ANNUAL REPORT ELSA International 2016/2017
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ABOUT ELSA The Association The European Law Students’ Association, ELSA, is an international, independent, non-political and not-for-profit organisation comprised of 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.
ELSA International Phone: +32 2 646 26 26 Web: www.elsa.org E-mail: elsa@elsa.org
ELSA Members x 50,000
ELSA Local Groups x 300
ELSA National Groups x 43
VISION
"A JUST WORLD IN WHICH THERE IS RESPECT
ELSA International
FOR HUMAN DIGNITY AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY" Human Rights Partner
ELSA’s Members ELSA’s members are internationally minded individuals who have an interest in foreign legal systems and practices. Through our activities, such as seminars, conferences, law schools, moot court competitions, legal writing, legal research and the Student Trainee Exchange Programme, our members acquire a broader cultural understanding and legal expertise.
General Partners
Our Special Status ELSA has gained a special status with several international institutions. In 2000, ELSA was granted Participatory Status with the Council of Europe. ELSA has Consultative Status with several United Nations bodies: UN ECOSOC, UNCITRAL, UNESCO & WIPO.
LL.M. Partners
ELSA is present in 43 countries Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
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Photo Credits
Editor-in-chief: Ivan Chopyk
Ivan Chopyk, Fabian Beine, Honza
Assistant: Robert Vierling
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ANNUAL REPORT | 3
FOREWORD TO THE ANNUAL REPORT OF ELSA INTERNATIONAL 16/17 Dear Members of ELSA, The Council of Europe is a natural partner for ELSA. We exist to advocate for human rights and the rule of law. Our success is in having them enshrined in the national laws of our member states, starting with the European Convention on Human Rights. Our starting point is that European citizens deserve the right to live in democratic states, and we work with all European nations that claim that right. We co-operate closely with governmental authorities to achieve this aim, paying special attention to countries who call into question the standards of the Convention. However, we also need to reach out to civil society in order to explain how important these standards are for the stability and welfare of the countries concerned. We believe that our new
project, “Positive impact of the Convention” will greatly enhance these efforts, which very much target the younger generation. The ELSA network, spanning 43 countries, is a powerful promoter for our activities, which can bring our work to the attention of some 50,000 law students and young lawyers. We do hope that the numerous projects, research studies and events that we have been carrying out over the years, reflecting topical and problematic concerns addressed by the Council of Europe, have provided ELSA members with useful professional skills. We hope that these have also made people more aware and responsive to the democratic standards needed in pluralistic and complex societies.
THORBJØRN JAGLAND SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE
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Content
CONTENT
THE BOARD
06
GENERAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE ASSOCIATION
16
MAIN FOCUS
25
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATIONS
40
INTERNATIONAL INTERNAL MEETINGS 48 SUPPORTING AREAS
65
ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES
74
MOOT COURT COMPETITIONS
81
SEMINARS & CONFERENCES
97
STUDENT TRAINEE EXCHANGE PROGRAMME
107
ANNUAL REPORT | 5
Introduction of the Board
INTRODUCTION OF THE BOARD ROBERT VIERLING President
It is my honour and my pleasure to introduce with the following lines the International Board of ELSA 2016/2017 and by that the eight people who are in the core essence responsible for what is written in this Annual Report. The International Board 2016/2017 consists of Mads Lorentzen, Rob van Bergen, Ivan Chopyk, Jakub Čája, Christine Beck, Nigel Micallef, Alyona Litvinova and myself, Robert Vierling. When eight different people, coming from eight different countries and backgrounds move in together it usually means there is some time needed until everyone feels comfortable around each other. Well, when speaking about the International Board of ELSA, it also means you do not just have to be able to live together but also to work together. Having this in mind I can only continue to be astonished about the fact that the chemistry between the eight of us has been spot on from the beginning. It felt like we have skipped
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the phase of getting to know each other and our habits and immediately started to be a unit and think as a team. Being part of the International Board of ELSA is without a doubt a challenge for every young individual deciding to commit one year of his or her life to an association which has so much history and even more potential. The eight of us have put everything aside to fully focus on our common goal to create more possibilities for law students all over Europe and even beyond. As the President of ELSA, it was my duty to lead and manage this board and I can only conclude that it was my pleasure rather than my task to do so. I could not have imagined working for and with more inspiring and driven people than those seven individuals. Their passion and dedication for ELSA and for its vision: “A just world in which there is respect for human dignity and culture diversity” is seeking its match.
