Annual Report 06/07 - European Law Students' Association (ELSA)

ANNUAL REPORT 

2006/2007 

ELSA International

Annual Report 2006/2007 

This Annual Report is a produced by ELSA International 

in Brussels, Belgium. The articles are contributions 

from active ELSA officers and members in 

our Network, ELSA alumni as well as partners and 

academics. 

The articles are edited at the discretion of the 

Editors. 

Editors 

The International Board 2006/2007 

Halvor Lekven (Vice President Academic Activities) 

Loreta Pivoriunaite (Vice President Seminars & 

Conferences) 

Andrea Claudia Raffl (Vice President Student 

Trainee Exchange Programme) 

Christopher Carlson (President) 

Esra Ersoy (Secretary General) 

Tina Eszlari (Treasurer) 

Nils Fjelkegård (Vice President Marketing) 

Design and layout 

Nils Fjelkegård 

ELSA International 

239, Boulevard Général Jacques 

B-1050 Brussels 

Belgium 

Phone: +32 2 646 26 26 

Fax: + 32 2 646 29 23 

E-mail: elsa@elsa.org 

Website: www.elsa.org 

ELSA International’s Corporate 

Partners 

About ELSA - The European 

Law Students’ Association 

The European Law Students’ Association, ELSA, is an international, independent, 

non-political and non-profit-making organisation comprised and run by and for law 

students and young lawyers. Founded in 1981 by law students from Austria, Hungary, 

Poland and West Germany, ELSA is today the world’s largest independent law 

students’ association. 

Our Philosophy 

Vision 

A just world in which there is respect for human dignity and cultural diversity. 

Purpose 

To contribute to legal education, to foster mutual understanding and to promote 

social responsibility of law students and young lawyers. 

Means 

To provide opportunities for law students and young lawyers to learn about other 

cultures and legal systems in a spirit of critical dialogue and scientific co-operation. 

To assist law students and young lawyers to be internationally minded and professionally 

skilled. 

To encourage law students and young lawyers to act for the good of society. 

Our Network 

ELSA is a unique and growing Network of almost 30 000 law students and young 

lawyers from more than 200 universities in 36 countries across Europe. ELSA currently 

has members and observers in: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech 

Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, 

Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, The Netherlands, 

Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Russian Federation, 

Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and 

United Kingdom. Furthermore, ELSA co-operates with other student organisations 

across the world, for instance ILSA in North America, COLADIC in South America, 

ALSA in Japan, ALSA in Australia, ALSA in South Africa and AEJCI in Ivory Coast. 

ELSA’s Members 

ELSA’s members are internationally minded individuals who have experiences with 

foreign legal systems and practices. Through our activities such as Seminars & 

Conferences, Academic Activities and the Student Trainee Exchange Programme 

our members acquire a broader cultural understanding and legal expertise. ELSA 

prepares law students for living and working in an international environment. 

Our Special Status 

ELSA has through its activities and commitment within the international community 

gained a special status with several international institutions. In 2000, ELSA was 

granted Consultative Status with the Council of Europe. Furthermore, ELSA has Consultative 

Status with several United Nations bodies; in 1997 ELSA obtained Special 

Consultative Status with UN ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social Council), 

UNCITRAL (UN Commission on International Trade Law), in 1994 ELSA was granted 

Consultative Status in Category C in UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural 

Organisation). ELSA also has Participatory Status with the Council of Europe 

and recently obtained Observatory Status with WIPO (World Intellectual Property 

Organization). In addition, ELSA has a co-operation agreement with UNHCR (UN 

High Commissioner for Refugees) and co-operates with ICRC (The International 

Committee of the Red Cross) and all the European Institutions. 

2 Annual Report of ELSA International | 2006/2007

Contents 

1. Foreword.......................................................................4 

2. Market Research...........................................................6 

. Partners........................................................................7 

4. Sister Associations.....................................................10 

5. Academic Events........................................................14 

6. Delegations.................................................................21 

7. ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law...............25 

8. Student Trainee Exchange Programme..................... 28 

9. Publications................................................................ 0 

10. Trainings.................................................................... 2 

11. Internal Meetings....................................................... 8 

12. 25th Anniversary........................................................44 

1 . Final Accounts............................................................50 

Annual Report of ELSA International | 2006/2007

Foreword 

Christopher Carlson 

President 


The European Law Students’ Association 

- One of its Kind... 

During an early evening in late March 2006 something happened 

that came to change the life of seven European law 

students – the International Board of ELSA International 

2006/2007 was elected at the International Council Meeting 

in London. I do remember this special day quite clear. All candidates, 

including myself, were quite nervous about the oral 

presentations that were to take place in front of the Council, 

gathering almost 300 enthusiastic ELSA officers and alumni. 

All candidates did fine with their presentations and some 

hours later the voting results were revealed to the Council. 

A couple of months later, I, Andrea, Esra, Halvor, Loreta, Nils 

and Tina moved in to the ELSA House on Boulevard Général 

Jacques in Brussels and on the 1st of August 2006 we officially 

started our term in office after an intense month of 

transition with the previous International Board. 

When looking back at the year I can definitely say that it has 

been an amazing one. Being able to work for ELSA full time 

is incredible. To be able to actually focus 100 % on ELSA 

and not studying or working at the same time, has been an 

unusual feeling. To be able to implement ideas that concern 

current and potential members of ELSA was inspiring, though 

a bit scary initially due to the level of responsibility given with 

the task. From day one to the very end of July this year, we 

worked on full speed, carrying out our daily tasks as well as 

trying to fulfil as many goals set out in our one year operational 

plan as possible. 

I am very satisfied with our work this year. We have done our 

very best and we have accomplished many things. To mention 

one of our greatest successes this year I would like to mention 

the Market Research. During seven months we worked 

intensively realising a pan-European Market Research among 

almost 12.000 law students and ELSA members in Europe, 

asking all kind of questions on legal studies, legal careers 

and their view on ELSA etc. The results were finalised in late 

July and now it is up to the current International Board and 

the ELSA Network to make the very best use of them. The 

Market Research was conducted in close cooperation with approximately 

180 local Market Research conductors, located 

at universities throughout Europe. This project was huge and 

really showed the real strength with the ELSA network – the 

international cooperation. 

I would like to thank all the members of the International 

Board 2006/2007 for their hard work and their high motivation 

throughout the year. This also goes for all the directors of 

ELSA International this year, who have shown great enthusiasm 

and willingness to work for the ELSA network from their 

home countries. A great thank you also goes to all the ELSA 

officers in the Network – thank you for inspiring us and supporting 

our work! 

Finally I would like to thank all the supporters, sponsors and 

partners of ELSA International. Your support to our network is 

invaluable and we highly appreciate the cooperation we have 

had during the latest year. 

This Annual Report is the first of its kind, at least in this format 

presented to you. The Annual Report is to show the most 

significant events and projects that took place in our network 

during 2006/2007. Enjoy your reading and do remember 

– there is nothing else like ELSA, its one of its kind! 

On behalf of the International Board 2006/2007, 


President 


Stine Helén Pettersen 

Secretary General 

ELSA Lawyers Society (ELS) 

The ELSA Lawyers Society (ELS) - Recent 

Developments in ELSA’s main Alumni Association 

The ELSA Lawyers Society (ELS) is an independent, non-political 

and non-profit making organisation of former members 

of ELSA and other law graduates. ELS was founded in April 

1991 with the purpose of supporting ELSA – financially, and 

in other ways such as speakers, trainers’ pool, professional 

and business connections, guidance or advice when requested 

etc. Such support also includes the awarding of the ELS 

Scholarships to assist ELSA members to attend the International 

Council Meetings. ELS also keeps a directory which enables 

former ELSA members to keep in touch with each other 

and is a valuable professionally tool for identifying lawyers 

etc. in other countries, and for members to publicise their 

skills etc. to the network. Furthermore, ELS attends and arranges 

social and academic activities either independently or 

associated with ELSA events. 

ELS is run by an Executive Committee elected annually at the 

Assembly Meeting of ELS. The current Executive Committee 

was elected at the Assembly Meeting taking place in November 

2006 in Alanya, Turkey and entered office 1st of January 

2007. The Executive Committee has for 2007 consisted 

of President Teja Picton Howell (UK), Secretary General Stine 

Helén Pettersen (Norway), Treasurer Ahn Cecilie Karlsrud 

(Norway), Executive Officer Tiago Mayan Gonçalves (Portugal), 

Executive Officer Brigitte Vanatova (The Netherlands) 

and Executive Officer Pierangelo Graziani (Italy). 

ELSA has to date close to 30 000 members throughout Europe. 

ELS has at 1st of January 2007 close to 400 members. 

In order for ELSA to benefit the most of ELS as an alumni 

association both financially and academically, the amount of 

members and consequently the resources within ELS needed 

to be increased. The aim of the Executive Committee of 2007 

has therefore been to create awareness of the ELS within the 

ELSA network, making ELS the natural ‘next step’ for ELSA 

members who graduate and leave the student network, and 

as a result of that increase the number of members. 

In order to achieve that, ELS has appointed national representatives 

for ELS in a large number of the countries where 

ELSA is represented. Their task has been to promote ELS both 

to their national ELSA network as well as ELS/alumni network. 

Through the activity of the ELS representatives and the Executive 

Committee, ELS has been represented at a number of 

events and meetings such as the annual Christmas Celebrations 

in Belgium, The Final International Focus Programme 

Conference in Norway, National and Local Council Meetings 

of a number of ELSA Groups, The ELSA House Training Week, 

Belgium, both International Council Meetings and a number 

of other international, national and local events organised by 

ELSA. ELS has also been promoted through the traditional 

marketing channels within ELSA such as members’ magazines. 

Further, the International Board of ELSA and The Executive 

Committee of ELS have cooperated closely during the year 

to intensify the cooperation between the organisations. Currently, 

the two boards are aiming to merge the administrational 

tasks of the day to day running of the organisations. 

This solution is aimed and expected to be in place within the 

end of 2008. 

The overriding objective for ELS will in the following years 

continue to be a strengthening of relationship with ELSA, and 

to continue to increase its membership to a level where it is 

the main funding organisation for ELSA. As a result of the increased 

activity level and a closer relationship with ELSA, ELS 

now claims close to 600 members. The Executive Committee 

is currently in the progress of expanding the well functioning 

project with the ELS Representatives to include the remaining 

countries representing ELSA, and the membership of ELS is 

expected to be proportionally increased. 

The 2007 Assembly Meeting of ELS will take place 27th of 

October in Reggio de Calabria, Italy where this year’s work 

will be evaluated and the Executive Committee of 2008 will be 

elected. ELS has shown a promising development the last few 

years, and it is the desired aim of the Executive Committee to 

maintain such a positive trend. 

On behalf of the Executive Committee of ELS 2007, 



For more information about ELS, please visit: 

www.elslawyer.org 

Annual Report of ELSA International | 2006/2007 5 

Foreword

Market 

Research 


Vice President Marketing 


International Market Research Project 2007 - 

Analysing Law Students and ELSA Members in Europe 

In 2007, ELSA International took on of the most massive joint 

projects in the ELSA Network so far in its 26 years of existence. 

Over 180 local and national officers from over 30 

National Groups participated in the giant survey of close to 

12.000 law students and ELSA members in Europe. The Market 

Research Project of 2007 was truly a challenge, but an 

inspirational such which allowed our Network to show the 

magnitude of what it can accomplish when it works together 

with passion for a joint cause. 

ELSA International teamed up with the leading global market 

research company Ipsos and launched two separate major 

surveys. The surveys were conducted by face-to-face interviewing 

between 1st of April and 1st of June 2007 through 

questionnaires handed out directly at the faculties and later 

compiled by the some 180 Local Research Conductors working 

actively with the project. 

The first survey targeted almost 10.000 law students throughout 

31 European countries. This massive pan-European research 

is one of the first of its kind, aiming to analyse the 

needs and demands of European law students, with a special 

focus on future work, studies and extra-curricular activities. 

Among other things it specifically targets issues of students’ 

perceptions of the importance of various factors for their future 

work choices, recognition of law firms, salary expectations, 

most interesting legal areas, language skills and geographical 

preferences for LL.M. programmes and traineeships. The 

law student research is also broken down into a comparative 

study, showing differences between European law students in 

national and regional perspectives. 

The econd survey interviewed 2000 ELSA members in the 

Network, surveying around 10% of the both active and passive 

membership basis of the participating Local Groups. The 

main purpose of this part of the market research was for our 

internal needs of consolidation and development of mainly 

activities and elements surrounding those activities provided 

to our members. The survey is also broken down into a comparative 

study based on differences between active and passive 

members as well as year of study. 

The market research project resulted in an over 1500 pages 

long final report developed by our project partners Ipsos. For 

information on how to get hold of the report or specific information 

within it, please contact the Vice President Marketing 

of ELSA International. 

Finally, a word of thanks goes out to all the Local Research 

Conductors, Corporate Partners, Ipsos and others who made 

this project come true. A very special 

thanks also goes personally to 

Mr. Piotr Pruchla at Ipsos Warsaw for 

his tremendous support and assistance 

during the course of this project. 

ELSA Member Demographics 2006/2007 

Based on information gathered from 2000 active and passive ELSA members through the 

Market Research Project in 2007. 

1. Division of Age 2. Gender Composition 

19 or under 

6 Annual Report of ELSA International | 2006/2007 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 and 

more 

9% 

10% 

12% 

. Year of Study Breakdown 

III year 

27% 

27% 

II year 

4. Member Qualification 

“In which group of law students at 

your law faculty would you place 

yourself (based on grades or other 

such objective measurement of 

qualification)?” 

14% 

16% 

19% 

19% 

13% 

Top 50% 

21% 

I year 

32% 

Top 25% 

IV year 

8% 

3% 

2% 

32% 

5. Recommendation of ELSA to a Friend 

Female 

58% 

V year 

30% 20% 21% 13% 6% 

Postgraduates 

42% 

Already finished studies 

7% 

9% 

Male 

Below average 

Top 5% 

20% Top 10% 

would highly recommend (10) 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 wouldn’t recommend at all (1) 

Mean 

value: 8,2 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Corporate Partners 

CMS 

CMS is one of the world’s largest alliances of law firms, with about 2,000 lawyers 

operating throughout Europe and beyond. CMS transnational practises focuses on 

providing a full range of legal and tax services as well as efficient, commercial legal 

solutions aimed at helping the clients achieving their business objectives. Its activities 

are coordinated through a European Economic Interest Grouping registered in 

Brussels, Belgium. CMS has been a Corporate Partner of ELSA International since 

2001. 

www.cmslegal.com 

TransLegal/Cambridge ILEC 

As the world’s largest in-house team of lawyer-linguists TransLegal provides legal 

language services to the leading law firms, companies, and government agencies 

in Europe. In collaboration with the University of Cambridge (Cambridge ESOL), 

TransLegal has also developed the Cambridge ILEC examination (International Legal 

English Certificate), the world’s only internationally recognised test of legal English. 

TransLegal has been a Corporate Partner of ELSA International since 2005. 

www.translegal.com 

EMC² Partner 

The World Trade Institute (WTI) 

The World Trade Institute is a center of advanced studies and a forum for interdisciplinary 

research and teaching in international trade law and economics, fostering interaction 

between students and professionals, and allowing researchers and practitioners to 

pool their expertise. Its teaching programmes have significantly contributed to global 

capacity building in the field of International Trade Regulation. The WTI has been a 

Partner of the EMC² since its foundation in 2002. 

www.wti.nccr-trade.org 

EMC² Publishing Partner 

Cameron May 

Cameron May is a publishing company specialising in International Trade, Human Rights 

and Environmental Law. Founded in 1992, Cameron May is considered by experts in the 

field to be the leading publisher of material on the legal implications of the World Trade 

Organization (WTO) and international economic law. Cameron May joined the EMC² as 

its Publishing Partner in 2007. 

www.cameronmay.com 

EMC² Sponsors 

Baker & McKenzie LLP 

With a network of more than 3,400 lawyers in 38 countries Baker & McKenzie LLP is 

one of the world’s largest law firms and has provided legal advice and delivered a broad 

range of legal services required for both international and local clients for more than 50 

years. Featuring also an extensive practice group working in the area of international 

commerce, Baker & McKenzie joined the Moot Court as its sponsor in 2007. 

www.bakernet.com 

Christina Paul 

Director for Corporate Relations 


An Introduction to the Corporate Partners of ELSA 

International 2006/2007 

O`Connor and Company 

O’Connor and Company – European Lawyers is an independent law practice based 

in Brussels specialising in EC and International law. The areas of practice of the firm 

are competition and trade with an important emphasis on regulatory law and litigation 

against the background of administrative law and dispute resolution. O`Connor and 

Company is Sponsor of the EMC² since its 2005/2006 edition. 

Auditing Partner 

Deloitte Belastingadviseurs 

Deloitte Belastingadviseurs is the Dutch member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, 

a global organisation of member firms that provide professional services and 

advice to more than half of the world’s largest companies. It offers a broad range 

of integrated services within areas that include accounting, tax, corporate finance, 

financial management, mergers and acquisitions and outsourcing. Deloitte Belastingadviseurs 

has been an Auditing Partner of ELSA International since 2005. 

www.deloitte.nl 

IT Partner 

Microsoft 

Founded in 1975 and represented in 102 countries, Microsoft is the worldwide 

leader in the development, manufacturing and licensing of a wide range of software 

products for computing devices as well as providing services and solutions which 

help people and businesses realise their full potential. Microsoft has been an IT 

Partner of ELSA International since 2003. 

www.microsoft.com 

Partners, Sponsors and Supporters of the ELSA Moot 

Court Competition on WTO Law 2006/2007 

www.oconor.be 

Sidley Austin LLP 

With over 1,700 lawyers and 16 offices on four continents, Sidley Austin LLP is one of 

the largest law firms worldwide. Its global network of offices enables Sidley to provide 

integrated multi-jurisdictional and cross-jurisdictional legal services. Sidley has a 

significant capital markets practice and a broad transactional practice, including the 

world’s leading WTO and international trade practice. Sidley Austin LLP became an 

EMC² Sponsor in 2006. 

www.sidley.com 

White & Case LLP 

Founded in 1901, White & Case has lawyers in the United States, Latin America, Europe, 

the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Its clients are public and privately held commercial 

businesses and financial institutions, as well as governments and state-owned 

entities, involved in corporate and financial transactions and complex dispute resolution 

proceedings. White & Case LLP joined the Moot Court Competition in 2006. 

www.whitecase.com 

EMC² Supporters 

WolrdTradeLaw.net 

WolrdTradeLaw.net is operating a web site devoted to the law of the World Trade 

Organization and international economic law generally, offering comprehensive legal 

research tools for especially the WTO Panel and Appellate Body Reports and WTO 

Arbitrations. Worldtradelaw.net is supporting the EMC² since 2006. 

www.worldtradelaw.net 

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) 

The activities of the International Chamber of Commerce cover a broad spectrum, from 

arbitration and dispute resolution to making the case for open trade and the market 

economy system, business self-regulation, fighting corruption or combating commercial 

crime. As such, the ICC is aiming at promoting trade and investment, opening markets 

for goods and services, and fostering the free flow of capital. The ICC joined the EMC² 

in 2007. 

www.iccwbo.org 


Partners

Partners 

Prof. Dr. Hans van den Hurk 

Partner 

Deloitte Belastingadviseurs 

Cooperation between Deloitte and ELSA - 

Strengthening Ties an Enhancing Training Initiatives 

Deloitte - proud partner of ELSA International 

Since October 17, 2005, Deloitte is the proud partner of ELSA 

International. As a corporate partner of ELSA, we will support 

the association in as many ways as possible. The law 

students that are members of ELSA are, after all, the (tax) 

lawyers of the future with the finest networks. Although Deloitte 

mainly employs tax lawyers, our professionals do not 

necessarily have to be former tax law students. We firmly 

believe in training on the job and continuous education of 

our employees and, therefore, we started special programs to 

turn civil and criminal lawyers into tax lawyers. 

Of course, this is not the main reason why Deloitte became a 

corporate partner of ELSA. We not only wish to facilitate EL- 

SA’s development as an association into an even more professional 

organisation, but we also aim to improve the personal 

qualities of ELSA’s individual members. Last year, we mainly 

focused on the first objective. 

Deloitte and members of the ELSA International Board have 

therefore attended several meetings, during which many topics 

were discussed, including ELSA’s human interest survey 

and trainings for members of the ELSA national boards. 

Enhancing training initiatives 

In Prague, a training was provided by one of our local Deloitte 

colleagues. We assumed that the attendees would mainly be 

treasurers of the national boards, but to our most pleasant surprise 

other professionals were interested in our presentations as 

well. Where the content mainly focussed on accounting and tax 

consequences, we would like to continue the approach taken in 

Prague. Since new treasurers and other board members will be 

elected every year, comparable problems can also originate annually. 

The continuation of this approach was already discussed 

Robert Houser 

Director Language Assessment Services 

TransLegal 

with ELSA International board 2006/2007. 

The ‘curriculum’ could also be extended by introducing a more 

practical or tax driven case study on practical influences of EC law 

or international law on taxation. That is, after all, our main business. 

A course in this field would also enable ELSA members to 

have a look behind the scenes at Deloitte. In this respect, we consider 

providing the participants with some useful tools and guiding 

them throughout the process. But they will be responsible for the 

final result, so they have to stay focussed! 

This actually is more or less a vision of the future. This annual 

report, on the other hand, is supposed to include a reflection 

of the past year and of our experiences regarding co-operation 

with ELSA International. 

Strengthening ties 

In that respect, it should be mentioned that ELSA provided 

us with an additional platform amongst young and ambitious 

students within a Europe that goes beyond the borders of the 

European Union. As stated above, this was not only based 

on sending of promotional materials to ELSA meetings, but 

was created by courses as well. Most of our co-operation, 

however, was out of sight of most ELSA members. Behind 

the scenes, many contacts were established between both 

our organisations and the ELSA International headquarters 

in Brussels was visited more than once. ELSA benefited from 

this sponsoring in kind and became the more professionalised 

student body it aspired to be. 

Finally, we would like to mention that we believe that cooperation 

between Deloitte and ELSA International reached a 

more mature stage in the past year. For future years, we 

hope further strengthen our ties and to help ELSA members 

build contacts in the international tax practice. 

Cooperation between TransLegal and ELSA 

- A Corporate Partner’s Perspective 

I was recently asked by Christina Paul, Director of Corporate 

Relations, ELSA International, to provide some words regarding 

the hows and whys of TransLegal’s cooperation with 

ELSA. I met Christina in Heidelberg in 2005 in her role as the 

President of ELSA Germany. Whenever I have met somebody 

within ELSA, I have difficulties saying no, so here is my contribution. 

Well done Christina! 

Cooperation with ELSA was a natural part of our idea to assist 

lawyers and law students in their quest to improve their legal 

English skills and job prospects. We knew from our contacts 

with ELSA that it was a serious organization with international 

breadth. We knew that ELSA students were internationally 

inclined and, therefore, not only involved in the law but also 

interested in language and international affairs. Of course, 

this matched our idea and the Cambridge ILEC examination 

perfectly. 

Naturally, very early on ELSA International realized the potential 

for improving its already well established profile by align- 


ing itself with Cambridge and TransLegal. It also provided 

ELSA with another means of imparting useful benefits to its 

members and building synergies with organizations with which 

TransLegal was already cooperating. A good example of this 

would be Cambridge University Press, which has sponsored 

ELSA events after contacts where provided to ELSA by Trans- 

Legal. In addition, in various ways ELSA is involved in creating 

employment opportunities for its members. And, since Cambridge 

ILEC provides ELSA members with the chance to put 

Cambridge on their CV, once again the goals and ambitions of 

our two organizations seemed to mesh perfectly. 

The cooperation entails a great many phone calls, emails, 

personal visits and follow ups. TransLegal has established 

strong cooperations with National Boards and Local Groups 

in countries including Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, 

Sweden and Austria and has recently made contact with new 

cooperating National Boards primarily in Eastern Europe. 

TransLegal is continually seeking to expand by establishing 

cooperations with new ELSA groups. Sometimes because of 

Pia Øiulfstad 

ILEC Representative 

ELSA Oslo 

limited resources and the diverse school schedules and terms 

of office of ELSA boards, this can be difficult. A pilot Project 

Reporting System is scheduled to be implemented in the 

months to come, which should greatly assist the cooperation. 

In any event, the International Board is always there to provide 

us with information on who to contact and the best way 

to approach cooperations at a national and local level. 

