Lien Stolle

Short Bio

Lien is a doctoral student in the research group Law & Technology at Ghent University. She is affiliated with the department of Interdisciplinary Study of Law, Private Law and Business Law, and is a member of the Human Rights Centre, established at the UGent Faculty of Law and Criminology.

Lien is working on an interdisciplinary research project concerning online intimidation tactics used against individuals who speak out or report on environmental issues. The chilling effect of such practices can create an environment where public and social watchdogs are reluctant to express their opinions or report on certain issues to avoid further intimidation, essentially limiting their human rights (freedom of expression, right to privacy and right to association and assembly) and environmental procedural rights (Aarhus Convention). The research project will examine the extent to which existing European and national legislation applies to these relatively recent forms of intimidation and what changes to the current legal framework are needed to ensure a robust public debate on environmental issues in which those who speak up, inform, criticize or raise awareness are not silenced.

Lien obtained the Master of Law Degree at Ghent University (Cum Laude) and an LLM degree in Law & Technology at Tilburg University (Summa Cum Laude).
Prior to her current position, Lien worked as a legal research assistant on a project on nature conservation at the Institute for Nature and Forest Research (INBO). During her LLM at Tilburg University, she worked as a student assistant at the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology and Society (TILT) on a project concerning the legal preconditions related to the establishment of an energy hub.