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In November 2024, we profile LLB Law with another Legal System student and 2024-25 European Institute Student Ambassador, Iona Lindsay
Tell us a bit about yourself
My name is Iona, and I’m from Edinburgh, Scotland. I’m currently in my fourth (and final) year of LLB Law with another Legal System (Australia), having just got back from studying at the University of New South Wales in Sydney for 12 months. For this current academic year, I am also lucky enough to be acting as one of the UCL European Institute’s Student Ambassadors.
Outside of my studies, I love to keep active! I currently play field hockey for UCL’s 1st XI, alongside training for my fourth half-marathon in April. More casually, and if I have the time (!), I love to go bouldering, swimming, and hiking.
What areas or topics of study are you interested in, and how have you explored them at UCL?
EU Law remains a mandatory subject in an English qualifying Law Degree, and so I had my first exposure to its comprehensive study in the second year of my programme. I believe it represents one of the most fascinating legal subjects for various reasons. Perhaps most pertinently its development reflects and creates complex jurisprudential, geo-political, and historical questions. Moreover, when considering international law as a whole, the European project reveals both the potential and the limitations of powerful supranational frameworks. Especially in a world increasingly facing issues beyond national borders, such as climate change, refugee influxes, and war, the EU’s attempts to manage the Bloc and its borders are particularly relevant to any student thinking on these global issues.
Moreover, whilst completing vacation schemes at city law firms, I became critically aware of the EU’s regulatory relevance, even in a post-Brexit Britain. Particularly in the areas of individual rights and environmental protection, the EU’s regulatory machine, in conjunction with the Council of Europe, has had a remarkable impact on UK politics, policy and regulation. Furthermore, the manner in which the UK’s devolved institutions have additionally and especially been impacted, both politically and legally, by the UK’s temporary membership of the EU is also fascinating.
Studying abroad in Sydney provided a further opportunity to refine my interests. The university favoured assessment via ‘research essay’ meaning I was afforded great flexibility on which topics I chose to research and complete coursework on. Thus, whilst perhaps ironic considering I had greatly increased my geographic distance to the continent, throughout my study abroad I was able to focus my research on European case studies and topics. For example, I researched and wrote on topics including the perceived undue heteronormativity of the European Court of Human Rights following the judgment in Y v France, the impact of cyber warfare on refugees from the Russian war in Ukraine, and the accountability issues present in the now repealed Northern Ireland Legacy Act.
Now in my final year at UCL, I am taking a particular focus in studying environmental, international, and administrative law. I am, additionally, currently writing my undergraduate dissertation on the EU’s legislative reform of the Common European Asylum System. I hope that this significant research project will further enhance and refine my perspective and engagement with European law and politics.
Why are you interested in Europe?
From 2019 to 2023, I volunteered for the charity the European Youth Parliament, helping to facilitate and organise educational forums in which secondary school students from across the continent could engage in cultural exchange and draft mock resolutions in the style of the European Parliament on key European issues. Whilst chairing numerous committees, I facilitated the discussion of many complex European issues, ranging from the militarisation of space, to the incarceration of female prisoners, to making welfare systems more accessible for refugees. It was through volunteering for the charity that my interest in European affairs was developed and refined. I had the chance to volunteer at forums across the continent, from Finland, and Switzerland, to Slovenia and Albania and even in the European Parliament itself in Brussels. At every event, I worked with talented young people from across Europe, broadening my perspective and understanding of regional and global issues.
Hence, since 2019 I have had a firm interest and drive to research cross-border issues. As alluded to before, the European continent is a fascinating example of interlinked global legal frameworks of great historical and contemporary significance in the development of international law. Thus, moving forward, I wish to continue researching issues affecting the continent.
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Following a vacation scheme in my second year, I was lucky enough to secure a training contract with a London Law firm. So, for the next three years at least, I will be studying and working to become a qualified solicitor within the firm. As part of the training, my firm offers 6-month secondments to their international offices (such as Brussels, Amsterdam, New York, or even back to Sydney!), so I hope that I’ll have the chance to undertake one of these opportunities to work abroad. Otherwise, once I’m qualified, I’d love to be able to take a sabbatical to complete a Master's degree in an international law specialism.