For more information about the Cambridge International Legal 

English Certificate (ILEC), please visit the following website: 

www.legalenglishtest.org 

Cooperation between TransLegal and ELSA 

- A Local Group’s Perspective 

ELSA Oslo started cooperating with TransLegal in fall 

2005 when I was approached by Mr. Robert Houser. We 

had a meeting to discuss how to go about from here, 

hence in what way could ELSA Oslo help TransLegal and 

the other way around. Cambridge is a renowned “brand”, 

almost everyone knows it, and I quickly understood that 

this was something ELSA Oslo could benefit from. Tying 

together ELSA with the Cambridge name could open 

new doors for our organisation, in the way that people 

would even more connect ELSA with something of high 

academic quality. 

Mr. Houser and I set a date for an introductory course, or 

rather an information meeting about Cambridge ILEC. This 

was a great opportunity for interested students to get to 

know more about ILEC, what it stands for and in what way 

it can be useful to put Cambridge on the CV. 

In Oslo, we are lucky to have a great co-operation with 

something called “Folkeuniversitetet”, a school offering a 

vast number of different courses, including an ILEC course. 

They volunteered to organise the pre-tests for us and use 

their premises. 

ELSA Oslo promoted the pre-test by mailing-lists, flyers 

and posters and about 20 students signed up. Considering 

Cambridge ILEC was something very new and never heard 

of before, we were quite content with the number. Due to 

a number of reasons though, only half showed up for the 

test, a somewhat disappointment, but the ones who took 

the pre-test were very satisfied. 

In Oslo there has sadly not been any cooperation with 

the faculty with regards to the ILEC course. In Tromsø 

there has been positive contact with the faculty, but it is 

unknown to the ILEC representative there what has been 

agreed on. 

ELSA members can get a discount on the ILEC book, and 

students in Norway are quite lucky because everyone registered 

at a faculty of law here are automatic members of 

ELSA. Hence we could not use the discount in the same 

way as ELSA groups in other countries may do, to draw 

members to our organisation, but it is of course a great 

offer none the less. 

All though the cooperation with ELSA and ILEC in Oslo 

may have come off to a slower start than what initially 

was expected, I have no doubt in my mind that ELSA 

can only gain from this. For our part at least there is not 

much work involved, other than promoting ILEC, and for 

that we get to put ELSA next to Cambridge, not a bad 

deal at all. 


Partners

Sister Associations 

Enis Mehmet Burdurlu 

President 

ELSA Turkey 

The 2007 Asian Law Students’ Association (ALSA) 

Conference in Bangkok, Thailand 

The 2007 ALSA Conference in Bangkok was held between 

19th and 26th January 2007. I attended the conference as the 

President of ELSA Turkey. The theme of the conference was 

“Going Beyond Differences – Embracing Unity”. The objectives 

of the conference were set as follows: 

• To foster relationship and cooperation among Asian 

Law Students; 

• To promote the exchange of ideas and thoughts on 

legal issues; 

• To promote the understanding of different legal 

systems; 

• To learn about different cultures; 

• To develop good characters and interpersonal skills 

of delegates; 

• To promote creative activities organized by Law 

Students. 

The participating delegations were; ALSA China, ALSA Hong 

Kong, ALSA India, ALSA Indonesia, ALSA Japan, ALSA Korea, 

ALSA Malaysia, ALSA Philippines, ALSA Singapore and ALSA 

Thailand. 

The conference was formed mainly of three main parts: the 

Academic Activities, the Academic Field Trip, and the 

Experience Program. The Academic Activities were the 

core part of the Conference. As regards to the Academic Field 

Trip, Delegations visited Governmental Institutions and as regards 

to the Experience Programme, social events were organised. 

The Academic Activities were mainly formed of the 

ALSAIAN Assembly; The ALSA Moot Arbitration and The ALSA 

Symposium. ALSAIAN Assembly is some kind of Model United 

Nations, acting like a legislative organ in which presentations 

and debates take place. The ALSA Moot Arbitration is based 

on the problem of the William C. Vis International Moot Arbitration 

Competition. The theme of the ALSA Symposium was 

the international law and world peace. As regards to the administrative 

issues, presidents of each National Groups met in 

a separate workshop. 

At the opening plenary of the Conference I made a speech 

on behalf of ELSA Turkey and invited all ALSA national groups 

to cooperate with ELSA Turkey and other ELSA Groups. I was 

present in several commissions of the ALSIAN Assembly as an 

observer and attended other academic activities. At the end of 

final plenary I planned to make a short power point presentation 

but it didn’t realise due to the lack of time. 

To conclude, though its intense schedule I may humbly suggest 

ELSA International to vest even more efforts in cooperation 

with sister associations as while the conference I observed that 

ALSA is facing problems as a young but fast growing Law Student 

Association and they need ELSA’s know-how, knowledge 

and connections. I believe that our experiences and connections 

will make ELSA play the leading role within the network 

of other Law Students’ Associations. 


Giorgio Marinoni 

President 

Erasmus Student Network AISBL 

ELSA and Erasmus Student 

Network Cooperation 

ELSA and ESN (Erasmus Student Network) had a good cooperation 

during the academic year 2006/2007. Even if I am 

president of ESN only since March 2007, and for this reason I 

couldn’t follow the collaboration since the beginning, I can be 

sure about this for many reasons. 

I still remember my first contact with ELSA. It was during 

one of the first times on which I was coming to Brussels to 

visit the former Board of ESN, in December 2006, when I was 

also invited to the traditional Christmas Cocktail in the ELSA 

house. A very good start indeed! 

As you may probably know, Erasmus Student Network (ESN) 

is a network of 244 non profit student associations widespread 

in 33 countries in Europe and beyond. The mission of 

ESN is to foster student mobility in Higher Education under 

the principle of Students Helping Students. 

Both our associations share common values like our vision 

statements say: 

ELSA: “A just world in which there is respect for human dignity 

and cultural diversity”. 

ESN: “Erasmus Student Network cooperates with the European 

Institutions and other relevant bodies and policy makers 

in the ambitious project of creating and fostering the development 

of a society based upon mutual knowledge, respect, 

trust and therefore peace among individuals, groups, communities, 

peoples and countries” 

During this year, the International Board of ELSA and ESN have 

collaborated in many ways, from the basic exchange of information 

and knowledge to the collaboration on specific projects. 

Both being based in Brussels, the International Boards have 

had many opportunities to meet and discuss. 

ELSA promoted the main project of ESN for this year: “20th 

anniversary of Erasmus programme”. The outcome was that 

one local ELSA group organised an Erasmus days in Romania. 

This is a very good example of collaboration at the local level. 

As both ESN and ELSA general assemblies were held in Prague 

in March we also got the occasion to visit interact. 

As president of ESN, I am sure that the cooperation will go 

on also this year, and will be even more successful. The focus 

should be put on local level, where both associations can 

promote each other, especially with law students before and 

during their Erasmus period. Moreover, ESN will ask ELSA’s 

support for the ESN survey 2007 about “Generation mobility” 

and is also eager to support ELSA projects for the coming 

year. 

I want to congratulate the Board of ELSA for their willingness 

to cooperate and to help each other, demonstrated during this 

year, and I wish all the best to the new Board, looking forward 

to strengthen the collaboration between ELSA and ESN. 

I am sure that the next year will be a year of great achievements 

for both associations. 

Iana Stantieru 

Chairperson 

IAPSS 

Political Science and Law - 

Any Synergy in between? 

The International Association for Political Science Students 

(IAPSS), in its capacity as representative of political science 

students worldwide, strongly believes that the answer to this 

question is a definite ‘Yes’. Our choice is motivated, of course, 

by the numerous common features and objectives that we 

share with the European Law Students’ Association (ELSA), 

by our fruitful previous cooperation with this organisation, but 

also by the projects that we envisage for the future between 

our two international student associations. 

By looking at the profile, the activities and the goals of IAPSS 

and ELSA it is more than obvious that both organisations aim 

at assisting students to live, learn and work in a highly international 

environment. Through the miscellaneous seminars, 

trainings, academic conferences, exchange programs or simulations 

they organise, their members, as well as other participants, 

acquire a broader cultural understanding and valuable 

skills that they will use in their academic and professional life. 

Furthermore, another common point refers, undoubtedly, to 

the widely acknowledged reputation that both associations 

enjoy, as they are the world’s largest independent student 

associations in their respective fields. As far as the latter are 

concerned, it is also well known that political science and legal 

studies are deeply intertwined academic domains, as one contributes 

to enhancing the other. 

This common basis acknowledged by both associations was a 

perfect starting point for our collaboration in miscellaneous joint 

projects within IFISO (Informal Forum of the International Student 

Organizations) or outside the framework of this international 

forum. One of the highlights of this sustained collaboration 

was the creation in 2003, of a network between AIESEC, ELSA, 

AEGEE and ESA in Italy, under the initiative and leadership of 

IAPSS. Among the roles of this network was to manage a very 

important series of events that took place in Rome – one of 

them was the organization of five congresses about the European 

Convention in five of the most important Universities of 

Rome. More recently, IAPSS and ELSA Roma joined forces in 

March 2007 to organise a special Conference, which would mark 

the 50th Anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. 

The success of these joint projects has convinced our association, 

IAPSS, on the need to further develop the collaboration 

with ELSA and form a long term partnership. Among the 

future projects that IAPSS and ELSA could participate in, we 

would suggest a study visit for the management of both associations 

to become familiar with the practices and strategies 

used in each of the two student organisations; the organisation 

of a European-scale academic conference for students, 

which would tackle the special relation between the political 

science and law academic fields; other non-formal events that 

could further strengthen the connection between the members 

of IAPSS and ELSA. 

As a final thought, IAPSS would like to thank ELSA for the 

meaningful collaboration so far and hopes for both associations 

to engage in more rewarding projects in the future! 


Sister Associations

Sister Associations 

Theijs van Welij 

President 

AEGEE-Europe 

ELSA and AEGEE 

- Interaction at Local and European Level 

As president of AEGEE-Europe it’s an honour to address you 

in the Annual Report of ELSA International. 

The invitation to write a contribution confirms not only the 

cooperation between the international boards of ELSA and 

AEGEE, it goes way beyond. It can maybe best be symbolised 

by the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of 

Rome, where ELSA and AEGEE-Roma, together with IAPPS 

(the International Association for Political Science Students) 

organised a seminar in Rome. 

If you have never heard about AEGEE, you might wonder 

about the roots of this cooperation. 

Both ELSA and AEGEE have always been attracting internationally 

oriented students, ready to broaden their vision and 

eager to work in multinational teams. We both share the European 

values and attract law students. The lack of ELSA in 

Utrecht was the only reason I never became an ELSA member! 

The difference is that ELSA prepares students within the 

legal disciplinary for the future. There were ELSA is career 

and academically oriented, AEGEE offers self development 

via cultural exchanges, languages courses and projects dealing 

with higher education, active citizenship and peace and 

stability. This might sound abstract, but our Election Observation 

Missions to Albania, Azerbaijan and Ukraine are clear 

examples how AEGEE tries to contribute to the rule of law; 

freedom of speech, free and fair elections, and learn young 

people the value of democracy. It is in this way we create active, 

European citizens. 

Local cooperation between the ELSA and AEGEE antennae is 

the most valuable service we can offer you, since you are as 

a student the one to profit. To name some examples of local 

cooperation: ‘Law 4 you’ by ELSA & AEGEE-Skopje, ‘Student 

Świata’ by ELSA & AEGEE-Lublin and I attended my self the 

glitter and glamour of the Praha Studentský Ples, the annual 

Gala organised by ELSA and AEGEE-Prague, at the time I was 

an Erasmus student at Charles University. 

A particular role fulfils the Moot Court. Founded back in 1988 

by AEGEE and the ELMC Society, we can be happy and proud 

the way ELSA took over organising this prestigious event 

since the late 90s. 

On a European level, ELSA and AEGEE became partners in 

‘Quo Vadis Europe’ (2001), The ‘Maggellano project’ (2005) 

and the Comité Directeur of AEGEE has invited ELSA to become 

partner of ‘Education Unlimited’ since the brainstorm 

meeting in September 2006. So far fellow organisations like 

BEST, ESN, ESTIEM and ESU became partners in this project 

that aims to improve European Higher Education by 

establishing strong cooperation on local level between the 

(inter)disciplinary student NGOs and the student unions. Only 

together we can act to get our voice heard at the faculty and 

establish a change to modernise our educational system. 

The cooperation between the international boards goes a step 

further: both AEGEE and ELSA have headquarters in Brussels. 

Besides the cooking & dinner invitations, we share knowledge 

with regard to our specific tasks, grant applications and cooperate 

on more specific cross-border student NGO issues. 

The ELSA board is finishing her term, and we fully enjoyed 

the cooperation. On behalf of my Comité Directeur I would 

like to thank you for everything we shared and wish you all 

the best for your future! 


Vlado Dedovic 

President 

ELSA Montenegro 

The ELSA Network Welcomes its Newest Member 

- ELSA Montenegro 

ELSA Montenegro is an international, independent, non-political, 

non-profit-making organisation and it currently holds the 

position as one of the most popular and strongest student 

organisations in our country. 

Law students from Montenegro founded ELSA Montenegro in 

1995, then as one of the five local groups in ELSA Yugoslavia 

(later ELSA Serbia and Montenegro). After the recent 

new political circumstances in our country, ELSA Montenegro 

has however now started to exist like a national group, being 

officially recognised and voted in as full members by the 

council at the International Council Meeting in Prague 2007. 

A great honour for us and something also widely appreciated 

and celebrated by the rest of the present ELSA Network. 

Even though new as a National Group, ELSA Montenegro has 

been around in the ELSA Network for quite some time and 

given this opportunity, we would like to elaborate a bit more 

on the activities, challenges, possibilities and future of ELSA 

Montenegro. 

Today we have more then 100 members from the Faculty 

of Law in Podgorica which are mainly disposed in the 

key area sectors; Academic Activities (AA), Seminars and 

Conferences(S&C), Student Trainee Exchange Program (STEP) 

together with Marketing. 

ELSA has during the years developed a considerable number 

of different projects and the same goes for ELSA Montenegro. 

As for 2006/2007, with the start of the academic 

year in our faculty (September 2006), we organised a new 

members affiliation. After that, we held a motivational 

seminar in Budva 2006. In that Seminar, our new members 

had the chance to learn more about ELSA Montenegro 

and ELSA International with teachers being ex members 

of ELSA Montenegro and other National Groups, and our 

President and Secretary General. The Vice Presidents also 

got a chance to get know the new members of the different 

sectors. 

In implementing a comprehensive reform of the judiciary system 

of Montenegro, our organisation also holds a very important 

consultative status and because of that we organise 

round tables on Civil Law. In this moment we have many 

changes in our Legal System, especially in Civil Law, which 

is something unfortunately still relatively unknown to our 

students. The invited panellists talk about new institutions in 

Civil Law in Montenegro (like “notary”) and the participants 

are for instance such prominent guests as the minister of 

Justice, his assistants and professors of Civil Law. The round 

tables took place from October to December 2006. In February, 

a new set of round tables were organised but this time 

on the topic “Human Rights and European Court , prerequisites 

for EU Integration”. Human Rights and the European 

Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 

are very important, but it is unfortunately not widely incorporated 

in the legal education and for a more in-depth view, 

students are forced to look to NGOs for information. In 2007 

or in 2008, our country will also have a new constitution 

and for our members and all Montenegro, that is a very important 

act. Because of that, we will organise 2 or 3 round 

tables where students can learn about the main changes 

between the new constitution and previous important legal 

acts. 

Since 2007, ELSA Montenegro has a special duty to work on 

programs for students’ exchange. This is very big test for 

ELSA Montenegro and the sector for the Student Trainee 

Exchange Program (STEP). But we think that we have a 

very strong and eager STEP sector and our officers can 

soon realise the first student exchanges ever in ELSA Montenegro. 

They will try to find help for this action especially 

on our faculty, but they will also need the support from our 

Government and law firms. 

In February 2008, we hope to organise a Winter Law School. 

That is a very serious and ambitious project for us. The faculty 

used to organise a Summer Law School, but for a series 

of reasons it has been cancelled and here ELSA Montenegro 

wishes to fill the gap. The theme will be: “Ex Yugoslavian 

Republic and EU Law.” In the law school, members of ELSA 

Montenegro and other students can learn the main issues 

about implementation and differences between EU law and 

law of the countries in Balkan. The Winter Law School will be 

organised for 30–50 students from 15 – 20 February. 

ELSA Montenegro is mainly situated in Podgorica. This is not 

strange, because Montenegro had only one faculty of law and 

that is in Podgorica. But now, the Faculty of Law in Podgorica 

has two area units in two cities in Montenegro (Bijelo Polje 

and Budva). The students from Budva and Bijelo Polje are 

members of the Faculty of Law in Podgorica, but the communication 

between students in Podgorica and these cities 

is not too good. Because of that, ELSA Montenegro will try 

to expand the scope of work and its activities on Bijelo Polje 

and Budva, something that will be of great importance for the 

students of all cities involved. 

ELSA Montenegro is now a full member of ELSA International. 

Because of that, dear colleagues, we are very proud. 

But in the same time, it is a very big obligation for us. We 

will try to improve for instance the communication with other 

ELSA Groups and ELSA International and because of that, it 

is important for us to visit the International Council Meetings 

in Italy and in Portugal. It will not be easy for us, because the 

general financial situation in Montenegro is not very good. 

But, we will try to find resources for our officers and members 

to go on ICMs and other Seminars throughout Europe, because 

it is very important for the future of ELSA Montenegro. 

We are very proud by the fact that we don’t have problems 

in communication between each other and that we work like 

one family. In our organisation, every member has the same 

rights and differences between members don’t exist. That is 

the ELSA Negro spirit… 

Annual Report of ELSA International | 2006/2007 1

Academic 

Events 

Events in ELSA - An Impressive Variety of Seminars, 

Conferences, Law Schools, Moot Courts and much more 

Throughout the year ELSA groups on all levels - local, national 

and international, organise academic events and set up different 

academic projects. These activities are organised within the 

two key areas of ELSA; Academic Activities (AA) and Seminars 

& Conferences (S&C). Within the field of AA, the most common 

activities are moot court competitions, panel debates and 

lawyers@ work events and within the field of S&C, the most 

common activities are different seminars,conferences and law 

schools organised on different topics. 

ELSA sets its standards very high when organising events. The 

events are organised by organising committees at the universities 

where the tasks are divided after individual knowledge, 

motivation and experience. To secure the academic quality of 

the events, ELSA has constructed pan-European guidelines 

Date Place Type Event / Theme 

15th – 25 th September 2006 Iasi, Romania Seminar 

31 st October – 3 rd November 

2006 

Mavrovo, Republic of 

Macedonia 

Seminar 

The Development of Environmental Law in the European Legislation 

within the Past 25 Years 

25 Years of Discrimination Law: Guarantees and Legal Methods for 

Suppression 

4th – 13 13th 

December 2006 Bucharest, Romania Law School Law Is Better Than War! Human Rights in Times of Terrorism 

5 th – 9 th December 2006 Oslo, Norway Conference 

12th – 17 th December 2006 

Mt. Kopaonik, Serbia and 

Montenegro 

15th – 16 th December 2006 Warsaw, Poland Conference 

25th – 28 th January 2007 Bayreuth, Germany Seminar Marketing meets Law 

8th – 11 11th 

March 2007 Stockholm, Sweden Conference 

13th – 15 th March 2007 Lviv, Ukraine Seminar 

15 th – 19 th March 2007 Hamburg, Germany Moot Court 

22 nd – 26 th March 2007 Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Moot Court 

Final International Focus Programme Conference - 25 years of Legal 

Development 

Law School The Mt. Kopaonik School of Natural Law – Law, snow and fun 

Intellectual Property Rights Days 2006. International Conference on 

Intellectual Property law in the pharmaceutical industry 

Private corporations’ responsibility against 

sexual exploitation of children 

29th – 30 th March 2007 Donetsk, Ukraine Seminar The rights of the patients 

Insurance law forum: Legal practice of insurance law in Ukraine and 

in the EU – Comparative aspects 

ELSA Regional Round of the ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO 

Law (EMC 2 ) 

ELSA Regional Round of the ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO 

Law (EMC 2 ) 

2nd – 4 th April 2007 Rotterdam, The Netherlands Seminar Law beyond boarders: Real estate law 

20th – 22 nd April 2007 

Słubice/Frankfurt (Oder), 

Poland/Germany 

Seminar 

1 st – 6 th May 2007 Geneva, Switzerland Moot Court 

2 nd – 6 th May 2007 Tallinn, Estonia Seminar 

4 th – 6 th May 2007 

Loreta Pivoriunaite 

Vice President Seminars & Conferences 


Selection of International Academic Events in the ELSA Network 2006/2007 

Krushevo, Republic of 

Macedonia 

Say or not to say? The freedom of expression in the field of journalism 

from Polish, German and European points of view 

Final Oral Round of the ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law 

(EMC 2 ) 

Regulating Warfare: The Second Tallinn Seminar on the Law of Armed 

Conflicts 

Seminar Social and cultural rights- III generation of human rights 

7th – 12 12th 

May 2007 Berlin, Germany Seminar Humanitarian Law in Armed Conflicts 

6 th – 13 th August 2007 Zagreb, Croatia Law School Human rights and Globalization 

12 th – 19 th August 2007 Iasi, Romania Law School Human Trafficking 

Halvor Lekven 

Vice President Academic Activities 


on how an organising committee should and could organise 

high quality events. These guidelines also give the organising 

committees basic knowledge on how to actually organise an 

event, step by step. 

During 2006/2007, ELSA groups have offered ELSA members 

throughout Europe several interesting and high quality activities. 

On an international level, several seminars and conferences 

have been open for all members from the Network and 

ELSA International is especially proud of its worldwide Moot 

Court Competition on WTO Law which celebrated its 5th anniversary 

this year. 

Below you can find a list with some of the international events 

that took place during 2006/2007. 





The International Focus 

Programme (IFP) 

The idea behind the International Focus Programme (IFP) is 

to have a specific theme for the whole of ELSA to focus its 

efforts on over a fixed term. The theme, covering a ”hot legal 

topic”, should give ELSA the chance on local, national and 

international level to have an impact on law students, society 

and the international community. 

From the 1st January to the 31st December of 2006, the IFP 

has been combined together with ELSA’s 25th Anniversary 

- “25 Years of Legal Development” with the following subtopics: 

‘The UN in the 21st Century, Harmonization of the EU Law 

in the Transition of Legal Systems, and Environmental Law’. 

During this period, six different events have been organized 

within the Network starting from Greece, following in Germany, 

Hungary, Romania and finishing in Norway where the 

final IFP conference has been held. 

At the International Council Meeting (ICM) in Prague (March 

2007) several topics were proposed which were discussed 

and at the end the Council decided to approve an “Intellectual 

Property Law” topic. 

The chosen theme considers that we, as law students and 

young lawyers, can have an impact on the environment we 

are living in, on the development of our own countries, Europe 

and even the world by giving law students and young 

lawyers all over Europe a voice and gathering all their diverse 

opinions and ideas. 

After constructive discussions the duration was chosen; 1st 

November 2007 – Spring ICM 2009. During a fixed term the 

whole network of ELSA should put emphasis on the theme of 

the IFP, which directly involves all local and national groups in 

the same topic included in various ELSA activities. This will allow 

consolidation of ELSA’s work and produce concrete results 

of a high standard. 

It is important to mention that the final outcome should be a conference 

and a publication. At the time of publishing of this Annual 

Report, the preparation period will be almost over and certain 

measures have been taken to ensure better implementation of 

the IFP, such as detailed action plans, centralized marketing efforts 

and cooperation initiatives with mainly WIPO with regards to 

providing for example speakers and experts to events. 

The above mentioned leads us to that the IFP should be promoted 

and implemented in all Key Areas – Seminars and Conferences 

(S&C) through lectures, seminars, conferences, law schools, 

institutional study visits; Academic Activities (AA) through lawyers 

at work, legal research groups, moot courts and through 

the Student Trainee Exchange Programme (STEP). 

The importance of the existence of this project is vital, and it shows 

the trends of the world and in what directions law students and 

young lawyers are going. With the right support, imperative to any 

NGO regardless of project, it will help ELSA as it stands to contribute 

to legal education, foster mutual understanding and promote social 

responsibility of law students and young lawyers. 

Human Rights in ELSA 

- Core Values and Vision 

In 1995, a decision was taken at the International Council 

Meeting in Nottingham that Human Rights should be permanently 

included within ELSA. The idea of the Human Rights 

programme is to educate law students in Human Rights and 

create Human Rights awareness, protect and promote Human 

Rights as a logical consequence of respect for the Rule 

of Law. 

In the Council Decision Book of ELSA it is stressed that 

Human Rights is the main treasure and value of mankind, 

therefore the implementation of Human Rights as 

a topic in our activities is a focus of the network, giving 

special importance to Human Rights Law and promoting 

the respect for Human Rights. The sum of ELSA activities 

including Human Rights in their quality, variety and quantity 

makes an invaluable contribution to Human Rights 

education as a tool to increase the awareness of Human 

Rights. The cooperation with institutions contributing to 

Human Rights is also a way to take part in the creation, 

development and evolvement of Human Rights education 

and implementation. 

