The Polish media law controversy: national protests and European discontent

Mehwisch Khan
Joint Honours (Law and European Languages) student at the University of Hertfordshire

This post was originally posted by the European Youth Press

On January 7, 2015, Andrej Duda, the current Polish president and key member of Poland’s right wing ‘The Law and Justice Party’ (PiS), approved a media bill that has sparked substantial controversy in his country.  The new Radio and Television Bill allows a political figure, the Treasury Minister, to hire and fire senior figures in public radio and television. The new hiring process, which will no longer be under the control of the National Broadcasting Council, facilitates restrictions on media freedom, censorship and the dispersal of biased information.

A brief note on the EU Referendum

Ilaine Foster
Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Hertfordshire 

With the current media discussion of post -‘Brexit’ consequences, there is considerable legal uncertainty about what exactly will happen next. The general public prior to the vote appeared to see a “Leave” vote as a fait accompli and that things would change immediately. As there is no precedent for a country leaving the EU; the actual process of such a decision is new territory. The European Union Referendum Act 2015, which provided for the holding of the referendum, was silent on what the consequences of a vote to leave would be.  There are current legal concerns from the legal community regarding legal nature of the referendum.^[1] In most countries, referendums are non-binding due to issues of sovereignty, although in some countries such as Austria, Sweden and Iceland, referendums which are binding on the government are possible. Thus the status of the current UK referendum result has to be considered in the context of our own unwritten constitution and constitutional law.

The impact of ‘Brexit’ on British Education and Research Institutions

Mehwisch Khan
Joint Honours (Law and European Languages) student at the University of Hertfordshire

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page” –  St. Augustine

The EU has been placed under a refined microscope because of the Eurozone crisis and supranationality of the European Union (EU) considered in parallel to the limited national sovereignty of its Member States (MS). Disgruntled with the overarching position of the EU, current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK) David Cameron has been cornered by his party backbenchers into holding a referendum on the 23^rd of June 2016. Many have been left alarmed, while others overjoyed. Supporters and opponents pick and choose facts, exaggerate and understate crucial issues in order to woo the support of citizens. Amidst the heated debates of politicians and scholars many have been left feeling overwhelmed and largely misinformed. Words such as “Referendum”, “Eurosceptics”, “Europhiles” and “Brexit” have become part of our daily conversations – but what does a voter really need to know before making a decision?  As an undergraduate and a current Erasmus student I was curious of the potential impact of a Brexit on the education sector, this blog post aims to get a deeper understanding of the British input and European budget for the sector.

How Facebook Really Handles Your Personal Conversations

Ashley Navo
LLB student at the University of Hertfordshire

We live in society where everyday life revolves around technology and social media networking; we can pick and choose what to share, what to write, what to delete, like and dislike and the option to keep some or all of our details private. But what do you really know about Facebook privacy and how the company handles your personal details.

Reflecting on the qualified EU law primacy in the UK constitutional law

Elise Tai
Undergraduate Law Student, University of Hertfordshire, School of Law

In a recent blog post, Elliot reflects on the HS2 case in regards to a hierarchy of domestic constitutional norms and the qualified primacy of EU law. He addresses one aspect of the decision concerning the construction of the proposed “HS2” high-speed rail network, dicta in regards to the relationship between the UK and EU Law, as well as the nature of the UK’s constitutional order.