THE BOARD ROBERT VIERLING MADS LORENTZEN ROB VAN BERGEN IVAN CHOPYK JAKUB ČÁJA CHRISTINE BECK NIGEL MICALLEF ALYONA LITVINOVA
SYNERGY ANNUALMagazine REPORT | 7
The Board
Robert Vierling President
Ever since I attend my first International Council Meeting back in Malta 2014 I was thinking of running for the International Board of ELSA. I was fascinated by the idea of living with seven other people and to work together for the cause of this amazing association. This past year, as a member of the International Board, has surpassed all expectations I have had. It has been a great challenge on a personal and professional level. I had the chance to meet so many interesting people from all around Europe and even beyond, to work with the partners of ELSA, to visit many interesting places and to learn how ELSA functions there. Throughout the whole year there are key moments, which keep you going and lift your motivation to the next level. For example, when I talked to participants of the EMC2 in Africa and saw, how thankful they were for ELSA giving them the chance to participate. It truly
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showed me that all our efforts resulted in live changing opportunities for law students all around the globe. One of my main objectives were to work towards a more balanced and more efficient approach to the tasks of each International Board member. I am glad my board shared this vision with me. I am convinced that we have started a change and set further incentives in order to make the work in the International Board - and of the whole association - more sustainable. What I take from this year is that everyone should take any challenge that may arise and try what seems impossible at first. You can only win from it. I can only say how proud and grateful I am, to have had the chance to be a part of the International Board of ELSA 2016/2017. It has been an honour for me to dedicate one year of my life 100% for this amazing association and to serve it as its President.
The Board
Mads Lorentzen Secretary General
A friend of mine said to me a couple of years ago: “ELSA is a playground for young adults”. Back then I found it to be an exact description of the work performed in the International sphere of ELSA. Now, several years later and at the verge of finishing a busy year in the International Board of ELSA, I have the feeling that the playground – without me realising it – turned into a high-profile management job. Very few young people get the chance to take on such a responsibility as I and my fellow Board Members did this year. We have tackled challenges and made decisions worth many thousands of euros. When I look back it seems like yesterday I was appointed to become a part of this board. However, when I now compare my personal characteristics and competences today, with the ones I had one year ago, it is astonishingly clear that I have developed in a lightning pace. I believe my fellow
Board Members feel the same personal development. One thing is our personal development. Another thing is the development of ELSA over the past 12 months. An Association like ELSA will always have concrete issues to tackle. From my perspective, my Board and I managed to tackle those issues. We managed to move the Association by challenging the beliefs on what is possible. Not to make us sound like superheroes, but just to clarify that we pushed each other to always go for the difficult but rewarding solutions. We dared to fail and that was what made us succeed. There is no doubt in my mind that this year is the best investment I ever made in myself. I can only hope that the International Council of ELSA appreciates their decision to elect me, equally.
ANNUAL REPORT | 9
The Board
Rob van Bergen Treasurer
I remember writing my first introduction as the Treasurer of the International Board of ELSA like it was yesterday, but of course a lot has happened in the meantime. During the year, we have achieved a lot. The concrete outcome included the first ELSA Webinar and the many successful other key area projects, but what is often forgotten is the work behind the scenes. Between the ELSA House renovations, the VAT registration and all the other tasks, there was barely a moment to breathe or take a break and process everything that was going on. It is truly a fact, what many have said before me: “You will only realise this year has started when it’s almost over.” Curiously enough, I also remember writing my first introduction as if it was a lifetime ago. We achieved many things throughout the year, but the most incredible achievement that sticks out is
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the personal development of every single person in the board. Through endless board meetings and discussions, we always managed to get the best out of each other and learned how to interact in a professional environment. There was never a challenge we would run away from if it was our belief that a successful result would improve the association. I can only hope that my future career involves working in a similar team, with the same amazing work spirit. It is a strange feeling: writing inputs for the Annual Report when you know that there would be no way of even beginning to describe some of the awesome experiences. Despite the mental and physical rollercoaster that this year has been, I will always cherish the memories that came with my work for ELSA.
The Board
Ivan Chopyk
Vice President for Marketing The best always comes to us unexpectedly. You can never prepare yourself for that, nor can you grasp what will happen to you. The most thrilling and intense year in the International Board of ELSA was one of those things. Being an IB member is a difficult and simultaneously very rewarding experience for anyone. As for me, never have I expected this year to turn out how it did. The immense expansion of my personal outlook contributed to some drastic changes in my attitude towards life and towards myself. The seven amazing people - with whom I shared the brightest (and not really) moments of the term - showed me the way to look at things I have not had an idea about before. The Network and the vast variety of people I met proved to me how different and engaging this life can be.
