25th Anniversary Of ELSA - European Law Students' Association ...

Magazine of The European Law Students’ Association | No. 40/II 2006 

25th 

Anniversary 

Of ELSA 

Interview With A 

WTO Counsellor 

In JUSTICE For Justice 

Learning By Doing 

A Day In The Life Of… 

ELSA Sticker Inside!

Synergy 

ELSA International in Brussels, Belgium produces Synergy. 

The articles are contributions from students, young and experienced 

lawyers as well as academics. The articles are 

edited at the discretion of the Editors. 

Please do not hesitate to visit Synergy Online 

www.elsa.org/publications/synergy.asp. 

Contributions 

Synergy is published twice a year for ELSA’s members in 

35 countries in Europe. Would you like to contribute with 

articles or pictures for the Magazine? Please contact ELSA 

International for further information and guidelines. 

Advertising 

Would you like to advertise your courses, services, company 

or products, please do not hesitate to contact ELSA 

International in Brussels. Rates are available upon request. 

Editor 

Nils Fjelkegård 

Co-Editor 

Nancy Son 

Assistant Editor 

Ida Lindholm 

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, 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 220 universities in 35 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, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic 

of Macedonia, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia and Montenegro, 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. 

s y n e r g y 3

Editor’s Letter 


Vice President Marketing 


Dear readers, 

A new ELSA year is already well on its way and a new editor has entered 

that special house on Boulevard Général Jacques in Brussels in order 

to bring you yet another edition of our wonderful Members’ Magazine 

– Synergy. 

This year that editor happens to be me and I assure you I will do my best 

to bring you a publication that meets the expectations that one would and 

should have for a members’ magazine of the worlds’ largest independent 

law students’ association. For this edition I have also had the pleasure to 

co-operate with my very talented co-editor for Synergy – Nancy Son. 

And as we are all members of that Association, I want you to feel that this 

is your magazine. It should consist of articles written by and for you. It 

should be a forum where we share our experiences, ideas and thoughts 

through the format of interesting and well-written articles or interviews. 

Synergy is a melting pot of cultural diversity, legal education and international 

exchange that in 48 pages pretty much summarises what this 

Association is all about. 

The end of 2006 joins together three very important milestones in ELSA; 

the 25th Anniversary of our Association, the 50th International Council 

Meeting and last but not least, the 40th edition of Synergy. I take great 

pride in being part of the creation of this anniversary edition of Synergy 

and to honour this old and faithful companion to our Association, the 

International Board has decided to increase the amount of copies printed 

and distributed to the Network, so that even more of our members can 

enjoy its content. 

With contributions from North to South in our Network, interviews with key 

players in the legal community and articles on a wide range of interesting 

topics, I hope that you will find something that appeals to you and that you 

might find that extra ounce of inspiration needed to book tickets for that 

special event or to actually organise something yourself. 

As a special treat for this 40th edition we have also included an ELSA 

sticker in the magazine. Put it on your folder, Laptop, refrigerator, coffee 

cup or wherever and spread the message of that old lady ELSA that we 

all love so much. Please also note that the events calendar in the middle 

spread pages is meant for taking out and putting up on a wall, to communicate 

the events that truly represent ELSA – the international ones. 

So, enjoy your reading dear members! I am looking forward to seeing your 

own articles on my editing table for the next edition!

Contents 

INTERNATIONAL TEAM 6 

The International Board 6 

Directors ELSA International 7 

ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES 8 

Introducing A New Editor For SPEL – Mr. Malte Beyer 8 

EMC 2 – From The Perspective Of A WTO Counsellor 9 

Guess Who’s Also Celebrating Anniversary? 10 

ELSA Lisbon’s MCNDC – The Rise Of A Tradition 11 

SEMINARS & CONFERENCES 12 

Lobbying And Big Politics In Brussels – ELSA Oslo’s Study Visit To Brussels 12 

Madame President On Air 13 

What Does The Director For Institutional Relations Do? – A Short Introduction To The World Of Institutions 15 

Law Beyond Borders – A Seminar Truly Beyond Borders 15 

The Mt. Kopaonik School Of Natural Law - Law And Universal Values 17 

Law As An Expression And Guarantee Of A Culture Of Peace 17 

“Children Are The Most Precious Things We Own – We Can Sell Their Bodies Over And Over Again” 18 

Lawyer’s Trumps 18 

Conference - Through Dialogue Of Youth To Stability In The Region Of Southeast Europe 19 

STUDENT TRAINEE EXCHANGE PROGRAMME 20 

20 Minutes For STEP – The Best Investment 20 

STEP – From The Perspective Of A Proud Employer 21 

Traineeship In Bratislava - Impressions Of The First STEP Participant From Ukraine 22 

Development Of STEP In Serbia 22 

BOARD MANAGEMENT, EXTERNAL RELATIONS AND EXPANSION 26 

GOOD DEAL – Why Fundraising Could Be A Success Story For ELSA 26 

To Expand Or Not To Expand… - Let’s Go Back To The Basics! 27 

How Good Is Your Legal English? 28 

INTERNAL MANAGEMENT 30 

Learning By Doing 30 

An Experience Visit – Two Sides Of The Story 

Why Bother To Share Experience? The Best Way To Do It 

31 

Introduction To Law Faculty With ELSA Poland - The 10th Freshers’ Camp 32 

Project Planning As A Tool For Recruitment And Training; Teambuilding In ELSA Oslo 33 

Baltic Trainings 2006 - Developing The Idea Of Human Rights 34 

When Deer And Human Resources Meet 35 

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT 36 

Financial Aspects Of An ELSA Event - A Summer School In Numbers 36 

Auditing ELSA – Preferably Not A Sweaty Experience 37 

MARKETING 38 

Why Advertise? 38 

Swedish Meat Balls – An ALSA India Experience 39 

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF… 40 

INTERVIEWS 42 

25 YEARS OF ELSA 44 

s y n e r g y 5

The International Board 

Halvor Lekven – Vice President Academic Activities 

The “brown-eyed” Viking on our board. Strong and most of the time calm, however, 

always fighting for his beliefs. With his love for Taekwon-do he often shows his 

mental power but of course the true undisputed love of his life is Academic Activities. 

With his iron will he will be a great asset for the International Team 2006/2007 

and he will for sure have a lot of success this year. 

Loreta Pivoriunaite – Vice President Seminars & Conferences 

With an eye of a tiger and a soul of anger and joy, Loreta will jump higher than no 

other Vice Presidents Seminars & Conferences before. With the same energy and 

enthusiasm that she has on the basket ball court, Loreta will reach for her goals and 

make sure that the Network realises and shares her strong belief that the true value 

of ELSA is the international aspect. 

Andrea Claudia Raffl – Vice President Student Trainee Exchange 

Programme 

Andrea coming from Austria, is as emotional as the mountains in Austria are steep. 

The two big loves of her life is STEP and Austrian cuisine. Because of Andrea’s 

dedication to STEP, we are sure that she will do a great job on the international level 

this year. However, just as much as she loves STEP, she hates dirt. This makes her 

the neat-freak of the house. So if she is not in the office working, she is sure to be 

in the kitchen cleaning. 

Christopher Carlson – President 

He says call him “Chris”. Our President is a very simple and patient man from 

Sweden. He always asks for opinions about issues and always waits for the proper 

input. His self-confidence and diplomatic skills are only some features that are 

noticeable in his person. He once confessed that his only real love is the one to 

ELSA, but we know for sure he loves a good meal just as much. However, most of 

all, this is a person who you can trust in any situation. 

Esra Ersoy – Secretary General 

Our hot and spicy Turkish belly dancer with a burning passion for consolidation and 

red roses. She would probably rather leave out the “secretary” part of her position, 

The International Board 2006/2007. From left to right: Nils, Tina, Esra, Andrea, 

Christopher, Loreta and Halvor. 

but you can always count on her to give at least 100% when performing any task 

at hand. Being the most southern of all members of the International Board, her 

temperature is always sure to be a bit higher than the rest of ours. This of course 

reflects on many everyday things but above all on her always very warm heart. 

Tina Eszlari – Treasurer 

Coming from Halle and thus after a gap of 9 years we once again have a German in 

the team. No doubt that ELSA accounts will be in rock-solid hands this year. With 

precision, strong sense of responsibility and diligence, Tina will look twice at each 

penny. And watch out - she will know how to use her fencing skills if someone in 

the team gets in a lavish mood. 

Nils Fjelkegård – Vice President Marketing 

Our “big” marketeer from Sweden; the land of people who are tall, blonde and 

calm. His typical Nordic direct approach relying on facts promises to bring professionalism 

to the marketeer profile of ELSA. Being well grounded in IT and having 

concrete suggestions to all matters are only the features lying above the water 

level. His height unsures us sure he has a lot more inside; such as his warm “giant” 

heart.

INTERNATIONAL TEAM 

What is the International Team? 

The International Board of ELSA is the supreme executive body of the Association. It 

consists of seven positions elected by the Council at the Spring International Council 

Meeting. For a one-year period, starting on the 1st of August, the International Board 

works and lives together, full time, in the ELSA House in Brussels on a voluntary 

basis. 

The main responsibility of the International Board is coordinating and administrating 

the National and Local Groups, by collecting and redistributing the information provided 

and by ensuring the maximum number of active participants in all events. 

Furthermore, the International Board coordinates the collaboration with externals 

meaning international organisations, firms, governments, other students associations 

etc. 

The International Board works together with a number of appointed Directors who are 

responsible for specific areas of activity. The Directors are students, who work from 

their homes, thus completing the International Team of ELSA. 

Directors ELSA International 

Giedre Tijusaite – Director for ELSA Moot Court 

Competition on WTO Law (EMC2 ) 

Our Baltic princess is a nature and wildlife lover who 

after having perfectly organised the upcoming EMC² 

on WTO Law might end up in Africa taking care of wild 

animals or our environment as a whole. She is a strong 

leader, sometimes going a bit over the edge, but that 

is exactly what we need in environmental law and, in 

the short term, in ELSA. 

Christina Paul – Director for Corporate Relations 

Having been President of ELSA Germany the previous 

year working full-time on the National Board, Christina 

is now taking care of the involvement of ELSA International’s 

current and future potential co-operation 

partners. The experience she has gathered through her 

previous work in ELSA has already proven invaluable 

for the work on international level and she will play a 

key role in the ELSA International Fundraising Team this 

year. 

Maria Moguilnaia – Director for the 25th Anniversary 

and Public Relations 

Already going for her second year as a Director for 

ELSA International, “Masha” is definitely one of the 

most experienced persons in the Network at the moment 

and thus an invaluable resource to all of us. If you 

combine that with her sometimes almost frightening 

Russian working morale and true love for ELSA, she will 

definitely continue to contribute to both the Anniversary 

celebrations and Public Relations in our Network. 

Kamila Magdalena Chareza – Director for 

Advertisements 

Joining us from Poland is a tough girl with divine selling 

skills and a sixth sense for identifying opportunities 

within the area of advertisements. She will most 

definitely make sure that there isn’t a single advertising 

opportunity that goes missed out on while ensuring that 

our advertisers get top quality treatment at the same 

time. 

Vytautas Zabulis – Director for Training 

Having retrieved almost legendary status in the Network 

after being Head of OC for the very successful ICM in 

Vilnius, our Lithuanian ex-President “Zabas” has now 

decided to broaden his views even more and join the 

International Team to work with the things that are the 

closest to his heart – Training and Human Resources. 

We have full faith that the Lithuanian recipe will prove 

successful on an international level as well. 

Aylin Farid – Director for Institutional Relations 

A former Vice President Seminars & Conferences from 

Stockholm, Sweden, that truly got enlightened after taking 

part in an ELSA delegation to UNCITRAL in New 

York and decided to dedicate her ELSA work fully to 

Institutional Relations and Delegations on the international 

level. With her organisational and networking 

skills she is sure to guarantee a high quality in this field 

for the upcoming year. 

s y n e r g y 7

One of Academic Activities’ slogans is to “Bridge the gap 

between theory and practice”. At first hand this can be interpreted 

as bridging legal theory and practice. But if one 

takes a closer look at the events Academic Activities can 

offer, the slogan can be given a different meaning. 

ELSA’s Philosophy states that the purpose of ELSA is to 

contribute to legal education, to foster mutual understanding 

and to promote social responsibility of law students 

and young lawyers. 

The Key Area of Academic Activities gives students opportunities 

to put our Philosophy into practice in various 

ways. 

By organising Essay Competitions and Moot Court Competitions 

ELSA contributes to legal education. Students 

are given the chance to use their legal knowledge in activities 

outside the University Curriculum. Especially Moot 

Court Competitions are bridging theory and practice as one 

should not use the theory blindly on the given case. 

So how can events in Academic Activities foster mutual understanding? 

The Studies Abroad Programme is a reception 

programme organised by Local Groups across the network. 

In these events they welcome foreign exchange-students 

and include them in their other ELSA events. By doing so 

both the Local Group and the foreign exchange-students 

learn about other cultures and countries and thereby foster 

mutual understanding. 

By participating in Lawyers at Work Events together with 

Institutions and Organisations such as the UN or the Red 

Cross, students are given insight in how lawyers can promote 

social responsibility. Another Academic Activities 

event that also promotes social responsibility is the ELSA 

Moot Court Competition on WTO Law (EMC 2 ). The case in 

the EMC 2 often deals with international trade issues based 

upon social and economic differences in the world today 

and the participants are given the opportunity to understand 

these problems in a different way than they would be 

given during a lecture at their University. 

Take part in the events of Academic Activities and bridge 

the gap! 

8 

Halvor Lekven 

Vice President 

Academic Activities 


BRIDGING THE GAP 

BETWEEN THEORY AND 

PRACTICE! 

Halvor Lekven 

Vice President Academic Activities 


Introducing A New Editor For 

SPEL – Mr. Malte Beyer 

Selected Papers on European Law (SPEL) is a web publication 

which provides a compilation of legal papers in the field 

of Private and Public European Law. ELSA SPEL is published 

twice a year on the Website of ELSA International, www.elsa. 

org. The papers are written by law students in the scope of 

their studies as well as by academics. The high quality of the 

publication is ensured through the participation of the Editorial 

Advisory Board which is made up of prominent European 

academics. All articles are revised and edited by an Editor. 


thus has the pleasure 

to present the 

new Editor for SPEL. 

Mr. Malte Beyer has 

studied at Trier from 

1996 through 2001, 

spending a semester 

at Aix-en-Provence 

University which he 

came to know through 

an ELSA study visit 

organised by the 

Trier faculty group. He 

obtained his Erstes 

Staatsexamen in German 

and European 

Law in 2002. 

The first half of 2002 he spent at the Chair of Professor Dr. Gerhard 

Robbers at Trier University, chair for German and European Public and 

Constitutional Law and Church-State Relations. There he taught fundamental 

rights and administrative law. 

He left the chair for the College of Europe in Bruges where he studied 

institutional community law, human rights law and the politics and 

economics of European integration. He obtained a Masters degree in 

2003 with a thesis on the Convention on the Future of Europe. 

Returning to Trier he enlarged on the subject and wrote a PhD thesis 

on the European Convention in the perspective of European constitution-making. 

The thesis will be published at the end of 2006. 