ELSA shall be continuously committed to Human Rights 

awareness, Human Rights education, and the respect of the 

Rule of Law and ELSA shall strive to be recognised for a 

strictly legal, academic and impartial approach to the topic. 

In the term of 2006/2007, the International Board chose 

to emphasize ELSA’s Human Rights commitment mainly 

through work with institutional relations, but also to more 

generally implement and raise awareness of Human Rights 

in all Key Areas as much as possible. Thanks to that, a 

Written Statement on Forced Deportation of foreigners on 

behalf of ELSA International to the Sub-Commission for the 

Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (UN ECOSOC) 

was sent as an outcome of the International Law Research 

Group (ILRG) created in 2005; the discussions and projects 

at the S&C workshop at the ICM Prague 2007 resulted in a 

trilateral joint Human Rights research project in cooperation 

with the international research company Ipsos, and in 

addition to that both issues of Synergy have hosted several 

articles discussing different aspects of the topic. A massive 

campaign was also launched to promote the Core Values 

of ELSA, and as an integral part of the ELSA Vision, Human 

Rights were promoted as one of the corner stones of what 

constitutes ELSA and what activities lie within the ELSA 

framework. 

The magnificence of ELSA in conjunction with Human Rights 

lies not only within European borders, but far beyond too. 

In a wide rage of activities, ELSA both actively and passively 

touches on Human Rights aspects, providing opportunities 

for law students and young lawyers to learn about other 

cultures and legal systems in a spirit of critical dialogue and 

scientific co-operation; encouraging law students and young 

lawyers to act for the good of society. 


Academic 

Events

Academic 

Events 

Julia Tegnebratt 


ELSA Sweden 

Conference on Private Corporations’ Responsibility 

against Sexual Exploitation of Children 

From the 8th to the 11th of March 2007, ELSA Sweden organised 

in co-operation with ECPAT Sweden (End Child Prostitution, 

Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual 

Purposes) for the fourth year in a row a conference on Commercial 

Sexual Exploitation of Children at the University of 

Stockholm, Sweden. 

This year ELSA Sweden and ECPAT Sweden settled for the 

theme “Private corporations’ responsibility against sexual exploitation 

of children”. The thought behind the theme was to 

involve more male law students since prevailing audience for 

the past three years was female. The goal was even to make 

law firms and companies aware of the facts that today’s law 

students; regardless if they want to work with business law 

or human rights, care about moral standards at their working 

places. 

Although much attention has been paid in recent years to the 

responsibility of governments agencies in efforts to eliminate 

commercial sexual exploitation of children, little has been said 

about the private sector. Large companies, small businesses 

and individual private sector employers and employees have 

important contributions to make. 

This year’s big innovation was the decision to make the conference 

international. Organisers of previous conferences have 

noticed a high interest from ELSA members concerning the 

issue since traditional legal education in most European Universities 

does not provide students with the type of information 

which the conference provides. Therefore the organisers 

reserved 24 out of 100 places for international participants 

and decided to have most lectures in English. 

The conference gathered more than one hundred law students 

and ELSA members from Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, 

Ukraine, Norway, Lithuania and Finland. The most 

prominent speakers, such as State Secretary Magnus G. Graner, 

professor of procedural law, Christian Diesen, prosecutor 

at the Swedish Prosecution Authority, Lise Tamm and many 

more shared their experience with the audience. The seminar 

summarised with workshops where all participants had a possibility 

to ask questions in small groups, discuss new material 

from lectures and share impressions. 

The main thought with the conference was that law students 

would spread acquired knowledge further. By the end of the 

conference the organisers gathered and summarised the 

evaluations forms and could note with pleasure that the participants 

were satisfied with the content of the conference, 

that they had learned a lot about the topic and were inspired 

to continue spreading acquired knowledge further. 

The organisers of the conference had also prepared an interesting 

and entertaining social programme which was meant 

to give time for participants to share their impressions from 

lectures and a chance to learn more about each other. Another 

thought was of course to present the beautiful city – Stockholm, 

with its historical memorials and modern law firms for 

participants from other counties and cities. 

The highlight of the social programme was an official reception 

at the City Hall where participants were welcomed by the 

Vice Mayor of Stockholm, and were invited to a guided tour 

through the City Hall. The conference was summed up by 

a banquet for all participants, sponsors and others involved 

with the conference. 

When writing some words about the preparation work it is important 

to point out that the challenge in every work is stimulating 

and developing. ELSA Sweden and its Local Groups 

have grown stronger as an organisation and people who were 

organising and helping with the conference have learned a 

lot from it. Financial and logistic challenges were overcome 

thanks to a great team work held together by an ELSA spirit. 

Big thanks to ELSA International, ELSA Sweden, ELSA Stockholm 

and ECPAT Sweden. 


Pia Øijulfstad 


ELSA Norway 

The Final International Focus Programme 

Conference of 2006 in Oslo 

The International Focus Programme (IFP) is a series of events 

taking place in the ELSA Network for a certain period of time 

where the topics of the events are focusing on the same legal 

field. The Final IFP Conference is the concluding event for 

each specific IFP period, and the Final IFP Conference 2006 

was hosted by ELSA Oslo in Norway from the 4 th to the 9 th of 

December 2006. 

During ELSA’s International Council Meeting in London in 

March 2006, ELSA Oslo was elected host of the Final IFP Conference 

2006. With this conference we wanted to put ELSA 

Oslo and Norway on the map in the ELSA Network, hence 

we hoped for a great number of international participants. 

Though the number of international participants was not what 

we hoped for, we still think we achieved our goals. The 20 international 

participants came from countries such as France, 

The Netherlands, Greece, Italy, The UK, Germany, Sweden, 

Lithuania and Turkey. Members of the International Board 

were also present during the conference as well as students 

from the University of Oslo. 

The topics of the International Focus Programme were connected 

to ELSA’s 25 th anniversary in 2006 and focused on the 

following fields of law: 

“25 years of legal development” 

- Implementation of EU law in the transition of legal systems 

- Environmental law 

- UN in the 21 st Century 

The “task” of the Final IFP Conference was to sum up all the 

IFP events organised throughout the network during the previous 

year. This turned out to be difficult because of problems 

getting lecturers from previous events, but we decided to 

shift our focus a little, and started to concentrate on themes 

not necessarily covered previously. 

The academic programme stretched over four days with three 

days for lectures and one day for workshops. The three days 

of lectures focused on one topic each; EU law; environmental 

law; and UN in the 21 st Century. 

Highlights from the EU day included a lecture about main 

features in the EU/EEC law by lawyer Aksel Hageler from the 

law firm Wikborg, Rein & Co and a lecture about proactive/reactive 

lobbying in the EU by lawyer Nils Ola Widme from the 

law firm DLA Piper, amongst others. All lectures managed to 

keep the participants’ motivation up as well as supplying them 

with interesting knowledge. 

Because of our prime minister’s (Mr. Jens Stoltenberg) involvement 

in the high-level panel of the UN, it was natural to 

invite a representative from his office to talk about his work. 

Mr. Jon-Åge Øyslebø from the Norwegian Institute of Foreign 

Politics (NUPI) also delivered a lecture worthy of note about 

structure and role of the UN. 

The last day focused on environmental law and the participants 

got an introduction to the topic from Prof. Carl August 

Fleischer from the University of Oslo. Worthy of note were 

also the lectures from respectively Elisabeth Lockshall, Point 

Carbon, about international agreements in the environmental 

law and from senior researcher Morten B. Mærli, NUPI, about 

nuclear energy and international law. 

The EU and UN day ended with panel debates, a great success 

thanks to the interactive aspect of it when participants 

could pose questions. 

The last day of the academic programme was devoted to workshops. 

The participants were divided into groups based on 

which subject they took most interest in, and got a chance to 

get more in-depth knowledge about their subject of choice. 

During the conference the participants had the possibility to 

partake in an extensive social programme, ranging from dining 

to sightseeing. The conference ended with a grand gala 

ball in the “Mirror hall” at the Grand Hotel, which brings us to 

the inevitable question, was the event a success? I will give 

an ambivalent response to that, both yes and no. In terms of 

fundraising, a high number of international participants and 

lecturers from previous events, the event was not a success. 

But the organising went smooth, interesting topics were discussed 

and important questions raised; hence one can say that 

the event was a great success. Last but not least, the feedback 

from the participants was very positive, so how can the event 

really have been anything but a success? 


Academic 

Events

Academic 

Events 

Aleksander Nikolic 


ELSA Serbia 

The Mt. Kopaonik Law 

School on Natural Law 

The Mt. Kopaonik School of Natural Law is a traditional event 

of ELSA Serbia and Serbian Jurists Association which has 

been organised for 19 years. The school of Natural Law is 

supported by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and 

Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and is located on the lovely 

Serbian mountain of Kopaonik; Natural Park and ski centre. 

The school gathers in the same place thousands of jurists, 

lawyers, professors, judges and law students from different 

countries gathering around the six pillars of Natural law: Ius, 

Libertas, Proprietas, Vita, Humanitas and Justicia. 

The theme for the school is always the same - “Natural 

Law” - but with a different topic each year. This year’s topic 

was “Law and Human future”. A wide spectrum of juristic 

themes based on the fundamental values of human kind 

was discussed during the seminar as the heirs of the Antique 

and Medieval philosophy of ius naturalis. Lecturers 

and participants in the school have developed an authentic 

approach to these 

Hexagon problems, but rest 

assured, new methods, do ELSA 

not make old spirit go away. 

The reports were presented by domestic Serbian and foreign 

professors from Australia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 

Macedonia, Montenegro, United Kingdom, United 

States of America, Austria, Macao (China), Germany, 

Hungary, and Czech Republic. The participants came from 

Macedonia, France, Germany, Montenegro and Albania. It 

was obvious that they were all satisfied with the lecturers’ 

reports, especially with the topics presented and discussed 

on the “Libertas” department where participants showed 

interest on the freedom of personality which includes marriage, 

divorce law, wife abuse in marriage, same sex marriage, 

domestic violence and the implementation of restorative 

justice. 

Most of the participants came from countries in the Balkan 

Peninsula which are not members of the European Union. 

Even so, they showed great interest in European Union Law, 

where topics discussed were content and application of the 

superiority principle in the law of the European Union, European 

regionalism, EU and the pipelines of the Balkans, the 

European Court of Justice and other topics. 

The social life included enjoying both the snow and sun, skiing, 

trying out some extreme winter sports, climbing on the 

top of the mountain called “Pancicev vrh”, tasting famous Serbian 

food and drinks in national restaurants, pubs, cafes. 

The combination of the legal topics discussed, the feedback 

from the participants and the appreciation of learning of typical 

Serbian traditions made us all certain of keeping the tradition 

of the Mt. Kopaonik Law School going! 

Irina-Catrinel Arhip 

Director for Training 

ELSA Romania 

Summer School on 

Environmental Law in Iasi 

The Local Group of ELSA Iasi organised, in September 

2006, its first international summer school, with the topic 

on the development of environmental law during the 

past 25 years and its impact on international trade. 

The idea of the project came to me after participating 

in the International Council Meeting in Malta, when 

the International Focus Programme was brought back 

to the attention of the Network and new topics were 

decided upon. After returning home, together with my 

team, we decided that ELSA Iasi should organise a summer 

school on the topic of environmental law, also as a 

celebration of the 25 th anniversary of ELSA. 

The original plan was to organise the Law School in 

July, but it was postponed to September in order to 

avoid collision with many universities’ exam periods. 

Due to this not everyone who had been planning to 

attend the event could do so, and we therefore had 

fewer participants than hoped for. Even so, this solution 

turned out for the better as it gave us more time to plan 

and organise the Law School in a better way. 

Law Schools - A Recipe for 

Success 

On an academic level, 

we talked about topics 

like the harmonisation 

of Romanian law regarding 

the environment with European regulations, and we 

had Iulian Gherghevici, counsellor at the Prefect’s Institution 

of Iasi County as speaker. Other topics discussed were 

the European Convention regarding protection of the Black 

Sea and the European Convention regarding protection of 

the Danube; role of law regarding environmental issues on a 

European level; and marine pollution and its impact on international 

trade, lectured by Professor Philippe Guillot, senior 

lecturer at the Law Faculty from Rouen University, France. 

There was also a training session on project management 

given by an ELSA Iasi alumnus, Ana-Maria Cotovanu, currently 

counsellor at the Ministry of Justice. 

As for the social programme, the participants were invited 

to the Palace of Culture and the Botanical Garden in Iasi. As 

Iasi County is known for its natural reservations a field trip to 

those was also organised, in order to observe how rare plants 

are protected. At the end of the day, we all enjoyed a late 

barbecue near Ciric Lake in Iasi. The interest for international 

events is clearly present in ELSA Iasi! 

The summer school was the first organised by ELSA Iasi, and 

we are aiming at making the summer school a tradition for 

ELSA Iasi as regards international events. Already in August 

this year, a new summer school on human trafficking has 

been organised. 


Dagmar Daal 


ELSA Rotterdam 

The 2 nd Law Beyond Borders Conference in 

Rotterdam, The Netherlands 

Since the start of our year as board members we contemplated 

to continue with the “Law Beyond Borders” (LBB) conference 

which was first organised in 2006. We agreed that the 

name was catchy and it could establish itself as a brand name 

for our Local Group. The next step was to decide which topic 

we were going to choose for this international event. Back 

then it came to our attention that real estate law was a well 

known and growing legal area. Although our main focus was 

real estate we decided to add corporate law which was more 

international than real estate and thus giving us the possibilities 

to broaden the main areas we were going to handle during 

the conference. 

In November 2006 we began with the promotion of LBB. 

Gladly enough we started receiving emails shortly after that 

by people who were interested. The deadline for the applications 

was in March and even though we did encounter some 

complications with students needing visas before entering 

The Netherlands, we managed to welcome all interested participants. 

Next to having Dutch participants we could proudly 

host 25 foreign students participating at our conference. 

Countries that were represented were Greece, Turkey, United 

Kingdom, Croatia, Germany, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania, 

Portugal, Czech Republic and Belgium. It was an incredible 

group! 

The academic programme was exceptional. For three days 

we had an intensive programme were the participants 

would start at 10 o’clock and finish at 5 o’clock with one 

Anika Spangenberg 


ELSA Bayreuth 

At 6 o’clock in the morning on the 24 th of April 2007, ambitious 

law students from ELSA Bayreuth got on their way to 

the Bavarian States´ capital Munich looking forward to get 

a practical perspective of a big law firm. Right on time, at 

11 o’clock we arrived at the office of Norton Rose where 

we were kindly welcomed by a lawyer named Mrs. Maren 

Stölting. 

hour of lunch break. We had amazing lectures and workshops. 

Students were proactive, giving opinions and asking 

questions on the topic of the day. A few of the lectures/workshops 

really stood out and especially the ones 

focusing on the Nauta Dutilh and the Yukos case where we 

simulated a courtroom should be mentioned here. Another 

lecture that was quite satisfactory was that of Allen & Overy 

which was given by one of the most renowned dealmakers 

of The Netherlands, Mr. Allen Burgraaf on the topic 

of mergers and acquisitions. You can really see a difference 

when someone is passionate about something and telling 

you why in such a way that if you did not like his area of 

practice before you would have probably converted by the 

end of the lecture. If asked which lectures were the most 

interesting, I would have to say that all of them were and 

overall this part of the event was good and in due time it 

will be perfected. 

The social programme was well covered by us going to 

different cafes each day, having a sightseeing tour in The 

Hague and by the end of the week we celebrated with a 

farewell-party. 

Lastly I want to add that this was a successful event for 

ELSA Rotterdam. The new board members have been selected 

and soon the new LBB topic will be announced. We 

are extremely grateful for the individuals who made this 

event possible and we are proud to have organised the 

second edition of the Law Beyond Borders conference. 

Christoph Kirsch 

Member 

ELSA Bayreuth 

A Sneak Behind the Legal Curtain 

– A Visit to the Law Firm Norton Rose 

Norton Rose is an international law firm. It has its Home Office 

in London and employs 250 partners and 1200 lawyers. 

Approximately 80 British and German lawyers work at the 

settlements in Frankfurt and Munich. There, they advise 

national and international clients in important and complex 

transactions and also represent clients in litigations. As a 

member of ELSA Germany’s sponsors pool, Norton Rose allows 

young prospective lawyers a sneak into their daily practice as well as the firm’s structure. Therefore we were al- 


Academic 

Events

Academic 

Events 

European Law Students’ Attitudes Towards Future 

Employment and Career Possibilities 

In the large pan-European market research conducted by ELSA during spring 2007, interviewing close to 10.000 European law 

students in 30 countries, a number of questions were asked with regards to European law students’ attitudes towards future 

employment and career possibilities. Below you can find some of the results of the survey. For access to the full extensive 

report, please contact the International Board. 

1. Importance of aspects connected with future work 

Students were asked to grade the importance on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 represents 

“not important at all” and 5 represents “very important”. The graph shows the 

percentage of “very important” answers. 

Career possibilities, clarity in getting promoted 

Work atmosphere 

Salary 

A guarantee of permanent employment 

Working with the top specialists in the field 

Social benefits 

Possibility to advance yourself through trainings 

Work hours 

Possibility to use foreign languages 

The recognition of the company 

Geographical area it works within 

Extra benefits (like cell phone, car, etc.) 

Work pace / speed 

Location of the company 

Size of the company 

lowed to take seats at a huge conference table and get a taste of 

what a bargain can be like. The atmosphere was very relaxed. 

At the beginning, Dr. Ralf Springer, partner at Norton Rose in 

Munich, and three other lawyers introduced us to the different 

practice areas of the firm. Norton Rose places emphasis on 

Corporate finance, Mergers and acquisitions, Banking, Asset 

finance, Intellectual property and other fields of law closely 

connected to economics and running of major companies. 

It was interesting for us to get to know, that most of the big 

companies have their own legal departments but still often 

mandate an external law firm. That way the company can 

profit from the law firm’s long established cross-border experiences 

on the relevant market. In addition, the company can 

elude from the risk of liability. 

For reasons of costs the assignment of law firms by companies 

often happens in an advanced stadium of the negotiations. That 

is why the lawyers need to be able to react fast and act accordingly 

in time. Especially attractive to us was the perspective of 

team work. For example; when negotiating about the sale of a 

company, lawyers with different skills, different carrier stages 

and from “mergers and acquisitions”, “employment” or “corporate 

finance” work together. That way, new lawyers are very well 

integrated. They can work themselves into the new area of law 

and in addition to that, profit from the experience of the elder 

lawyers. If necessary, colleagues from other foreign settlements 

can be consulted, so that international contacts are established 

right from the beginning. 

13% 

18% 

17% 

17% 

22% 

21% 

20% 

31% 

30% 

30% 

29% 

42% 

44% 

44% 

46% 

2. Most important when applying for a job 

Students were asked what they consider to be the most important when applying 

for a job. A maximum of three answer alternatives could be chosen and the graph 

shows the percentage of mentioned answers. 

Work experience 

Ability to present yourself 

Having good contacts and private possibilities of being 

employed 

A degree from a good University 

Know ing languages 

A high grade point average 

Extracurricular activities or social engagement outside of your 

studies 

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% 

After that little description about the daily life of a lawyer 

we did a little case study about the anti- discrimination 

act. While having lunch later on, we had the possibility 

to get further personal contact with some of the lawyers. 

We made much use of that offer to receive answers to 

the questions about career and, even more important, 

the access into a law firm like Norton Rose. In this unconstrained 

atmosphere we also had the chance to find out 

about the compatibility of the job-career and private life. 

The positive expressions we got before were verified and 

the kind working climate convinced many of us. Practicing 

in a big law firm is definitely an interesting perspective. 


Appearance 

14% 

23% 

32% 

36% 

36% 

36% 

45% 

47%




The European Law Students’ Association has gained a good name 

and reputation in the international community. ELSA is known in 

the world of international organisations and institutions and still 

makes them aware of the fact that in case they are looking for a 

partner among students’ organisations for co-operation, ELSA is 

there to rely on. The co-operation between international organisations 

and institutions and NGOs such as ELSA is based on the exchange 

of information. From our perspective, ELSA should always 

be informed about the programmes and projects of international 

organisations and institutions in which it is relevant and important 

for ELSA to actively participate. From the other perspective, it is 

equally important that ELSA informs the international organisations 

and institutions about its programmes and projects. Both of 

these aspects of the information exchange are mainly guaranteed 

through the formal way of the granted consultative status of ELSA 

with several important international organisations and institutions, 

especially from a legal perspective. 

ELSA has gained consultative status with several United Nations 

bodies; in 1997 ELSA obtained Special Consultative Status with 

UN ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social Council) and 

Consultative Status with UNCITRAL (UN Commission on International 

Trade Law), in 1994 ELSA was granted Consultative Status 

in Category C in UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural 

Organization). Furthermore, in 2000 ELSA was granted consultative 

status (recently called Participatory Status) with the Council of 

Europe. In October 2005 ELSA has obtained Observer Status with 

the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization). 

The consultative status enables ELSA to send delegations to 

the various sessions, assemblies, and working groups of the 

international organisations and institutions. The ELSA Delegations 

consist of ELSA members specially appointed by the International 

Board of ELSA, based on criteria of knowledge and 

experience within the specific field of law, ELSA knowledge and 

general motivation, who then represent ELSA at the specific 

sessions and of course also gain tremendous international experience 

and contacts for future working life within international 

institutions or within a specific legal field. 

In 2006/2007, ELSA International sent 17 delegations to various 

international organisations and institutions (for specifics, 

see the column to the right) and in the following section a few 

of them will be elaborated on. 

Aylin Farid 

Director for Institutional Relations 


ELSA’s Important Consultative Status and Delegations 

to International Organisations and Institutions 

ELSA Delegations 2006/2007 

Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights of the WIPO, 

11 th to the 13 th of September 2006, Geneva, Switzerland. (3persons) 

45 th session of the United Nations Commission on International 

Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group II International Arbitration 

and Conciliation, 11 th to the 15 th of September 2006 at the UN Headquarters, 

Vienna, Austria. (5 persons) 


Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group I Procurement, 25 th to the 

29 th of September 2006 at the United Nations Headquarters, Vienna, 

Austria. (3 persons) 


Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group III on Transport Law, 6 th 

to the 17 th November 2006 at the United Nations Headquarters, in 

Vienna, Austria. (3 persons) 

5 th session of the Assembly of State Parties of the International Criminal 

Court, 23 rd to the 25 th November and 27 th of November to the 1 st of 

December 2006, in The Hague, The Netherlands. (6 persons) 


Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group VI on Security Interests, 4 th 

to the 8 th December 2006 at the United Nations Headquarters, Vienna, 


Resumed 5 th session of the Assembly of State Parties of the International 

Criminal Court (Special Working Group on the Crime of Aggression), 29 th 

January to the 1 st of February 2007, New York, USA. (1 person) 


Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group II International Arbitration 

and Conciliation, 5 th to the 9 th February 2007 at the United Nations 

Headquarters, in New York, USA. (4 persons) 

1 st session of the Working Group on the Digital Access Service for 

Priority Documents, at the WIPO, 7 th to the 9 th February 2007, in 

Geneva, Switzerland. (5 persons) 

51 st session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women 

(CSW), 26 th February to the 9 th March 2007, New York, USA. (3persons) 


Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group III on Transport Law, 16 th 

to the 27 th April 2007 at the United Nations Headquarters, in New 

York, USA. (3 persons) 

9 th session of the Working Group on Reform of the Patent Cooperation 

Treaty at the WIPO, 23 rd to the 27 th of April 2007, in Geneva, Switzerland. 

(5 persons) 

1 st session of the Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, 

Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications at the WIPO, 7 th to 

the 11 th May 2007, Geneva, Switzerland. (6 persons) 

11 th session, of the United Nations Commission on International 

Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group I Procurement, 21 st to the 

25 th May, 2007 at the United Nations Headquarters, in New York, 

USA. (5 persons) 

4 th session of the Provisional Committee on Proposals Related to the 

WIPO Development Agenda (PCDA), 11 th to the 15 th June 2007, in 

Geneva, Switzerland. (4 persons) 


Trade Law (UNCITRAL), 25 th June to the 12 th July 2007, Vienna, 


2 nd session of the Working Group on the Digital Access Service for Priority 

Documents at WIPO, 16 th to the 19 th July 2007, Geneva, Switzerland. 

(1 person) 


Delegations

Delegations 

Gintare Grambaite 

Member 

ELSA Lithuania 

9 th session of the Working Group on Reform of the 

Patent Cooperation Treaty at the WIPO 

Have you ever thought about participating in the World Intellectual 

Property Organisation – WIPO? My response is YES. 