This uniqueness changes one to the marrow of its bones. The perception of so many things starts to differ in so many ways it is difficult sometimes to trace where you began. In addition, most importantly, you notice that the changes you are undergoing are the exact part of the rewarding experience. I am indeed thankful to every event - no matter how little or huge it was - that happened to me. I am grateful to my board, with whom I experienced everything throughout this term. I am grateful to have had the possibility to put my ideas into life. There are many unpredictable things happening to us. No one ever knows how his or her life will turn out. However, one thing I am certain of is that when I left the ELSA House I was not the person I was when I came one year ago. I am better. Even better.
ANNUAL REPORT | 11
The Board
Jakub Čája
Vice President for Academic Activities Living in Brussels with seven other people from seven different countries following the same vision was indeed an experience, I was extremely excited to undergo in July 2016 when I moved into the ELSA House. I did realise almost immediately, that being a member of the international board of the biggest law students' association in the world is linked with many challenges, a large variety of situations you have to deal with, but also amazing and unforgettable moments full of emotions, laughs and fun, which I will remember for the rest of my life. As a member of the incoming board I aimed at reaching the standards of my predecessors, which was a hard goal to achieve. Throughout the term I faced many challenges regarding the projects I have worked on and sometimes it was indeed very difficult to follow through. However, the passion I always had for ELSA together with the support of the rest of my board and the amazing ELSA network as a huge source of motiva-
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tion have been the things that kept me on track, even during the toughest moments. As Robert has been telling me all the time: “Jake, either you go all in, or all out!” I was tempted to respond with “All in!” and I haven't regretted my choice. Coordination of three International Legal Research Groups, the fifth Anniversary Edition of the ELSA Day, the final edition of the ELSA Law Review and the expansion of the ELSA Negotiation Competitions are some of the achievements I had the honour to be a part of. However, this would not be possible without the people around me. What I am truly proud of/happy about though, was to see the success of my fellow boardies in other areas. What I would consider as the highlight of this term, are the amazing people I had the unique opportunity to spend this year with, a huge life lesson and the friendships that will hopefully last for many years. To shortly conclude: my year with the IB 16/17 was a blast!
The Board
Christine Beck
Vice President for Moot Court Competitions When I was elected as Vice President for Moot Court Competitions back at the ICM in Malta I knew that the next year ahead would bring many adventures but the most creative mind could not have foreseen how amazing the year in the International Board 2016/2017 would be. I got the chance to travel the world, organize two incredible projects and share a house with the most amazing seven people. I not only learned many valuable life lessons, did not only improve my soft skills and myself as a person but I also received a new family. The memories, feelings and impressions I was lucky enough to experience during my term cannot be put into words. It was a year of ups and downs, but I would not trade it for anything.
I would like to express my most sincere thank you to everybody who was there along the way. All the partners, externals and my incredible team, which was always there for me and which never let me down. Without them the projects would have never turned out as successful as they were. I also would like to thank the Council for always assessing our work in a critical perspective and push us even further. Last, but not least, I want to thank the seven people with whom I shared everything, and by everything, I really mean everything. Thank you, Robert, Mads, Rob, Ivan, Jake, Nigel and Alyona. Thank you for being the best family one could wish for. To many more adventures yet to come and to having a family all around Europe! We are, and always will be, in this together.
ANNUAL REPORT | 13
The Board
Nigel Micallef
Vice President for Seminars & Conferences As a student activist for the last eight years, ELSA has placed an important role in my life for the last four years. Four years of learning, challenges, developing ideas, organising projects, making friends, working hard and getting to know my limits in ideas. However, all good things have to come to an end at one point in time. With a sad heart, I have closed off this big chapter of my life with having achieved more than what I have ever dreamed of accomplishing. This term saw as its fulcrum the birth of ELSA Webinars, a record number of ELSA Law Schools, two international conferences, several ELSA Delegations and much more. However, none of this would have been accomplished without the assistance of our partners and the support from the ELSA Network. Project management will always mean these projects, projects which I loved and gave all of my ener-
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gy for. In five years’ time, I will be able to look back, as an alumnus, at these projects and be astonished at how much the above-mentioned projects have grown. These projects, even though some of them have been in the Network for quite some time, will continue to improve and grow at a rapid rate and be able to offer many more diverse opportunities to young professionals and students from all over the world. I would like to thank my board members for being great individuals and an even better team. They have assisted and supported my visions for my beloved area of Seminars and Conferences. This dream to organise projects on such a level would have never been feasible without the support of my mother and father who have stood beside me throughout this entire journey. My better half, Anna, who was always ready to listen and be of constant assistance! Thank you for this dream.