Since May 2005 he worked as a legal trainee (Referendar) at Trier 

regional court (civil and penal sections) and since November 2004 as 

a part time legal assistant at the Academy of European Law, Trier. Currently 

he is passing his Zweites Staatsexamen in order to fully qualify 

as a lawyer. Upcoming stages will be with Crowell & Moring LLP, Brussels, 

and the European Court of Human Rights, Strasbourg. 

ELSA International would like to thank Mr. Beyer for assuming the 

responsibility of being Editor for SPEL and is looking forward to the 

future co-operation. 

Magazine of The European Law Students’ Association | No. 40/II 2006

ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES 

Joao Antunes 


ELSA Switzerland 

EMC 2 – From The Perspective Of A WTO Counsellor 

Dr. Gabrielle Marceau, Counsellor at the Office of the Director- 

General of the WTO in Geneva and Professor on WTO Law at the 

University of Geneva, has been involved with the ELSA Moot 

Court Competition on WTO Law (EMC 2 ) since the early beginnings 

of what is now the flagship event of ELSA. For this edition 

of Synergy, Professor Gabrielle Marceau kindly agreed to receive 

me at her Office and answer a few questions. 

Why should students participate in the ELSA Moot Court Competition 

on WTO Law? 

This would mainly be for two reasons: (i) either because they are interested 

in the WTO or (ii) because they like Moot Courts and the art of 

pleading. 

Some of the people participating in this Moot Court are not familiar with 

the WTO because they are usually not lectured on the subject at their 

home universities. The EMC2 is thus a good way for them to become 

more knowledgeable on the WTO. It is also a way of feeling more at ease 

when pleading. 

The EMC2 is indeed very well thought. 

Another good reason to participate in the EMC2 is that it helps the participant 

to become familiar with the different tools required to the settlement 

of disputes, i.e. the WTO regulations and the case law of the Appellate 

Body of the WTO. 

How does the EMC2 in your opinion contribute to transparency 

in International Trade? 

Students are the future. If they are well informed on the WTO and Trade 

Law it will help their understanding as leaders of tomorrow. They will thus 

easily understand how certain trade related decisions have deep impacts 

in the daily life of people. 

The EMC2 is as already mentioned extremely helpful for the comprehension 

of International Trade rules. 

Participants benefit a lot from it. And not only students; Teachers as well! 

Indeed it exposes them to a practical approach of the subject they teach, 

which is a lot more subtle than pure theory. 

What has been your personal experience as a panellist in the 

EMC2 ? 

It was a really good experience. It enabled me to enrich my lectures. 

The EMC2 demands devotion and courage from all the students. 

There is moreover an interaction between new and old Europeans. I was 

made more sensitive to it thanks to the EMC2 . The EMC2 is not something 

made by and for the old Europe – it extends remarkably. 

The message that this event - made by and for students - passes through 

is that all this is the fruit of hard work. And this is what real life is about. 

This Moot Court is a unique student event, not only because of its international 

dimension, but also because of its large amount of participants. 

The quality of its organisation and its seriousness makes it the best moot 

court on earth. 

Dr. Gabrielle Marceau 

Dr. Marceau has been involved with the EMC2 since the first 

edition in 2002/2003. 

She has been on the Semi Finals Panel of the Final Oral 

Round in 2003, 2004 and 2005. In 2005 she was also on 

the Panel of the Grand Final. Next to being on the panels of 

the Final Oral Round, Dr. Marceau was also involved in the 

EMC2 Advisory and Case Review Boards in 2003/2004 and 

2004/2005. 

In 2006 the award for the Best Complainant Written Submission 

in the Final Oral Round was named the Gabrielle 

Marceau Award. 

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Guess Who’s 

Also 

Celebrating 

Anniversary? 

EMC2 ; what bells does that abbreviation 

ring for you? Silence? Welcome to the 

club. If you ask me it’s about time to 

have a little chat about the following paradox: 

ELSA outside its network is known 

because of those three letters and inside 

the network the meaning of those same 

three letters is as blur as ones morning 

reflection in the mirror after a long Friday 

night. 

The ELSA Moot Court Competition on 

WTO Law is in action worldwide for the 

5th time. Back then it was a brilliant idea, 

now it’s a project funding itself, attracting 

students from all over the world, involving 

top experts in the area and giving ELSA 

credit as a highly competent student organisation. 

In 5 years of consistent work 

we managed to reach the level where 

EMC2 is serving as a fancy business card 

for ELSA. Externals tend to give “thumbs 

up” whenever we flash that card. 

Secured Regional Rounds in Latin America, 

Europe, Asia, Australia and involvement 

of Northern American and African 

students through the International Written 

Round - that’s global. Pleading a hot international 

trade issue in front of the panel 

consisting of Alejandro Jara, Deputy Director 

General of the WTO, Prof. Thomas 

Cottier, Mr. Werner Zdouc, Director of the 

WTO Appellate Body Secretariat, Prof. 

Jacques Bourgeois, Prof. David Gantz, Mr. Bernard O’Connor and 

Dr. Laura Nielsen - that’s a challenge. Partnership with World Trade 

Institute and sponsorship from O’Connor and Company – European 

Lawyers, Sidley Austin LLP and WorldTradeLaw.net - that’s 

financial security. Uniform marketing materials, official website, 

links project, PR strategy - that’s a selling trademark. Advisory 

Board, Case drafters, Case review board, Academic Supervisors 

- that’s academic quality. 

One thing though should be realised by the entire network... all 

10 

Giedre Tijusaite 

Director for the ELSA Moot Court 

Competition on WTO Law 


this work and the results reached so far are not meant to be a business 

card only for ELSA International to flash. It’s the project of the 

Network. To begin with every national and local AA officer should 

be competent to present and promote the EMC2 and to do it not 

in the manner of being an outsider, but as being an active part of 

the project. If a law student from Ethiopia is benefiting from the 

competition, perhaps it’s about time for ELSA members to stop 

ignoring the opportunity which is given to them on a plate. 

The business card is ready; make the best out of it! 


Joao Valério 

Former Secretary General 

ELSA Lisbon 

ELSA Lisbon’s MCNDC – The Rise Of A Tradition 

For the second consecutive year ELSA Lisbon organised the National 

Moot Court on Portuguese Constitutional Law (MCNDC in 

Portuguese). 

Since Moot Courts play a very important role in ELSA’s attributions, our 

Local Group considered that this project would be a way to promote EL- 

SA’s purposes and increase Portuguese law students’ interest for Moot 

Courts. Moot Courts have taken wide root on the international level, providing 

the participants the opportunity to acquire a practical and dynamic 

perspective on the legal system. 

Taking this into account, ELSA Lisbon worked hard to create an actual 

forum of scientific debate on subjects of Portuguese constitutional law. A 

Scientific Commission was constituted, gathering eminent Professors in 

the field of constitutional law and a vast number of entities were contacted 

out of which most of them decided to sponsor our activity. 

Many teams from Portuguese law schools came to Lisbon to attend the 

competition and to prove their academic and rhetorical skills. The final 

opposed the team with the best performance playing the role of Government 

and the one with the best performance playing the role of Deputies. 

The winning team was awarded with significant prize money, ascribed by 

a Portuguese law society of repute on account of the tremendous amount 

of work and legal acumen demonstrated throughout the event by its members. 

The MCNDC has proved, in these two years of existence, that its purposes 

are worthwhile and that it is possible, even for a Local Group, to make 

ambitious projects happen. It is necessary to assume a dynamic attitude 

and to have a highly motivated and abiding team, prepared to struggle 

for objectives that all in all can contribute to enhance the learning of law 

through the synergy between law students and the legal world. 

Many aspects can be improved though, and it is ELSA Lisbon’s commitment 

to continue striving for excellence in MCNDC as well as in all 

activities which can further ELSA’s philosophy.

“This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know 

what to do with it.” (Ralph W. Emerson) 

Everything starts from the idea, vision, when you want to 

meet the right people in the right place and time. In ELSA all 

of us met at a certain point in a due time, and hopefully this 

process is still continuing and for ever continuous. ELSA 

is one of the professional students’ organisations were 

people are meeting, exchanging ideas and contributing to 

the outcome of legal education for mutual understanding. 

ELSA gives you a path of possibilities to express yourself, 

share and exchange ideas and realise them in practice. 

The Key Area of Seminars & Conferences is one of the 

places where people meet each other. Afterwards, everything 

starts - one day I met someone, somewhere…therefore 

this year I have had the pleasure to be a part of the 

International Team and meet people who are all different, 

but all equal. Probably this is the only one thing that makes 

our Association unique and truly internationally minded. 

Accordingly, the ELSA history started with the organising 

of international events as a base to meet other people 

without any boundaries at that time. Today we are standing 

in front of the ELSA vision as never before and face 

new possibilities in the knowledge society. We are globally 

minded students from local communities where values are 

associated with understanding and communication within 

our Network. 

In summary, I would like to say, that understanding and 

communication with each other is an always important 

matter between parties, so I wish to have a fruitful co-operation 

with and for you. 

Last but not least, it is never to late to say THANKS to all officers, 

in this case to the former Vice Presidents and Directors 

for S&C for being groundbreaking at the international, 

national and local levels. 

Yours, 

12 

Loreta Pivoriunaite 

Vice President Seminars & 

Conferences 


Elisabet Kj rstad Boe 

President 

ELSA Norway 

Lobbying And Big Politics In 

Brussels – ELSA Oslo’s Study 

Visit To Brussels 

Between the 19th and 22nd of January 16 members of ELSA Oslo 

went on a study visit to “the heart of Europe” where the major decisions 

shaping the politics in our part of the world take place – Brussels. 

The aim of the study visit was to give the participants an overview 

of EU- and EEA-law and an insight in what role legal associates play in 

this melting pot of big politics, diplomacy, lobbying and international 

legislation. 

The first point on the agenda was a visit to ELSA Norway’s new Corporate 

Partner DLA Nordic. The department in Brussels, DLA Piper, 

employs lawyers, social scientists, economists and analysts who work 

together to inform the clients about what is happening in the vast EUbureaucracy. 

The visit gave us an insight in, for a Norwegian, quite an 

unusual way of working as a lawyer. 

The next point on the agenda was a lecture at EFTA’s Surveillance 

Authority, ESA, given by the national expert Espen Bakken. The lecture 

was based upon the cases against Norway on time limited concession 

on the acquisition of waterfalls and the Norwegian differentiated 

employer-taxes. 

No study visit is complete without a social programme, and one 

evening the entire group was invited to the ELSA House where the 

International Board is both living and working. During our visit the 

International Secretary General was Heidi Katrine S ebo Platou from 

Norway. Together with the rest of her board she greeted us and told 

us about how the International Board works full-time for ELSA for one 

year. 

The highlight of the Study Visit was the visit to the Norwegian delegation 

to the EU, strategically situated across the street from the European 

Commission. The Embassy Secretary Inge Hausken Thygesen 

gave us a thorough lecture on how the EU was established and how 

it is organised. We were also given a lot of interesting information on 

how the everyday work for diplomats in Brussels is. 

After the visit to the Norwegian delegation we were given a guided tour 

of the European Parliament where we learned about the administrative 

problems connected to the task division between Brussels and 

Strasbourg. 

The last point on the agenda was the visit to the Brussels-office of the 

Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise – NHO. 

The Study Visit to Brussels, which is planned to be an annual event for 

both ELSA Oslo and ELSA Bergen, ended with a visit to Torje Sunde, 

a former ELSA Oslo member, who was working as a trainee at ESA. In 

honour of the participants he had invited “all” young trainees, lawyers 

and others who are working and living in Brussels to his apartment. 

This was a nice gesture towards us and a good way for us to get to 

know people who have chosen a somewhat untraditional road after 

ended studies. 


SEMINARS & CONFERENCES 

Anton Petrov 

Vice President Academic Activities 

ELSA St.Petersburg 

Madame President On Air 

On the 3rd of October, 2006 ELSA Saint-Petersburg, with the assistance 

of the Chair of International law of the Law School of 

Saint-Petersburg State University held the II Internet-videoconference 

with the President of the International Court of Justice, 

Judge Rosalyn Higgins. This is the second videoconference of 

this type. The first one was organised in March, 2006 by ELSA 

International with the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal 

Court, Mr. Luis Moreno Ocampo. Inspired with the obvious 

success of this event, ELSA St. Petersburg was tending this time 

to second or even if possible to overcome it. 

The II Internet-videoconference was held on occasion of two significant 

dates that are celebrated this year: the 60th Anniversary of the ICJ and the 

25th Anniversary of the European Law Students’ Association and its topic 

was quite wide - “Strengthening the role of the International law”. 

Interestingly, the ICJ itself doesn’t have the necessary techniques and 

Madame President had to resort to the help of the ICTY technical department. 

After a greeting speech of the Vice Dean for International Affairs, head of 

the Chair of International Law, Vitaly S. Ivanenko, Madame Rosalyn Higgins 

depicted the main trends and tendencies within the current practice 

of the International Court and the challenges that it faces nowadays. After 

this the conference was switched to the “questions-and-answers” mode 

and all the students interested in the sphere of public international law 

had an opportunity to refer their questions to one of the most remarkable 

lawyers in the world. During the discussion the following issues were 

pressed and covered: the legal status and present ac- 

tivity of the Court, contemporary problems of international 

public law, such as amending the Statute of the 

Court, the Charter of the UN, international custom, etc. 

and also the career aspects of young specialists in the 

sphere of international public law. 

Rosalyn Higgins is a Judge of the Court since July 1995 

and its President since February 2006. Meanwhile, she 

is also a professor of a great amount of some of the 

most prominent Law Schools all over the world, holds a 

number of degrees and is an author of numerous writings within the fields 

of international law, international legal theory, United Nations law, the use 

of force, State and diplomatic immunities, human rights and international 

petroleum law. 

Furthermore her practical activity is not limited to the service as a Judge 

of ICJ; she has also appeared before the Court as a counsel in such cases 

as: Territorial Dispute (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya/Chad); case concerning 

East Timor (Portugal v. Australia); Questions of interpretation and application 

of the 1971 Montreal Convention arising from the Aerial Incident 

at Lockerbie (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya v. United Kingdom) and the case 

Ksenia Shestakova 


ELSA St.Petersburg 

concerning the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Project (Hungary/Slovakia). She 

was also the President of the Tribunal of the International Centre for Settlement 

of Investment Disputes (Amco v. Indonesia) based in Washington 

DC and a Member of the Human Rights Committee under the International 

Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1984-1995), as well as a Special 

Rapporteur for new cases (1989-1991). 

A need of employees specializing in international law and other various 

fields of international life becomes stronger in the era of Internet and 

globalization from day to day. It goes without saying that international 

conferences, institutional study visits and moot court competitions can 

largely contribute in the process of professional growth of all students 

that are eager to devote their lives to the establishing of international cooperation. 

For this reason, the Internet-videoconference with the Chief Prosecutor of 

the ICC was held as a multi-channelled one with an active participation 

of the Local Groups of St. Petersburg (Russia), Cambridge (UK), Leuven 

(Belgium), Barcelona (Spain) and Pecs (Hungary). 

This time to take part in the videoconference at hand, courageous Finnish 

students came to St. Petersburg by train, which was provided within 

the framework of a bilateral study visit between ELSA St. Petersburg and 

ELSA Helsinki. 

