freedom Day University of Aberdeen School of Law Blog. Available at: <https://www.abdn.ac.uk/law/blog/the-antislapp-research-hub-reflects-on-media-freedom-on-the-30th-anniversary-of-world-press-freedom-day/>
• FRANCESCA FARRINGTON and MAGDALENA ZABROCKA, 2023. The Anti-SLAPP Research Hub calls for global cooperation in tackling SLAPPs at the UN's expert seminar on the safety of journalists University of Aberdeen School of Law Blog. Available at: <https://www.abdn.ac.uk/law/blog/the-antislapp-research-hub-calls-for-global-cooperation-in-tackling-slapps-at-the-uns-expert-seminar-on-the-safety-of-journalists/>
• MAGDALENA ZABROCKA, 2022. Gender and Equality: Restrictive Abortion Laws as a Form of Human Rights Violation of Marginalised Persons: An interdisciplinary approach to analysing human rights issues in regard to marginalised groups as well as the cultural roots of the stigma assigned to them; socio-legal research conducted for a better understanding of the implications of chosen abortion laws and the application of conscientious objection by healthcare providers. GARI International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research. 8(3), 171-195
• MAGDALENA ZABROCKA, ABBE BROWN, MARCEL JASPARS and MICHELA MASSIMI, 2022. RSE Saltire workshop 11-12 October 2022 -Towards a new European approach to the sea: stewarding marine resources for equitable ABS and global governance: Report In:
• MAGDALENA ZABROCKA, 2022. Case C-673/20 EP v Préfet du Gers: The Stripping of the Right to Vote Oxford Human Rights Hub. Available at: <https://ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk/case-c-673-20-ep-v-prefet-du-gers-the-stripping-of-the-right-to-vote/>
• JUSTIN BORG-BARTHET, MAGDALENA ZABROCKA and BENEDETTA LOBINA, 2021. The Use of SLAPPs to Silence Journalists, NGOs and Civil Society: This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the JURI Committee, analyses legal definitions of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) and assesses the compatibility of anti-SLAPP legislation with EU law. It is recommended that an anti-SLAPP Directive should be adopted, and that the Brussels Ia Regulation and Rome II Regulation should be recast to limit the incidence of SLAPPs. European Parliament Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs.
• FRANCESCA FARRINGTON and MAGDALENA ZABROCKA, Punishment by Process The Development of Anti-SLAPP legislation in the European Union: (forthcoming 2023) Academy of European Law. (In Press.)