The Board
Alyona Litvinova
Vice President for Student Trainee Exchange Programme Once you decide to take the road of the International Board, you have a lot of expectations. For me personally – and still to this day – I do not know if I wanted my expectations to be met, or to be overcome by all the experiences to be had this year. I think I will not only speak for myself when I say this: the best part of this year has been the people with whom I shared the moments. However, this year of course has not gone without its low points. For me the lowest point of the IB year was the Christmas Day burglary. Our spirits were already low since I was the last one to leave the House for the holidays and I had quite a workload (as all of us do most of the time). Having someone invade your home, while you are sleeping, is the worst thing that can happen. And this is where we go back to the people – I would never have managed this episode, and come out stronger and able to laugh at it, without the seven people sur-
rounding me with their support, even from afar. In the International Board you forget about your personal gain, if I might put it that way, but you are constantly happy for the role (even a small one) you play in the achievements of others. I couldn’t be prouder of all the good long-term things we managed to achieve as a Board. We surely had our disagreements, but we definitely came out stronger from those. And seeing the Network develop, the countries that were never in my time interested in STEP doing their best to have traineeships – and the excitement when they got to meet their first trainee – is something not possible to put into words. All in all, I could not be more grateful for the year that made me stronger, more patient and less tending to overthink things than I was before. And of course #ib1617 forever!
ANNUAL REPORT | 15
General Development of the Association
GENERAL DEVELOPMENT OF ELSA 2016/2017 GENERAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE ASSOCIATION TWO NEW MEMBERS THE INITIATIVE IN ICELAND NEW PARTNERSHIPS THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE & ELSA
16 | ANNUAL REPORT
General Development of the Association
GENERAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE ASSOCIATION MADS LORENTZEN Secretary General
The European Law Students’ Association (ELSA) is a steadily growing association. Over the term 2016/2017 the key figures of the Association have indicated an evident growth. With a focus on expansion of the ELSA Network, ELSA has proven to be the main choice for many law students and young lawyers all over Europe when seeking out extra-curricular activities. The following figures are based on statistics from the internal biannual reports, State of the Network (SotN), which are compiled from data information extracted from a questionnaire filled in by the National Groups of ELSA. This term, both of the State of the Network Enquiries were filled in by all 43 National Groups, ensuring liable statistics.
crease, however when analysing the stats regarding individual active members, a rather impressive growth has taken place. In the last year ELSA has on all three levels of the Association gained 1.652 new active members. This is an equivalent to a raise of 24.29%. We can only assume that such a high raise in active individual members will lead to more events and activities for our members over the coming years. Thereby ensuring a further growth in individual members overall. Local Groups
In the past year ELSA has gained 695 new members equivalent to a raise of 1.38%. The figure only shows a small in-
Over the past year, the number of Local Groups in the ELSA Network has decreased by 20. Today ELSA has 265 Local Groups spread over the 43 National Groups. The decrease is a consequence of many initiatives to start Local Groups that failed throughout the Network. Several of the biggest National Groups in the Network (measured in number of Local Groups) have over the past year focused on a quantitative ex-
Physical Members | According to 22nd SotN
Active Members | According to 22nd SotN
Physical Members
50,409
20th SotN
51,104 49,346
21st SotN
6,801 22nd SotN
20th SotN
8,250 49,346
21st SotN
8,453
22nd SotN
ANNUAL REPORT | 17
General Development of the Association
pansion, where several new Local Groups have been initiated. These initiatives are welcomed, since they show a prove of proactiveness when trying to expand to new law faculties around Europe. However, many of these new initiatives have failed to become sustainable, which has influenced the overall amount of Local Groups. This is a normal consequence of new initiatives. In order to have a successful build-up of a new Local Group, many things needs to be in place including support from the faculty, the students and the legal environment around the set destination. As a result of these initiatives, some new Local Groups have flourished, which is the overall aim of the expansion.
without ELSA being represented. This are Iceland and San Marino. In this term we have focused on helping our Observer National Groups to become Members, as well as to expand ELSA to Iceland. As mentioned elsewhere in this Annual Report, this work has been very successful. Today we have 43 National Groups. This is the same as last year. However, 2 Observers have been approved as Members and a new initiative in Iceland has been started which will hopefully result in an Observership at the International Council Meeting in Sarajevo this autumn.
National Groups As the name of ELSA so concretely states, it is based in Europe. This limits the possibilities of expanding to new countries. Currently, only a few countries in Europe have a law faculty
Over the last 12 months ELSA continued its work towards a larger impact on the education of law students and young lawyers. With over 51.000 members, ELSA proves to be a major provider of extra-curricular activities in the area of law on a European and partly worldwide basis.