Apart form this cornerstone, the programme for the Finnish students in 

St. Pete contained a visit to the Russian-Finnish Chamber of Commerce, 

the General Consulate of Finland to Saint-Petersburg, the Department for 

International Affairs of the Government of Saint-Petersburg, the office of 

“Baker&McKenzie” international law firm and of course places of cultural 

“It goes without saying that international conferences, institutional 

study visits and moot court competitions can largely contribute 

in the process of professional growth of all students that 

are eager to devote their lives to the establishing of international 

co-operation.” 

pilgrimage in Saint-Petersburg, such as the Hermitage, Amber Room in 

Pushkin and so on and so forth. The return visit of ELSA Saint-Petersburg 

students in Helsinki will take place in 16-22 November, 2006. 

We would like to thank all the participants and organisations, especially 

the Head of the Chair of International Law of the Law School of St. Petersburg 

State University, Vitaly S. Ivanenko for his insightful skills of communication 

and titanic patience, PhD student of the Chair of International 

Law, Sergey A. Golubok (the Auditor of ELSA International), and the technical 

department of the ICTY for their support and operate assistance. 

s y n e r g y 13

Aylin Farid 

Director for Institutional Relations 


What Does The Director For Institutional Relations Do? – A Short 

Introduction To The World Of Institutions 

The Director for Institutional Relations’ primary 

responsibility is assisting the International 

Board inits tasks according to ELSA’s 

special status with international organisations. 

The Director shall work on the Institutional Relations, 

mainly through institutional visits to 

European institutions and promotion of visits 

by the Network to the institutions. 

Furthermore, the Director shall take care of the 

academic preparation of ELSA’s International 

Delegations and investigate the possibilities 

of obtaining financial support to them. The 

relevant information shall be put together to 

an ELSA International Delegations’ Handbook. 

The Director shall also collect relevant information 

by conducting a research regarding the 

possibilities for ELSA to take advantage of its 

special status and by being in constant contact 

with all of the institutions that ELSA has 

co-operation with. 

Lubica Palenikova 

Vice President Seminars & Conferences 

ELSA Vienna 

Law Beyond Borders – 

A Seminar Truly Beyond Borders 

Taking a sightseeing tour through Rotterdam – the city with the largest 

port in Europe, enjoying a mild breeze on the beach in Scheveningen, 

admiring three different courts and dozens of embassies in Den Haag and 

experiencing the sin city of Amsterdam – the cultural programme of “Law 

Beyond Borders” by ELSA Rotterdam certainly fulfilled the expectations 

of its 58 participants. 

The topic “25 years of legal diversity” was discussed by ELSA members 

coming from 10 different countries in interesting, interactive lectures and 

exciting workshops. The statue of Erasmus van Rotterdam was watching 

us carefully while debating with professors, lawyers, representatives of an 

NGO and other experts. 

“Drugs policy in the EU” aroused a highly controversial debate dominated 

by arguments in favour of legalizing and tolerating drugs by means of 

“an intelligent regulatory and control mechanism”. It only remains to be 

seen whether the Netherlands will persuade other countries to follow its 

example. 

Famous brands such as Coca-Cola and KitKat were referred to during a 

very informative lecture on “Intellectual Property Rights”. The workshop 

involved a “legal battle” over the trademark of a well-known calculator. 

The participants formed two groups (representing the applicant and the 

defendant) and pleaded their arguments before a panel of judges. 

“Humanitarian Law” led to an interesting lecture on human rights of Guan- 

ELSA’s Institutional Relations 

- Special Consultative Status with UN ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social 

Council) 

- Consultative Status with UNCITRAL (UN Commission on International Trade Law) 

- Consultative Status with UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) 

- Participatory Status with the Council of Europe 

- Co-operation agreement with UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees) 

- Observer Status with WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) 

Do you want to join an international ELSA Delegation to one of the above mentioned 

institutions? Keep an eye out on our Info-list and our website; new possibilities are 

advertised continuously! If you just bring the motivation and true interest in the specific 

legal topic, we can assure you an experience of a life time! 

tanamo Bay prisoners and the role of religion. The barbecue night was a 

great pleasure to our bellies and accompanied by national drinks. 

The merger of two famous brewing companies was simulated in the 

workshop on “Competition Law” and questioned by students forming the 

Commission of the EU. The prohibition of the abuse of a dominant position 

was soon forgotten by the taste of real beer during a farewell party in a 

local pub with 200 different kinds of beer and during a dancing night. 

This event of multinational dimension, embedded in an informative academic 

programme and an exciting social programme really proved to go 

“beyond borders”. 

s y n e r g y 15

Aleksandar Nikolic 


ELSA Serbia and Montenegro 

The Mt. Kopaonik School 

Of Natural Law - Law 

And Universal Values 

The Kopaonik School of Natural Law is a traditional 

event of ELSA Serbia and Montenegro which has 

been organised for 18 years in co-operation with the 

Serbian Law Association. This Law School is placed 

on the lovely Serbian and European mountain of 

Kopaonik. The School of Natural Law unites on the 

same place thousands of jurists, university professors, 

judges, lawyers and law students from different countries, gathering 

around the six pillars of Natural law: Ius, Libertas, Proprietas, Vita, 

Humanitas and Justitia. 

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 Universal 

values”. 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 not make the old 

spirit fade away. 

Kopaonik is not only the School; it is also a famous national park and a 

Loreta Pivoriunaite 



Law As An Expression And 

Guarantee Of A Culture Of Peace 

Have you ever heard about grammar of emotions or peace education? 

How does it connect with ELSA and even law in general? 

On the 21st of September 2006 the Treasurer of ELSA International, Tina 

Eszlari, and the Director for Seminars & Conferences, Loreta Pivoriunaite, 

attended the Award Ceremony for the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education 

at the Headquarters in Paris. 

The representatives participated as observers in the round table “Culture 

of peace today” together with some of the most prominent people in the 

education sector. Professor of Law (College de France, Paris) Mrs. M. 

Delmas-Marty presented the topic “Law as an expression and a guarantee 

of a culture of peace” on the background of forgiveness and reconciliation. 

During the discussion, panelists pointed out that peace is a presence 

of justice. The base of peace education is Cosmo law, religion, studies 

of history and respect for international law. Due to that the areas of law 

become more and more specified and dynamic; a place also emerges 

for peace and forgiveness, next to the more established areas of human 

rights and justice. 

At the end of the ceremony, the Director-General of the UNESCO – Mr. 

Koichiro Matsuura, announced that the Prize for Peace Education now has 

existed for 25 years and then awarded the Former Vice President of the International 

Court of Justice, Mr. Christopher Weeramantry from Sri Lanka, 

tourist and ski center of Serbia and Southern Europe. You can enjoy both 

the snow and the sun; either by going skiing or trying out some extreme 

winter sports during the winter or by going free climbing, paragliding, 

swimming or fishing during the summer. Kopaonik also offers you a very 

interesting night life with clubs, cafés, restaurants and discotheques 

where you can enjoy famous Serbian drinks, cuisine and music. 

By visiting Kopaonik and attending its School of Natural law, you will 

be able to take with you at least a part of the moment consisting of new 

knowledge, friendships and natural impressions. This year we had guests 

from the UK, Germany, Republic of Macedonia and Hungary. We hope that 

we will see you in the next school. 

as this year’s laureate. 

In conclusion, law as an expression and a guarantee of a culture of peace 

nowadays has become an important value. 

ELSA and UNESCO. 

In 1994 ELSA was granted Consultative Status in Category C and 

therefore became officially recognised as a co-operation partner of 

United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization. 

s y n e r g y 17

“Children Are The Most Precious Things We Own – We Can Sell 

Their Bodies Over And Over Again” 

Does it not sound terrible? Did you know that 2 000 000 children 

get sexually abused each year around the world?! That means 

6000 children each day, 250 children every hour! Unfortunately, 

this is the truth, a truth that so many people do not want to get 

familiar with. 

There is no secret that tourists are using children sexually in developing 

countries, in Eastern Europe and even in Western countries. Like any other 

trade, the sexual trade of children is dependant on an offer and demand. 

The developed European countries contribute to creating a market where 

the sexual exploitation of children is a main product. Millions of tourists 

and businessmen are using children sexually during their foreign trips. 

The children are involved in prostitution, pornography and trafficking. The 

problem has a worldwide spread and significance. 

Between 10th and 11th of March 2006, the third Seminar on Commercial 

Sexual Exploitation of Children was held at the University of Stockholm, 

Sweden. The main theme of the seminar was child trafficking on the 

Internet and the seminar was a result of a co-operation between ELSA 

Sweden and ECPAT Sweden. ECPAT Sweden is a part of ECPAT International, 

which is a global network of organisations and individuals working 

together to eliminate the commercial sexual exploitation of children. The 

ECPAT acronym stands for ‘End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and 

Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes’. The main purpose of ECPAT’s 

work is to raise awareness about child sex tourism and child pornography, 

to protect children from prostitution and to promote new legislation. 

Through its campaigns at national, regional and international level, ECPAT 

has made the world realise that child pornography cannot be reduced to a 

question of freedom of speech. ECPAT takes the stand that every pornographic 

image of a child is an evidence of the sexual exploitation of that 

child and hence an evidence of a crime. 

18 

Aylin Farid 

Vice President Seminars & 

Conferences and Head of OC 

ELSA Sweden 05/06 

Elena Vegelyte 


ELSA Lithuania 

Lawyer’s Trumps 

The variety of themes and forms of S&C events sometimes seems amazing, 

especially taking into consideration the fact that we all are targeting 

one vision. The freedom of acting allows S&C officers to be beneficial 

to their lawyers’ society by solving local or specific problems that each 

country has. 

By organising “Lawyer‘s trumps“, we tried to concentrate on one of the 

biggest problems of Lithuanian law society - the educational system. 

Lithuanian students graduate from universities with the basic knowledge 

of law; but what about for example skills of speaking in public or debating? 

What about skills of proper behaviour in public or in business meetings? 

Employers demand so much from graduates, often neglecting the 

idea that those skills might not even have been brought up by the universities. 

So what did ELSA Vilnius do? Nothing special - just gathered the 

best professionals in oral speaking, etiquette, negotiation, promoted the 

Julia Tegnerbratt 

Director of Seminars & Conferences 

and Member of OC 

ELSA Stockholm 05/06 

The participation of young people is a vital element of the seminar. The 

main thought is that the young generation will develop this work further, 

but the problem is that the regular education system doesn’t offer any 

education on this question to law students. 

This year’s conference was focused on problems of sexual abuse of children, 

child pornography and pedophilia on the Internet. More than one 

hundred students from the Nordic countries and Greece participated. The 

seminar started with a brief introduction to give all the participants the 

same starting-point, whereas former participants had the possibility to 

complete their knowledge from the last conference. After that, focus was 

directed on the Internet. Among other things, it was discussed how children 

can be sexually abused on the Internet and what you can do to prevent 

and fight against it. The most prominent speakers, such as the Minister 

of Justice, Thomas Bodström, the author Maj-Gull Axelsson, head of the 

child pornography group at the State Criminal Department, Anette Ahlenius, 

the senior physician for child and adolescent psychiatry Carl-Göran 

Svedin and many more shared their experience in the area. The seminar 

was summarised with traditional workshops where all the participants had 

the possibility to share impressions and discuss new material from lectures. 

Through the workshops, the participants were also introduced to the 

mandatory practice that follows each seminar. The main thought with the 

conference was that all the participants should also spread their acquired 

knowledge further. After the workshops and the practice, the participants 

received their education certificates. 

The Seminar on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children will return 

next year and we hope to see you there! 

For more information, please visit web pages: 

ELSA Sweden: www.elsasweden.org 

ECPAT Sweden: www.ecpat.se 

event and made a cycle of lectures, which showed to be one of the most 

successful events during the year in S&C on local level. The lectures 

took place every day – from Tuesday to Thursday and each lecture lasted 

approximately two hours. In the beginning the speakers introduced the 

themes and shared their knowledge and afterwards they were given questions 

by the audience. All the participants who attended all three lectures 

received certificates - a detail which proved to be quite important when 

attracting students to the event. So by concentrating on extracurricular 

education and playing with students’ psychology, S&C in Vilnius managed 

to organise quite an impressive event. 

So after deep research of the problems that you would like to combat, the 

second thing you should think of is – “How to sell the event? “. Sometimes 

it might be a really unusual idea, a form or marketing novelties - it 

might be anything and everything that could make you proud in the end. 


ELSA Serbia and Montenegro has organised the Conference “Through 

dialogue of youth to stability in the region of Southeast Europe”, held on 

April 20th to 23rd 2006 in Norcev Hotel on Fruska Gora Mountain. The 

conference was carried out as a part of a project that started in January 

2006 by ELSA and Balkan Idea in association with the partner organisation 

BIRD from Pristina. 

The ELSA Serbia and Montenegro Conference attracted considerable interest 

mainly in ELSA’s international network and for participation in the 

conference came over 100 

applications. The structure of 

the participants showed that 

a very strong group of young 

people gathered there, and all 

of them were prepared to take 

important steps in the area 

Aleksandar Nikolic 



Conference - Through Dialogue Of Youth To Stability In The Region 

Of Southeast Europe 

of co-operation between Serbs and Albanians as well as other national 

groups in the Balkan Region. 

The conference was attended by participants from Switzerland, Austria, 

Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Kosovo and Serbia. In order 

to achieve stability in the Southeast Europe region and foremost in Kosovo 

and Serbia, education of young people should be one of the basic objectives 

in that process. 

That is why ELSA and Balkan Idea, through co-operation with partner organisations, 

will commence their further work on youth policies and improving 

co-operation among young people in the region of Southeastern 

Europe in the nearest future. “Positive Peace” can be achieved in the long 

term only by the forming of attitudes through education, such as offering 

lecture plans with civil education and human rights for primary schools. 

That kind of education for the young people is the long term process 

which must be observed as a responsibility of all who want a peaceful 

society in which all citizens 

enjoy equal rights and mutual 

understanding. Making of this 

culture is a challenge not only 

in Kosovo and Serbia but in 

the whole Balkan region as 

well. Some adjustments have 

already been done and various international and domestic organisations 

have started initiatives and initiated programmes for positive co-existence 

in order to connect ethnic communities. 

““POSITIVE PEACE” can be achieved in the long term only 

by the forming of attitudes through education, such as offering 

lecture plans with civil education and human rights for 

primary schools.” 

We, as organisers of several projects in the area of youth co-operation 

between Kosovo and Serbia, are very proud to give contribution, and we 

hope that the other youth organisations will follow in our footsteps.

Especially nowadays we 

are living in a world where 

borders disappear more and 

more. In such a time every 

one of us has to be more flexible than before. We have to 

be more open minded than we were before and we have to 

work more for our goals than we did before. Time is changing 

fast and the world is changing more rapidly than we 

maybe expected. More than 20 years ago, the “Student 

Trainee Exchange Programme” was born as one of the first 

Key Areas in ELSA. It grew to unexpected dimensions and 

so the Network saw a need for developing it, to be able to 

manage the manual matching of thousands of Curriculum 

Vitae’s and hundreds of Traineeship Forms. 