This year the ELSA International delegations to WIPO did a 

great job and I hope that ELSA will continue the tradition 

of success that the ELSA International delegations have had 

during the previous years. 

Negotiations, the complex debates and the hope for compromises? 

What about being on the frontline of international 

negotiations? Or watching with one’s own eyes such events 

which later will end up in the academic doctrine? Have you 

heard about the reform of the Patent Cooperation Treaty? 

Have you ever thought about a future career like the one of 

the diplomat with serious agendas of different meetings every 

day? The participation in WIPO is not just the representation 

of ELSA with a shining face and a “good look”, it is a very serious 

responsibility. 

In fact, being an ELSA delegate to WIPO consists of half a 

year of hard work and preparations in the field of intellectual 

property rights. Why? For the simple reason that all diplomats 

and NGO officials are doing this on a permanent professional 

basis, and an ELSA delegate – law student or recent 

graduate – is required to spend more time for preparation, 

to be at least half as competent as the less prepared governmental 

delegate. This is important as an ELSA delegate 

should represent his or her association properly and be able 

to make some sort of contribution to the proceedings. The 

end of the final session does not also mean the end of the 

ELSA delegate’s work - in fact, quite the opposite. Following 

the final plenary, the real work is just about to begin. The 

report should be compiled through 

which the whole network (and not 

only our network) will learn about 

what exactly has happened in Geneva 

and ELSA takes great pride in 

that its reports and notes taken by 

ELSA Delegates at previous WIPO 

sessions are widely used as reliable 

sources. Probably, in some time, we 

can assume that these reports and 

notes will be useful sources during 

studies on intellectual property and 

for you. 

A first look on the workshops in 

WIPO told me that the procedures 

of adopting the proposals for the 

international treaties are too slow 

or even sluggish, but actually after 

the first day – it was suffice to say 

that the procedure is more complicated 

than I thought. The general 

objectives of WIPO are to promote 

the protection of intellectual property 

throughout the world through 

co-operation among States and 

in collaboration with any other international organisations. 

Imagine the plenary in WIPO, with its more than 300 delegates, 

and don’t forget the observers from NGOs. The debates 

on a single topic could take more than one day… 

Non-Governmental Organisations contribute with important 

work in the World Intellectual Property Organisation 

by providing expert and hands-on advice about many of 

the issues discussed by its committees. The ELSA observer 

status in WIPO allows for ELSA delegations not just to observe 

the procedure, but also to participate on the creation 

of the proposals. I hope that in the future our delegations 

in WIPO will participate also more actively in this work. 

During the SCCR, NGOs were invited to deliver their comments 

in writing for inclusion in the meeting’s official papers. 

These were delivered along with the report to the 

member state delegations and were available on the meeting 

web page. Having spoken to some delegates at this 

meeting, they have indicated that this was very helpful to 

them. In order to preserve and provide the highest level 

of expert advice from NGOs, it has become the effective 

practice of the WIPO. 

How to improve ELSA delegation participation? The best 

way is to give our experience from the last sessions of 

the WIPO committees by creating not just the reports but 

also a special “handbook” for future ELSA delegations. 

And I want to finish with the same phrase as earlier; Participation 

in WIPO is not just the representation of ELSA 

with a shining face and a “good look”, it is a very serious 

responsibility. 


Patrick Leimig 


ELSA Würzburg 

11 th session of the UNCITRAL Working Group I 

Session on Procurement 

From the 21 st to 25 th of May 2007 five ELSA members had 

the opportunity to take part in the United Nations Commission 

on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working 

Group I Session on Procurement in New York. UNCITRAL 

is a subsidiary body of the General Assembly of the UN 

and its main task is the harmonisation and unification of 

international trade law. The delegation was composed of 

Christopher Carlson (ELSA International), Mateja Djurovic 

(ELSA Serbia and Montenegro), Gozde Kayacik (ELSA Turkey), 

Bo Ram Lee (ELSA Great Britain), and Patrick Leimig 

(ELSA Germany, Head of Delegation). The five of us ELSA 

members were delighted to be able to represent ELSA on 

the international stage. 

Our delegation’s preparations started several weeks before 

the session with basic but crucial tasks such as arranging 

flights and accommodation. This was not easy because of 

the very “international” nature of ELSA with the delegation 

members being located from the very west to the very east 

of Europe. Our only method of communication was via the 

internet, but with the enthusiasm we all shared, we were 

able to keep regular contact and were fortunate enough to 

find a special offer on a decent hostel on the Upper West 

Side of Manhattan. After these arrangements were made, 

we were able to put the focus on our academic preparation. 

A significant criteria in being selected as an ELSA delegate 

is academic competence in the relevant field of law. 

So our first step was to build on our existing knowledge 

of procurement and do further background research and 

reading. Then we familiarised ourselves with the Working 

Group Papers on previous UNCITRAL sessions and other 

official UNCITRAL documents. This was interesting because 

this enabled us to apply our theoretical understanding to 

what was currently happening at the Working Group. 

The Sunday before the session commenced was a very exciting 

day. The delegation came together for the first time. 

It was an indescribable feeling meeting face-to-face the 

fellow delegates with whom you have communicated and 

worked together for weeks online. At a collective dinner 

in Little Italy we had the opportunity to get to know each 

other better. It was great, but time flew and we had to 

leave to be fit for the next day. 

The first session day started with getting our security badges 

in the United Nations office just across the street of the UN 

Headquarters on 42 nd street. This badge was our ticket to 

the diplomat’s world. From now on we could access (almost) 

every area within the UN grounds and meant that we would 

be treated like real diplomats! But taking part as an ELSA 

delegate does not mean mere access to the UN Diplomats’ 

Cafeteria, sitting next to diplomats while having an overwhelming 

view on the East River; no it means experiencing 

what international politics feels like. 

So after passing through the security check we finally reached 

our committee room – the so called Trusteeship 

Council, which was formerly used for the decolonization process 

and nowadays used for conferences such as UNCITRAL. 

Our task was not just observing - it was more than that; experiencing 

the creation of international trade law. 

We were sitting in the back benches and were observing the 

discussion of the working group. With distinguished observers 

from the International Bar Association, the World Bank 

and the European Union on the same row as our ELSA delegation, 

we were impressed and humbled by the status of 

ELSA as the only student organisation among the observers 

– a real honour. The session started with the election of the 

Chair, the distinguish delegate from Sweden, Mr. Tore Wiwen- 

Nilsson and went on with a fruitful discussion about updating 

several articles about electronic communications in public 

procurement. Observing the discussions, we were awed by 

the profound expertise of the delegates, the surprising colourfulness 

of their personalities and the dynamics involved in 

UNCITRAL’s work. 

A highlight of our visit in New York was Wednesday, when 

we were invited to an “after session” at the apartment of the 

Canadian diplomat joined also by the French and Guatemalan 

delegates. That was exciting because we could talk to them in 

a private environment about their countries, their expertises 

with international diplomacy and about their backgrounds. 

In sum it was an unforgettable once-in-a-lifetime experience 

for all five of us. Taking part in a real conference, in the 

building where important history has taken place, in such an 

amazing city with people of the same profession and age is 

beyond comparison. 


Delegations

Delegations 

Sergey Golubok 

Auditor / Head of Delegation 


The 5 th session of the Assembly of States Parties to 

the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court 

ELSA is a founding member of the Coalition for the International 

Criminal Court (CICC) – global network of over 2000 

non-governmental organizations, advocating for a fair, effective 

and independent International Criminal Court. ELSA has 

been member of CICC’s Steering Committee and is currently 

its emeritus member. In this capacity ELSA has sent its representatives 

to Preparatory Committees and later, after entry 

into force of the Rome Statute establishing the International 

Criminal Court in 2002, to all sessions of the Assembly of 

States Parties to the Rome Statute of International Criminal 

Court held in The Hague, The Netherlands, and New York, 

USA. ELSA Delegates have been working actively within respective 

CICC teams covering different topics related to the 

establishment and functioning of the International Criminal 

Court, from legal representation and legal aid to budget process 

of the Court. 

The Fifth session of the Assembly of States Parties to the 

Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court took place 

in The Hague, The Netherlands, on 23 November – 1 December 

2006. ELSA was represented by five delegates: Cristina 

Ganguzza (ELSA Italy), Sergey Golubok (ELSA Russia), David 

Mees (ELSA Netherlands), Rebeca Cenalmor Rejas (ELSA 

Spain), and Andreas Schüller (ELSA Germany). One of the 

ELSA Delegates also attended the fifth resumed session of 

the Assembly which took place on 29 January – 1 February 

2007 in New York, United States, and was devoted primarily 

to the crime of aggression issues. 

The ELSA delegates were able to attend all formal meetings 

of the Assembly of States Parties, including plenary 

meetings and deliberations of various working groups established 

by the Assembly in order to consider particular 

issues in more details. Apart from this, the ELSA delegates 

participated actively in informal events organized in the 

course of the Assembly, including informal hearings on outreach 

hosted by several delegations and NGOs and chaired 

by the Ambassador Kanu of Sierra Leone, CICC regional 

and strategic meetings, and a range of different receptions, 

including the traditional reception for delegates hosted by 

the CICC and the formal opening reception in the town hall 

hosted by the Mayor of The Hague. 

During the formal meetings of the Assembly and its working 

groups, the ELSA Delegates, together with a delegate 

from the Council of American Students in International Negotiations 

(CASIN), were preparing almost verbatim informal 

and unofficial notes, which are published at the CICC 

website and are of great assistance for researchers and all 

those who are interested in travaux preparatoires of different 

legal documents adopted by the Assembly, the direction 

of discussions held and views expressed by different 

States’ representatives there. 

Apart from the Assembly’s schedule, some ELSA Delegates 

attended hearings at the International Court of Justice in 

the Peace Palace in The Hague, the International Criminal 

Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia which is also located in 

The Hague, as well as confirmation hearings in The Prosecutor 

v. Thomas Lubanga – the first case ever, which is 

pending now before the International Criminal Court. The 

head of delegation conducted a useful discussion with 

Mr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Prosecutor of the International 

Criminal Court, who expressed his satisfaction with the 

videoconference with him hosted by ELSA in 2006 and 

the desire to participate in the same activity of high educational 

value again. All members of the delegation were 

received in his chambers at the Court’s premises by H.E. 

Judge Erkki Kourula of Finland, judge at the Appeals Division 

of the International Criminal Court and chairperson 

of the Court’s committee on legal texts. It was a very interesting 

opportunity to have an efficient and constructive 

dialogue with a member of the Court, listen to his insight 

view of the recent developments in international criminal 

justice and contemporary problems in this interesting 

emerging legal sphere. 

It was especially inspiring to receive friendly advice and support 

from former ELSA members currently representing their 

respective governments at the session of the Assembly and 

working with the International Criminal Court in The Hague. 

In spring of 2007, the ELSA Delegation to the Fifth session 

of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute 

of the International Criminal Court has produced a report 

on the discussions at the Assembly’s session and decisions 

taken, for the benefit of individual members of ELSA 

throughout Europe who are interested in this topic. This report 

has been published both at the website of ELSA (available 

through ELSA ONLINE) and the website of the CICC 

(available in the ‘documents’ section). The results of this 

ELSA delegation were reported to wider ELSA membership 

at the Seminars & Conferences workshop during the International 

Council Meeting of ELSA in Prague, Czech Republic 

(25 March – 1 April, 2007) and in Synergy, no. I/2007. 


Halvor Lekven 



The ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law (EMC 2 ) 

- The Fifth Edition of 2006/2007 

In the early 1990s the ELSA Network decided that ELSA as 

a whole should have one huge project that would involve all 

areas and members of the vast ELSA Network. Discussions 

continued regarding what kind of event this project should 

be as well as what the topic should be. Finally the decision 

was taken; ELSA was to organise a worldwide Moot Court 

Competition with cases based on the law of the World Trade 

Organization – the EMC 2 ! 

ELSA has organised the EMC 2 since 2002, where 20 teams 

from Europe and USA registered and met for the Final Oral 

Round in Geneva in spring 2003. 

Since then the EMC 2 has grown and for the fifth edition in 

2006/2007 more than 60 teams from all continents registered 

to compete in the EMC 2 . Most of them participated in the Regional 

Rounds organised by ELSA Groups, and outside Europe 

organised by other co-organisers such as universities or student 

associations. For the teams coming from geographical 

regions which were not covered by any organised Regional 

Rounds, their participation in the Final Oral Round was decided 

solely upon the scores their written submissions were 

given in the International Written Round. 

The fifth edition of the EMC 2 marked a special turn in the history 

of the EMC 2 as it was the first time the competition was 

not a financial loss for ELSA International. Thanks to financial 

support from the European Commission, high-ranking 

law-firms and the World Trade Institute in Bern, Switzerland, 

the EMC 2 broke even for the first time. The financial support 

ensured that the competition could be organised and ELSA 

could offer the participants and the panellists the very best 

conditions to conduct their work under. 

The Grand Final of the Final Oral Round was held at the William 

Rappard centre, the headquarters of the World Trade 

Organization, who also had been of tremendous help for 

the EMC 2 by supporting it with technical and academic assistance. 

“This high quality Moot Court 

teaches ability to address complex 

issues in the field of WTO 

law and is of great importance for 

the preparation of future skilled 

lawyers and government representatives.” 

Prof. Claus-Dieter Ehlermann 

WilmerHale 

WTO Appellate Body Member 

(1995 - 2001 ; Chairman 

2001) 

Partners of the EMC 2 : 

Sponsors of the EMC 2 : 

Technical supporter of the EMC 2 : 


EMC 2

EMC 2 

One of the ELSA Regional Rounds of the EMC 2 was organised 

by ELSA Germany and ELSA Hamburg from the 15th to 

the 19th of March 2007. 

The team 

“Excuse me counsellor, I have a question…” The panellist 

interrupts the team’s presentation for the fifth time. Everybody, 

panellists, the opposite team, timekeepers and 

the audience, can see the speaker sighing inwardly, then, 

smiling, straightening up again to listen attentively to the 

question. This scene from the semi final of the Hamburg 

Regional Round only took a few seconds. But it reflects 

very well what the Regional Round meant to the teams: 

demonstrating presentation skills in unexpected situations, 

knowing the case and its facts by heart, having the 

legal issues present at any time, showing the ability to 

elaborate on them from a different point of view. Those 

showing these skills the best way proceed to the final in 

Geneva. 

It was the organising committee’s task to arrange everything 

in a way so the teams could fully concentrate on their performance 

and relax afterwards. The competition itself started 

with the teams´ reception in the hotel where they received 

an extensive information package. During the pleadings the 

organisers had to arrange the pleading rooms, do the timekeeping 

and evaluate the scorings. At all times there was an 

information desk for questions concerning the competition 

and logistics. 

The panellists 

Harriet Krause 


ELSA Germany 

12 Pleeding Sessions in Three Days - The ELSA 

Regional Round of the EMC 2 in Hamburg, Germany 

The invitations to the panellists were send out via e-mail 

six to five months before the Regional Round started. Surprise 

to the organisers: Within a few weeks the panels for 

the pleading sessions were set. Obviously a lot of WTO 

jurists enjoyed to take some days off to come to Hamburg. 

When they arrived it became clear why: They were 

not only enthusiastic about their field of action, WTO law. 

They were also happy to have the opportunity to meet 

like-minded young people and to train them. But apart 

from that the competition was a great chance for the panellists 

to come together. They were happy to have the 

opportunity to talk over the most recent issues of WTO 

law with colleagues. 

This high motivation of the panellists demands of the organisers 

to compensate them for their readiness to come. 

We aimed therefore at relieving them from any worries 

about organisational circumstances. As soon as the panellists 

agreed to come to Hamburg they received the first 

set of information about the location and schedule of the 

Regional Round. On demand we booked flight or train tickets 

for them. Upon their arrival they were picked up at the 

airport and received a welcome package with all important 

information at the hotel check-in. 

The sponsors 

One of the main worries was, of course, money. Since only 

half of the costs were covered by the participation fees we 

had to fundraise. Twelve months before the competition 

we approached the German Federal Ministry for Education 

for a grant. Eight months prior to the Regional Round, we 

started approaching international law firms which in the 

end gave over 6000 Euros. In turn their logos were printed 

on all marketing materials and they presented themselves 

during a small sponsors´ fair at the official reception on the 

first competition day. 

The organising committee 

The EMC² is not only the biggest academic event ELSA 

has. It is also the only event which involves all three levels 

of ELSA. Local, national and international boards have 

to work together to make the competition a success. The 

distance between the International Board in Brussels, the 

German National Board’s office in Heidelberg and ELSA 

Hamburg required precise descriptions and questions via 

e-mail and phone, sometimes a lot of patience, too. Dayto-day 

communication in two languages, German and English, 

also contributed to the fact that the organising committee 

gained a deep impression of the dimension of the 

international ELSA network. Developing an understanding 

of what teamwork means was essential to the outcome: To 

be aware who needs which information about one’s own 

field of activity, not to stop when one’s own task is done 

but to help out elsewhere. 

During several meetings we planned the four competition 

days. “When I came here my expectations were that low,” 

resumed a team member by pointing to the floor, “but you 

have exceeded them. I can’t even jump that high!” she 

continued by stretching out her arms and taking a jump… 

Feedback like that repays for all the effort and shows that 

it was worth it after all. 


Ms. Rou-yun Tu 

Event Coordinator, EMC 2 Asian Regional Rounds 

Asian Center for WTO and Int. Health Law and Policy 

The Asian Regional 

Round of the EMC 2 

In order to ensure that the EMC2 is 

a truly worldwide Moot Court, 

Regional Rounds are organised on 

almost every continent. For the 

second time the Asian Center for 

WTO and International Health Law 

and Policy (ACWH) at the National 

Taiwan University was contracted to 

organise the Asian Regional Round. 

The event itself took place in Taipei, Taiwan from the 7th 

to the 10th of March 2007. Like in the previous year, Prof. 

Chang-fa Lo, Director of the ACWH was the Regional Round 

Administrator, while Ms. Rou-yun Tu functioned as the Event 

Coordinator. 

Since this was the second time ACWH was organising the 

event, the main focus of the work was this time put on the 

promotion of the Regional Round itself. Promotional activities 

were organised at six of the universities in Taiwan. These 

activities were meant to raise the interest for the competition 

and to increase the knowledge about WTO in general 

as well. The winning team from the Asian Regional Round in 

2006 also told the students about their experience from the 

competition and how their stay in Geneva the year before had 

been. The promotional event was successful as the pleadings 

later on gathered a good crowd of audience. 

The organisation of the event itself went very well. Based 

on the experience from 2006 and with the financial support 

of five law firms, the quality of the event was ensured by 

all means. The panellists judging in the oral pleadings were 

distinguished professors, governmental officials and lawyers 

such as Prof. Donald McRae from University of Ottawa, Ms. 

Margaret Liang from the Government of Singapore and Prof. 

Shin-yi Peng from National Tsing Hua University. This ensured 

that the teams coming from Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong and 

India were all tested in different aspects of the case and that 

judging itself was balanced when it came to how one could 

argue the different sides in the case. 

As a conclusion of the competition, the ACWH held an academic 

conference named “Policy and Laws of Asia and WTO 

Rules and Practices of Dispute Settlement Mechanisms”, 

where some of the scholars and governmental officials who 

had been on the panels during the oral pleadings were invited 

to give short lectures on some of the topics brought forward 

in the Case of the EMC2 2007. All in all, the conference was a 

good way to conclude the three days of oral pleadings and it 

was without doubt a great learning experience for the audience 

as some of the most prominent persons dealing with 

international trade law in Asia were gathered on the same 

stage. 

The Asian Regional Round 2007 was a great success and we 

hope to continue our cooperation with the European Law Students’ 

Association on the EMC2 in the future. 

Dr. Jan Bohannes 

Associate 

Sidley Austin LLP 

Sidley Austin’s cooperation 

with ELSA and the EMC 2 

Sidley Austin LLP appreciates its cooperation with ELSA in the 

context of the ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law 

(EMC 2 ). Sidley Austin’s sponsorship of the competition reflects 

the Firm’s conviction that the Moot Court contributes 

to and enriches the international trade community at large. 

Over the past five years, the EMC 2 has grown, has attracted 

an ever-increasing number of talented students of international 

trade law, and has become a truly global event bringing 

together university teams from all continents. ELSA can be 

genuinely proud of organising this Moot Court, which has become 

an annual mainstay of the life of the international trade 

community in Geneva and beyond. 

Sidley Austin believes that the EMC 2 is a very useful investment 

of time and energy for students of international trade 

law. The competition enables students to deepen their knowledge 

of this fascinating and dynamic field. It gives them the 

opportunity to work in a team, on a defined, practical project 

in which they can apply previously acquired theoretical knowledge. 

It permits them to hone their advocacy skills. And, 

at the various Regional Rounds and the Final Oral Round in 

Geneva, it gives them the opportunity to foster professional 

ties and meet established trade practitioners and scholars. In 

brief, the EMC 2 usefully complements a legal education geared 

towards the requirements of today’s globalised world. In addition, 

for many participants, the competition has served as 

an entry point into careers in international trade law. Sidley 

Austin appreciates its involvement in an event that bridges 

the gap between 

education 

and the 

“real world” 

of legal 

practice. 

But the benefits of the competition are not limited to students 

alone. Over the years, a true Moot Court community 

has emerged. Many judges, from Geneva, Brussels, and 

elsewhere, come back, year after year, because they see the 

great value of this event and want to provide ELSA and the 

competing teams with their continued support. Many former 

participants return as team coaches. Many sponsors, including 

Sidley Austin, support the event year after year. In short, 

the competition relies on a great number of “amici Moot curiae”, 

faithful Friends of the Moot Court. This circumstance 

alone is testimony to the great value and esteem that the 

competition commands in the international trade community, 

in Geneva and beyond. For Sidley Austin, cooperating with 

ELSA on the EMC 2 is therefore also an opportunity to demonstrate 

the Firm’s eminent place in the vibrant international 

trade community. 

We at Sidley Austin hope that the EMC 2 continues to be as 

dynamic, vibrant and intellectually stimulating in the future as 

it has been in its first five years. We look forward to further 

opportunities for cooperating with ELSA. 


EMC 2

STEP 

Tuulia Hietaniemi 

Vice President Student Trainee Exchange Programme 

ELSA Finland 

The Student Trainee Exchange Programme 

- Our Future Begins with the Steps We Take 

The Student Trainee Exchange Programme, which we 

more commonly know as STEP, is a programme organised 

by ELSA that enables law students and young lawyers 

to work abroad, located in the city or surroundings 

of an ELSA group. Every law student and young lawyer 

has the possibility to apply for STEP. It is one of three 

key areas in ELSA and has been growing fast since the 

year 1983 when first three traineeships were exchanged. 

STEP is a programme of opportunities and at the same 

time a program of challenges for both the trainees and 

the employers. 

The Student Trainee Exchange Programme has three 

parts; student hunting, job hunting and reception. Today 

there are plenty of channels for employers to hire trainees 

from abroad and job hunting means convincing the employers 

that ELSA is the best channel to get an international 

trainee. A STEP-traineeship can take place in any kind of 

company or organisation as long as the trainee’s tasks are 

law-related. Universities, banks, law firms and insurance 

companies are just examples of the employers that have 

provided ELSA with traineeships. 

For an employer, STEP is an opportunity to get an expert 

on a foreign and different legal system or on a specific 

field of law. The possibility to take the trainee from 

the country in which the company does business and to 

specify the fields of law in which the trainee needs to be 

specialised, brings the employer an expert on the tasks 

and projects the company is working with. The strength is 

that the employers can define themselves on the contract 

from which countries the trainees should come, which 

languages they should speak and in which fields of law 

they should be specialised. The employer also decides 

for how long the traineeship lasts. As long as it’s between 

two and 72 weeks, the trainee can work as a legal language 

teacher for two weeks or as a project coordinator 

for a whole year – or anything the employer might have a 

need for that is law-related. 

What needs to be kept in mind is that STEP is not a way to 

richness or earning money. The basic salary needs only to 

cover normal everyday living costs during the traineeship. 

Besides this, STEP is easy for employers because everything 

is more or less done for them by ELSA. ELSA markets 

the traineeship among students, the part internally 

referred to as student hunting, delivers suitable trainee applications 

to the hands of the employer and takes care of 

the trainee once on location. The employer just needs to 

give the trainee the tasks that need to be done, give him or 

her guidance on the work and cover the living costs – ELSA 

takes care of the rest! 

When the trainee is selected and the traineeship is about to 

start, the third part of STEP begins – the reception. Reception 

means taking care of the trainee during the whole stay 

in the hosting country. Preparations are started long before 

the start of the traineeship and when the trainees arrive, 

the local STEP officer meets them at the train station or at 

the airport. ELSA then helps out with issues connected to 

every day life – situations like arranging accommodation for 

the trainee and organising social events during free time. 