Local Groups | According to 22nd SotN
National Groups | As per a term 4
295 260 20th SotN
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Sum up
21st SotN
265 22nd SotN
3
1
observers
observers
observers
39
40
members
members
members
2014/2015
2015/2016
2016/2017
42
General Development of the Association
TWO NEW MEMBERS ROBERT VIERLING President
During the transition month, when the outgoing board introduces the incoming board to the coaching system, two very different pictures were drawn. On one hand, there was ELSA Republic of Moldova, which had been recently visited by Antonia Markoviti and was displayed as a very active and motivated group. On the other hand, there was ELSA Belarus, which seemed to barely existing anymore, whilst their last chance to apply for membership was coming in our term, during the ICM in Prague. As President, and the person in charge of expansion, I became the coach of both groups. Despite the odds, I was extremely motivated to not just help ELSA Republic of Moldova to gain membership during the ICM in Prague, but also to reactivate ELSA Belarus. Thanks to Ivan, I managed to establish a contact to an ELSA member in Belarus. Through that contact, I got in touch with a group of very motivated students in Belarus, who were ready to give their utmost to re-establish ELSA in Belarus.
Now I had the chance to work with two highly motivated groups and throughout several Skype meetings, meetings during the ICM in Porto and the IPM in Arlamow, we were able to go through everything that was needed to ensure that both groups would be fully ready to join ELSA as a member. Together we had one vision from the moment we started working together, an ELSA Republic of Moldova and an ELSA Belarus, which, independently of the result of the ICM in Prague, will stay strong and continue to work for the vision of ELSA. I must say, that after the presentations of the two groups were concluded I was looking into the eyes of the delegates in the Council and I came to understand one thing; those two groups will make it and become members of ELSA. This deeply touched me and gave me goose bumps all over. It was my sincere pleasure and a source of motivation all year long to work with these highly inspiring individuals from those two groups. I am proud to say that I am sure ELSA will stay strong in Belarus and in the Republic of Moldova.
ANNUAL REPORT | 19
General Development of the Association
DZMITRY KRUPADZIORAU President, ELSA Belarus 16/17
The ELSA term of 2016/2017 meant a new start for ELSA Belarus. I look back on a year, which meant a lot of work for me and the whole team of ELSA Belarus, but above all, a lot of joy and hundreds of incredible moments. On August 30, 2016, seven motivated students from two different law faculties met in a small café in Minsk. After a Skype talk with Robert we decided to renew ELSA Belarus. We had only half a year to prepare ELSA Belarus for its last possible membership application. For this, we had to solve both politically caused legal problems with the entry into the association register, as well as financing problems. Despite all the obstacles and the shortage of time, thanks to the commitment of our members, the support from ELSA International, and the ELSA community, we have managed to get the membership and above all build a secure base for the future of ELSA Belarus. An intense year with 50 board meetings, more than 15 national events, 4 international events, 8 law schools attended and hundreds of new friends from 43 countries gained we are looking back at one of the best years of our lives. Now the New Board of ELSA Belarus is looking forward to being a part of the ELSA community and promises to spread the values and ideas of ELSA in Belarus.
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CRISTIAN ONICA Vice President for Seminars & Conferences ELSA Republic of Moldova 16/17
In order to achieve the supreme goal of obtaining membership status, the officers from ELSA Republic of Moldova have been working hard on developing the key structures of the organization. We had Study Visits to our Local Groups in Cahul and Balți, where we motivated every member. We gave them fresh advice and updates about all decisions made at the ICM Porto, in which Maxim Macovei and myself had participated in. Two of our officers also attended the 25 National Council Meeting of ELSA Ukraine, where we learned a lot. We are extremely happy and proud that we succeeded and became a member of the European Law Students’ Association during the ICM Prague. ELSA Republic of Moldova is very grateful to have gotten the trust from the Council and would like to thank our coach and ELSA President, Robert Vierling, for all his help and advice. The international experience of the ICMs helped us a lot. We have made new initiatives for Study Visits and with approximately 80 applications and 3 elected students from Moldova STEP has become a great success for us. We are proud to say that we managed to educate students and young lawyers. We surely made our members believe in the main goals of ELSA.
General Development of the Association
THE INITIATIVE IN ICELAND MADS LORENTZEN Secretary General
KOLFINNA TÓMASDÓTTIR ELSA Iceland
The European Law Student’s Association (ELSA) has since its beginning in 1981 expanded itself to the outer borders of Europe. One of the few countries left to expand to is Iceland. Constituting the outer skirts of Europe in the North West, Iceland is a country with a cultural background from Europe but with an increasing influence from America. Engaging the Icelandic law students in ELSA is a golden chance to get yet another approach at mutual understanding, legal education and social responsibility in our Association.
When I started law school I quickly fell in love with the international cooperation the faculty had to offer. After working hard on strengthening the great international relationships that already existed I felt that there was something missing. Through my travels to the Nordic Countries I discovered that ELSA existed. As soon as I heard about it I was interested and did some research. I talked to some older students who had nothing but kind words to say about ELSA and were deeply disappointed that Iceland was no longer a part of it.