For a European law student, STEP is most of the time the 

first step into the legal world. For a future legal professional 

the experience in a different legal system is a great 

advantage, but there is so much more that we all can gain 

from this, to live in a different culture and within another 

society. 

For an employer, STEP is a great opportunity to get in contact 

with young, highly motivated and qualified law students, 

but also a mean to build bridges to other markets 

- a common way of development in the legal community 

nowadays. 

The ways of bringing students and employers together already 

changed a lot of times and will keep on changing in 

the future. But the reason why we have STEP - our Vision, 

has remained for all these years and will remain the same 

well into the future of our Association! We, the students, 

employers and ELSA Officers gain so much from STEP. Take 

your chance now and be a part of it! 

20 

Andrea Claudia Raffl 

Vice President Student Trainee 

Exchange Programme 


A STEP INTO 

THE FUTURE! 

Akos Cserhati 

President 

ELSA Hungary 

20 Minutes For STEP – 

The Best Investment 

After spending four thrilling years working in ELSA I have thought: 

I’m not facing surprises any more. The Key Areas in ELSA Hungary 

worked well; we concentrated on international seminars, prepared for 

meetings, organised moot courts, trained the members and went to 

sponsors’ meetings. Discussions in the boardroom relating to STEP 

went only like: “All fine? – Yes, all fine.” Tribute to Eszter Czumpf, 

our National STEPer who was always so modest. Working silently she 

and her team have built up one of the biggest databases of members’ 

STEP CVs in the whole ELSA Network and managed the application 

procedure of hundreds of interested Hungarian law students. 

Eszter was the one who pushed me to fill out my STEP Application 

Form – took me about 20 minutes. From here on, the procedure was 

literally going by itself. A common Sunday evening sitting at a glass 

of wine I scanned through ELSA Online: a job offer from the State 

Government of Tyrol, Austria – double-click application – and in a 

couple of weeks: notification of acceptance! I got the opportunity to 

get to know STEP for real! 

When I try to describe the STEP job I can only speak in superlatives: 

ELSA arranged my accommodation in downtown Innsbruck and even 

cared for a four week fitness pass. The city is surrounded by the peaks 

of the Alps. The inner town is a historical monument complex, which 

makes you feel that you could bump into Empress Elisabeth at any 

corner. My office was in a palace from the 17th century: baroque 

splendour outside, high-tech inside. I was trained by the other 7 lawyers 

of the environmental and economic department and worked on 

cases from neighbour-clashes to million-Euro investments, participated 

at governmental on-site inspections, hearings and negotiations. 

In the evenings and weekends I could travel around in the picturesque 

countryside, visit some of the numerous imperial castles or dive into 

Tyrolian night-life. 

Five weeks passed and I left Tyrol with great memories, having made 

friendships, learned a lot and boosted my bank account with a good 

thousand Euros. Remembering Eszter’s words: the 20 minutes spent 

on the Application Form really did pay up in every sense. 


STUDENT TRAINEE EXCHANGE PROGRAMME 

Patrick Wilkins 

Publisher and chairman 

The European Lawyer Ltd, London 

STEP – From The Perspective Of A Proud Employer 

Members of the legal profession, regardless of their age and origin, deserve 

a special place in society. At first sight this may look a contentious 

remark, given that doctors, politicians, engineers, bankers, business 

tycoons, teachers – even our necessary rubbish collectors – might 

equally claim that their status is invaluable to the efficient running of our 

countries. 

For me, though, while all of the above are important providers, none plays 

a greater role than the lawyer. Without the rule of law none of our democracies 

would exist. We have seen too often in the past that once this pillar 

disappears, democracy does too, and the result is often anarchy, communism, 

fascism, or worse, warfare and the annihilation of societies. 

Today we are privileged in that such collapses of the rule of law exist only 

on the peripheries of our modern freedoms and wealth and social cohesion. 

Our grandparents and ancestors could never have dreamed of such 

material stability. 

Politicians will always claim that the advances we have made in the European 

Union in the past fifty or more years are down to them. Appreciate 

the processes behind the legislation we enjoy in the rule of law and there 

is no mistaking that it is lawyers who emerge as the true champions of 

democracy. Unlike politicians, unpopular causes for them are the same 

as popular causes. The neutrality and disinterest integral to the legally 

trained mind counters the fervency of politicians as the foundations of fair 

and just democracy are slowly built. 

As a publisher of legal journals and textbooks I am proud of being part 

of that tradition. The European Lawyer journal, since its inception in the 

first year of this new century, has never been frightened of ploughing the 

unpopular furrow in the legal sector of society. From diversity through to 

human rights, through to the establishment of efficient global firms that 

are both profitable, and ethical we have always supported what we believe 

to positive and criticised what we believe to be negative. 

In this vein, we have tried to encourage the new generation of lawyers 

coming out of law schools to join the army of Europe’s 800,000 legally 

knowledgeable people who serve, or will serve, as our advisers and instruments 

of our justice systems. 

The European Law Students’ Association (ELSA) is the main organisation 

of law students and young lawyers. Its members need working opportunities 

that will help them later with their task of creating the law, representing 

the poorest and misfortunate in our society, or more conventionally 

oiling the wheels of the businesses upon which we all depend for our 

livelihood. In our world of producing comparative law books and analysis 

we can help in that first step. 

We were informed of the many members of ELSA awaited work experience, 

and the talented group of elected officers who run the organisation 

from Brussels recommended internships to us. Though it was a first experience 

for us too, we were not disappointed. All the candidates displayed 

the characteristics of the diverse, individualistic thinkers of which the 

legal profession comprises. Language abilities, education, social skills 

were second to none. 

We had a hard time choosing the two we would intern at our Avenue 

Louise Brussels office, but eventually, because of their skills perfectly 

adapted to our international EU law project we chose Beatrice Gaki from 

Greece and Nicole Lee from the UK. 

Beatrice and Nicole are now working hard on their internships, with diligence 

and creativity. They are shining examples of the young people 

under the umbrella of ELSA: more importantly they are bricks in that so 

important pillar of Europe’s future. 

www.europeanlawyer.co.uk 

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Development Of STEP In Serbia 

After a long period of a nonfunctioning Student Trainee Exchange Programme, 

ELSA Serbia finally managed to enable it. During the autumn 

International Council Meeting in Malta the STEP workshop worked really 

hard to solve all problems that the Network was facing in the area. 

After that great experience we came back home with a clear vision and an 

eagerness to develop STEP in our country. Our main problem was how to 

get people involved in STEP, so we started to work hard on giving STEP 

presentations, organising STEP teams in every Local Group, making a 

national STEP mailing list, making brochures and handing them out to 

students in order to attract them to the Programme. We also talked to the 

professors who were willing to help and found contacts in the best firms 

dealing with law in our country. In the beginning we faced many of the 

same problems that all STEPers have, such as the amount of money the 

trainee is going to get, what kind of job a foreign student can do when he 

or she doesn’t speak Serbian, where to place the trainees and many others 

problems alike. 

However, in the end we did it! Due to the great support of the Commercial 

Court in Novi Sad and Executive Council of Province of Vojvodina, we 

managed to provide two new jobs, which is great when considering that 

for a long time we didn’t have any traineeships at all. So that is the story 

how our first, “baby traineeship”, was entered in ELSA ONLINE and how 

Olgierd Kawalko, a student from Poland, became our first trainee. Dur- 

22 

Alina Byelopolska 

Secretary General 

ELSA Ukraine 

Traineeship In Bratislava - 

Impressions Of The First STEP Participant From Ukraine 

This year was very outstanding for ELSA Ukraine in many respects. 

Namely, we have got a new National Board, we have finally started to 

work actively and efficiently and our students have participated in several 

important international events held by ELSA. All these facts indicate that 

a new period in the history of ELSA Ukraine has finally started. But there 

is one more very important thing which has happened to ELSA Ukraine 

this year: our members have finally received access to ELSA ONLINE and 

gained the possibility to participate in the Student Trainee Exchange Programme. 

And I am very proud of the fact, that it was I who became the 

first student from Ukraine, who after this long pause took part in STEP and 

went to a foreign law firm for practice! 

To be more precise, my CV was submitted to ELSA Bratislava and I was 

chosen for a traineeship in “Valko, Majer & partners”, one of the best 

law offices in Bratislava. Most of the practicing lawyers and professors 

I talked to in Ukraine were very sceptical about this traineeship and were 

predicting that it wouldn’t give me any relevant practical experience since 

as usual the main duty of a student in a law firm during a traineeship is 

copying documents and other more technical work. However, I decided 

to take part in the traineeship offered by the STEPers from Bratislava and 

prove the opposite. Fortunately, my sceptical expectations were not jus- 

Tijana Levakov 




tified since during my traineeship in “Valko, Majer & partners” I only 

got substantial and interesting assignments connected exclusively with 

legal practice. In particular, I was involved in the drafting of legal documents 

and legal research, where one of my main duties was to prepare a 

memorandum on Russian and Ukrainian legislation since this law firm has 

clients in Eastern Europe, but also legal research more generally focused 

on international law on topics connected with commercial, civil law, investments 

and intellectual property law. One more thing that surprised 

me very much was the attention paid to me by the staff of the law firm. I 

was given full support and thanks to that fact and to the friendly and quiet 

atmosphere in the office, I felt almost like at home. Besides that it should 

be noted that I had a lot of free time in order to learn the Slovak culture and 

to become familiar with Bratislava and the Slovak language. 

So, I came back home with a lot of emotions, positive impressions and 

inspiration to work! And now if someone asks me about STEP I always 

answer that it is one of the most marvellous things that ELSA could give 

to you! I am very grateful to the STEP-team of ELSA Bratislava and also 

to the Vice President STEP in ELSA Donetsk, Alexander Kononenko, who 

gave me this unique opportunity! 

Ivana Buric 



ELSA Novi Sad 

ing his stay our local ELSA members and the reception team made this 

reception possible. The fact is that there is a lot to be done when you are 

a member of the hosting Local Group and that is why it’s very important to 

get active ELSA members involved in the reception. 

After this first successful step in our “ELSA career” we can only say that 

this was a great experience to us all and repeat the words of Katia Girotto, 

the former International Vice President STEP: ”People, IT IS NOT IMPOS- 

SIBLE!”. With this article, we would like to thank her and everyone from 

the STEP workshop in Malta who, with their great ideas, words and efforts, 

inspired us to start working on STEP in the first place. 

At the end I would like to mention that ELSA Serbia now is expecting one 

trainee more this semester, and hopefully many more in the future. A few 

tips that we can give to every Local Group is that the most important thing 

about STEP is willingness and persistence to succeed! Every employer 

can hire one trainee; they just need to be persuaded. So offer them as 

many things as you can, and especially state the fact that they will help 

the process of European integration, further development of democracy 

and the acceptance of any cultural differences between people. 

The experiences, contacts and knowledge we gain from STEP will always 

motivate us in our future work. To sum up, we can say that if you show will 

and eagerness, the STEP process will never end. 


Leaving ELSA? 

Join the alumni network: 

ELS! 

Get news on ELS and ELSA 

Go to events throughout 

Europe 

Meet old friends – and new 

Support and stay in touch 

with ELSA 

Join The ELSA Lawyers Society! 

The ELSA Lawyers Society is the international association for all (former) 

ELSA members who have finished or are finishing their ELSA time. One 

day this will happen to you too… Hundreds of former ELSA members in 

over 25 countries made the step before you and many more are following. 

Regardless if you are interested for social or professional reasons, ELS offers 

a lot for little money or even for free: 

• Joining ELS is both socially and professionally a natural, useful 

and fun step to take for (ex-)ELSA members: stay (or be) in 

touch with lawyers throughout Europe that share the same 

ELSA background! 

• Advance information and the possibility to participate in social 

and academic ELS and ELSA events across Europe. 

• ELS Newsletter and ELSA’s Synergy magazine sent to your 

address twice a year. (During free period only ELS Newsletter by 

email). 

• Listing of your personal and professional details and photo (as 

desired) in our ELS Directory which is sent to all members and to 

ELSA groups once a year and available online (During free 

period online only). 

• subscription to national and professional legal interest email 

lists you select. 

• access to national alumni networks - existing in some countries, 

being set up in others. 

• you can also become more active if you like, and initiate some 

ELS activity in your country or region. 

As we would like to attract all ‘retired’ ELSA members at all levels and in 

all ELSA countries, we are offering numerous benefits for only € 25 per 

year! If you’d first like to find out what ELS is like, you can even decide to 

try out membership for free for up to two years: until the end of the 

next calendar year! (no voting rights or hard-copy publications included) 

So join ELS if you are convinced by our arguments. If you’re not - or if 

you want to save money for a while - try out the free membership! 

Apply now on www.elslawyer.org ! 

We look forward to welcoming you! 

The ELS Executive Committee 

els 

The ELSA Lawyers Society 

Joining ELS: 

now only online! www.elslawyer.org 

s y n e r g y 23

EVENTS CALENDAR 2006/2007 

MARCH 

JANUARY 

DECEMBER 

Baltic Trainings 

Date: 16–22 April 2007 

Place: Vilnius, Lithuania 

Working Language: English 

Registration deadline: 16 March 2007 

Contact Information: Adomas Sederevicius 

E-mail: adomasadomas@yahoo.com 

Phone: +37068527220 

Website: www.elsa.lt 

Private corporations’ responsibility against 

sexual exploitation of children 

Date: 8–11 March 2007 

Place: University of Stockholm, Sweden 

Working Language: English and Swedish 

Registration deadline: 15 February 2007 

Contact Information: Julia Tegnebratt 

E-mail: vpsc@elsasweden.org 

Phone: +467762502433 

Website: www.elsasweden.org 

Marketing meets Law 

Date: 25–28 January 2007 

Place: Bayreuth, Germany 


Registration deadline: 7 January 2007 

Contact Information: Jan Moritz Lang 

E-mail: jan.lang@gmx.de 

Phone: +4915115256982 

Website: www.elsa-bayreuth.de 

Law is better than War! 