An employer need not think twice about how the trainee is 

surviving in this foreign city and in a foreign country since 

ELSA does this for them. ELSA helps the trainees with every 

step until the day when they return to their home countries. 

Welcoming parties, cocktail evenings, sightseeing and visits 

to other cities are just examples of the things that are organised 

for the trainee. 

What makes the reception and the whole STEP as unique as 

it is, is that the receptions are as different as the trainees 

differ from each other. Local ELSA officers ask beforehand 

what the trainees would like to see and do and according 

to these interests and wishes they coordinate the reception 

plan that lasts for the entire duration of the traineeship. 

Trainees are introduced to different kinds of spare time 

activities and from them the trainees can select which ones 

they wish to take part in. This way, ELSA can make sure 

that the whole reception is individual and every trainee 

gets the possibility to do exactly what he or she wants. This 

is of key importance since the success of a traineeship can 

only be measured by the comfort and satisfaction of the 

involved parties. 

Some countries provide the STEP trainees with reception 

packages – a great advantage in comparison to trainees 

that are taken through other organisations. In reception 

packages there is typically general information about the 

hosting country and ELSA groups and all the happenings 

that are going on during the traineeship. STEP officers often 

provide the trainees with free accommodation or give 

information about suitable hostels and hotels if the trainee 

wants to visit other cities in the country as well. Visiting 

and exploring a city is easy and nice when there is a local 

person showing you around and giving advice on which 

places should be visited. 

As a STEP officer, I recommend STEP for each and every 

law student and also for all the employers who have the 

possibility of hiring a STEP trainee. In my opinion, each 

individual party of the STEP process benefits from it in 

an effective and very satisfactory way. Employers get 

good trainees for their individual needs, students get 

valuable experience and same goes for the organising 

ELSA officers. ELSA as an association benefits as more 

employers are interested in co-operation and more students 

want to become members and apply for STEP. As 

mentioned in the beginning, STEP is a programme of 

both opportunities and challenges, but the opportunities 

should not go wasted. Your future really begins with the 

STEPs you take… 


Milda Mecenaite 

Member 


A STEP Traineeship in Palermo 

- Impressions from an ELSA Trainee 

I never thought that STEP would become a personal experience 

of mine. I was following the STEP newsletters 

constantly, looking through green glasses at the available 

traineeship opportunities, but never applied. Till one day… 

just to try… 

After the unexpected notice of being selected to become a 

trainee in Palermo, I awaited eagerly to start this new professional 

experience. I had no doubts that in any case the 

traineeship is an invaluable possibility to get direct experience 

of a foreign legal system, juridical world and practical 

work, as well as to become acquainted with local culture 

and people better. 

I was very fortunate in getting the opportunity to be a 

trainee at Palmigiano Law Firm which was founded more 

than 50 years ago and is well known in Palermo. The law 

firm has a highly specialised staff made up of 11 lawyers 

which are offering their services to clients on both national 

and international level. I was filled with wonder and delight 

about the attention and kindness of my colleagues as well 

as the working atmosphere in the office which was always 

very harmonious and homelike. 

For me, as being a recently graduated law student with 2 

years of similar legal practise in Lithuania, practical legal 

work abroad was not only a great opportunity to compare 

the attorney’s activities in different counties, but also a 

pleasure to cooperate with my colleagues in the office who 

were carrying out their legal activities with professionalism, 

dynamism and experience and to learn from them. 

Through my daily tasks I understood the Italian legal and 

judicial system better and deepened my legal knowledge in 

national and EU law by making legal researches, participating 

in meetings with clients, drafting legal documents etc. 

But not only this; I was also very curious to see how the 

litigation in Italy works. One of my main tasks was to study 

the cases and to follow the relative court hearings in front 

of civil and administrative courts of all levels. Moreover, I 

had the chance to participate in different legal conferences 

and lectures on actual topics related to various legal issues 

our Law firm was specialised in, such as consumer protection, 

alternative dispute resolution, etc. 

All these things from the point of view of a trainee were 

very important, but a trainee’s daily life does not finish 

there… 

Not less impressive was to taste the life of Palermo and 

to explore wonderful Sicily! ELSA members helped me a 

lot in finding accommodation in the heart of the old town 

in Palermo and organised many sightseeing trips, social 

events, reception lunches, various festivals and celebrations. 

I got used to the Sicilian life style immediately and 

day by day felt like at home. I can not conceal my wonderful 

reminiscences about ELSA Palermo which has a fantastic 

board, gathering active, friendly and talented people. 

Thanks to them my staying in Palermo was full of social 

activities, new friends and bright impressions. I remained 

impressed about the warm welcome, cordiality and friendship 

of the ELSA Palermo President and other members as 

well as ELSA Palermo Vice President STEP’s daily support, 

cooperation and help. 

All in all, it’s a pity that STEP in Palermo was just a temporal 

experience and being unique can never be repeated! 

It’s unrepeatable!.. However, I am very glad for taking part 

in STEP and very grateful to ELSA Palermo for having arranged 

everything so well and Palmigiano Law firm for the 

perfect professional experience offered. I am sure that the 

knowledge and legal skills gained through STEP will be extremely 

useful in my future career and studies. 


STEP

Publications 

Erik Vrij 

Founder and Director of ELSA SPEL (1997-1998) 

Senior Legal Counsel, ING Wholesale Banking 

Selected Papers on European Law (SPEL) 

- A Lawyers Weapon is... 

A good lawyer must have at least four skills: not only knowing 

the law and which argument to make, but perhaps equally 

important, to communicate that in word and even more so in 

writing. Writing is the dominant ‘lawyer-communication’ and 

law students may not learn it well enough during their legal 

studies to properly prepare them for legal practise. They read 

a lot but write too little… 

Since over fifteen years ELSA has provided an ambitious 

means for Europe’s talented students to write and publish 

English language papers in a journal called The ELSA Law Review 

(ELR), the predecessor of ELSA Selected Papers on European 

Law (ELSA SPEL). ELSA was probably one of the first 

if not the only organisation to publish a law journal largely 

by and for law students throughout Europe and beyond. The 

noble ambition carried a significant financial, editorial, distribution 

and marketing burden with it that was felt throughout 

ELSA which had to require its member countries to find sufficient 

quality articles in English as well to share the expense of 

producing and distributing it. Eventually at the International 

Council Meeting in Istanbul in 1996, the journal was given a 

new identity, new look, new editorial focus, new distribution, 

new ‘article hunting’ and professional academic editorial process: 

ELSA SPEL was born and the first issue was presented 

at the spring ICM of 1997 in Prague. A juicy detail of the 

brainstorming process that lead to ELSA SPEL: an initial title 

I came up with, ELSA Best Student Essays (BSE) was particularly 

poorly chosen in times of mad cow disease! 

ELSA SPEL’s editorial focus was limited to Public European 

Law, European Integration and relations between the EU 

and third countries in Europe, popular subjects for articles 

in many LL.M. courses and reflecting ELSA’s network whilst 

at the same time being more targeted at a particular readership 

which would hopefully increase subscriptions and reduce 

ELSA’s financial burden. Some thirty prominent academics in 

these fields took place on the Editorial Advisory Board, aiming 

to give the journal professional credibility and to tap their network 

of students for excellent articles. The College of Europe 

at Bruges provided an editorial board for professional editing 

of articles submitted. Finally Belgium’s leading law publisher 

Bruylant agreed to print, market and distribute the journal. 

Sales through US agents and advertisement revenues from 

ELSA’s Guide to Legal Studies in Europe alleviated the financial 

burden to an extent. 

Although the hard-copy print of ELSA SPEL has never broken 

even as far as I’m aware, ELSA’s primary aim to provide an 

incentive and means for law students throughout Europe to 

publish their work on an international level remained, more 

articles were submitted and the quality and sales of the journal 

improved. Eventually the ever-spreading internet use made 

ELSA decide to scrap the hard-copy journal and to take the 

journal online. Although this doesn’t quite ‘push’ the journal 

into the shelves of libraries, the economy of an e-publication 

and the ease of distribution and availability certainly improved 

thereby allowing ELSA to allocate financial resources to other 

projects. 

Let’s hope ELSA will continue its aim to give law students 

throughout Europe a drive to publish their work internationally 

and to develop the skill of excellent writing they will benefit 

of for the rest of their legal careers! It’s only one of the many 

skills enhanced by active ELSA membership among other legal, 

language, managerial and social skills, but certainly not 

the least important one… A lawyer’s weapon is the … pen! 

Don’t leave home without it! 

Content of the Current Issue of SPEL 

Editorial 

The impact of the state-of-origin principle on the protection of public 

concerns in international trade 

by PROF. M. LAURA PICCHIO FORLATI 

Articles 

“Continent, city, country, society: The choice is never wide and never free.” 

by GRAINNE LARKIN 

International Human Rights Law – Chinese Human Rights: Towards 

a theory of success 

by FRANCIE KAVANAGH 

The Appraisal of Collective Dominance under the Clarified Substantive 

Test of the New EC Merger Regulation 

by MARIA LITZELL 

The Referral Procedure; The Jurisdiction, Duties and Obligations of the 

European Court of Justice and Member States under Article 234E.C 

by JENNIFER HENRY 

“Trading with emissions allowances under the EU state aid law regime” 

by BARBARA GLOWACKA 

“Serbia in the European Union – The status of Kosovo” 

by DAVOR JANCIC 

Mandatory dealing in the European Union law: The way of thorns 

by DMITRIJS NEMIROVSKIS 

The current editor of SPEL is Mr. Malte Beyer 

ELSA Selected Papers on European Law are available online 

at www.elsa.org/publications/papers.asp 



President 


Guide to Legal Studies in Europe (GLSE) turns into 

European Law Students Directory (ELSD) 

ELSA International has over the years produced several publications 

and one of the main ones has been a guide to legal 

studies in Europe. The Guide to Legal Studies in Europe 

(GLSE) has been the only publication of its kind that gives 

detailed information on available opportunities if a student 

wishes to study law (doctorate, under- and postgraduate level) 

somewhere in Europe. The GLSE has been published every 

second year up and until 2001. 

During spring 2007 ELSA International started negotiations with 

the European Lawyer, a leading pan-European legal publishing 

company based in the United Kingdom, on producing the GLSE 

once again. During summer 2007 an agreement was set and 

ELSA International can proudly announce that this high quality 

product will once again be available for law students. 

The “new” GLSE will be distributed under a new name – “The 

European Law Students Directory” and its first edition will 

be launched during spring 2008. The directory will cover all 


Vice President Marketing 


information given to a potential law student in Europe, and 

contain: 

• General information on each country featured, its 

legal system and legal education; 

• Outline of cities and towns, e.g. nightlife, housing, 

information agencies, job situation; 

• Data on universities, e.g. size, address, faculties, 

websites, language courses etc; 

• Details on law schools: ELSA local groups, courses 

offered, tuition fees scholarships, exchange pro 

grammes; 

• Contact details. 

The directory will be distributed worldwide; to universities, 

law firms, international institutions etc. For more information 

on the directory please contact ELSA International. 

Two Editions of ELSA International’s Members’ Magazine 

‘Synergy’ - no. 40/II 2006 and no. 41/I 2007 

Synergy has been the International Members’ Magazine since 1987. It is a high-profile, high-quality publication, regularly informing 

ELSA members and European law students on topics of interest to them and to the association. In Synergy, ELSA members have an 

opportunity to publish articles, promote events and share experiences. Furthermore, the magazine gives ELSA International a chance 

to communicate important projects and developments in ELSA to the entire network. 

ELSA International produces the magazine twice a year. It is distributed in 10.000 copies to all the 200 local groups, across the 36 

countries in Europe where ELSA is represented. The magazine is also available online at www.elsa.org under ‘publications’. For questions 

about the magazine or the updated rates for advertisements, please contact ELSA International. 

Synergy no. 40/II 2006 

Introducing A New Editor For SPEL | EMC2 – From The Perspective Of A WTO Counsellor | Guess Who’s Also Celebrating Anniversary? | ELSA 

Lisbon’s MCNDC | ELSA Oslo’s Study Visit To Brussels | Madame President On Air | Law Beyond Borders | The Mt. Kopaonik School Of Natural Law 

| Law As An Expression And Guarantee Of A Culture Of Peace | “Children Are The Most Precious Things We Own – We Can Sell Their Bodies Over 

And Over Again” | Lawyer’s Trumps | Conference - Through Dialogue Of Youth To Stability In The Region Of Southeast Europe | 20 Minutes For 

STEP | STEP – From The Perspective Of A Proud Employer | Traineeship In Bratislava | Development Of STEP In Serbia | Why Fundraising Could 

Be A Success Story For ELSA | To Expand Or Not To Expand | How Good Is Your Legal English? | Learning By Doing |Why Bother To Share Experience? 

| Introduction To Law Faculty With ELSA Poland | Teambuilding In ELSA Oslo | Baltic Trainings 2006 | 

When Deer And Human Resources Meet | Financial Aspects Of An ELSA Event | Auditing ELSA | Why Advertise? | 

Synergy no. 41/I 2007 

First Sicilia | BSE is not Dangerous - How an Austrian Beach Soccer Event Contributes to International Legal 

Cooperation | The World Grad School Tour and ELSA Athens, Vol. 4 | A Memory of ‘Law is better than War!’ | 

Organising a National Council Meeting | ICM Alanya | ELSA Activism in the Holy Land | Assembly of States Parties through the Eyes of a Delegate 

| Internet Governance Forum | ELSA International’s UN Delegations | Tales of a Groomed Humanitarian Worker | Streetlawyer – A Lesson in Turning 

Talk into Action | The Greatest Happiness is when Your Job is Your Hobby | Sport Law | Space Law | Communicating Europe - Interview with 

Commissioner Margot Wallström | New Legal English Training Program for Law Students | Fourth Summer School on International Trade Regulation 

in Berne | Ukrainian National Round of the ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law | WTO and Agriculture | STEP in: ELSA International 

and Local Groups in a Two Way Street | Train The Trainers Weekend and International Trainers’ Pool Refreshment Weekend | The International 

Trainers’ Pool | A Day In The Life Of… | ELSA SPEL | How to Exchange Your Best ELSA 25th Anniversary Experience for a Brand New Outfit… 


Publications

Trainings 

Vytautas Zabulis 

Director for Training 


Training in the ELSA Network 2006/2007 

- A Success Story with Room for Improvement 

Skilled and open-minded people create the platform of 

the present generation. It is true, but they become such by 

participating in various activities, by organising events, by 

communicating with their colleagues in different countries 

and by participating in trainings. Training - any attempt to 

change current or future behaviour by learning. K. Murphy 

once wrote - learning that produces no change is about as 

useful as a parachute that doesn’t open. ELSA International 

knows that, and this is why the International Trainers’ 

Pool (ITP) which consists of professional trainers who were 

active ELSA members nationally and internationally was created 

in 1999. The concept of the ITP is to have former active 

ELSA members acting as trainers to cover the training needs 

and geographical span of the association. 

The aim of the ITP is to support ELSA by providing training, 

which preserves and develops knowledge within ELSA. More 

precisely this means to provide knowledge about ELSA to every 

existing and upcoming ELSA group; support this ELSA 

knowledge with proper training within the field of personal 

skills; support ELSA groups in i.e. planning, moderation and 

problem solving; reactivate and benefit from experienced 

people with profound ELSA knowledge and the according 

skills; contribute to creating increasingly internationally minded 

Local Groups. 

The trainers are continuously trained to maintain high standard 

support to the ELSA groups and on an annual basis there 

is an event organised which is dedicated to train new active 

ELSA members out of which the best and most suitable 

are selected to become ITP members. This is the Train The 

Trainers Weekend (TTTW). 

TTTW 2007 was organised in Vilnius, Lithuania, on the 1st to 

the 4th of February by ELSA International and ELSA Lithuania. 

In this event the 16 versed ELSA members were trained 

by a trainer of the European Commission – Marius Ulozas 

ITP Supported Training Events 2006/2007 

and by the owner of the London consulting company Adaptis 

– Sara Burks. The participants were trained in communication 

skills, coaching, conflict management, representation, training 

planning, team-building skills etc. After the event, the International 

Board after consultation with the trainers selected 

12 participants to become new ITP trainers. 

Parallel to the TTTW, an ITP Refreshment Weekend (RW) 

was also organised where present ITP members participated 

and refreshed their training skills. 

At the moment the International Trainers’ Pool consists of 37 

trainers who are actively doing trainings on national and international 

level. There were 21 larger training events with 

ITP support organised in the network during 2006/2007, including 

such events as the International Internal Meetings 

and dedicated international training events such as the ELSA 

House Training Week and the Baltic Trainings. In addition to 

this there were also numerous events where trainings were 

facilitated by National or Local Groups without the involvement 

or support of the ITP. 

To increase the number, quality and awareness of trainings 

in the National Groups of ELSA, a guide for trainings, which 

includes such information as what are the steps to organise 

a training event, what skills which year ELSA member should 

get, possible funding sources and how to set up a training 

strategy on national and local level, was prepared by a team 

of professionals. 

All this year’s activity has shown us that the results are on 

a satisfactory level, but with still a lot of work in need to be 

done in the upcoming years. We all want the synergy effect of 

1+1=2 to appear in the ELSA Network and working with such 

partners like you we can truly reach this goal and continue to 

contribute to the ELSA vision – a just world in which there is 

respect for human dignity and cultural diversity – in a more 

professional way. 

Title of the event Topic / Areas covered Organiser Date No. of Part. 

Training Weekend - Building ELSA Marketing, Planning ELSA Lithuania Oct 2006 40 

International Council Meeting Pub. speaking, Fundraising, Proj. management, Conflict management ELSA International Nov 2006 150 

National Council Meeting Negotiation skills, Communication ELSA Finland Nov 2006 35 

International Presidents Meeting Board management ELSA International Jan 2007 15 

Train The Trainers Weekend How to train skill - trainer for trainer ELSA Int., ELSA Lithuania Feb 2007 16 

ITP Refreshment Weekend Training refreshment ELSA Int., ELSA Lithuania Feb 2007 3 

National Council Meeting Fundraising, Fundraising strategy ELSA Hungary Mar 2007 40 

National Council Meeting Working in a board ELSA Norway Mar 2007 40 

National Council Meeting Teambuilding, Project management ELSA Russia Apr 2007 40 

Baltic Trainings Human Rights ELSA Lithuania Apr 2007 40 

International Council Meeting Pub. Speaking, Proj. man., Financial man., Teambuilding, Internal man. ELSA International Apr 2007 300 

National Council Meeting Working in a team, Teambuilding, Project management, Planning ELSA Ukraine Apr 2007 40 

National Council Meeting ELSA knowledge, Project management, Team work, Fundraising ELSA Kazakhstan Jun 2007 40 

Transition Weekend Transition training ELSA Norway Jun 2007 15 

Transition Month Teambuilding, transition ELSA International Jul 2007 14 

ELSA House Training Week General ELSA knowledge, Presentation skills, Teambuilding ELSA Belgium Jul 2007 50 

Training Week ELSA knowl., Networking, Teambuild., Proj. man., Fundraising, IM-tools ELSA Italy Aug 2007 25 

International Presidents Meeting The position and the responsibilities of a National President ELSA International Aug 2007 20 


Jochen Hörlin 

Trainer 

International Trainers’ Pool 

Annual Report of ELSA International | 2006/2007 

Nina Klotz 

Trainer 


ITP - International Terrific People go to Lithuania 

- A Train the Trainers Weekend Report 

Another abbreviation in ELSA – ITP. But what does it mean? 

Who or what is behind it? We will tell you: it’s the International 

Trainers’ Pool. As fresh members of this pool we cannot 

tell you a lot about the history or past tales that are beyond 

our knowledge. But we can tell you a lot about our motivation 

as members and especially our motivation to join the International 

Trainers’ Pool. 

When we were active ELSA members the ITP appealed to us 

because of the combination of internationality, experienced 

ELSA people and the chance to develop our personal skills. So 

when there was a call for a new Train the Trainers Weekend 

– and with it this tempting and promising chance to become 

members of ITP – we applied and traveled to beautiful Lithuania 

at the very beginning of February. There we met not only 

a bunch of welcoming Lithuanians but also 13 other ITP-candidates 

as well as some (old) ITP members who would have 

their refreshment and not to forget Vytautas Zabulis and Esra 

Ersoy, Director for Training and Secretary General of ELSA 

International. 

For ELSA International, the aim of the Train the Trainers Weekend 

was to find 12 new adequate ITP members to provide 

new resources to the existing ITP as well as to the network. 

To achieve this, our two trainers – Marius Ulozas and Sara 

Burks – introduced us to the role of a trainer, which means 

we discussed a lot about the self-perception and the role of 

a trainer of a group. Furthermore we learned how to prepare 

training sequences and modules by designing and presenting 

them to the others to get feedback and see how others solved 

their tasks. In addition to that, teambuilding was part of the 

training and helped us to form a team as well as to see how 

group dynamics works. 

After four days we were aware of the challenges and responsibility 

that would lie ahead of us as trainers; to train ELSA 

groups, to help them develop as groups and teams and to 

provide the necessary soft skills and ELSA knowledge. 

Those are the things ELSA needs to develop as an organisation 

and the ELSA members to develop as persons. The ITP 

is an important tool and resource for this since 1999. A fresh 

generation of ELSA trainers as well as the (old) trainers are 

ready to give trainings (and have already done so down to 

the present day). If you are interested or even feel the urgent 

need to have a training, just contact the Director for Training 

(training@elsa.org) or have a second look and see what the 

ITP can offer you at www.elsa-itp.org. 

Trainings

Trainings 

Torgeir Willumsen 

Trainer 


Trainings on Advanced Fundraising in ELSA Hungary 

- Reflections from a new ITP Trainer 

The International Trainers’ Pool (ITP) provides trainings in 

ELSA-knowledge and in additional soft skills to the ELSA network, 

making the ITP an important way of both consolidating 

and further developing the network. The members of the ITP 

are very experienced ex-ELSA members and together possess 

a unique knowledge of the organisation. In addition, the ITPmembers 

are skilled in training others in various fields, giving 

ELSA a vital tool to ensure that new members of the association 

are given assistance in the aims they try to achieve. 

The ITP was revised this year with 12 new members, including 

myself, who all went through an intense weekend of training in 

Vilnius, Lithuania. A main focus of the International Board when 

revising the ITP has been that it is desirable with more specialised 

trainers, each focusing on their field of expertise. 

For my part, my main experience comes from working with 

fundraising. I was therefore happy to see that shortly after 

my appointment as ITP-trainer, ELSA Hungary wanted an 

advanced training on fundraising for their National Council 

Meeting. The weekend 16-18 March I went to Pecs, Hungary 

with the aim of leaving ELSA Hungary with some tools to find 

and attract sponsors. The entire Saturday was designated for 

the training which lasted about six hours. Through different 

means the participants and I analysed the fundraising situation 

of ELSA Hungary and developed the foundations of a 

fundraising strategy which ELSA Hungary could continue to 

work on. The weekend was a fine example of the purpose and 

aims of the ITP and how the network can benefit. 

The members of the ITP are motivated by their desire to continue 

to help ELSA. In addition, being part of the ITP is a 

unique way to develop personal skills such as presentation 

techniques and to learn more about various soft skills. The 

experience as an ITP-trainer is undoubtedly a great asset to 

Sylvie Kleinke 

Trainer 


the trainers’ professional careers. 

The ELSA House Training Week 

- From an ITP Trainer’s Perspective 

Among all the other trainings in the ELSA Network, trainings that 

are facilitated during the ELSA House Training Week are special 

for the trainers. Having no less than 50 participants in eight training 

sessions which are eager to improve their skills coming from 

22 countries, is a challenge but also a great opportunity. It is a 

challenge to plan trainings that contain new useful information 

for all the participants and a great opportunity to have such wideranging 

and fruitful discussions about the different topics. 

This year the topics that were taught, discussed and presented in 

However, it is no secret that the job as an ITP-trainer is competing 

with several other things happening in the lives of the 

trainers. Careers, children, partners etc. are all important 

things which naturally are given a higher priority than ELSA. 

The main problem for an ITP-trainer is thus time and it can 

often be difficult to find opportunities to give trainings. 

Another issue is the costs involved when going somewhere 

to give trainings. After several years and many expenses in 

connection to ELSA, ITP trainers are not very interested in 

spending more than their spare time when giving trainings. 