ELSA has earlier been represented in Iceland. Due to a lack of involvement ELSA Iceland was sadly terminated as an observer of ELSA back in spring 2015. That lack of involvement is what we have focussed the most on avoiding in this new relaunch of ELSA Iceland. Kolfinna Tómasdóttir and her team have already proven to be a strong and internationally passionate team. With students on different stages of their studies they also ensure continuity for ELSA Iceland in years to come. In the beginning of June I visited Reykjavik in order to inform and engage the new initiative. Being informed there that all seven Board Members would be at the Transition BBQ in Brussels and several planned to attend the International Council Meeting in Sarajevo, I felt assured that we were on the right track. We discussed administration and the project portfolio of ELSA. After that visit I could only confirm my feeling that the Board of ELSA Iceland is ready to take on this adventure. I am rooting for Kolfinna, Pétur, Jóhann, Þuríður, Ingunn, María and Guðni.
ELSA Iceland’s work had stopped before I started my studies. It didn’t take long for me to decide that this cooperation was something I wanted Icelandic law students to be able to be a part of and I wanted to make it real. This spring I contacted Mads Lorentzen and told him about our interest. A few days later I gathered an amazing team of six to start our work. Mads joined us in Reykjavík for a weekend this summer and we discussed all the amazing opportunities this could give to Icelandic law students and that it really was a shame that we weren’t qualified members anymore. Before Mads came to visit the team and I decided to take this project full on and that we would all attend the Transition Barbeque in Brussels this July. We have great ideas that we want to work with this coming year and we are ready to put in everything we have to show all members of ELSA that the interest amongst Icelandic law students is strong. This is an amazing oppurtinity for the small island we are to connect to the world and we are truly excited to show you how enthusiastic we are in Sarajevo this fall. ANNUAL REPORT | 21
General Development of the Association
NEW PARTNERSHIPS ROBERT VIERLING President
In order to reach one of ELSA’s main goals, general accessibility for all students independently of their background, ELSA is partnering with externals in exchange for a financial contribution. The partnerships ELSA has entered on all levels assure that ELSA is run as professionally as it is today. In alignment with the aforementioned it is one of the main tasks of the President of ELSA to continue the collaboration with ELSA’s existing partners as well as to find new partners and develop a collaboration with them. Throughout my term in office I focused on picking up on former contacts and the discussion of potential ways of expanding existing collaborations. I am personally very happy that this approach resulted in three new or expanded collaborations, namely with BARBRI International, The Economist and MEININGER. BARBRI International offers preparation courses for law students
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to take the bar exam in the United States of America and thereby to qualify as a Lawyer in the US. After our predecessors had already worked with BARBRI International we had agreed that entering a partnership would result in greater benefits. It has been proven that ELSA members are extraordinarily interested in gaining international experience and legal qualifications outside of their home jurisdiction. Therefore we are sure that taking the BARBRI course will be of great interest for ELSA members. ELSA and The Economist have been partners for many years but in our term we decided to take it to the next level and to thereby reach bigger mutual benefits. Nowadays more than ever it is important for law students and young lawyers to be up to date with the political and economical happenings in the world. The Economist is a perfect medium for ELSA students to stay informed. As an ELSA member you are entitled to a 20% discount on a regular subscription price.
General Development of the Association For several years now there had been a discussion with MEININGER to become an accommodation partner of ELSA. Following a meeting in person in Berlin we had continued the discussions and reached an agreement. MEININGER offers a great service for a very reasonable price and hence makes it very convenient especially for group bookings to work with them. Over the course of the new agreement we were already very happy that many ELSA groups visiting Brussels have decided to stay in MEININGER and we will also recommend to do so in the future.
It was one of the main perspectives of the International Board of 2016/2017 to only enter new partnerships if these would have an honest benefit for our members, the respective partner and for ELSA as an association. We are convinced that BARBRI International, The Economist and MEININGER are such partners and we sincerely hope that the collaboration will continue to grow in the future.