Human Rights in Times of Terrorism 

Date: 4-13 December 2006 

Place: Bucharest, Romania 


Registration deadline: 14 November 2006 

Contact Information: Corina Tanase, Arabela Trifoi 

E-mail: corinna_libtw@yahoo.com, 

arabelee-litbtw@yahoo.fr 

Phone: +40723182518; +40722983477

Website: www.elsalawschool.unibuc.ro 

Say or not to say? The freedom of expression 

in the field of journalism from Polish, 

German and European points of view 

Date: 20–22 April 2007 

Place: Słubice/Frankfurt (Oder), Poland/Germany 

Working Language: German, Polish 

Registration deadline: 16 April 2007 

Contact Information: Agnieszka Bielak 

E-mail: agnieszka_bielak@yahoo.de 

Phone: +48 506 561 078 

Website: http://elsa-slubice.euv-frankfurt-o.de 

Insurance law forum: 

Legal practice of insurance law in Ukraine and 

in the EU. Comparative aspects 

Date: 13–15 March 2007 

Place: Ivan Franko Lviv National University, Ukraine 

Working Language: English, Ukrainian, Russian 


Contact Information: Ulyana Solonyuk 

E-mail: ulyanasolonyuk@gmail.com 

Phone: +380979994124 

Website: www.elsa.org.ua 

FEBRUARY 

International Presidents Meeting 

Date: 31 January-4 February 2007 

Place: Toulon, France 


Registration deadline: 25 December 2006 

Contact Information: Guillaume Tatoueix 

E-mail: guillaume.tatoueix@wanadoo.fr 

Phone: +33675204035 

Final International Focus Programme 

Conference - 25 years of 

Legal Development 


Place: Oslo, Norway 



Contact Information: Linn Helset 

E-mail: ifp@elsa.no 

Phone:+4747233770 

Website: www.finalifp.no 

46th Session of the UNCITRAL WG II on 

International Arbitration and Conciliation 

MAY 

The Final Oral Round of the ELSA Moot 

Court Competition on WTO Law 

Date: 1-6 May 2007 

Place: Geneva, Switzerland 



Contact Information: ELSA International 

E-mail: emc2@elsamootcourt.org 

Phone: +3226462626 

Website: www.elsamootcourt.org 

Spring International Council Meeting 

Date: 25 March-1 April 2007 

Place: Prague, Czech Republic 



Contact Information: Filip Vrubel 

E-mail: vrubel@elsa.cz 

Phone: +420608436065 

Website: www.icm-online.org 

Date: 5-9 February 2007 

Place: New York, USA 





Phone: +3226462626 


25 years of International Criminal Court 

and the role of Criminal law in the EU 

Date: 9 December 2006 

Place: Treviso, Italy 

Working Language: Italian, translation into English 


Contact Information: Chiara Gecele 

E-mail: vpaa@elsatreviso.it 

Phone: +393498655505 

Website: www.elsatreviso.it 

Humanitarian Law in Armed Conflicts 

Date: 7-12 May 2007 

Place: Berlin, Germany 


Contact Information: Johannes Muller 

E-mail: vize@elsa-berlin.be 

Phone: +4917662022175 

Website: www.elsa-berlin.de 

The rights of the patients 

Date: 29–30 March 2007 

Place: Donetsk, Ukraine 

Working Language: English, Ukrainian 


Contact Information: Krystyna Bakhtina 

E-mail: Christik2006@gmail.com 

Phone: +380505181777 

Website: www.elsa.org.ua 

International STEP Meeting 

Date: 22–25 February 2007 

Place: Novi Sad, Serbia 



Contact Information: Tijana Levakov 

E-mail: elsa.office@gmail.com 

Phone: +381216350377 

Website: www.elsa.org.yu 

The Mt. Kopaonik School of Natural Law 

Date: 12–17 December 2006 

Place: Kopaonik Mountain, Serbia and Montenegro 

Working Language: Serbian and English 


Contact Information: Aleksandar Nikolic 

E-mail: sasabenic@yahoo.com 

Phone: +381638982552 

Website: www.elsa.org.yu 

APRIL 

Law Beyond Boarders: Real estate law 

Date: 2–8 April 2007 

Place: Rotterdam, The Netherlands 



Contact Information: Dagmar Daal 

E-mail: vpsc@elsarotterdam.nl 

Phone: +3110408 15 75 

Website: www.elsarotterdam.nl 

51st Session on the Status of Women 

Date: 26 February-9 March 2007 

Place: New York, USA 





Phone: +3226462626 


Intellectual Property Rights Days 2006: 

Pharmaceutical Industry 

Join the chain... 


Place: Warsaw, Poland 



Contact Information: Pawel Tatarczak 

E-mail: paweltatarczak@o2.pl 

Phone: +48693349256 

Website: www.iprdays.elsa.org.pl

A student with a 

law degree in his 

or her CV, has 

several, as well 

as great opportunities 

for a successful 

career. The legal education provides qualifications 

for taking an active part in the decision making procedure 

of our community. The legal education is a tool for accomplishing 

change and the ways for this are many. With thorough 

theoretical teaching the legal education will guide the 

law student through the legal system and its implications, 

preparing for real life as a practitioner. After a couple of 

years of intense studying, the law student is supposed to 

be ready to embrace real life and to seize the power that 

comes along with the profession. But is the law student 

really ready to practice his or her learnings? Is the law student 

ready for this responsibility? 

The legal university education itself is in comparison with 

many other university educations, quite traditional in its 

form. In several European countries the legal university education 

has not changed much in the latest couple of years. 

For example, when other university educational areas are 

embracing new and alternative methods of teaching, traditional 

methods of teaching law are still used. The reason 

for this is, in my opinion, that teaching of theory in a strictly 

theoretical way is put on an altar when it comes to teaching 

law. The method for reaching out with the message, 

the learning of law, should be done by traditional classroom 

“I am the Professor, you are the students” teaching. 

The practical parts are often limited to interactive assignments, 

within the classroom. This is not wrong but it is not 

enough. Where is the practice outside the classroom? Why 

does the practice have to start after the educational programme? 

Isn’t the discussion and effort of bridging theory 

and practice the real challenge of teaching law? 

As an active member of ELSA, first on local and national 

level and now in conclusion on international level, I can 

honestly say that I am so proud of what the Association has 

become and what the Association has done when it comes 

to bridging theory and practice on legal education; something 

that the Faculties of Law around Europe often do not 

succeed with. For 25 years ELSA has been the melting pot 

for law students in Europe, coming together, discussing 

and exchanging ideas and experiences, all in real situations, 

in real life, outside the classrooms. We will keep on 

doing this for another 25 years. This I can promise you. 

26 

Christopher Carlson 

President 


ELSA - 


Christina Paul 

Director for Corporate Relations 


GOOD DEAL – Why Fundraising 

Could Be A Success Story 

For ELSA 

Not that fundraising would be overlooked within our Association 

– regarding though that the possibility of arranging events 

and projects as well as most significantly the overall running 

of the association is dependent on sufficient funding, one is 

tempted to think twice if we always put things in the right relation 

here. 

Yes, during international meetings we do have trainings on fundraising. 

However, the time annually spent in project and risk management 

trainings on local, national and international level is likely to by far 

exceed the one dedicated to fundraising. In turn, fundraising trainings 

are traditionally delivered to the Presidents who are assigned the 

“breadwinning“ business within the area of External Relations. Yet, 

funding is vital for all areas and particularly linked to the Key Areas 

which is why all officers filling board positions should be able to relate 

to it. The true observation is that fundraising as such is a highly 

time-consuming and complex activity which requires manpower to be 

invested, as for example in the form of a fundraising team – manpower 

that our Association clearly possesses. 

ELSA’s manpower is not restricted to human resources though. What 

a sponsor is traditionally looking for is access to a group. This is 

exactly what ELSA can offer to targeted sponsors on all three levels respectively. 

A first step as part of a professional sponsorship approach 

is therefore to know our value and most relevant asset – a network 

offering the chance to meet tomorrow’s legal community through various 

co-operation possibilities. 

“Plans are nothing, planning is everything”( 

Dwight D. Eisenhower) 

And yes, we do have sessions in which we exchange and share experiences 

and ideas on fundraising. Yet again, we tend to talk much 

more about the actual results than about the process itself. When dealing 

with the various steps of a sponsorship approach – from defining 

assets and benefits over thinking packages, the right connection to 

actual negotiations – it is essential to research the sponsor’s perspective. 

The most efficient training sessions on fundraising will therefore 

include a professional being able to present and advice on the kind of 

approach to proceed with towards a potential sponsor enhancing him 

to want to be part of a co-operation with ELSA – the best prerequisite 

for a long term relationship. 


BOARD MANAGEMENT, EXTERNAL 

RELATIONS AND EXPANSION 

Mina Lindgren 

President 

ELSA Sweden 

To Expand Or Not To Expand… - Let’s Go Back To The Basics! 

I received an e-mail a couple of weeks ago that preoccupied my 

mind longer than most of the e-mails I get. It was a woman who 

wrote that she had heard about ELSA and thought that it seemed 

like a great organisation - so far I was not really surprised... The 

purpose of the e-mail though, of course not only to give compliments, 

was to ask about possibilities to start a new Local Group, 

and it turned out that the woman was enrolled in a Swedish educational 

program called Business Law. 

Now you probably wonder what the problem is: “If the education is called 

Business Law, of course the students enrolled in it are automatically law 

students and should therefore be able to start a Local Group!”. Ignoring 

the title of the education though - what makes the Business Law education 

different from the standard Law degree is the fact that the students attain 

a totally different degree at the end since neither Procedural nor Criminal 

Law is a part of the education. This difference means, consequently, in 

practice, that the Business Law students never will be able to enter the 

Swedish court system to for example become judges or prosecutors. Is 

this difference enough to exclude the Business Law students from the 

Network of ELSA? How exclusive is ELSA supposed to be? How do we 

decide who can and who can not play? 

I do not think that there is another way of solving the issue than actually 

to go back to the basics - the core values, what ELSA actually is 

all about. The main objective of ELSA is the international integration. 

But the root to that, for me, is spelled communication. To be able to 

communicate though, there must be something to transfer - information 

based on knowledge. So how do we achieve this knowledge? We study! 

We discuss! We ask for opinions! And from whom do we achieve this 

knowledge? People who know! It might not be that Business Law students 

in Sweden know that much about Procedural and Criminal Law. But I am 

certain that they know other things. The focus must be on knowledge that 

could be a contribution to the Network.

Matthew Firth 

ILEC Regional Manager 

TransLegal 

How Good Is Your Legal English? 

Law is language – and language is the only tool lawyers have at their disposal. 

The way lawyers use, interpret and apply language will determine 

their professional success. One cannot succeed in the international legal 

community without being able to operate effectively in English. 

So, how good is your English? More importantly, how good is your English 

in legal contexts? Would you be able to deal with foreign clients, 

negotiate over the phone or prepare pleadings in English? 

Many non-native speakers of English practicing or studying law will have 

taken a course in English for Legal Purposes. Did your teacher cover the 

above skills, or did you simply learn about Anglo-American legal systems? 

My students do not need to be able to describe the British Constitution; 

they need to be able to describe their own laws and jurisdictions 

in English. They need to perform the tasks of a lawyer in English, and they 

need to know that their English language skills will not let them down. 

The Cambridge International Legal English Certificate (ILEC) is the only 

internationally recognised exam of legal English. An ILEC-based course 

focuses on the language skills lawyers need to succeed. 

When law firms hire new recruits they look at four things: school & grades, 

personality, work experience and language. Don’t let your language cost 

you a job. 

How do I Prepare? 

International Legal English, published by Cambridge University Press, 

is the definitive course for those who need to work in the international 

legal community. It is also the only course book written specifically to 

prepare students for the ILEC. ELSA members receive a 25% discount 

on the cover price of the book, as well as 50% off the student prices of 

TransLegal online courses (www.translegal.com). 

To find out more about the ILEC exam and International Legal English, see 

http://www.legalenglishtest.org/. 

Matthew Firth teaches ELP at the University Augsburg, Germany. He is 

secretary of the European Legal English Teachers Association, co-author 

of the International Legal English online research tasks and ILEC Regional 

Manager for Austria and Germany.

ecognised by leading international lawyers’ 

associations, law firms and companies 

www.LegalEnglishTest.org 

First Exams 6 May 2006 

Put Cambridge 

on your CV 

Legal employers now demand proof of English 

skills before hiring 

The International Legal English Certificate (ILEC) 

the world’s first internationally recognised test of 

legal English 

Cambridge ILEC – produced and administered by the University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations – in co-operation with TransLegal 

© UCLES 2005 EMC | 3412 | 5Y10 

The language of international law 

‘ This easily-comprehensible book will be of 

significant assistance to law students and 

young lawyers in their preparation for future 

employment in the international legal 

environment.’ 

Josefin Björklund President, 

The European Law Students’ Association 

(ELSA International) 

‘ A legal English coursebook that gives lawyers 

the language of commercial law they need to be 

able to work internationally. Not obscure English 

law concepts but the kind of everyday business 

law terminology lawyers in international practice 

really use.’ 

Bengt Gustafson President, 

European Company Lawyers Association 

Real case studies – Real law – Real language.

30 

Esra Ersoy 

Secretary General 


Dear All, 

It is with great 

pleasure that I address 

you all in this 

issue of Synergy which gives me the opportunity to say a 

few words about our Association and its 25 years of success 

and challenges. 

The adventure of ELSA started with five students from Austria, 

Poland, Hungary and West Germany on a train in 1981. 

The borders could not be able to resist the ELSA train… 

Now, being covered approximately by 30.000 members 

within 35 countries, ELSA has the honour to be the worlds’ 

largest independent law students’ association. 

Whilst promising the future success stories, ELSA has 

grown up under the light of its vision. 

Even in everyday issues, ELSA underlined the respect to 

cultural diversity and the importance of mutual understanding 

by means of gathering its members spread all 

over Europe. 

The past 25 years give a huge responsibility to the whole 

Network as each individual is a link in the chain. Like any 

association, ELSA’s success also relies on a solid foundation. 

To strengthen the structure and to feed new needs, 

ELSA has already turned her face to the future, something 

that comes naturally with its purpose of contributing to scientific 

co-operation in a spirit of critical dialogue. 

By the experience of working with a huge network aiming 

for the same purpose, ELSA promises to make remarkable 

changes to make its vision come true 

‘in a just world which there is respect for human dignity 

and cultural diversity’. 

Vytautas Zabulis 

Director for Training 



Trainings, trainings, trainings. And once again: trainings, trainings, 

trainings. Where do they start and end? And when do they start? And 

how? And why? Many questions that need an answers. Right? 

But I am not sure whether you yourself don’t have one to all of them. 

I believe that you do, you just need a push in the right direction. Sir 

John Harvey-Jones once wrote – “It’s extremely difficult to teach 

grown-up people anything. It is, however, relatively easy to create 

conditions under which people will teach themselves”. 

So I am not going to write about what trainings are in general (training 

= any attempt to change current or future behaviour by learning), 

what you should do to organise a professional training session (write 

me an email and I’ll tell you everything you need), what the ITP is 

(International Trainers’ Pool) and what to do with it (get a trainer), EDF 

(ELSA Development Fund – to get money from), what makes a good 

trainer and a bad training session (“learning that produces no change 

is about as useful as a parachute that doesn’t open“ by K. Murphy), or 

anything else like that because all of you of course already know it. 

Confucius: 

“I hear and I forget. 

I see and I remember. 

I do and I understand.” 

What I can’t understand however is why you don’t do them then? Why 

don’t you train yourself and your Local Group or National Group members 

(people have to be motivated!)? Why don’t you use the EDF for 

getting ITP Trainers? If you don’t do this, it is not hard to understand 

why in some areas there is a lack of knowledge. Do you like it this 

way? Remember T.R.A.I.N. - Training Resolves All Internal Needs! 

And now all together: trainings, trainings, trainings. I did it and I understood. 

I understood and I want to share it with everyone. So as 

a result not am I justclever and enlightened – everyone around me 

becomes. So we can all more successfully contribute to and focus on 

what we are really here for - the ELSA vision - A just world in which 

there is respect for human dignity and cultural diversity. And you do 

want the synergy effect of 1+1>2 to appear in the ELSA Network, 

don’t you? 


INTERNAL MANAGEMENT 

Giedre Jokubauskaite 

President 


An Experience Visit – Two Sides Of The Story 

Why bother to share experience? 