Fortunately, the existence of the ELSA Development Fund, 

which is designated to help weaker countries in the ELSA system 

to develop, makes this easier. For instance, my costs for 

the training in Hungary were covered through money from 

this fund. In my opinion, ensuring that the board members 

in weaker ELSA-countries receive qualified training is a very 

effective and cost-efficient way of helping. 

the trainings were among others communication, risk management, 

teambuilding and chairing a meeting. The trainers that prepared 

and facilitated these trainings had an equally wide-ranging 

background as the participants. Experienced and newly appointed 

ITP trainers of ELSA International facilitated the trainings as well 

as professional trainers from Deloitte. 

Because of this enormous variety of topics, trainers and participants, 

the ELSA House Training Week 2007 was an incredible experience for 

everyone involved and coming back 2008 is highly recommendable. 


Katrien Willems 

Head of OC 

ELSA House Training Week 


- From the Organising Committee’s Perspective 

The ELSA House Training Week 2007 was organized between 

the 15-22 July in Brussels by ELSA Belgium with the support 

from ELSA International. During autumn and spring, several 

meetings took place in the office of ELSA International to go 

through the specifics of such a large scale international training 

event. Agenda, budget and timelines were drafted and as time 

progressed, more detailed logistics were taken care of together 

with the arrangement of the academic programme in co-operation 

with ELSA International and the ITP. 

ELSA Belgium set up a fundraising team to get in contact with 

potential sponsors and partners of the EHTW. More than one 

hundred companies were contacted by the fundraising team 

and a lot of in-kind sponsorships were established. 

The main part of the financial support was however granted by 

the European Commission Youth Program Action 5. The support 

was given by the Flemish office of the European Commission ‘Jint’. 

Due to this grant a travel reimbursement was possible for the participants 

and the participation fee decreased about 25%. 

Ksenia Kononova 


ELSA Russia 

Besides of that, the European Institute for European Law of 

the Free University of Brussels (VUB) was contacted by ELSA 

Belgium to host the academic part of the EHTW. A stable partnership 

was created as the VUB is an official partner of ELSA 

Belgium for the EHTW. 

All in all the ELSA House Training Week 2007 proved to be a 

great organisational success, with close to 100 applicants, out 

of which 50 participants from over 20 different countries were 

selected to come and develop ELSA and personal skills in a patented 

mixture of academic and social program with a healthy 

dose of ELSA spirit. 

One Training 

Week – 

Three Different Perspectives 


- From a Participant’s Perspective 

At first, through the aircraft windows you could only see the airy 

clouds of Belgium, but after a while the cozy houses started to 

come partly into view, alternating with the Belgian landscapes 

and forests. When we finally saw the smiling ELSA faces in the 

queue at the arrivals gate, we knew it was the beginning of a 

great experience. 

From this moment on, our acquaintance with the heart of Europe 

- Brussels - begins. Pacing up through the various streets 

and houses, trying to find our accommodation at one of the 

designated hostels - Van Gogh and Sleep Well, we found ourselves 

in a state of complete happiness thanks to our newly 

begun journey. 

Frankly speaking, we did not expect to find such a quite and 

at the same time boiling city to be the capital of Belgium. All 

around you could enjoy gratifying to the eye landscapes, cozy 

houses, picturesque side-streets, numerous monuments and 

slightly more unexpected traditional scenes from the famous 

Tintin comics scattered on the walls of the Brussels houses. 

Living on the banks of the Neva, I would say that Saint-Petersburg 

and Brussels have more in common then you would 

suppose from the beginning (both of them primordially built up 


Trainings

Trainings 


- From a Participant’s Perspective (continued) 

on marsh land). At the same time the weather was more than 

beautiful – it was marvelous. Even taking into consideration 

those two final rainy days that we spent after the official closing 

of the EHTW. 

After some time has passed I can positively say for sure: the 

ELSA House Training Week was exactly the event that every 

participant needed. If somebody claims that there was some 

disorganisation with the workshop locations, I would answer 

with confidence that it was an excellent motivation to wake 

up faster and to see the city and people around you in diverse 

ways and from different perspectives. 

Division into “fresh” and “experienced” members gives for the 

first group a possibility always to feel like a rich yielded fruit 

in every situation and minute, and as for the second group 

– it set up auspicious conditions just for their subsistence. So, 

in fact, it didn’t matter who you were, as long as you were 

an open-minded member of ELSA, there was something for 

everyone. 

Games between workshops aroused the child inside of every 

ELSA member. Such a mentality helps a great deal to create 

the friendly atmosphere needed to maximize the outcome of 

such a gathering of people. The teamwork of ELSA members 

and trainers gave rise to ideas of many projects for the 

future and laid grounds for co-operation between different 

ELSA groups – new friends and contacts were springing up 

before our eyes. Categorical proof of the good quality of the 

trainings was the acquired high knowledge of good chairing 

techniques and self preparation in our own local and national 

ELSA boards. 

Especially the Friday workshop – “ELSA in Hell” – which was 

created under the direction of ITP trainer Maria Mogilnaya, 

should be noted. It was significant not only because of the 

fact that our trainer was “Masha” from Russia, but because 

we acquired useful skills for working in National and Local 

Boards in a simple and funny game manner in an elated 

mood. 

There is no escape from mentioning a few words about our visits 

to the EU institutions in this context either. Interactive meetings 

with representatives of the European Commission and European 

Parliament allowed us to scrutinize these institutions 

from the inside. Suffice to say that in a relatively brief period of 

time, accompanied with an enthralling sight, we got to know 

the main conditions and problems on the path to becoming a 

new member of the EU, the complexity of the modification of 

EU institutions by itself, the draft procedures in the co-decision 

process of the EU institutions and of course the recent updates 

on the Reform Treaty progress. We can only hope that from 

the side of ELSA members we, in our smart clothes, were able 

to make an as lasting impression during the course of the day 

as the buildings of the EU institutions and the Schuman square 

made on us. 

The social programme offered much, and the EHTW partici- 

pants were ready for most everything both day and night. Visits 

to the Venice of the North – Bruges, the traditional ELSA BBQ 

at the ELSA House, the Belgian National Day celebrations with 

its amazing fireworks all added up to a healthy counter balance 

to the otherwise academic nature of the event. Night walking 

down the city streets, including (conditio sine qua non) visits 

to the various pubs and beer cafés cleared the way to some 

true ELSA Spirit for fresh members and those who knew it before 

were as always delighted by it in full measure. National 

drinks, national songs… Seizing an opportunity in this context 

I thank my lucky stars for such an unforgettable celebration of 

my birthday with old and just acquired friends! 

The ELSA House Training Week left us all with a great deal of 

positive emotions and a strong sense of wanting more. But 

given the successful interaction of the academic and social in 

an environment filled with the patented ELSA spirit starting already 

at the arrival gate of the airport – who could really have 

expected anything else? 


Giedre Jokubauskaite 

President 


Baltic Trainings 2007 - Learning by Doing 

This overview about the Baltic Trainings 2007 definitely needs 

to be started with a little background about what happened in 

2006. So that year ELSA Lithuania for the first time applied for 

a grant within the EU program “Youth” and got the sponsorship 

for a regional training course based on so called non-formal 

education. The major focus of the trainings was Human Rights 

and higher understanding of it among ELSA members. The 

idea of that training course was to combine the Human Rights 

education methodology with ELSA’s current Human Rights experience 

and to facilitate Human Rights-related activities within 

our network. So after the trainings in 2006, some of the goals 

were reached, some maybe not, but during the evaluation it 

was clearly summed up that this was a kind of event that needed 

to be continued. Therefore, this year’s Baltic Trainings was 

definitely “learning by doing” – firstly, the methodology used in 

the trainings was once again based on this principle, secondly, 

the trainings itself were developed by looking at the previous 

year’s experience and trying to avoid the mistakes that were 

made then. 

Before we go on into the specific features of this event, just 

a short introduction to it is that this year it was the training 

course that gathered participants from 5 countries of the so 

called “Baltic region”. There were in total 35 ELSA members 

from Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Poland and Finland. The project 

was once again sponsored by the EU program “Youth” and 

lasted for 7 days in total. The major focus was also Human 

Rights, but this time the subtitle of the trainings was “Essence 

of the lawyer – HR”, meaning that the angle from which the 

issue was approached was slightly different. 

So facing that the previous training course was not perfect, 

the organising committee actually started with brainstorming 

what needed to be developed and what actually was not as 

efficient as hoped for. It was indicated that as all of the participants 

were lawyers and ELSA is a very specific organisation, 

the issue had to be addressed in more specific means 

than only regular simulations that were dominant last year. 

Therefore, firstly this year it was decided to add more legal 

information, methods only relevant for lawyers, more theory 

and hard data so that the discussions and learning would not 

only be based on the personal experience, but also on some 

input provided. One of the trainers was a lawyer working in 

the field of Human Rights, a section was also given to prof. Ch. 

Woolfson, and it was constructed more as a lecture rather then 

trainings. In other words, what we understood from our last 

year’s experience was that lawyers need some data to work 

on, especially when it’s related to Human Rights, and not only 

their own perception. On the other hand, the second thing that 

was different – the simulations that were used in the course, 

were aiming not only to facilitate the participants’ critical thinking, 

but also their emotional understanding of Human Rights. 

During the course, participants were given the roles of rich and 

poor, they had to fulfill a multitask that was rather challenging 

and maybe even hard to justify for some, they even had to go 

through a long, tiring and as many thought – boring – excursion 

to the tartar community that aimed to show the everyday life 

of minorities and brought a lot of negative emotions to many 

people. All in all, the first type of means (Human Rights theory, 

data, lectures and etc.) was aiming to provide some knowledge, 

understanding about major Human Rights issues (which is essential 

if conducting Human Rights-related activities) and the 

second type (not always pleasant, emotional simulations) was 

aiming to develop the participants’ soft skills (especially critical 

thinking) and a deeper understanding about what Human Rights 

is actually all about. 

In other words, the whole training course this year was based 

on the understanding that Human Rights is a very complex, 

wide issue that needs to be addressed from different angles. 

And that although it is really easy to say that Human Rights 

need to be addressed, what is even more important is to understand 

WHY is it actually needed, and what specifically WE, 

as lawyers, can do so to protect them. One of the trainers 

– Justina – who is currently working as a social worker, was 

always using a possibility to say “I am the only non-lawyer 

here, so let me tell you my opinion…”. And this opinion was 

probably not always according to what the majority of us would 

have thought and it was not always easy to handle. But what 

she stressed many times was the fact that ELSA is a young 

LAWYERS’ organisation, therefore it has a lot of possibilities, 

specific means, and – as she liked saying – a privileged position 

– to defend Human Rights. Everyone agreed that one of 

the examples that very much fitted to what she wanted to say 

was the Courts’ monitoring project that is currently conducted 

in Ukraine. This project is one of those that probably no other 

association in Europe can conduct, because it requires specific 

legal knowledge which we, as law students and young lawyers, 

have. So the red line going through the whole training course 

was how can specifically ELSA, and at the same time a single 

lawyer contribute to the protection of Human Right issues and 

improvement of the current situation. 

All in all, it is hard to say if the training was really that “Great 

success” as the organisers aimed for, but the fact is that only 

having these issues in the air for seven days already made at 

least a little step towards the greater understanding of ELSA. 


Trainings

Internal 

Meetings 


President 


Statutory Meetings of ELSA - Melting Pots of Ideas, 

Proposals, Discussions, Networking and Fun 

Throughout the year there are several statutory meetings organised 

in the ELSA Network. On international level, the main 

meetings are the two International Council Meetings (ICM) 

organised in autumn and spring every year. This is the highest 

decision making body of ELSA where all the National Groups 

gather to vote on proposals and elect a new International 

Board. There are also two International Presidents’ Meetings 

(IPM) organised in winter and summer every year where National 

Presidents gather and engage in more in-depth discussions 

on topics of relevance for the governance of ELSA 

and prepare proposals for the upcoming ICM. In addition to 

this there is also the International STEP Meeting (ISM) where 

national and local STEP officers gather to discuss solutions 

and improvements of the trainee exchange programme. All 

of these international statutory meetings are co-organised by 

a hosting National or Local Group which stands for accom- 

Martin Žižka 

Member 

ICM Prague Organising Committee 

modation, venue, logistics, social programme etc. and the 

International Board which stands for the actual meeting contents, 

working materials, agendas etc. Local and ational ELSA 

groups also organise statutory meetings in accordance with 

the internal regulations of ELSA. At the universities the Local 

Groups organise Local Council Meetings (LCM) and at the 

national level the National Groups organise National Council 

Meetings (NCM). The Local and National Council Meetings 

are often organised at least once per year but often twice a 

year. 

Below follows reports from two International Council Meetings, 

two International Presidents’ Meetings, one National 

Council Meeting and one Local Council Meeting organised in 

2006/2007. 

Organising an International Council Meeting 

- Challenges and Experiences from ICM Prague 

In the spring of 2007, ELSA Czech Republic had the pleasure 

to organise the 51st International Council Meeting of ELSA. 

The event was one of the biggest ICMs in the whole history 

of ELSA. Approximately 300 participants took part in the event 

and were all well taken care of by the Organising Committee 

consisting of 20 members of ELSA Czech Republic. 

We tried to present Prague as the city of many faces, so we 

placed the different happenings during the ICM in various 

parts of Prague. Accommodation, the Opening Plenary, and 

some of the Workshops took place in Orea Pyramida Hotel. 

Later on in the week, the Workshops took place in the Rectorate 

of Charles University and at Allen & Overy’s Offices - two 

of the main partners of ELSA Czech Republic. Moreover, the 

Final Plenary was held in the Faculty of Law of Charles University, 

which is one of the oldest in Mid-Europe. Together with 

all this, a varied social programme was organised in some of 

the many famous nightclubs of Prague. 

However, not only the location was a good reason for attending 

the ICM. Participants could watch and participate in 

discussions concerning the future of the biggest independent 

association for law students in the world. The participants 

shared ideas and experience from their work and discussed 

how to develop interesting projects, actions, documents. 

Many of the participants also took part in trainings were they 

could learn to develop their own personal skills. 

Esra Ersoy 



Next to taking part in the Workshops and Plenaries, the participants 

also related amongst each other, met many interesting 

people, made many new friendships and shared ideas of potential 

cooperations. The ICMs are the highest decision making body of 

ELSA where all National Groups of ELSA can participate. The ICMs 

are therefore also an ideal place to plan bilateral study visits, to 

compare plans and reports with other National Groups and build 

international cooperation. One can say that this is the core of 

ELSA, and the best place to experience it is at the ICMs. 

It was for us, the Organising Committee, a hard and difficult mission 

to fulfil all the expectations of the participants. However, we 

hope we completed the task successfully. It took a lot of effort 

to ensure the coordination, the planning of the whole event, as 

well as to ensure the smooth running of the event in the end. 

Nevertheless, the knowledge I gained through organising such 

a magnificent event was more than an experience. It was also 

a great test for ELSA Czech Republic and our acquaintance with 

the ELSA Network. 

To make the event a success we took part in planning courses 

and worked shoulder to shoulder with ELSA Czech Republic’s 

Partners in order to make an unforgettable ICM. It was a great 

pleasure to see the involvement from our Partners before and 

during the ICM, and to see their concern about how the organising 

was going. I would therefore like to give them a huge thank 

you for their support. It was a pleasure being a member of the 

Organising Committee for the ICM Prague 2007. 


Assel Meiramgaliyeva 

President 

ELSA Kazakhstan 

The 51st International Council Meeting in Prague, 

Czech Republic, 25th of March - 1st of April 2007 

Each year, in spring and autumn, in different cities of Europe, 

namely in the member states of the European Law Students` 

Association, the biggest events in the organisation are taking 

place – the International Council Meetings (ICM). 

This year, from the 25th of March until the 1st of April the 51st 

ICM was held in the historical, cultural, and very beautiful 

capital of the Czech Republic - Prague. This ICM was very significant 

and important in activity for ELSA Kazakhstan, especially 

for the National Board 2006/2007 of ELSA Kazakhstan. 

Some of the board members had already attended ICMs, but 

now for the first time as the members of the National Board. 

The National Board 2006/2007 of ELSA Kazakhstan consists only 

of four members and three of them participated at the ICM. They 

were: the Vice President Seminars & Conferences - Maral Omarbayeva; 

the Vice President Marketing - Gaukhar Mukankyzy and 

the President of ELSA Kazakhstan - Assel Meiramgaliyeva. Also, 

three of our Directors from one of our Local Groups participated: 

the Director for Seminars & Conferences of ELSA Almaty - Assel 

Kopbossyn; the Director for Academic Activities of ELSA Almaty 

- Azamat Shambilov; and the Director for Marketing of ELSA 

Almaty - Galiya Zharilkassymova. 

Each delegate from ELSA Kazakhstan took part in Workshops, 

appropriate to their posts, where everyone tried to participate 

actively in discussions and to represent interests of our 

National Group. During the Workshops different topics such 

as the Core values of ELSA, State of the Network Reports, 

International Focus Programme, Market Research, the ELSA 

Network, Fundraising, and so forth were discussed. 

During this ICM there were also arranged presentations by 

the alumni association of ELSA - the ELSA Lawyers Society 

(ELS), as well as by one of the Corporate Partners of ELSA 

International - TransLegal/Cambridge International Legal 

English Certificate (ILEC) where everyone could receive more 

information on how each National or Local Group could benefit 

from the cooperation with ELSA. 

The participants at the ICM could also take part in trainings 

held by the best trainers in the ELSA Network - the International 

Trainers` Pool, as well as from external trainers coming 

from among others Allen & Overy. The trainings focused on 

topics stretching from Fundraising, Teambuilding, Presentation 

Skills, to Planning of an event. 

During this ICM, our delegation learned more about the opportunities 

to use support programmes such as the ELSA 

Development Found, the International Trainers` Pool, and 

others. The knowledge on these programmes have already 

given results, were the clearest one is the visit from a trainer 

from the International Trainers’ Pool – Ms. Maria Moguilnaya 

at the XIV National Council meeting of ELSA Kazakhstan. The 

trainings she held during our National Council Meeting have 

deepened our knowledge about ELSA and we hope that this 

will help us improve our association even more. 

In general, participating at the ICM has strengthened the 

interrelations between our National Group, the International 

Board of ELSA, with other National Groups, and with the 

whole ELSA Network. The participation have also given us 

better knowledge in cultural diversity, about how an international 

organisation works and has given us even more motivation 

to work for ELSA. 

Your s faithfully, 

Assel Meiramgaliyeva 


Internal 

Meetings

Internal 

Meetings 

Antti Husa 

President 


ICM Alanya Autumn 2006 - A Life Changing 

Experience 

Before I attended my very first ICM, which took place in the 

beautiful city of Alanya, I was a fresh and inexperienced law 

student that had just started his studies in order to once become 

a real lawyer. I had studied one year before my first 

ICM, but I didn’t really know what kind of work lawyers actually 

do in real life. I was also very inexperienced with ELSA 

and everything related to it. I had been elected as the treasurer 

of ELSA Finland just a few months earlier, but I still 

didn’t know the whole scope of the association. 

I arrived to Alanya alone, one day before rest of my Finnish 

delegation. I was very excited – after all this was my first “real 

trip” that I was doing alone. From the very moment I came 

to our accommodation, I knew that I had arrived to the right 

place for me and for my development both as a person and 

as a future lawyer. I met lots of new wonderful people already 

during my first day and really felt that I was part of something 

good and useful both for me and for law students in general. 

After my first impressions I started to get used to every-day 

life of member of ELSA in an ICM. You wake up at 8 AM, had 

a quick breakfast, went to workshops and stayed there until 

6 PM something, having fantastic, educating and creative 

conversations with people that really stand behind their association 

and believe to the same thing – a just world in which 

there is respect for human dignity and cultural diversity. I was 

really amazed that every single person, regardless of their 

name, gender or nationality believed all that while educating 

ourselves and our fellow students we can really make 

something big and bring some major improvements to our 

society. 

Naturally I must also mention that it was such a pleasure to 

spend also evenings with these wonderful people. I was also 

positively surprised to see so many ELS-members – people 

who had some day been active ELSA members and who were 

now successful lawyers – having fun with us and being still 

passionately interested in all topics that were concerning our 

association. That is also a good and remarkable sign of the 

involvement that people have towards ELSA. 

After my experience I soon became president of ELSA Finland, 

and now I’m trying to share my experiences with Finnish 

law students and offer them new international views to their 

studies. Moreover, ICM Alanya really changed my way of living. 

I learned to respect my studies even more than before 

and learned that internationality is really a touchable and fascinating 

thing in all legal systems. 

The best thing was however to meet so many wonderful 

people who are internationally minded and are open to other 

nationalities with enormous appetite to become familiar with 

different cultures and different people all over the world. I 

really hope that these people will be part of my life for a long 

time even after my studies. Because I know that they know 

who they are - they are from ELSA, the biggest independent 

law students’ association of the world. I sincerely wouldn’t 

give away even one single day from my wonderful chain of 

experiences with ELSA. This is really something that I will 

remember for the rest of my life. 


Yuriy Mukhin 

President 

ELSA Ukraine 

The International Presidents’ Meeting in Toulon, 

January 2007 

On 31st of January 2007 the sunshine of fabulous French 

Riviera welcomed 24 participants of XXXIV International 

Presidents’ Meeting (IPM). The President of ELSA International, 

presidents and their successors from 14 ELSA National 

Groups, one Group Observer and aspiring for membership in 

ELSA “Law Students’ Association Albania” gathered in Toulon, 

France in order to discuss the most topical issues of ELSA 

development. 

An IPM is a meeting of presidents of ELSA groups, which 

take place in January and in August. It is an excellent forum 

to expand and follow up on the discussions that took place 

during the last International Council Meeting (ICM), as well as 

anticipate and find solutions for contentious matters that may 

arise during the forthcoming ICM. Furthermore the IPM can 

make proposals to the Council. 

The State of the Network Report (SOTN Report) was the 

first touched upon issue during the IPM Toulon. This tool 

was introduced at the ICM Alanya and consists in filling 

in inquiries in different areas by National Groups. As an 

outcome of the presented SOTN Report evaluation the IPM 

made 2 recommendations to the International Board (IB) 

and 1 Statement for the Council. It was decided to recommend 

the IB to introduce a “Welcome Package” as guidance 

for newly elected National Boards by addressing any weaknesses 

that could have arisen as a result of their transition. 

Furthermore, for the sake of transparency it was proposed 

to introduce a colour-coding system where information in 

the Report would be presented geographically. Finally, the 

IMP made a statement for the Council concerning the language 

of trainings in the Network. 

After a half time evaluation of One Year Operational Plan of 

ELSA International, the participants proceeded with so-called 

“Buddy System”. The idea of regulating a system, according 

to which more developed National Groups would help less developed 

Groups to further their aspirations, was discussed at 

different levels of ELSA for years. The IPM Toulon was called 

finally to define whether any National Group would come with 

an initiative to regulate Buddy system at the forthcoming ICM 

Prague or not. After a heated discussion with plenty of “pro” 

and “contra” arguments, 5 National Groups decided to create 

a working group, which would present a proposal of Buddy 

system regulation before the Council in Prague. 

Further on, the participants discussed issues of fundraising 

on international level and how local and national groups 

could be involved in this process. Then, the IPM Toulon 

recommended the International Board to create an international 

working group on Strategic planning. During the last 

day, ELSA Poland presented their Market research, conducted 

together with international market research company 

“Ipsos” and, finally, ELSA Warsaw was elected as the 

next IPM Host. 

In addition to fruitful, efficient and sometimes heated discussions, 

the Organising Committee of the IPM lead by Guillaume 

Lesage, President of ELSA France organised a Press 

Conference with distinguished guests: 

• Laroussi OUESLATI, Regional Council deputy, Professor 

and Rector of the “Universite du Sud Toulon-Var” 

• Thierry Di MANNO - Dean of Law faculty, Professor, 

Member of the Ph.D. examining board of the French Constitutional 

Council. 

• Jean BOMBIN – Vice-President of the Departmental 

Council, President of the European Commission of this Council, 

Vice-President of the Association Arc-Latin. 

Without any doubt, the IPM Toulon was one of the most fruitful, 

constructive and remarkable ELSA events in 2007. 


Internal 

Meetings

Internal 

Meetings 

Matthias Stauffacher 

President 

ELSA Switzerland 

The International Presidents’ Meeting in Budapest, 

August 2006 

The XXXIII International Presidents’ Meeting (IPM) this year 

took place from the 7th to the 11th of August in the beautiful 

capital of Hungary, Budapest. The head of the OC and 

responsible for the organisation was Ákos Cserháti from ELSA 

Hungary. Among the 29 participants were the former President 

of ELSA International, Josefin Bjorklund, as well as the 

new President, Christopher Carlson and the Presidents from 15 

member countries. For many countries the Summer IPM is an 

opportunity for the incoming and the outgoing Presidents to 

attend together as a part of their individual transitions. 

