Benedetta Lobina
Supervisor(s): Laurent Pech
Thesis title: The EU Rule of Law Crisis: Challenging the Integrity of the Integration Project
Abstract:
The research project argues that the rule of law crisis has revealed the weakness of the EU legal order when it comes to its fundamental principles. Due to the tension between national sovereignty and conferred competences in areas pertaining to the rule of law, including judicial independence and freedom of expression, the integrity of the EU project is threatened by deliberate actions of national governments, as well as by the lack of a cohesive and effective strategy to defend EU values. In order to address growing challenges to the EU legal order and in light of the failure of intergovernmental dialogue, the thesis puts forward that further judicialization and a systematic supranational response is necessary to correct and prevent illiberal turns that obstruct European integration. Furthermore, this contribution will provide a much-needed taxonomy of rule of law crises by critically assessing how violations have taken place in different member states, with the goal of identifying patterns of illiberal behaviour. The rationale behind this choice is to highlight how the loss of legality in one or more states has a domino effect that compromises the functioning and the mission of the European Union.
Biography:
Benedetta is a PhD candidate at the Sutherland School of Law, University College Dublin (UCD). Her research focus is the impact of the rule of law crisis on the EU integration process. She graduated with First Class Honours in Politics and Legal Studies in 2020 and obtained her LLM by research with Distinction in 2022, both from the University of Aberdeen. Benedetta’s research interests lie at the intersection of law and politics, with a particular focus on European Union law, especially in relation to the rule of law, judicial independence, media freedom and external relations. She has been able to present her research at several international conference around the world, including Rome, Washington DC, Barcelona, Leiden and Iceland. In the academic year 2022/23 Benedetta was an hourly paid lecturer in EU law at Middlesex University in London.
Research achievements
Publications
J Borg-Barthet, B Lobina and M Zabrocka, “The use of SLAPPs to silence journalists, NGOs and civil society” (2021) JURI Committee, European Parliament: IP/C/JURI/IC/2021-048 < (opens in a new window)https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/IPOL_STU(2021)694782>.
Conference papers
“Judicial Independence in Peril: Perspectives from Hungary, Poland and Malta” 11th Biennial Conference of the SGEU, European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR), Luiss University, 8-10 June 2022
“The Rule of Law Crisis in Hungary and Poland: Challenging the Transatlantic Alliance from Within” Conference on Contemporary Challenges Facing the Transatlantic Alliance, American University Transatlantic Policy Center, 15-16 June 2022
“Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Impact of Rule of Law Backsliding on the EU’s Response to the Russo-Ukrainian War” presented at: UACES Graduate Forum Research Conference, IBEI, 8-9 June 2023; ESIL Interest Group ‘EU as a Global Actor’ conference on The EU’s Response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: International and European Perspectives, University of Leiden, 22-23 June 2023; CES 29th International Conference of Europeanists, University of Iceland, 27-29 June 2023
Blog posts
“Playing Both Sides: on Hungary, Poland and the EU’s Response to the Invasion of Ukraine” Ideas on Europe (July 2023) available at <(opens in a new window)https://crossroads.ideasoneurope.eu/2023/07/06/playing-both-sides-on-hungary-poland-and-the-eus-response-to-the-invasion-of-ukraine/>