It happened so, that when we went to Ukraine, we were the ones who 

obviously had more experience and knowledge to share. It is very much 

understandable, as ELSA Lithuania is 15 years old now, whereas ELSA 

Ukraine started its activities only few years ago. So during our stay in 

Ukraine and knowing that, we tried to provide our colleagues with as much 

information as we could. We discussed how the key areas should actually 

function, how to strengthen the supporting areas and how to stabilise the 

whole organisation. The meetings that we had there were all very interesting, 

and – as we thought - useful for the Ukrainians. Naturally our first 

impression after we got back from Ukraine was that we helped them a lot 

and had a great time at the same time. 

It is hopefully true, but now, after the whole project is over, I can definitely 

tell, that it was way more that we got despite the fun. One of the 

best things that happened when we shared our experience was that we 

understood what strengths we have ourselves. It is great, because when 

you think of the further actions of the organisational development, it is 

essential to feel confidence in yourself and know what features of the organisation 

you can rely on. Further on, analyzing the basic steps that need 

to be taken in developing ELSA Ukraine helped us to evaluate which basic 

steps we are maybe missing ourselves. This kind of detailed analysis of 

the other National Group showed us the threats that we would have never 

thought about. The whole process of working together, I can definitely tell 

you that now, was the best training that we could ever get for ourselves. 

All in all, I wish to stress, that even if you think that you know everything, 

there is always something that you can improve. Knowing that, it 

is useful to remember that 

you never learn more than 

when you teach others and 

the truth is that thinking of 

an action plan for a less 

developed group can actually 

help your own group 

to create the most brilliant 

plan ever. 

My best wishes for you to 

try it yourselves! 

Yuriy Mukhin 

President 

ELSA Ukraine 

The best way to do it 

More than 8000 km in 16 days, 9 trains, 4 buses and 2 cars, no planes, 

5 Universities and 5 Local Groups, 70 ELSA members generally involved, 

6 cities and even 1 sea… The Dakar Rally? No. The Bilateral Experience 

Visit between the National Boards of ELSA Ukraine and ELSA Lithuania! 

We cannot believe it has really happened and we truly regret that it is 

already finished. 

The main idea of this event was to share the experience, which will help 

us to build and develop ELSA in our countries. It is not that easy to do it 

on national level. First of all, we had to define what experience in which 

field we really needed to ensure that the Experience Visit would be fruitful. 

In order to do that, we have spent the majority of time in Ukraine 

and Lithuania on discussions with and about all Local Groups: in Lviv, 

Kyiv, Donetsk and Vilnius. Only after that, we could more or less get the 

required clear overview of the current situation and start to search for 

possible solutions. 

Being mainly the receiving side of the experience exchange, we have 

got the most important feeling from the Lithuanians – not for example 

when we should send application forms before the ELSA Ukraine Summer 

School or what should be the content of a fundraising letter, but the 

general understanding of what we are doing, where we are at the moment 

and what we need to do in the future. I am strongly convinced that namely 

this feeling is what keeps people in work (regardless of the level of the 

group) and I sincerely hope that this feeling will help us to make both 

organisations much stronger. And all the means and details on our way 

are something that can and certainly will be done when such a feeling is 

present. 

Imagine all mentioned 

above together with the inseparable 

ELSA spirit and 

the marvelous cultural and 

social experience for the 

delegations. We have got 

a lot of new friends outside 

the country and at the 

same time strengthened 

our teams on the inside. It 

is the best way to do it! 

Switch on your imagination 

and find the best way 

to improve your ELSA!!! 

s y n e r g y 31

Introduction To Law Faculty With ELSA Poland – The 10th Freshers’ Camp 

The Freshers’ Camp is an annual project, one of the most prestigious, 

held by ELSA Poland. It’s directed to new students of the Law and Administration 

Faculties, who are at the very beginning of their legal education 

and career. The Camp is supposed to be a unique entrance to the magical 

world of law, and of course student life… 

This year it was ELSA Gdansk that was honoured with the task of organising 

the Freshers’ Camp. This 10th Freshers’ Camp had a specific character 

because of the double jubilee – 10 years of the Freshers’ Camp in Poland 

joined with the 25th Anniversary of ELSA International and ELSA Poland. 

That is the reason why ELSA Gdansk felt obliged not only to maintain the 

high level of the project, which had been assured by previous organisers 

of the Camp, but also to focus on creating an unforgettable atmosphere. 

Did we manage? 

Now, that the Camp is over, I can truly say, without being even slightly 

modest, that WE DID IT! The 10th Freshers’ Camp was held in Jastarnia, 

on 17th-24th September 2006. Jastarnia is a picturesque town in the 

North of Poland. It’s situated in Hel Peninsula, the best area for fans of 

windsurfing, which creates its unique character. On one side it borders on 

the calm, shallow waters of Pucka Bay, while a few hundreds metres away, 

on the opposite side of the narrow land, it borders on the rough offing of 

The Baltic Sea. 

The nearby beach was not only the place of relaxation for the 200 participants 

(OC took care that it wasn’t that often…), but also the main arena 

of The Law Olympics and Lawyer’s Survival, during which our Freshers 

had to build creative teams to reach the podium. I can’t announce the 

winners without a certain amount of pride, because in both tasks the 1st 

prize went to Gdansk, Szczecin and Bialystok (three Polish ELSA Local 

Groups)! But in Lawyer’s Survival they had to share the podium ex equo 

with Warsaw and Torun (another two). In another game called “Kidnapping” 

the winners were Katowice and Opole. But the social programme 

didn’t end with that. It contained as well evening parties such as “Movie 

Party” and “Creepy Party” which transferred all of us to the mysterious 

world of cute and tempting devils. 

But Freshers’ Camp is not only a week-lasting party! It’s also a period, just 

before a start of the academic year, when fresh students may get useful 

information about the faculty they had just chosen and about its specifics 

in each University. It is also a time when they get the first detailed information 

about the lawyer’s occupation and worth mentioning here is that 

they receive it straight from lawyers and the most prominent representatives 

of the academic cadre themselves. Two of them, connected with 

The Freshers’ Camp from the very beginning of its existence, Professor 

Wladyslaw Rozwadowski and Professor Maciej Zielinski, were honoured 

with the status of Patrons of The Freshers’ Camp. The third patron was 

Professor Jaroslaw Warylewski, Dean of Law and Administration Faculty 

at University of Gdansk. He was honoured with the status of Patron of the 

10th Freshers’ Camp. 

According to our jubilee, it was mainly ELSA Gdansk as the Organising 

Committee that was giving presents and preparing surprises. But we got 

a present as well…from Esra Ersoy, Secretary General of ELSA International, 

whose presence honoured the 10th Freshers’ Camp. Worth mentioning 

is that Esra was the first international guest ever in the history of 

the Camp. Let’s hope that she was not the last! 

The 10th Freshers’ Camp is over but the emotions connected with it will 

linger on for a long time. Now it is a part of ELSA history… We hope that 

32 

Katarzyna Karpiuk 


ELSA Gdansk 

our Freshers will keep as good memories as the Organising Committee 

and that they benefited in the way we would wish. Now it is time for them 

to join ELSA and bring some “fresh blood” to our Network! 

Mission successfully completed! 


Elisabet Kj rstad Boe 

President 


Project Planning As A Tool For Recruitment And Training; 

Teambuilding In ELSA Oslo 

2006 is not only the year of ELSA International’s 25th Anniversary, it also 

represents a reintroduction of the International Focus Programme (IFP). 

More than 100 ELSA members and young lawyers from about 35 countries 

are expected to attend the Final IFP Conference in Oslo in December. 

Challenges 

Before the conference, ELSA Oslo is facing quite a few challenges when it 

comes to project management and planning. All board- and OC members 

have little ELSA background, and no specific experience as when it comes 

to pulling off a project of such a scale. However, the OC of the Final IFP 

Conference and the board of ELSA Oslo have proven to deal with this task 

in the best way possible. Their methods of working do not only provide 

ELSA International with a high-quality event, but also create a ground for 

ELSA Oslo as when it comes to recruitment and teambuilding. 

How? 

At the time ELSA Oslo decided to run for host of The Final IFP Conference, 

the Local Group had a clear vision of recruiting new active members. The 

OC started off working with this immediately after the election at the ICM 

London. The first step was to appoint 4 or 5 members of the OC with 

responsibility of specific areas regarding the conference and also recruit- 

Thomas R. Brunborg 


ELSA Oslo 

ing their respective crew. The second step was to provide the OC and 

volunteers with the necessary training. Now, months after the preparatory 

meetings, the OC has grown into a two-figured number of dedicated people, 

and ELSA Oslo has never before experienced such a level of activity. 

Why use project planning for Human Resources purposes? 

Firstly, a concrete task is possibly more likely to bring out enthusiasm, 

dedication and a want for more ELSA knowledge, as opposed to passive 

learning and sometimes through one’s own initiative only. 

Secondly, the likeliness of recruiting and keeping members active in 

ELSA is increased by providing projects in which they can develop their 

skills and sense of responsibility. 

Thirdly, having to co-operate to reach a common goal is priceless for 

teambuilding purposes. And when this goal is the realisation of the biggest 

event ever to be arranged in the history of ELSA Norway, the outcome 

is even better! 

Conclusion; in ELSA Oslo we believe in learning by doing! 

s y n e r g y 33

Baltic Trainings 2006 - Developing The Idea Of Human Rights 

What is Baltic Trainings? 

Baltic Trainings is a traditional ELSA project that is run by the different 

ELSA Baltic region countries each year since 2002. It was decided to 

have a special training course for this region as neighbour countries have 

always had a wish to co-operate for common projects, to share experience 

and to establish close connections. Each year this training course 

focuses on different topics and issues but the goal always remains the 

same - to encourage the members of ELSA Baltic region for further international 

co-operation and communication and to contribute to legal 

education through that. 

Baltic Trainings 2006: Human Rights - Chain Reaction 

Baltic Trainings 2006, organised in co-operation with the 

Agency of International Youth Co-operation and ELSA 

International Trainers’ Pool (ITP), focused on Human 

Rights. Efficiently integrating HR in all fields of ELSA, 

thus furthering the association’s social dimension based 

on its Philosophy Statement ’A just world in which there 

is respect for human dignity and cultural diversity’, Baltic 

Trainings 2006 has provided an academic platform for 

discussion within the Network in order to create human 

rights awareness and the active involvement in the general 

promotion and development of human rights law. 

Participants 

There were more than 30 ELSA members from so called 

ELSA Baltic region in this training course which took 

place late April of 2006. ELSA Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, 

Sweden, Finland and Poland were represented. Baltic 

Trainings 2006 was lead by four trainers: project leaders 

Dina Lurje and Giedre Jokubauskaite (now- the president 

of ELSA Lithuania), HRE (Human Rights Education) professional 

Pieter-Jan Uyttersprot (Belgium) and former 

Director for Human Rights of ELSA International Patrick 

Zupansic (The Netherlands). 

During these training courses participants took an innovative 

look into HR issues through HR education, aimed to 

promote HR education and Compass training methodology within ELSA. 

Moreover, “HR - Chain Reaction” was aimed to motivate participants to 

bring out HR issues in their future events and facilitate further international 

projects based on this topic. And we could say it has succeeded, 

because more than ten realistic project ideas in the training course were 

formulated, so now we only need enthusiasm and motivation to establish 

them. 

The target group of this training course was law students and young lawyers. 

This basically means that the course was addressed to all possible 

human rights issues as the participants were competent enough to touch 

any of them in a law-related way. Discussions sometimes lead to quite 

specific subjects such as media, health and corporate responsibility etc. 

Therefore, talking about the human rights education - law is a very specific 

and important subject to study or practice even though participants were 

very familiar with the definition of “rights”. This training course reminded 

them of the other meaning of rights by touching such issues as education, 

democracy and citizenship to remind of their social responsibilities and 

34 

Indre Viltrakyte 

Director for Public Relations 


other means of law. 

Public discussion 

With a wish to consolidate the role of youth analysing and tackling human 

rights problems, ELSA Lithuania in co-operation with Vilnius City Municipality 

and Human Rights Monitoring Institute in Lithuania also organized 

the discussion “Human rights today and tomorrow. Is youth a part of it?” 

which also was one of the ELSA 25th Anniversary events (“25 years of 

Human Rights”) 2006. 

Young lawyers and law students from six Baltic States who were interested 

in human rights and the protection of them in their own countries, 

together with politicians, journalists, non-governmental organizations and 

national minorities’ representatives took part in the discussion. The aim 

of the discussion – to clearly prescribe the problems of human rights 

protection and mainly to answer to the question: “How could youth help in 

solving human rights problems?” Big attention was given to the comparative 

human rights aspect. The discussion panel presented the experiences 

from their respective countries in this ground, imparted their estimations 

about the efficiency of the means that were being used at the moment 

and proposed some new ideas on how the input of young people would 

be significant. 

Human rights and liberty are inherent ones. This sentence is without 

doubt one of the most important ones in the Constitution of the Republic 

of Lithuania. The breaches of human rights sorely rebound on each person 

and all of society. Therefore this concept in the country leaning for the 

status of the legal state becomes the part of the public discourse and the 

democracy criterion of the state. 


Mircea Moraru 


ELSA International 05/06 

When Deer And Human 

Resources Meet 

After having returned from Brussels I never really thought I would be in 

less than two months actively participating in an ELSA event. 

This is the reason why it was quite a pleasant surprise when Ines Prodan, 

the current Vice President Marketing of ELSA Romania, got in contact 

with me and asked me to hold a training for the participants to the 

common Human Resources and Marketing meeting, which took place 

29-31 September in the very nice city of Iasi. 

Having solved the transportation problem, I arrived there quite late at 

night, which did not prevent anyone from getting a good taste of the 

ELSA Spirit. I got to know the participants, which came from five out 

of eight Local Groups of our national Network, and although they were 

clearly from a different generation than I was, things looked good. 

The training was about Marketing and Human Resources, namely how 

can these two areas work together in order to get the right (number of) 

freshers, while keeping the older ones motivated and active. It also meant 

creating a timeline regarding our recruitment periods, as well as trying 

to define and implement a consistent strategy in all Local Groups. I was 

personally very happy with the fact that after this part of the meeting, the 

participants worked together on actual means of implementing the strategy 

we were talking about during the training. 

The social part of the three days included some quality hours spent in 

the actual cultural capital of Romania, sports events (table tennis and a 

football game), while the evenings ended with some of us tasting the delicious 

wine our country is so proud of, while watching the stars and some 

deer that were running around the place we were accommodated in. 

Final words go as usual to the organisers of this meeting that did a wonderful 

thing in making us feel really welcome and to the participants (most 

of them had to travel for more than six hours to get there). Even if I was 

sceptical in the beginning, I must say this meeting exceeded my expectations, 

and I will be more than happy to be part of anything similar again.

36 

Tina Eszlari 

Treasurer 


Financial 

Management 

on all levels 

and the 

role of the 

Treasurer 

Since the beginning of 

2005, I have been acting 

as treasurer in different 

levels of the European 

Law Students’ 

Association. I started being active in a local organising 

committee for a seminar and some months later I became 

the Treasurer of ELSA Germany for the term 2005/2006. 

Now I am living in Brussels together with the other board 

members of the International Board 2006/2007 and I am in 

charge of the financial management of ELSA International. 