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ANNUAL REPORT | 23
General Development of the Association
THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE & ELSA BARBARA ORKWISZEWSKA Directorate of Communications
The Council of Europe is very much interested in projects with the academic public.They showcase our activities and democratic standards to the students, who are likely to go onto become national and European officials at different levels – in national governments, parliaments, judicial instances, local government or civil society. A very good example of this policy is our co-operation with ELSA, visible through educational initiatives focusing on international challenges addressed by the Council of Europe. The 2016/2017 term was no exception, bringing to the attention of ELSA’s network the current concerns with migration as the key priority. Diverse departments of the Council of Europe deal with humanitarian and legal aspects of this broad and complex issue which deeply divides European societies. ELSA considered it important to join the debate and tackle the problem through a number of activities. A new Legal Research Group (LRG) has been dedicated to migration law and will carry out its work with the support of the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE). The outcome of this comparative project, involving participants from 29 countries, will result in an executive summary, to be presented by ELSA at the PACE Session in early 2018. The 2016 “ELSA Day” also focused on the refugee crisis. Some 150 academic and charity events were organised in more than 30 countries with the aim of raising awareness on this topical issue. We also feel proud that a new and modern tool, namely the “Webinar”, could be launched in the late 2016. Dedicated to diverse aspects of migration, this very first live debate between the Council of Europe’s experts and ELSA International’s officers enabled ELSA followers and other similar publics to interact with the panellists. Watched 24 | ANNUAL REPORT
some 14,000 times, the programme proved to be a great success. We do hope that further webinars will be organised to discuss other general concerns. We should also mention here the European Human Rights Moot Court Competition, which is very closely related to our fundamental text, the European Convention on Human Rights. This highly demanding contest remains very successful. 95 teams from 30 countries entered the 2016 edition. The participants were competing on the basis of a hypothetical case balancing the right to liberty with national security interests. The increase in pollution and the acceleration of climate change, heavily impacting on health, and environment-related matters are becoming among the most serious concerns and require urgent changes in many public policy areas. These issues have been analysed in the Council of Europe’s contributions to the spring issue of the “Synergy” magazine, which was dedicated to renewable energy. Traineeships are another way to get to know the Council of Europe and to gain insights into our daily work. Beyond the official programmes, ELSA benefits from specific programmes with the PACE and the Office of the Special Representative on Migration and Refugees which regularly accept a set number of the Association’s members. We hope that the work we accomplished together in 2016 and 2017 brought members of ELSA closer to the Council of Europe’s standards, striving to maintain stable societies and democratic security on the continent. As with all the challenges to be faced today, democratic institutions such as ELSA and the Council of Europe need to reach out to one another more than ever before.
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MAIN FOCUS OF ELSA CLEAN OUT & SUSTAINABILITY NEW STUCTURE OF THE EI TEAM THE FOCUS ON QUALITY EXPANSION ELSA HOUSE RENOVATION THE NEW INTERNATIONAL FOCUS PROGRAMME ELS - A NEW BEGINNING
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CLEAN OUT AND THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THE WORK OF THE IB MADS LORENTZEN Secretary General
“Clean out in ELSA International projects and administrative burdens”, that was one of the main goals of the term 2016/2017 in ELSA International. ELSA had on the international level grown so big that projects and administrative burdens were blocking further development in the Association. When managing an association solely provided with voluntary human resources, it is of great importance to repeatedly evaluate the projects run and the internal administrative bureaucracy. If a project is too expensive financially or human resources wise compared to the outcome for the association - and most importantly the members – it needs to be changed, improved or removed. The same goes for administrative procedures that at some point might have had a role to play; but that today are just a waste of financial resources and man power. The ELSA Law Review The ELSA Law Review was a publication by ELSA Interna-
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tional, where students and young professionals could get an article published in their preferred legal topic. A couple of years ago the ELSA Law Review was reawakened after it had not been in the project portfolio of ELSA International for several years. In autumn 2016 we - the International Board - decided that the third edition of the reawakening would be the last. The outcome of the Law Review was concluded to be too small compared to the input of human resources, hereunder especially the Vice President for Academic Activities and his team. For the lucky few, which were published per edition, the Law Review was for sure a contributing project but in the big picture we deemed the resource input to big. This created space in the schedule of the Vice President for Academic Activities, which at the Spring International Council Meeting of ELSA in Prague resulted in the European Human Rights Moot Court Competition being moved back to this position. This solved an ongoing issue of overworking the
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Vice President for Moot Court Competitions (now Vice President for ELSA Moot Court Competitions). The restructuring means that future International Boards will have a more sustainable work division. Administrative Burdens The first bigger decision in the “Clean Out” process during the term 2016/2017 was to abandon the Market Research of ELSA. Historically the Market Research is performed every 5 years in order to facilitate a better evaluation of functioning projects and main focusses before the implementation of a new 5 year Strategic Plan. However, it was questioned by us – the International Board – whether such a research is reliable and beneficial for ELSA. Since a reliable Market Research requires both professional assistance, when phrasing questions and carrying out the questionnaire, as well as a high number of submissions with a broad demographic representation, we
believed that the expenses would be too high compared to the output. One thing is the financial expenses for such professional assistance. A bigger expense is the one on human resources. Not just in ELSA International but in the Network as a whole. With this decision more administrative practises were abolished. The General Attitude The main motive in the implementation of the “Clean Out” process was an attitude change. We – the International Board – made it our goal to improve effectiveness all around the work and tasks carried out on the International Level of ELSA. By questioning the processes that were used, we sought a better work environment both for ourselves and our team. I fully believe that the “Clean Out” philosophy has moved ELSA towards a more professional and sustainable future.