One of the first topics discussed during the IPM was the financial 

Situation of ELSA International. Christopher updated the Presidents 

on the current approaches and on planned approaches 

during term in office. The participants could ask questions about 

ongoing partnerships. One of the ideas was to involve the network 

in general more in ELSA International’s cooperations. Then 

the National Groups updated each other on their own financial 

situation, exchanged ideas and experiences. 

The agenda continued with the evaluation of the One Year Operational 

Plan (OYOP) 2005/ 2006. The One Year Operational 

Plan is drafted every year by the new International Board and 

should serve the network as well as the International Board 

as a guideline for the upcoming year. This was followed by 

the presentation of the new OYOP 2006/2007. There were intense 

discussions on the OYOP, since this OYOP was a bit different 

than the ones before. The presidents thought it’s more 

a strategic plan and not an operational plan and they had 

long discussion on planning in general and how this should be 

done in the best way for our organisation. 

ELSA International also presented the ideas of a new online 

system and the participants were asked to give inputs for this 

project. The new online system should include a new website 

and a more efficient administration for the Student Trainee 

Exchange Program, STEP. Some countries raised the idea to 

only have one website for all the National and Local Groups 

and to try to unify their efforts for this project. 

Other issues during this IPM were the planning for the next 

issue of our annual moot court competition EMC2, the introduction 

of an annual report for ELSA International and the 

planning for the upcoming ICM in Alanya, Turkey. 

The Presidents’ Meeting is a very important meeting in the 

ELSA calendar and for most Presidents it’s their first international 

meeting. It is smaller than the ICM and allows the 

participants to better get in touch with each other, to start 

initiatives and proposals and to forward them to the ICM. 

Together with a fantastic social program organised by ELSA 

Budapest and ELSA Hungary, the IPM was a great start for 

our network for this upcoming ELSA year. 


Manuel Bader 

President 


The National Council Meeting of ELSA Switzerland, 

April 2007 

The National Council Meeting of ELSA Switzerland took place in 

St. Gallen, a city with about 75’000 inhabitants in the eastern 

part of the country. Beside the very famous School for Business 

Management there is also a law school and of course ELSA. 

The Local Group ELSA St.Gallen organised the Council Meeting 

2007 in cooperation with the National Board 2006/2007 

and made the National Council Meeting an unforgettable success. 

The participants were welcomed on the 28th of April, 

with a large apero in a nice Park of the University, in the 

shades of some trees. Representatives of all 9 Local Groups 

of the Swiss ELSA network gathered at the apero. 

During the Council meeting a new National Board consisting 

of six people was elected, which was a success as the 

last National Board consisted of only four members. Every 

candidate had a good ELSA background, some of them were 

presidents in their Local Groups, others very successful STEPers. 

Moreover, nearly all the Local Groups are represented in 

the new National Board: ELSA Neuchâtel, ELSA St. Gallen, 

ELSA Zurich, ELSA Berne and ELSA Lucerne. And as a country 

with four official languages we are proud to have the French 

Rui Miguel Macedo 

President 

ELSA Faculdade de Direito de Lisboa 

speaking part represented in the new Board for the second 

year in a row. 

After the elections and usual procedures we had long and fruitful 

discussions about our new website (www.elsa-switzerland. 

org). We mainly discussed about the improvements which could 

and should be made and all the Local Groups gave their inputs. 

Furthermore, we discussed about the partners of ELSA Switzerland 

(KPMG Switzerland, Schellenberg Wittmer, Schulthess) 

and Sponsors of ELSA International, especially Translegal. The 

National Board 2006/2007 informed about the status quo of the 

relationships with our partners and how new contracts should 

be stipulated in the near future. Another important issue was 

the implementation of the French version of the statutes of 

ELSA Switzerland. As French is the second official language of 

ELSA Switzerland it was high time to implement them, which 

was done with success. 

All in all the National Council Meeting was a success. The 

communication between the different local groups and the 

national group was strengthened and all groups were looking 

forward to the next national council meeting. 

The Local Council Meeting of ELSA Faculdade de Direito 

de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal, May 2007 

On the 23rd May, the Council Meeting was initiated by revising 

the list of members present and able to vote. Further, 

the Final Accounts and the Activity Reports were presented 

followed by the Supervisory Board’s Report (both on the Accounts 

and Activity Reports). These were immediately voted 

upon and approved with 34 (thirty four) votes in favour, no 

abstentions and no votes against. 

On the 24th of May an Open Debate was held in Lisbon’s 

Law School premises, with ELSA members and non-members, 

whose theme was “ELSA and STEP: an European C.V.?”. 

The invited speakers were: Sofia Amaral (Office of the Portuguse 

Minister of Labour and Social Security, former Secretary-General 

of ELSA International, ITP Trainer), Tiago Mayan 

Gonçalves (in-house Lawyer, former board member of ELSA 

Portugal and ELS Executive Officer), João Ferreira Martins 

(Diplomat, former President of ELSA Portugal and ELS National 

Representative) and Tiago Moreira Alves (Lawyer, former 

Secretary-General of ELSA International and ITP Trainer). In 

Chantal Matyassy 



this event a large number of students (ranging from 1st to 5th 

year) were present aiming to understand the importance of 

ELSA, its goals, aims and objectives, as well as the possible 

impact in their future professional life. 

Finally, on the 25th May, the Local Council Meeting resumed, 

having as sole item on the Agenda the elections for the Chairmen 

and the Local Board. Firstly, the Chairmen presented 

their candidatures and were instantly voted upon, resulting 

in their election by 42 (forty-two) votes in favour, no abstentions 

and no votes against. They immediately started their 

term in office. Their first act was then to preside over the 

election of the Local Board. There were candidates for every 

position, yet none of them was disputed. Following their respective 

presentations and question and answer periods, the 

Chairmen proceeded to the election itself. Finally, the Chairmen 

concluded the proceedings and, subsequently, officially 

declared the end of Local Council Meeting of ELSA Faculdade 

de Direito de Lisboa. 


Internal 

Meetings

Anniversary 

Dr. Attila Tárkány Szücs 

Founder 

ELSA 

25th Anniversary of the European Law Students’ 

Association - Rewriting ELSA History 

For all of us founders the story started at different times before 

the foundation. Budapest and Vienna had bilateral student 

projects. During one of the meetings with Ernst Wurz, Chairman 

of the Austrian Student Organisation, Studentenschaft, 

and later ELSA founder, I informed him about my anticipation 

to broaden networks on the level of law students in Europe and 

set up a network of law faculties in nearby countries to give a 

chance for law students go international in a more and more 

international world. I also presented this idea to the University 

and the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Law supported the idea, 

as well as the idea of student self-government, so I started to 

roll out that network. Soon there were conferences in Budapest 

with law students from Berlin, Prague, Kiel, Moscow, Novi Sad, 

Vienna and Warsaw. 

Foundation of ELSA in Vienna 1981 Four founders at the Anniversary ICM in London 2006 Council Meeting plenary 25 years ago 

It happened that Ernst participated in a conference of Christ 

Democratic Law Students in Portugal in the summer of 1979, 

where the actual idea of ELSA was born. With his German colleague 

Jürgen Sattler, later also ELSA founder, they elaborated 

on the idea of a multinational, non-partisan, non-profit law student 

organisation. Ernst proposed Jürgen to get also Hungarians 

in, and wanted Jürgen to meet his Hungarian counterpart, in 

fact, me. Ernst could not give my full name, or address, or a 

phone number; so Jürgen only knew that he needs to meet “Attila 

in Budapest”. It was – beyond Jürgen’s extraordinary talents 

– a series of unbelievable accidents that we could meet. Despite 

vacation time I was doing some papers at the Faculty of Law and 

after an unbelievable ten minutes research record of Jürgen, we 

could have a goulash and a couple of beers in a student pub 

nearby. We needed another ten minutes to become friends for 

life, and carry on with the idea of ELSA. 

Later on I proposed also to get into the loop my counterpart 

in Warsaw, Wojciech Kostrzewa, a well-known activist of the 

Solidarity Student Movement and later ELSA founder. I knew 

Wojciech from the bilateral co-operation between the University 

of Budapest and the “Sientific Working Circle” (“Kolo Naukowe 

Prawnikow” or KNP) in Warsaw. 

Wojciech immediately supported the idea, but not that much 

his student organisation, which was still mostly commanded 

by the Communists. But despite all arguments and hassles, 

Poland became full founding member, while Hungary signed 

up as an observer founder of ELSA. And so, on the 4 May 

1981, in Vienna, the traditional place of multilateral agreements, 

cooperation of Eastern and Western countries, the 

foundation took place with the signatures of us. 

For all founders it was an invaluable and non-negotiable condition 

for the organisation, that it is a non-political, professional 

organisation of law students, which position had to be defended 

heavily from attacks of diverse national party junior organisations 

– we never let an inch from this basic agreement, because 

the organisation would have had exploded immediately. 

Once, in a deep and aggressive argument with Scandinavian 

students I told at the Council Meeting, that if this course stays, 

I will leave the organisation – and that was the final argument, 

the dispute was closed down forever. 

I am proud if I ask my attorney colleagues in other countries if 

they know ELSA and they explain to me what role they play 

in local ELSA organisations, what plans they have and how ELSA 

work will be an excellent reference for a good job – in the majority 

of the cases I do not even mention that I have close relationship 

with ELSA, I just take a deep breath and look through the 

window with a certain warm feeling in my hearth. 

Thank you all for your care and attention while we were in 

London at the Anniversary International Council Meeting in 

March 2006. It was our pleasure and privilege to be with ELSA 

on this very special occasion. We are proud of what ELSA has 

accomplished, we are proud of the excellent programmes, 

organisation and activities, synergies and outreach, but, at 

the bottom line we are proud of you all to carry out our vision. 

Thank you for not having forgotten us! 

ELSA is not a kid anymore; it is a beautiful and meaningful 

citizen of every member country. Please, be sure that the 

founders’ hearts are always with you – but the future is on 

you. We all are proud of you, we will continue to keep our 

fingers crossed for ELSA, and celebrate with you all. We are 

proud of your achievements, your dedication and the care 

you have given to develop the organisation. 

God bless you and ELSA! 

(The original five founders were: Michael Goldinger from Austria, 

Wojciech Kostrzewa from Poland, Attila Tárkány Szücs 

from Hungary, Jürgen Sattler from Germany and Ernst Wurz 

from Austria.) 


Maria Mogilnaya 

Director for the 25th Anniversary 


25th Anniversary of the European Law Students’ 

Association - ELSA Creates Friends for Life 

Finding the ELSA founders was one of my tasks as Director 

for the 25th Anniversary. It was and is a well-known fact that 

there were five founders and that they were from Austria, 

Hungary, Poland and West Germany. But that was almost everything 

known about them. After several phone calls to ELS 

members and thorough research on the Internet I managed 

to get those important phone numbers and e-mail addresses 

which made me one step closer to getting in contact with 

those whose idea became reality in 1981 and whose dream 

we live today. 

Jürgen Sattler, one of ELSA founders, believes that ELSA was 

and is a “great idea and it helped to get to know Europe”. ELSA 

has created, creates and hopefully will create numerous opportunities 

to see the whole Europe and learn not only about 

European legal system but also about different cultures. The 

main idea for celebrating the 25th Anniversary was to create 

opportunities for many ELSA members to participate in ELSA 

activities, feel themselves a part of the great Network, spread 

the ELSA Spirit and celebrate together! 

The whole Network went “beyond borders” to celebrate the 

Anniversary of our Association. The Anniversary International 

Legal Research Group, the Anniversary issue of SPEL, the series 

of events “25 Years of…”, the Anniversary related topic of 

International Focus Programme (IFP), numerous Anniversary 

Gala Balls, the Anniversary Cocktail in Brussels, ELSA’s Birthday 

Parties in different parts of Europe… You name it! 

But there was one evening in the year of 2006 which will 

hopefully forever stay in the memories of those ELSA members 

who had a lucky chance of attending it. ELSA Founders’ 

Reception organised by His Excellency Béla Szombati, Ambassador 

of the Republic of Hungary in the UK was held in 

the Hungarian Embassy in London on 23 March 2006. Those 

who were delegated to represent their National Groups at this 

event will remember funny stories and toasts made by ELSA 

founders, the one in a lifetime opportunity to meet those who 

stood behind ELSA creation, talk to them and have some famous 

Tokaji wine with. 

Margus Poola from ELSA Estonia remembers: “For me meeting 

the founders of ELSA and hearing their stories about the 

first days of ELSA was truly inspirational. The fact that at 

the time when Europe was divided into two wholly different 

worlds, it was possible to found an organisation that truly 

developed international co-operation is exceptional. It really 

reminds us what ELSA is all about. It reminds us that ELSA 

is not about fancy hotels or glamorous events but it is about 

creating a truly international community of law students and 

young lawyers and offering every law student an opportunity 

to participate – something that is easy to forget in this changing 

world, that offers lots of possibilities for us. The founders’ 

stories about how they smuggled forbidden books into 

socialist countries and discussed forbidden topics, topics they 

felt needed to be discussed, and how they sometimes went 

through a lot of trouble to attend ELSA events shows that the 

founders were really dedicated in trying to create an international 

forum for law students.” 

It is true that meeting ELSA founders was very inspirational 

for all ELSA members in London. It also gave an opportunity 

to go 25 years back and see how and why ELSA was established 

and learn from that experience. In the last 25 years 

ELSA founders became professionals in their field, but they 

never forgot about ELSA and are still with it by being members 

of ELS. 

The first ELSA founder from Austria – Mag. Michael Goldinger 

– is now in charge of FIPRA Austria, part of FIPRA Group 

– Europe’s leading communications consultancy specialising 

in advice on political and regulatory issues. Dr. Ernst Wurz, 

the second ELSA founder from Austria, is now the President 

of Waldviertel Akademie. The ELSA founder from West Germany 

- Jürgen Sattler – has set up Rechtsanwälte Sattler und 

Kollegen in Rostock. Wojciech Kostrzewa, the ELSA founder 

from Poland, graduated with degree in economics and now 

is the President and CEO of ITI Group, leading Polish media 

and entertainment group. The ELSA founder from Hungary 

– Dr. Attila Tárkány Szücs – became the Leading Attorney of 

Microsoft Hungary. They all got high positions, but they never 

stopped being friends. 

Reception with the ELSA founders at the Hungarian Embassy in 

London during the Anniversary ICM in London 2006 

Here I would like to quote Eero Rautalahti, founder of ELSA 

Finland and Secretary General ELSA International 1983-1985, 

- “the time and energy devoted in organisations like ELSA 

gives a three-fold reward: you have good time, you make 

friends for life and it certainly does not harm your professional 

career later on”. So let us make friends for life with ELSA! 


Anniversary

1981 

The idea of ELSA as pan-European law students’ organisation 

is being discussed since 1979. The plan is to found an umbrella 

organisat¬ion for law student organisations in Europe similar to 

AIESEC of the students of economy or IFMSA of the students 

of medicine. No such European organisation for law students 

exists since 1969 when IFZS (International Federation of Law 

Students) ceased its activities. 

The official foundation of ELSA 

takes place in the Hotel Regina 

in Vienna (Austria) on 4 May 1981. 

The ELSA Network consists of 4 

countries: Austria, Hungary, 

Poland and West Germany. 

The first Board of ELSA includes Ernst Wurz (Austria) as President, 

Jürgen Sattler (West Germany) as Vice-President and 

Wojciech Kostrzewa (Poland) as Board Member. 

1981 1982 198 19 

1997 

1982 

The first ELSA seminar takes 

place in Tannenfelde (Germany) 

on 22 February 1982. At the same 

time the Council Meeting is held 

where ELSA is faced with severe 

crisis on the question of political 

involvement of the organisation 

and developing it as organisation 

of conservative law students. 

However, it takes longer to solve 

the internal problems and only at 

the Council Meeting in Copenhagen 

(Denmark) in August 1982 

the tendencies for mainly conservative 

ELSA are not accepted and 

the organisation remains totally 

non-political and scientific. 

1996 

15th Anniversary ICMs take place in Cracow (Poland) in March 1996 and in Istanbul (Turkey) in October 

1996; however, the official celebrations of the 15th Anniversary of ELSA take place in Bled, Slovenia. 

ELSA Network consists of 38 countries: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, 

Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, 

Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, 

Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Yugoslavia. 

The ELSA House Summer Programme is created and the first edition takes places in summer 1996. 

The International Focus Programme facilitates ELSA’s involvement with UNESCO in promoting legal 

education which results in two important conferences on legal education. The first conference is held in 

Oxford (United Kingdom) in September 1996 and is widely acknowledged throughout the legal world. 

The follow-up conference is organised in Bologna (Italy) one and a half years later. 

ELSA members from 20 countries attend Study Visit to Japan in November 1996. One person from 

each ELSA country has an opportunity to participate in this trip by submitting an essay on the topic 

“The Role of Europe and Japan in the New World Order”. After this Study Visit a sister organisation 

called ALSA (Asian Law Students’ Association) is created in Tokyo by law students from Japan, Korea 

and Singapore. 

1997 

The topic of the International Focus Programme 

1997-1999 “The Law of Peace in the Year 2000 

– Current Violations and Effective Enforcement of 

International Law; The Reform of International Organisations” 

is set at the International Council Meeting 

in Prague (Czech Republic) in March 1997. 

First issue of ELSA SPEL (Selected Papers on European 

Law) is published in 1997. The new title of 

the ELSA Law Review brings not only new marketing 

and article-hunting strategies, but also more 

restricted content for the journal focusing on public 

European law, European integration and relations 

between the EU and the third countries in Europe. 

ELSA is granted Special Consultative Status with 

UN ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social 

Council) and Consultative Status with UNCITRAL 

(UN Commission on International Trade Law). 

“I send you every best wish on the 

twenty-fifth anniversary of the European 

Law Students’ Association. Your 

work in the advancing the education 

of law students and young lawyers 

over this last quarter century, in over 

thirty-five countries, has been remarkable. 

The European Union is a community 

built on law. An understanding 

of European law and a dialogue between 

lawyers on a continental scale 

are critical to our future. Members of 

the European Parliament salute the 

contribution you make and wish you 

every success in the future.” 

Hans-Gert 

Poettering 

President 

European 

Parliament 

198 

New ELSA Statutes are confirmed at the Council Meeting 

in Copenhagen (Denmark) in October 1983. This document 

contains a new set of principles and aims of organisation. 

The highest aims of ELSA are to increase contacts 

among lawyers and law students from various countries 

on both occupational and social basis and thereby increase 

understanding and co-operation between different 

countries. In order to achieve this ELSA uses 

inter¬national traineeship exchange, scientific seminars 

and exchange of scientific and organisational material 

(these are the prototypes of currently known three Key 

Areas – “Student Trainee Exchange Programme”, “Seminars 

and Conferences” and “Academic Activities”). 

1985 

The abbreviation STEP (Short-Term Exchange 

Programme) is born at the Council 

Meeting in Groningen (the Netherlands) in 

October 1985. The traineeship exchange 

programme, developed through the “Canadian 

Training Programme”, sees 13 trainees 

from 8 different countries sent to Canada in 

1984 and 1985. 

1984 

The first international ELSA office (one room) is situated in Oslo (Norway). 

“I am delighted to be able to mark twenty-five years of the European Law Students’ Association. 

I look forward to many more years promoting European law education amongst students and 

young lawyers and building the foundations for the effective application of European law.” 

José Manuel Barroso, President, European Commission 

1994 

ELSA is granted Consultative Status in Category C with UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and 

Cultural Organisation). ELSA also becomes a member of NGO Collective Consultation on Higher Education. 

The International Focus Programme (IFP) is introduced at the International Council Meeting in Malta in October 

1994. IFP is aimed to give a global dimension to the work of ELSA and present a specific theme, on which the 

entire ELSA Network could focus its efforts over a three-year period, providing a forum that allows continuity 

within ELSA, and setting a common focus to work towards. 

Clifford Chance is announced the first Corporate Partner of ELSA at the International Council Meeting in Malta in October 

1994. In the subsequent years, as Partners of ELSA act such well-known companies as PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 

Arthur Andersen (later known as AndersenLegal), Juriforum, KLegal, CMS, LexisNexis, Thomson, Microsoft, TransLegal, 

and Deloitte. ELSA also gets financial support from the European Commission at different years. 

1995 

The topic of the International Focus Programme 1995-1997 “A Just World – Legal 

Education, Law in Development and the New Role for Lawyers” is set at the International 

Council Meeting in Amsterdam (the Netherlands) in April 1995. 

The International Focus Programme facilitates ELSA’s involvement in the Coalition 

for the Establishment of an International Criminal Court (CICC) as a member of 

Steering Committee. This allows many ELSA members to participate in the Preparatory 

Committees at the United Nations in New York (USA). 

ELSA’s Commitment to Human Rights is introduced at the International Council 

Meeting in Nottingham (United Kingdom) in September 1995. This Council Meeting 

sees the longest Final Plenary ever: the Council Meeting is closed at 08:32 in the 

morning after having been in session for twenty-two and a half hours. 

1998 

The Organising Committee of the International 

Council Meeting in Heidelberg (Germany) in March 

1998 introduces a new tradition of having the Council 

Meeting mascot and presents to the Organising 

Committee of the International Council Meeting in 

Rome (Italy) a huge blue elephant, which was christened 

as Cesar. 

ELSA contributes towards the establishment of an 

International Criminal Court by attending the United 

Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries 

for the Establishment of the International 

Criminal Court in Rome (Italy) in July 1998. ELSA’s 

participation at this event gives Association a great 

recognition at international level. 

“The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) has, for some ten 

years now, invited the European Law Students’ Association to sessions of the Commission, as 

well as its intergovernmental Working Groups. A good number of ELSA members have been 

able to personally witness intergovernmental negotiations in the various areas where UNCITRAL 

is formulating rules governing international commerce. I hope that this kind of experience, in 

itself very useful for the future career of an internationally-minded young professional, will result, 

to a greater degree than thus far, in academic papers, conference presentations and published 

reports about the UNCITRAL experience. 

Jernej Sekolec I wish ELSA – an admirable international organization run by and for students – the best of success in 

Secretary its mission to support legal education, foster mutual understanding, promote social responsibility and 

UNCITRAL work for a just world in which there is respect for human dignity and cultural diversity.” 

The Commitment to Human Rights results in a series of ELSA Law 

Schools, which begins with the Arusha School on International 

Criminal Law and Human Rights with its first session held in Arusha 

(Tanzania) in November-December 1995. 

The “ELSA House” is rented in Brussels (Belgium) at the end of 

1995. This house serves both as ELSA office and a home for 

members of the International Board during their term in office. 

1999 

The International Focus Programme facilitates 

ELSA’s involvement in the Hague Appeal for Peace 

1999, a civil society movement that organises several 

events to celebrate the centennial of the First 

Hague International Peace Conference. 

ELSA and the Hague Appeal for Peace 1999 organise 

the joint conference on “The Power of Peace” 

in The Hague in May 1999. The conference brings 

together more than 8000 participants from around 

the world, including more than 100 law students 

from 20 countries. 

The ELSA House Summer Programme changes its 

name to ELSA House Training Week. 

The topic of the International Focus Programme 

2000-2002 “Information Society – The Legal Challenges: 

Application of New Technologies, Protection 

of Individuals and the Legislative Response” 

is set at the International Council Meeting in Malta 

in October 1999. 

1984 

1996 1994 199 

“My warmest congratulations to ELSA 

on its Silver Jubilee! May its next 25 

years be as successful as the past ones.” 

Dr Erkki Kourula 

Judge 

Appeals Division 

International Criminal Court 

“I congratulate the European Law Students’ 

Association on this important anniversary. 

Law is at the heart of what we 

do at the Council of Europe because law 

can be used either to support or to suppress 

the freedoms which we were set up 

to defend. ELSA has enjoyed a participatory 

status with the Council of Europe 

since 2000 and has made an important 

contribution to our common endeavour of 

building a Europe based on democracy, 

human rights and the rule of law. ” 

1998 1999 2000 

Terry Davis 


Council of Europe 

2000 

ELSA is granted Consultative Status (recently called 

Participatory Status) with the Council of Europe. 

The ELSA Development Fund is set up at the International 

Council Meeting in Warsaw (Poland) in 

March 2000. The aim of the fund is to overcome 

structural weaknesses in National Groups through 

methods like Development Project, On Site Assistance 

and Network Development. 

The International Trainers’ Pool (ITP) is established 

with a goal to support ELSA by providing training 

which develops and preserves knowledge within the 

Network. The idea is to have former active ELSA 

members as trainers to cover the needs across 

the geographical span of the Association. The first 

Train the Trainer Weekend (TTTW) takes place in 

Amsterdam (the Netherlands) in September 2000. 

Today the ITP consists of 37 trainers from 19 different 

countries. 