But what does actually financial management mean in a 

non-profit making association as ELSA? Writing or paying 

invoices? Creating a budget and bookkeeping? My answer 

to all those questions is simply yes but much more than 

that. 

ELSA is an internationally minded non-profit making association. 

The respective board members on all levels have 

to deal with several important responsibilities towards externals 

and the network day by day. I am not excluded of 

that. When looking back and comparing my experience on 

local and national level with the work as Treasurer of ELSA 

International, I notice some differences but not only. 

The principles of financial management, meaning Truth, 

Transparency, Completeness and Continuity, have always 

been my fundament of work on all levels of ELSA. As treasurer 

you are responsible amongst others for the financial 

administration, grants, budgeting and bookkeeping and 

thus on the one hand supporting the key areas (Seminars 

& Conferences, Academic Activities and STEP) in order 

to ensure successful events like moot courts, seminars, 

academic activities etc. as well as general projects like the 

members’ magazine. On international level I am therefore 

jointly responsible for the EMC² and Synergy. On the other 

hand, I constantly communicate with national treasurers in 

our 35 member countries. The exchange of information, 

experience and support take center stage thereby. 

As treasurer I will focus on two issues in my term which 

seem to be for me the most important at the moment. My 

main attention is and will be the research of new financial 

means for the respective countries and ELSA International 

and the creation of new, as well as the consolidation of 

existing supporting tools (FM manual, FM helpdesk, New 

ELSA ONLINE system) for the local and national treasurers. 

Andras Szilagyi 

Treasurer and Head of the 

Organising Committee 

ELSA Hungary 

Financial Aspects Of An ELSA Event 

- A Summer School In Numbers 

We organised a two week long summer school in Pécs, Hungary during 

the summer (‘International and European Law in the courts – the environmental 

aspects’). Apart from the fact that it was really interesting to organise 

- everything from providing transfer from the airport to hanging all 

the sponsor banners on the right place, it was also fascinating to get the 

budget balanced and to know that the financial background of the event 

is secured. It may sound for the majority of the population foolish to write 

that balance sheets and financial backgrounds are ‘interesting’ and most 

of the people think that it only means ‘hills of invoices’ and excel sheets. 

Yes of course, sometimes you feel that you are ‘under fire of the invoices’, 

but a good financial management of an ELSA event is a real challenge. 

Let’s look a bit closer on the example of our summer school. 

The summer school had a final account of approximately 25.000 Euros, 

out of which the participation fees were ‘only’ 8.000 Euros. The rest of 

the income was given by sponsors, by the University of Pécs and we also 

applied for grants. Of course these figures are the figures of the final accounts 

of the summer school. It was a long way to get there… 

When planning an event, at first place, you will need a good draft budget. 

You will see from that budget, whether you can afford the event or not (i.e. 

you have money for it or not), or under what conditions you can organise 

it. The treasurer has a very important role in drafting the budget as other 

board members tend to forget: you always need money for the events. Of 

course a draft budget has to be revised in the course of the organising 

according to the needs and opportunities. 

The budget has to comply with two important requirements: It has to be 

realistic and a bit over calculated, especially at early stages. Realistic 

means that it has to show you and the other organisers, which heading 

will need which financial means. Therefore you need to look up the prices 

before you put them in the budget. Note: Try to avoid estimation as much 

as you can. You can always ask for the prices at a hotel or at a restaurant 

without undertaking any obligation. Over calculation means that if you do 

not know the exact price of the issue in question, then write in a figure 

that is above the average price. At the end there will be headings that will 

require much bigger financial means, and headings that will need less 

money. 

One more thing about budget: Always calculate with unexpected costs. 

Unexpected costs should be 5-10 % of the budget. Don’t be optimistic, 

there are always unexpected costs… 

Pay attention to the cash flow as well. In finance, cash flow refers to the 

amounts of cash being received and spent by a business during a defined 

period of time, sometimes tied to a specific project. That means that you 

need money at hand, from which you can pay the bills. For example you 

need to pay a deposit for the accommodation even months before the 

event, when you haven’t yet received any participation fees or any contribution 

from sponsors. For that purpose you may need to temporarily use 

the general ELSA budget – if your national rules allow that. 

And a last remark: Be familiar with the tax and bookkeeping rules of your 

home country. Your association would get a big fine, if you made a mistake. 


FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT 

Fredrik Ohlsson 

Auditor 


Auditing ELSA – Preferably Not A Sweaty Experience 

“Here’s an often overlooked accounting technique that can save you thousands 

of dollars: For several days before you put it in the mail, carry your 

tax return around under your armpit. No IRS agent is going to want to 

spend hours poring over a sweat-stained document. So even if you owe 

money, you can put in for an enormous refund and the agent will probably 

give it to you, just to avoid an audit. What does he care? It’s not his 

money.” (Dave Barry) 

My name is Fredrik Ohlsson and I had the honor of being elected auditor 

of ELSA International 2006/2007 by the council at the ICM in London. I 

am 26 years old and was born in Uppsala, Sweden, where I have lived 

most of my life. I finished my degree this summer and currently hold an 

internship at the District Court of Stockholm where I deal with, amongst 

other things, financial crime. 

In a “Rechtsstaat” we are presumed innocent until proven guilty, which 

means that if you can get away with it, you have done nothing wrong. 

This is all well and good in a judicial system where it is preferable that 

ten guilty men go free rather than one innocent being punished. Such is 

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www.ntu.ac.uk/synergy 

not the reality of an auditor. We hunt for mistakes, faults that we know are 

there. We assume ill intent, embezzlement and fraudulent actions. There 

are no ten people, there is only you and we will find the truth! I am both 

glad and relieved to be on this side of the audit. 

It is human to fail and even the most meticulous treasurer will make mistakes. 

As auditors we do not assign blame and as scary as an audit can 

be it is also a comfort. We all make mistakes and the auditor is there as a 

support to make a final check before the papers are finalised. As internal 

auditors we come from ELSA, we are part of this Association, it is our 

money too. Think of us as an angel on you shoulders you can turn to in 

times of need, which will make sure your actions are just. 

ELSA is fortunate enough to be audited also by Deloitte, who will make 

sure that we, the internal auditors, do our job as well as check the work 

of our eminent treasurer. With this layered cake of sweet goodness, faults 

will be rooted out and our work will be supreme. 

Don’t worry Tina, auditors got your back, please don’t sweat on the receipts…

So what can one 

say about marketing 

in ELSA? The 

word somehow 

seems to imply that 

it has something to 

do with a “market”. But is there a market in ELSA? And 

what does market mean more than the place where I buy 

my vegetables on Sundays? 

To make this column interesting, let’s picture ELSA as a 

vegetable stand on precisely that Sunday market. Behind 

the stand is a slightly overweight but passionate man 

governed by his philosophy of making people see the 

true values of consuming high quality ecologically grown 

vegetables and his customers also come to him because 

they associate him with those things. 

Our vegetable seller is however experiencing some problems 

in selling one of his products, namely the brussel 

sprouts, and continuing to sell them would eventually 

lead to bankruptcy of his “good-for-society” business. 

Now our previously so jolly vegetable seller is facing 

a series of difficult questions. Why are the customers, 

his market, not buying the brussel sprouts? How far can 

he stretch his philosophy of providing high quality ecological 

vegetables to meet the maybe not corresponding 

needs and demands of the market that he has analysed? 

How can he alter his existing products to better suit the 

demands of his correct target group, namely those people 

that still share his values that vegetables should be ecologically 

grown and of high quality? How does he in the 

end communicate whatever he decides to his market in a 

clear and efficient way? 

All of this is marketing and it is a marketeer’s job to always 

put focus on these critical questions. To analyze the 

target groups and products and bring that understanding 

to the decision making table. To write “New vegetable 

– Cucumber!” in big red letters on a poster is in the end 

just a small formality in comparison with the above mentioned. 

So, get out there and start selling the right vegetables to 

the right people so that they become satisfied, healthy 

and enlightened! I bought them and that’s why I am here 

today… 

38 


Vice President 

Marketing 


Kamila Magdalena Chareza 

Director for Advertisements 


Why Advertise? 

Ever since 2002 when I have started my work with ELSA I have always 

known, that there is much marketing potential within our Association. 

But only three months ago, when I took on the responsibilities of the 

Director for Advertisements, I have fully realised where it is hidden – 

in the advertisement opportunities we offer. You must all have realised 

that advertisements are one of the world’s new decision enforcements, 

by which I mean, they really do effect our decision making process. 

The magic of advertising is visible on a day to day basis, and each 

and every one of us, even from ‘high society future lawyer people’ 

like ourselves, undergoes its force. Haven’t you ever experienced a 

strange craving to buy exactly this and not that other candy bar? Well 

if you have, then you should know what I’m talking about. 

After all we are only people, and a nice, super shiny, full colour, eye 

catching ad will always make us pay at least the minimum attention 

to its content. But the true sense in advertising is to make you realise 

that you need something of which you have not really even thought of 

before. Of course it may also be a means of showing you something 

you were too lazy to look for yourself, but nevertheless, an ad should 

make you crave for its ‘product’. 

Some of you are probably wondering why a Director for Advertisements 

is really needed in ELSA, and that is why I would like to explain what 

my day to day work looks like. After taking up the responsibilities of 

Ida Lindholm, the former Director, my work, although very well organised, 

is very time absorbing. I start each day by answering all received 

e-mails, forwarding reminders and updating my contact database, 

which has grown quite impressive with its about 250 contacts all over 

the world. Throughout the day I continue with e-mails if necessary, 

and spend some time on planning my work for the coming months. I 

also stay in touch with the Vice President Marketing, Nils Fjelkegård, 

to keep the International Board updated on my work progress. 

I must admit that there is much more to my work than it seems from 

the outside; the many hours spent on negotiations and changing our 

offers to make our Advertisers even more satisfied, sometimes do feel 

overwhelming, but in the long-run, when I can see the results I get I do 

feel proud that my work actually pays off. Only due to this systematic 

work style which I chose to continue after Ida, we have been able to 

bring to you this truly amazing number of 8 000 copies of Synergy 

on this special 25th Anniversary of ELSA. It is a result of the very 

hard work by Nils Fjelkegård, Ida Lindholm and myself in the last few 

months. I hope that now you will fully understand why we should and 

do sell ads. 


MARKETING 

Kshitij Sharma 

ALSA Chandigarh 

India 

Swedish Meat Balls – An ALSA India Experience 

Two interviews, a good academic record, involvement in co-curricular 

activities and the ability to represent India, which of course 

was the most challenging - the efforts made to reach Sweden 

were kind of never ending. 

The India project between ELSA Stockholm and ALSA Chandigarh is already 

eight years old and my batch was the fourth of Indian students 

who got the life time opportunity to visit Sweden and study law at the 

Stockholm University. 

It was interesting to experience Sweden, a peaceful monarchy and a perfect 

example of the democratic Scandinavian model. During our stay we 

attended the course “Introduction to Swedish Law” and got acquainted 

with the Swedish legal system and discovered how it is different in many 

respects vis-a-vis the Indian legal system. 

It was my first time abroad and although being very excited about it I was 

a bit nervous too. After spending some time in Stockholm I realised that 

the city is amazing and really safe whether you are in the underground or 

in the bus or walking in the darkest of alleys in the old town. I still remember 

the feeling when I came back to Stockholm from my weekend trip to 

Amsterdam and it seriously felt as if I was back at home. 

Stockholm provides the perfect atmosphere to learn if it is one’s first visit 

abroad. The people really don’t interfere in the others affairs but at the 

same time they are very helpful despite their busy schedule. 

The Swedish and Indian societies differ in many ways, but the differences 

should be mutually respected, as they are result of lifestyle which has 

developed over a long time. 

Our hosts in ELSA Stockholm have really been very hospitable and due 

to their efforts we got the chance to, apart from the academic schedule, 

also see almost everything what Stockholm offers to a tourist (the museums, 

the parliament, ballet, ice hockey, the city hall, the royal palace, the 

archipelago and much more). We also tasted the Swedish cuisine (they 

cooked Swedish meet balls for us with chicken instead of beef which was 

really sweet of them). 

In the end I would like to say that I feel really blessed and fortunate to 

have had the opportunity to participate in the India Project. It has indeed 

been the best experience of my life so far and I feel more independent, 

responsible and organised. It’s a completely new me! 

ALSA/ELSA Exchange Programme 

The India Project is an exchange project between ELSA Stockholm, Sweden, 

and the Asian Law Students’ Association (ALSA) Chandigarh, India. 

A former member of ELSA Stockholm initiated the project in 1998. The 

purpose of the programme is to contribute to legal education and to increase 

mutual understanding between Sweden and India by providing an 

opportunity for law students to learn about the other country’s legal system 

as well as cultural and social life in a continuous exchange programme 

between the two organisations. 

s y n e r g y 39

A day in the life of 

an ELSA Rovaniemi 

member 

NAME: Jussi Puutio 

STATUS: 2nd year law student at the University 

of Lapland 

BACKGROUND: Residing in the Polar Circle, 

undisputed home of Santa Claus 

7:10 – My mobile wakes me up after I’ve pressed 

snooze twice. I open the curtains and we still do 

not have the first snow. Boring... After a shower I 

eat strawberries, rye bread, coffee and I enjoy it 

all with the morning paper. 

8:00 – I take my bike and rush to university. I’m 

just on time for the 08:15 start of the legal English 

exam. I’ve never done such a huge English exam 

before. I get 31 pages of material at the beginning 

and I have only three hours to do it. I’ve waited 

for it for a month. The course was quite hard because 

I had to be present Monday to Wednesday 

from 8 to 14. Now it’s finally all over!! 

11:30 – After the exam I’m one and a half hours 

late for the international law lecture, but I’m definitely 

still going. The lecture is about torture in 

prisons and terrorism. Sweet! 

11:50 – I’m having lunch in our school cafeteria 

with Antti and Kimmo. We are eating chicken 

salad with lots of garlic dressing. Kimmo is taking 

photos of me for this article but somehow I shut 

my eyes always in the wrong moment. 

13:00 – Having coffee with Antti, our STEP-trainee 

Lena, Vice President STEP Tuulia and lots of 

friends who were passing by. The coffee break 

took only an hour and 15 minutes. We talked 

about for example Lena’s farewell party tomorrow. 

40 

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF… 

14:15 – International law lectures starting again. 

We discussed human rights problems around 

the world. Our discussions were quite simple 

minded and characterless so I could have been 

sleeping at home. 

15:45 – After lectures I have 15 min time to go 

home and get my badminton kit. Nevertheless 

there is always time to take a few photos and 

then a fast 7 minutes ride to home. 

16:15 – Antti gave me a lift to the badminton hall 

and played badminton with me. We were 15 min 

late for the student union’s badminton session. 

Anyway our game was rough. 

17:30 – Home sweet home. Now I don’t have 

to do anything. After stretching I take a long hot 

shower and finally shave my growing beard. I 

smell like candy after using my new red shower 

gel. I cook some pasta, eat and surf the net. I put 

the washing machine on. 

19:30 – It was so relaxing until the boys called 

me to come and have a few “exam beers” in 

Paha Kurki pub (direct translation: “the Bad 

Crane”). So I had to run again and I still smelled 

like candy. We planned on buying a six-pack of 

beer and a card with a picture of a clown for our 

English teacher. We really liked him but he called 

us clowns. Maybe our imagination was too wild 

for him in the discussions on our course... 

21:30 – Back home. I need to put my wet laundry 

on a clothes-rack. I’m so tired that I can’t do 

anything but watch TV. So I lie down on my bed 

and browse channels. News, stupid series, news 

again, whatever, I don’t care… 

23:00 – I’d like to watch Late Night with Conan 

O’Brien but a few minutes after 23:00 I fall asleep 

and I miss the show. Actually the day was so 

hard that I slept over 11 hours. 

A day in the life of an 

ELSA London member 

NAME: Vicky Dolka 

STATUS: 3rd year law student at the University 

of London, School of Oriental and African Studies 

(SOAS). 

BACKGROUND: Originally from Athens, 

Greece 

8:30 – The alarm, set at radio station BBC 2, 

awakes me. I open the curtains – ahhh, another 

grey and rainy day. Looks like my umbrella will 

be joining me today, yet again! So, off to SOAS at 

Russell Square I go... 

10:00 – After a crowded tube ride, finally here at 

SOAS for my European Law module. 

12:00 – Meeting some friends for afternoon tea 

and scones. Then scoping for some yummy 

treats afterwards… 


- An Inside Look Into The Daily Endeavours Of ELSA 

Members From Across The Network 

Do you know someone who 

might be an interesting subject 

for a profile in Synergy? An 

ELSA member, a law student, 

a professor, a lawyer, or some 

13:00 – In the library, putting in the hours! Aiming 

for a first this year! 

15:00 – Classes at the Chinese law module of 

SOAS Vernon Square campus. 

17:00 – There is an anti-war campaign going on 

today at Westminster – let’s go see what this is 

all about… 

18:00 – This weekend is my friend Nancy’s birthday 

party so after the quick stop at the campaign 

it is time for a tiny shopping escapade. 

20:00 – The Piccadilly line to my flat is experiencing 

severe delays so waiting for the alternative 

– the bus! 

21:00 – After nearly one hour on an over-crowded 

bus, finally home to realise that my flatmates 

have invited some friends, and they are having a 

little feast of a dinner! What a great ending to a 

productive day! 

other external with an interesting 

background or occupation… 

A day in the life of the 

International Board 

NAME: The International Board 2006/2007 

STATUS: Working full time for ELSA 

BACKGROUND: 7 people, 6 nationalities, 

multiple personalities, 1 house, 8 rooms, 1 

office, 1 network, 1 vision. 

9:15 - Already full intensity in the Key Area section 

of the office. Halvor is discussing the Moot 

Court with Giedre and Loreta is occupied with 

obviously quite serious S&C issues (most likely 

answering e-mails from certain slightly more active 

S&C’ers in the Network; you know who you 

are…). 

10:10 - A wasp suddenly interrupts the peaceful 

Monday meeting and distracts the attention 

from the otherwise quite important discussions 

that take place. A few moments later a board 

member reaches for his Corporate Partner note 

block and ends the disturbance with three firm 

smacks. Now we are even ending innocent lives 

in the pursuit for efficient decision making in the 

Association, were will it end? 

13:30 - Lunch break in the kitchen. The Board 

Members tend to have quite different eating habits. 

Some go for the pots and pans, some go for 

a sandwich on the corner, but surprisingly often 

people seem to restrict themselves to a good biting 

on the nails in front of their computer screens 

instead. The nutritional value might be discussed 

but it at least gets the job done… 

Contact the editor and 

it might just end up in 

our profile section! 

15:00 - Planning meeting for the ICM. Under 

guidance of our President Christopher, yet another 

in a long row of ICM planning meetings 

take place. Little did the Board Members know 

that they were just about to embark on a three 

hour long role playing session… 

19:00 - ELSA Leiden is arriving to the house in 

less than one hour and some of the final preparations 

involve buying drinks for some 45 persons. 

The bags were heavy that night… 

20:45 - Our Dutch friends must have been close 

to ravenous judging by the time it took to consume 

the recently delivered pizzas. The International 

Board manages to control the almost rioting 

masses with some presentations and guided 

tours of the house. 

00:15 - Still some work to finish before the sponsor 

meetings in Amsterdam the day after. ELSA 

has a strange habit of making you forget about 

time, in a good way though, well, most of the 

time at least. 

s y n e r g y 41

Interview 

Jovana Vukovic 

Director of BLOC 


The International Criminal Court is a perfect example of the tension between 

the US and its European allies. The question whether the US should 

join the ICC is almost useless debate, because frankly, the US will never 

join the ICC. There is too much objection to it at home. 

The 1993 draft of the ICC would have been ratified by the US had one 

provision stayed in- that all the referrals to the Court would have to be 

approved by the Security Council. The US was perfectly happy with that. 

Of course, it did not happen. 

A better question is how the US should deal with the ICC. The US view is 

that American citizens are accountable only to our own laws; to US laws, 

and that they should not be subject to a politically motivated ICC. 

Europeans are more inclined to have a communal type of thinking, and 

are more inclined to give up pieces of their sovereignty. Look no further 

than the creation of the EU and the European Court of Human Rights for 

evidence. They see this as being perfectly natural, post-World War II. 

Americans are not so inclined to do this. American ideals are independ- 

Magnus Lütken 

Treasurer 

ELSA Bergen 

How can the UN be an effective vehicle for peace in the 21st century, when 

it’s most powerful member, the United States, refuses to join the ICC? - 

American Professor Frederick M. Lorenz has the answer. 

ence and freedom, so the idea of a court outside our borders deciding the 

fate of our president, of our soldiers, is completely foreign to an American. 

Even the British, who are quite independent-minded, have no problem 

with this. That just shows how strong these traits are in the US. 

This has, perhaps, also to do with the US’ role in the world. If you look at 

any country, and take the number of peacekeepers per capita, or contributions 

to the UN in terms of dollars, the number of overseas bases, there is 

no doubt the US plays the biggest role. So the question is really whether 

the US can be held to the same standard as everyone else. In some cases 

they likely cannot. 

In an ideal world the UN would be a well-functioning, collective system 

of security, and all the member nations would also be a part of the ICC. 

This would make, perhaps, international action in conflict areas less opposed, 

as all would be held to the same standards. The ICC would be of 

course stronger with the US as a member, but I believe it can still have a 

great role to play.

Nancy Son 

Co-editor for Synergy 


In JUSTICE For Justice 

Maik Martin – a former ELSA Berlin member – has studied in 

Berlin, obtained a postgraduate diploma in Durham University, 

and a master in law at Oxford University. He is currently the Legal 

Officer for European Criminal Justice at the all-party law reform 

and human rights organisation JUSTICE in London. In his spare 

time Maik is trying to work on his PhD thesis on public inquiries 

in common law jurisdictions. 

Maik takes us on an exciting journey through his life at JUSTICE 

– the issues he tackles, the people who he lobbies and inspires 

us that getting involved is the first step in achieving justice. 

So, a former ELSA member? 

“Yes, I used to be an ELSA Berlin member. I remember the Local Group 

did a lot of stuff, but it seemed too focused on the career – advancement, 

obtainment… So I think it is a good thing now that Synergy is going 

a bit broader introducing members and law students with other issues. 

Although I did not participate in the STEP program myself, friends have 

and it offered them a great opportunity to see other legal systems. The 

provision of information about obtaining places abroad – this access is 

extremely important” 

Now, on to JUSTICE – how did you get involved? 

“I used the JUSTICE web site for research for my PhD in Berlin. Then I 

saw the ad for the EU job, thought it very interesting, applied and then 

was just lucky!” 

Fair enough! Take us through a day in the life of a Legal Officer 

for European Criminal Justice. 

“Working for a law reform and human rights organisation, my days are 

normally filled with any or all of the following: lobbying by advising the 

UK and European legislature; writing briefings to members of the UK Parliament; 

participating in inquiries that are being held by the European 

Union Committees in the House of Lords and the House of Commons 

and providing them with our view of things. I also meet EU Commission 

officials in Brussels, organise petitions, and work with other NGOs.” 

At the end of the day, how do you measure success? 

“It is difficult to say what success is – in a way, it is success when your 

concerns have been commented on during parliamentary debate and in 

committee reports. For example, we deem the House of Lords’ adoption 

of the Amendment to the Extradition Act (from the UK to the US) quite 

a success. But then again, debate and raising awareness is almost as 

important as getting actual results.” 

Can you inform us about the issues concerning the European 

Arrest Warrant? 

“In the past, states applied for mutual legal assistance – now, you have 

a system of mutual recognition in Europe - where one state issues a domestic 

arrest warrant, and the expectation is that without major formalities, 

this will be recognised in other member states and that person will 

be surrendered. The idea is to make domestic arrest warrants freely transferable 

and movable around the EU so expedition is sped up. And this 

can be seen in the UK Osman case, where the tube bombers surrendered 

within 5-6 weeks – not the usual 40 weeks of the past. 

One major point of criticism however is that there is no harmony between 

Interview 

member states in substantial criminal law and procedure and that the 

rights of the individual surrendered to another country are safeguarded. 

It used to be the case that an offence had to be criminal in both member 

states in order to extradite. But now, what mutual recognition does is allow 

states to surrender someone for something he has done that wasn’t even 

criminal in the member state where he will be extradited from. So, as a 

hypothetical example, the UK may have to extradite David Irving to Austria 

for denying the holocaust which is an offence in Austria but it is not an 

offence here. Another example would be, if you get a fine in the UK – then 

this could be enforced in another state. 

It is vitally important that all these judicial co-operation measures between 

EU countries are complemented with instruments that lay down 

minimum standards for criminal proceedings in all EU countries which 

should go beyond what the European Convention on Human Rights already 

provides.” 

Clearly, this is a very contentious issue – and surely, ELSA members 

and other law students would be interested in getting involved 

themselves. Can you give us some tips and pointers on 

how interested individuals can get involved? 

“Well, firstly, ELSA members and law students can get involved by participating 

– watch out, engage in discussions and debates, go to meetings, 

etc. Information should be available from law schools and checking 

websites for up-to-date information is good. 

At JUSTICE particularly, we are about to launch the JUSTICE Student Human 

Rights Network – we try to get students involved with what we’re doing 

and try to see what students are doing and what they’re interested in. If 

you’re interested in this network, why not drop us an email (jshrn@justice. 

org.uk) and get involved? We’re also running an internship scheme twice 

a year for law students or those who have finished their studies. It is 

unpaid (but with a stipend) and I definitely think it is something worth 

getting involved in. Check out our website: www.justice.org.uk” 

Thank you for that. Any last words? 

“Get involved - take advantage of the STEP project. And, make sure you 

continue to approach organisations for STEP programmes. I cannot stress 

enough how crucial a programme like STEP can be in helping students 

get internships across the globe” 

s y n e r g y 43

Foundation Meeting 

in Vienna (May) 

1981 

1987 

First issue of Synergy 

published 

“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” 

13th 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 

and Nuclear Power” 

28th-30th 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” 

31st October – 3rd 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. 

1989 

First issue of ELSA Law 

Review published 

5th Anniversary Council Meetings in 

Vienna (March) and Oslo (October) 

1986 

25 YEARS OF ELSA 

ELSA, founded by law students from Austria, Hungary, Poland and West Germany 

in Vienna on the 4th May 1981, is celebrating 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 35 European countries. 

ELSA celebrates 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. 


4th 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! 


4th May 2006 

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. 


5th May 2006 

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. 

1991 

Foundation of ELSA 

Lawyers’ Society (ELS) 

Porto 


4th May 2006 

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. 

10th Anniversary Council Meetings in 

Vienna (March) and Stockholm (October) 

1992 

Introduction of an ELSA 

Philosophy Statement 

Leiden 

Rotterdam 

Bonn 

Oslo 

Würzburg 

Treviso 

Stockholm 

1991 


4th May 2006 

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” 

3rd–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. 

1993 

First issue of GLSE 

published 

Kaliningrad 

Lecce 

Vilnius 

Mavrovo 

Bucharest 

Athens 

Iasi

15th Anniversary Council Meeting in 

Cracow (March) and Istanbul (October) 

1994 

1996 

Clifford Chance becomes the 

first Corporate Partner of ELSA 

The founders of ELSA were law 

students from 4 different coun- 

tries: Michael Goldinger from 

Austria, Wojciech Kostrzewa 

from Poland, Attila Tarkany 

Szücs from Hungary, Jürgen 

Sattler from Germany and 

Ernst Wurz from Austria. 

ELSA and its 25th Anniversary Supporter, 

T.M.Lewin are giving one lucky ELSA member 

a chance to have the shopping experience 

of a lifetime with the fantastic Anniversary 

writing competition. To be in for 

a chance of winning and being dressed by 

T.M.Lewin please e-mail us explaining, in 

no more than 500 words, about your ELSA 

Anniversary experience. One response will 

be selected as the lucky winner of the competition. 

The quintessential tailoring collection from 

T.M.Lewin offers stylish suits and shirts that 

every lawyer needs in their wardrobe to create 

the right impression. If you are selected as the 

lucky winner you will be restyled and will get a 

brand new outfit, valued in the region of €700. 

Please e-mail your responses to us by 15th 

February 2007 at elsa@elsa.org. The winner 

will be announced on 25th February 2007. More 

information on the T.M.Lewin collection can be 

found at www.tmlewin.co.uk. 

20th Anniversary Council Meetings in Vienna 

(March) and Coimbra (October-November) 

1995 

Commitment to Human 

Rights 

2001 

Foundation of ELSA in Vienna 1981 Four founders at the Anniversary ICM in London 2006 

“ELSA has been, and is in our hearts. It is unprecedented luck, that neither political changes, nor aggressive 

personal aspirations were able to destroy our dream. 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!” – Founders of ELSA 

Council Meeting plenary today 

25th Anniversary Supporters: 

1997 

First issue of ELSA SPEL (Selected 

Paper on European Law) published 

25th Anniversary Council Meetings in 

London (March) and Alanya (November) 

2006 

Council Meeting plenary 25 years ago 

1998 

ICM mascot “Cesar” 

introduced (March) 

…During one of the bilateral student meetings between Vienna and Budapest Attila Tarkany Szücs discussed 

with Ernst Wurz an idea of broadening networks on the level of law students in Europe. It happened that Ernst 

participated in a conference of Christ Democratic Law Students in Portugal in the summer of 1979, where 

together with his German colleague Jürgen Sattler, they elaborated on the actual idea of ELSA as multinational, 

non-partisan, non-profit law student organisation. Ernst wanted Jürgen to meet Attila, but could not 

give Attila’s full name, or address, or a phone number, so it was a series of accidents that Jürgen and Attila 

could actually meet. They needed just ten minutes to become friends for life and carry on with the idea of 

ELSA. Later on Attila proposed also to get into the loop his counterpart in Warsaw, Wojciech Kostrzewa, 

whom he knew from the co-operation between their Universities. Wojciech immediately supported the idea 

and was invited to join a conference in Budapest in November 1980, where he met Attila, Jürgen and Michael 

Goldinger, another law student from Austria. They agreed to organise a conference in spring 1981 and to 

make all necessary arrangements to found ELSA. And so, on the 4th of May 1981, in Vienna, the traditional 

place of multilateral agreements, the foundation took place with the signatures of five of them.

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