20

25 Years of ELSA - A Historical Timeline 

1986 

5th Anniversary Council Meetings are held in Vienna (Austria) in 

March 1986 and in Oslo (Norway) in October 1986. Five years after 

its foundation, the ELSA Network consists of 15 countries: Austria, 

Belgium, Denmark, England and Wales, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, 

Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, West 

Germany, Yugoslavia. 

85 1986 1987 1988 

199 

The first pilot issue of Guide to Legal Studies in Europe (GLSE) 

is published in 1993. The GLSE provides detailed information 

on courses of legal studies at undergraduate, postgraduate and 

doctorate levels offered by 300 universities in Europe; furthermore, 

it contains background information about the featured 

countries, their legal systems and professions and is the only 

publication of its kind. 

The Global Cooperation Agreement between ELSA and ILSA is 

signed in Washington, D.C. (USA) in April 1993. 

The first International STEP Meeting takes place in Groningen 

(the Netherlands) in September 1993. 

The permanent ELSA office is rented in Brussels (Belgium) at 

the end of 1993. 

1992 

ELSA’s Philosophy Statement with its vision, purpose and means is adopted at 

the International Council Meeting in Brussels (Belgium) in October 1992. The 

vision of ELSA - “A just world in which there is respect for human dignity and 

cultural diversity” - plays a major role in all of ELSA’s activities ever since. 

2001 

20th Anniversary International Council Meetings take place in Vienna (Austria) 

in March 2001 and in Coimbra (Portugal) in October-November 2001. 

ELSA Network consists of 40 countries: Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, 

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, 

Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, 

Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, 

Portugal, Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, 

Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Yugoslavia. 

The ELSA ONLINE, a website and internal administration system, is launched 

at the International Council Meeting in Vienna (Austria) in March 2001. 

2002 

1987 

The first issue of Synergy, international members’ magazine, is published 

in 1987. As advertised in one of the issues in 1993, “Synergy 

– is the key to the heart of more than 15 000 law students and young 

lawyers in 30 countries”. Since then it turns from black and white 

magazine into a full-colour high quality publication, informing ELSA 

members and externals regularly on developments in the Association. 

1991 

10th Anniversary International Council Meetings are held in Vienna 

(Austria) in March 1991 and in Stockholm (Sweden) in 

October 1991. Ten years after its foundation, the ELSA Network 

consists of 26 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, 

Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, 

Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, 

Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, 

Turkey, United Kingdom, Yugoslavia. 

The ELSA Lawyers’ Society (ELS) is established at the International 

Council Meeting in Vienna (Austria) in March 1991 by 50 

former ELSA members. 

“Book Bus” travels to Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia in 

September 1991 to hand over 700 English law textbooks donated 

by the legal publishers Sweet and Maxwell. This project is organised 

by ELSA Lawyers’ Society and sponsored by the Law Society 

of England and Wales. More “Book Bus” projects in other East- 

European countries are to follow in subsequent years. 

200 

ELSA and TopCareers agree to 

partner in nine European cities to 

promote each other’s organisations. 

ELSA benefits from access 

to leading international postgraduate 

institutions through the 

World Grad School Tour’s unique 

recruitment events facilitating 

one-on-one interaction with top 

graduate law programmes worldwide. 

ELSA is present at every 

European venue of the World 

Grad School Tour in October-November 

2003. 

1991 1990 

01 2002 

200 2004 

The first edition of the ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law (EMC²) is launched in 

September 2002. The aim of the Competition is both to encourage further development on the subject 

matter in the curriculum of academic institutions and also to contribute to the ongoing discussion about 

globalisation in the context of the WTO Agreements. The Competition with its Final Oral Round in Geneva 

(Switzerland) provides students with the opportunity to put theory into practice, thereby completing 

formal legal education. The World Trade Organization (WTO) acts as Technical Supporter of the EMC². 

ELSA creates Legal Research Group “Project on ICC National Implementation Legislation” (PINIL) to 

examine the conformity of national criminal laws with the Rome Statute. The objective is to carry 

out research which will facilitate a comparison of different European national implementation projects 

whether they have been completed or are ongoing. The research is based on a “framework” which consists 

of a detailed questionnaire comprising more than ninety very specific questions which will have to 

be answered in the country report. The country report for Albania, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Germany, 

Italy, Russia and United Kingdom are published in the Finnish Yearbook of International Law, Volume 

16, 2005 as the “Symposium on the Implementation Legislation of the Rome Statute of the International 

Criminal Court in Selected Countries”. 

The topic of the International Focus Programme 2003-2005 “Trade Law – A Way for Sustainable Development” 

is set at the International Council Meeting in Alanya (Turkey) in November 2002. 

“ELSA is exemplary of a dedicated generation of young people that thinks and 

acts globally, and which shares our belief in the importance of international 

law and rule-making. Over the years, it has been a great pleasure to help 

them with their WTO-related activities and we stand more than ready to do 

so in the future.” 

Bernard Kuiten, Counsellor 

External Relations Division, World Trade Organization 

1989 

The first issue of ELSA Law Review is published 

in 1989. ELSA Law Review is designed to provide 

law students and young lawyers with the possibility 

to publish their research papers in the areas of 

EC Law, Public and Private International Law and 

Comparative Law, at an international level. 

1990 

The ELSA Network grows fast and it becomes clear that 

two International Council Meetings are not enough for 

co-ordination and development of the Association. Thus 

in 1990 two extra International Presidents’ Meetings per 

year are introduced as statutory meetings thus creating 

a platform for further discussion and planning of ELSA 

development. 

The first visit of Soviet law students to ELSA takes place in 

Heidelberg (Germany) in December 1990. ELSA Germany, 

the Administration of Moscow State University, (the KGB), 

and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in 

Moscow all work together to make this trip possible. The 

result of the visit is the willingness of Soviet law students 

to set up ELSA in the USSR. 


1989 

“Promoting better understanding of legal practices and concepts of Intellectual 

Property, ELSA International contributes to sustain the growth of 

an Intellectual Property culture and actively shares the goals of the World 

Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).” 

Dr Kamil Idris 

Director General 

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) 

2005 

ELSA is granted Observer Status with the World Intellectual Property Organization 

(WIPO). 

The International Focus Programme (IFP) is abolished at the International 

Council Meeting in Vilnius (Lithuania) in April 2005 and is reintroduced at the 

International Council Meeting in Malta in October-November 2005. The new 

IFP is now the recommendation to the Network and not the obligation. 

The topic of the International Focus Programme 2006 “25 Years of Legal 

Development” is set at the International Council Meeting in Malta in October- 

November 2005. 


25th Anniversary International Council Meetings take place in London (United 

Kingdom) in March 2006 and in Alanya (Turkey) in November 2006. 

ELSA Network consists of 35 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech 

Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, 

Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, 

Poland, Portugal, Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, 

Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United 

Kingdom. 

ELSA celebrates its Silver Jubilee in the entire Network through the Anniversary 

International Legal Research Group, a series of events “25 Years of…”, Anniversary 

Gala Balls, Anniversary 

Cocktail in Brussels and other 

activities on local, national and 

international levels. 

The Final IFP Conference “25 

Years of Legal Development” 

takes place in Oslo (Norway) 

in December 2006. 

2005 


Anniversary

“25 Years of Legal Development” 

5th-9th December 2006 

Oslo, Norway 

This is a very special year and we in ELSA Oslo wanted 

to do something special to celebrate the Anniversary 

of ELSA. Some of us were not even born 25 years ago, 

and to be a part of a large organisation that has fostered 

mutual understanding and cultural diversity for 

25 years is a great feeling. 

“25 Years of Legal Diversity: Law beyond Borders” 

8th-12th May 2006 

Rotterdam, the Netherlands 

ELSA Rotterdam was re-established in 2004 and a big 

Anniversary Conference in our opinion was a perfect 

way for us to get back into the ELSA Network. It was 

a great experience for us and we really saw the cultural 

diversity of ELSA with 12 different nationalities 

present at our event. 

“25 Years of Millennium Development Goals” 

1 th March 2006 

Leiden, the Netherlands 

ELSA Leiden decided to contribute to this very special 

year by organising an Anniversary Seminar 

within the scope of the International Focus Programme 

“25 Years of Legal Development”. With our 

event we brought a focus onto the future, on how 

to survive the next 25 years… 

“25 Years of Human Rights Violation in the 

Baltic Region” 

20th April 2006 

Vilnius, Lithuania 

In Lithuania we thought it was very important to 

contribute to the Anniversary celebrations and we 

decided to organise a Conference on human rights 

and youth involvement in this area. The understanding 

that we are a part of 25 years of ELSA comes 

together with the wish to double this number. 

“25 Years of Environmental Law & Nuclear Power” 

28th- 0th June 2006 

Würzburg, Germany 

ELSA Würzburg decided to organise an Anniversary 

Conference because it was a good chance 

to reach a broader audience anywhere in Europe 

and we wanted to be a part of the special ELSA 

Anniversary. For us the 25th Anniversary of ELSA 

shows that a great idea has succeeded. We wish 

ELSA to steadily increase its scope, its members 

and its importance as it has done in the last 25 

years. 

“The Development of Environmental Law in the 

European Legislation within the Past 25 Years” 

15th-25th September 2006 

Iasi, Romania 

Organising an international Anniversary Law School 

seemed a good opportunity to bring ELSA Iasi a 

step further and make Romanian ELSA members 

understand that we are a part of a strong Network. 

There are a lot of people who believe in the values 

of ELSA regardless of cultural, economic or social 

differences. ELSA is the perfect way to show that 

law students really can work together! 

“25 Years of Discrimination Law: Guarantees 

and Legal Methods for Suppression” 

1st October – rd November 2006 

Mavrovo, Republic of Macedonia 

We set as the main objective of our Anniversary Conference 

to educate young people about the importance of 

eliminating and suppressing discrimination and to promote 

the egalitarianism, equality and the right of equal 

opportunities. This is how we see the ELSA vision. 

25 YEARS OF ELSA 

ELSA, founded by law students from Austria, Hungary, Poland and West Germany 

in Vienna on the 4th May 1981, is celebrated its 25th Anniversary in 

2006. ELSA is now the world’s largest independent law students’ association 

with a membership close to 30 000 law students and young lawyers in 36 European 

countries. ELSA celebrated its Silver Jubilee in the entire Network through 

a series of different activities at local, national and international level. 

ELSA Birthday Party 

4th May 2006 

Stockholm, Sweden 

Linklaters, a Legal Development Partner 

of ELSA Sweden hosted a lecture and an 

Anniversary Cocktail for Swedish ELSA 

members at their main office in Stockholm 

on 4th May 2006. The celebrations 

then continued with the Gala Ball at the 

National Council Meeting of ELSA Sweden 

in Uppsala on 6th May 2006. 



Kaliningrad, Russia 

The ELSA Birthday was celebrated by the 

participants of the International Conference 

“Development of Agriculture in the 

EU and Russia: Problems of Legal Regulation” 

which was organised by ELSA Kaliningrad. 

Participants raised a toast to ELSA’s 

Anniversary at the National Park “Curonian 

Spit” on the shores of the Baltic Sea! 



Porto, Portugal 

The official ELSA Birthday Party took place in 

Portugal, where the idea of ELSA was born 

more than a quarter of a century ago. ELSA 

members from all over the Network gathered 

in Porto for the Anniversary Gala Ball 

to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of ELSA 

together with corporate partners of ELSA, 

academics, alumni and other supporters. 



Bonn, Germany 

German ELSA members celebrated the ELSA 

Birthday with a reception at the Garden Pavi- 

lion of the University of Bonn on the 5th May. 

The reception took place during the Local 

Officers’ Training Days of ELSA Germany and 

was opened by the Dean of the Law Faculty. 

“25 Years of Human Rights” 

10th December 2006 

Bucharest, Romania 

Organising an Anniversary Conference as 

a part of a traditional ELSA Law School in 

Bucharest is the way to emphasise the correlation 

between the experience we have 

inherited from the previous ELSA teams 

and the enthusiasm we now share for being 

part of this association. We hope that ELSA 

will stay the same in the future: with its ups 

and downs, with flaws and tending towards 

the better; this is after all ELSA’s charm. 

Porto 



Lecce, Italy 

ELSA Italy celebrated the ELSA Birthday at 

their National Council Meeting in Lecce. A 

regular welcome party was, to the surprise 

of the participants, turned into Anniversary 

celebrations with a splendid ELSA cake and 

happy birthday songs! “Tanti auguri ELSA!” 

“25 Years of the International Criminal Court 

and the Role of Criminal Law in the EU” 

7th December 2006 

Treviso, Italy 

We decided to organise an Anniversary Conference 

to promote the image of ELSA in front 

of our own members and in front of the whole 

ELSA Network. We hope in the 25 years to 

come, ELSA will help to eliminate borders 

between students in different countries and 

cultural differences will be perceived not as a 

wall between people but as means to enrich 

every student’s culture. 

Rotterdam 



Athens, Greece 

Participants of the Anniversary Conference “25 

Years of Environmental Law in the European 

Union – Legal Challenges in the 21st Century” 

celebrated the ELSA Birthday in Athens, where 

they came together to blow the candles on the 

“25 Years of ELSA” cake! 

“25 Years of Environmental Law in the European 

Union – Legal Challenges in the 21st Century” 

rd–7th May 2006 

Athens, Greece 

We decided to organise an Anniversary Conference 

as it would be an important event for the 

celebrations across the Network. We think that 

the 25th Anniversary shows that ELSA is not 

something temporary; it reflects a perspective of 

an association that has a lot to give in the future. 

We hope in the next 25 years more members will 

be a part of ELSA and being a law student will be 

synonym to being an ELSA member. 


Leiden 

Bonn 

Oslo 

Würzburg 

Treviso 

Stockholm 

Kaliningrad 

Lecce 

Vilnius 

Mavrovo 

Athens 

Iasi 

Bucharest

In November 2006, ELSA 

International launched 

a writing competition 

in the hunt for the story 

describing the best ELSA 

25th Anniversary experi- 

ence of an ELSA member 

or alumni. This competi- 

tion was sponsored by 

one of the Supporters of 

the 25th Anniversary of 

ELSA – T.M.Lewin. 

To the right you can find 

the winning entry, writ- 

ten by Stine Helén Pet- 

tersen from Norway. 

25th Anniversary Supporters: 

At the International Council Meeting in London, spring 2006, my local group in 

Norway, ELSA Oslo, was elected host for the Final International Focus Programme 

Conference 2006. As a part of the Norwegian delegation at the Council Meeting we 

brought with us three fresh ELSA members who had just recently got involved in 

ELSA. After a week filled with workshops, national drinks and an extensive social 

programme the three freshers returned to Oslo with a huge dose of ELSA in their 

blood, and eager to join the Organising Committee of the Final IFP Conference. 

At that time, knowing that the next six months would be my last period as a student 

member of ELSA, three of my now prior National Board members and I decided to 

join forces and contribute to the OC by trying to pass on the knowledge we had 

gained throughout our time in ELSA. 

The following six months were a blast. To see such a commitment and energy 

among the 20 OC members, just as much during our meetings as during our social 

programme, not only made the long hours funny, but it also made me really proud. 

At this time I was getting ready to leave Oslo and Norway to finish my education in 

London, and by answering questions, giving feedback, motivating and sometimes 

comforting, I could see that what I had learned from my predecessors was now being 

passed on to my successors. This, in addition to seeing some of my best friends 

and ELSA addicts (sorry about the characteristics guys, but you know it is true…) getting 

elected to not only the Local Board of ELSA Oslo and the National Board of ELSA 

Norway, but even to the International Board as well, made it much easier to officially 

leave the Network and see them off for the following year. 

When I then returned to Oslo three months later in order to participate at the IFP Conference, 

I was expecting to meet a stressed and maybe a bit nervous OC. I was dead wrong. 

The freshers who had joined us to London were gone and they had been replaced with experienced 

ELSA members – no – professional ELSA members, hosting the Conference. When 

leaving Oslo and the Conference after an amazing week, I have never been more proud in 

my life. On the plane back to London I realised that this organisation might be only 25 years 

old, but thinking of how many friendships made along the way, and how many experiences 

made throughout, I must say this lady named ELSA is of a respectable age… 

With these words I would 

like to say thank you to the 

entire Network for giving me 

the opportunity to participate 

in this continuing adventure, 

and for the OC of the IFP 

Conference for giving me my 

greatest ELSA Anniversary 

experience. Thank you! 


ELSA Norway 


Winner 

ELSA 25th Anniversary Essay Competition 

My greatest Anniversary experience 


Anniversary

Final 

Accounts 

Tina Eszlari 

Treasurer 


Final Accounts ELSA International 2006/2007 

- Balance Sheet and Profit/Loss 

Assets 

ELSA INTERNATIONAL 

Balance Sheet 

31.07.2007 

Liabilities 

31.07.2007 31.07.2006 31.07.2007 31.07.2006 

EUR EUR EUR EUR 

Fixed Assets Capital 

Office Equipment 229,77 754,77 Ordinary Capital 37.710,71 40.630,58 

Total Fixed Assets 229,77 754,77 Retained Profit/Loss 2.515,50 (5.256,24) 

Profit/Loss (8.020,68) 2.515,50 

Current Assets 32.205,53 37.889,84 

Debtors Control Account 

Receivables towards the EDF 10.514,72 0,00 Reserves 

Receivables from Members 16.300,50 22.745,48 ELSA Development Fund 17.606,99 0,00 

Accounts Receivable 8.712,72 30.443,21 17.606,99 0,00 

35.527,94 53.188,69 

Deposits and Cash 26.393,12 20.966,60 

Total Capital & Reserves 49.812,52 37.889,84 

Prepayments 2.004,44 (5.000,00) Liabilities 

Creditors Control Account 

Total Current Assets 63.925,50 69.155,29 Accounts Payable 4.331,75 32.020,22 

Deferred Revenue 10.011,00 0,00 

Liabilities 14.342,75 32.020,22 

Total Assets 64.155,27 69.910,06 Total Liabilities 64.155,27 69.910,06 

General P&L Accounting (all in percent) EMC² P&L Accounting (all in percent) 

Income 

29 

13 

Expenditures 

12 

4 

6 

10 

8 

8 

7 

18 

34 

51 

Externals 

Fees from members 

Marketing 

Others 

ELSA House 

Administration 

Internal Meetings 

Meetings w ithin the netw ork and externals 

Market Research 

EDF contribution 

Allow ance 

Others 

Income 


39 

Expenditures 

16 

8 

6 

1 

2 

63 

13 

52 

Externals 

Fees from participants 

Marketing 

Others 

Travel costs 

Accommodation 

Meals 

Marketing 

Administration

ELSA is as stated before the world’s largest independent students 

association with an increasing number of member countries and 

individuals accordingly. Being a growing and evolving network, 

ELSA International follows the progress and takes into account 

the impact of changes such as its finances. The budget of ELSA 

International is defined and voted at the General Assembly, further 

ensuring a constant and sustainable growth according to the 

needs of the Association. 

General budget 

In 2006-2007, the revenue resources of ELSA International remained 

similar to the previous years, being namely membership fees, corporate 

partnerships and revenues through the selling of advertisements 

at the website www.elsa.org. Membership fess come from ELSA International’s 

35 member countries, who in turn draw their revenues from 

national partnerships, local group fees, government support and raise 

revenues through local and national activities such as seminars, conferences, 

the Student Trainee Exchange Programme (STEP) or academic 

activities. The partnerships of ELSA International are mainly corporate 

partners seeking to attract students and young lawyers and to build 

their global company brand through working with ELSA. 

Next to the direct costs for accommodation (ELSA house) and the 

allowance for the members of the International Board (46 %), a 

decision was taken to invest in ELSA’s first market research conducted 

amongst ELSA members and young law students in general throughout 

Europe in the time between February to July 2007 (18 %) as 

well as to devote more for internal meetings with ELSA International’s 

member countries to farther strengthen the communication within the 

network and to the executive board (18 %). 

Project budgets 

Tina Eszlari 

Treasurer 


Final Accounts ELSA International 2006/2007 

- Treasurer’s Report in Summary 

ELSA International has next to the general budget different project 

budgets for its activities. The ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO 

law (EMC²) which is a simulated hearing in the World Trade Organisation 

dispute settlement system, is organised every year by ELSA International 

since 2003 and is the only world wide moot court competition 

on this specific topic. The EMC² is aiming to encourage further 

development on the subject matter in the curriculum of academic institutions 

and also to contribute to the ongoing discussion about globalisation 

in the context of the WTO Agreements. The budget of the 

EMC² is almost EUR 90.000 in the term 2006-2007. Synergy, ELSA’s 

members magazine, is a high profile, high quality publication, informing 

ELSA members regularly on topics of interest to them and to the 

association. The magazine is produced twice a year and is distributed 

across the 35 countries in Europe where ELSA is represented. The 

budget of the Synergy is almost EUR 29.000. 

ELSA Development Fund (EDF) 

ELSA International is, in compliance with internal regulations, supposed 

to administrate the EDF which is meant to be a trust fund of ELSA. The 

ELSA Development Fund is established in order to consolidate the ELSA 

network. Through financial support it helps ELSA groups develop and 

overcome structural weaknesses in ELSA International members countries 

and to support measures and activities taken to develop and con- 

Statement of revenues and expenditures 

Revenues 

Member Fees 27 895,17 € 

Sponsorsips 49 500,00 € 

Advertisements 12 155,73 € 

Other Income 7 239,58 € 

EMC² 82 156,00 € 

Synergy 28 594,92 € 

Extraordinary Income 3 127,39 € 

Expenditures 

ELSA House 31 508,09 € 

Administration 16 226,79 € 

Internal Meetings and with externals 17 000,33 € 

Market Research 5 540,10 € 

Allowance to International Board 10 500,00 € 

EDF contribution by ELSA International 3 300,00 € 

Others 7 421,29 € 

EMC² 89 362,36 € 

Synergy 28 635,13 € 

Bad Debts and Write-Off 9 195,38 € 

96 790,48 € 

113 878,31 € 

210 668,79 € 

91 496,60 € 

127 192,87 € 

218 689,47 € 

solidate those members. Supported by the fund are development 

projects which aim at improving the knowledge 

of ELSA in the network such as all kind of information 

events as well as projects aiming at providing various 

skills at training events on international, regional and 

national level. Funded by ELSA International and its 

members with high fundraising success, the EDF ensures 

a solid fundament to strengthen the network and 

allow all members of ELSA International an active participation 

in the network. 

Auditing 

From 7th to 9th of September 2007, the internal audit related 

to the year ending 31st July 2007 took place at the 

headquarters of ELSA International in Brussels, Belgium. 

The internal auditors who were elected by the Council at 

the ICM in London 2006 are Sergey Golubok (Russia) and 

Fredrik Ohlsson (Sweden). All financial statements have 

also been audited externally by Deloitte. An Auditors Report 

with an unqualified opinion was issued at the ICM in 

Reggio di Calabria 2007. 


Final 

Accounts

The ELSA Network in Numbers - National ELSA 

Groups with Local Groups and Members 

ELSA Iceland*** 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

ELSA Ireland*** 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

ELSA Belgium 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

ELSA Portugal 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

0 

- 

4 

77 

7 

640 

0 

- 

ELSA Norway** 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

ELSA Denmark 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

ELSA United Kingdom* 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

ELSA France 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

ELSA Spain 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

3 

300 

5 

512 


Local Groups: 

Members: 

ELSA Slovenia 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

5 

233 

2 

395 

2 

145 

3 

6465 

ELSA Sweden 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

ELSA The Netherlands 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

ELSA Germany 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

9 

1000 

ELSA Italy 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

ELSA Malta 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

42 

6292 

ELSA Austria 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

6 

1645 

ELSA Croatia 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

22 

2620 

1 

200 

6 

610 

ELSA Poland 

Local Groups: 

Members: 


Local Groups: 

Members: 

ELSA Czech Republic 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

4 

160 

4 

1950 

ELSA Serbia 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

ELSA Rep. of Macedonia 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

ELSA Turkey 

Local Groups: 

Members: 


15 

700 

4 

350 

ELSA Greece 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

ELSA Montenegro 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

0.000 Members 

4 

373 

4 

1190 

ELSA Estonia 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

ELSA Latvia*** 

Local Groups: 

Members: 


Local Groups: 

Members: 

ELSA Bulgaria 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

6 

241 

1 

115 

1 

145 

0 

- 

2 

218 

ELSA Ukraine 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

ELSA Romania 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

1 

672 

3 

500 

7 

400 

1 

80 

3 

800 

ELSA Russia 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

ELSA Slovakia 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

ELSA Hungary 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

6 

241 

ELSA Kazakhstan 

Local Groups: 

Members: 

4 

200 

3 

478 

6 National Groups 

Close to 200 Local Groups 

* Observer | ** ELSA membership is mandatory for all law students | *** No recorded activity or membership in 2006/2007 

3 

88

Annual Report 06/07 - European Law Students' Association (ELSA)

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