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NEW STRUCTURE OF THE INTERNATIONAL TEAM MADS LORENTZEN Secretary General
ELSA International is not just a group of 8 people working from a house in Brussels. ELSA International is a team of International Board Members, Directors, Assistants, Coordinators, Coaches and Proofreaders. ELSA International is a large group of people working together to develop ELSA. To professionalise ELSA further, a new structure of the International Team was put into place. One of the first tasks of the term 2016/2017, the International Board Members had to strategically rethink together with their respective team the workload for the term. As a follow up all positions were analysed, renamed and in general altered to accommodate the most efficient and aligned team structure. The result of the efforts was a smaller team than usual, a team with unified titles and a sustainable team structure. The goal was to have team members where we, as the International Board, can set a certain amount of tasks for. To have extra
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team members and not sufficient work to go around is an inconvenience both for us and an annoyance for the respective team member. Naturally such a structural change requires more than just a first draft. For that reason, the International Board has reevaluated all positions in the International Team and made an updated and improved team structure. The evaluation was called “What would we do, if we were to take a second term?�. This team structure was in July passed over to the International Board of 2017/2018 in order for them to learn from our experience. We strongly believe that a more structured approach to the International Team is the way forward in the development of ELSA International.
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THE FOCUS ON QUALITY EXPANSION ROBERT VIERLING President
After attending some International Council Meetings, it becomes recognisable that some countries are repeatedly missing and are only represented through proxies. Other countries are represented but always through the same people. The same applies to an even broader extent for the International Area Meetings. Hence, it is evident that some ELSA National Groups must face obstacles to actively participate in the international sphere of ELSA. This circumstance puts them at risk to loose the connection to the Network. Further, their members miss the chance to experience the true international ELSA Spirit. It is the task of the International Board to reintegrate the aforementioned ELSA National Groups and to ensure a stable connection to them. During our term in office we aimed to put a special focus on this matter. Since the budget and the time of the International Board are limited, not all ELSA National Groups can be visited throughout the term. Therefore, we implemented a new system of deciding which ELSA Nati-
onal Groups would require special attention from our side and would benefit the most from a visit of an International Board member. In order to make the decision as objective and goaloriented as possible, we conducted the following three phases. In the first phase, we decided upon on our coaching countries based on their specific needs and who of us could help them the most. Our prior experience and our availability throughout the year built the basis for our decision. In the second phase, each of us researched travel expenses to our coaching countries. The results were put into an Excel sheet and made invisible in order to be able to objectively discuss in the third phase. In the third phase, we were holding a long meeting during which we allocated the coaching countries in three categories: “must visit”, “nice to” and “not necessary”. In the category “must visit”, we put all countries which had not been visited in the previous years, or were struggling in particular and therefore, needed extra support and a visit of an Interna-
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Main Focus
tional Board member. Into the category “nice to”, we allocated those countries, which needed some support but did not urgently need a visit despite it generally being helpful. Finally, all countries which were left were categorised as “not necessary”. Those countries were mainly ELSA groups that are regularly attending the International Internal Meetings with a well-established connection to the International Board and that only face rather small problems, where not much help of the International Board is required. Lastly, Rob allocated the money in the budget accordingly to what we had researched. Luckily, the budgeted money was sufficient to allow us to visit all countries of the category must visit and nice to, throughout our term. That resulted in a great success for many countries, which had been struggling to be internationally represented or had lost the connection to the network.
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To give some examples: after having visited ELSA Albania, ELSA Serbia and ELSA Bosnia & Herzegovina we felt on one hand comfortable to give them our trust with hosting the Train the Trainers Week, the Supporting Area Meeting and the International Council Meeting respectively, but on the other hand, understood that it is much easier to bring an international ELSA event into their region than it is for them to attend international events themselves. We were happy to see that those ELSA National Groups, which were always represented, continued to be, whilst those ELSA National Groups who used to be underrepresented, or not at all, also joined the international events now. Above all, we managed to gain a lot of knowledge about all ELSA countries throughout our visits. We also managed to establish a good connection to them, which is going to help future generations of International Boards to support them even more.
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ELSA HOUSE RENOVATION ROBERT VIERLING President
MADS LORENTZEN Secretary General
ROB VAN BERGEN Treasurer
The ELSA House is the headquarter of the European Law Students’ Association since 1995, and as such, the home for the International Board of ELSA. The ELSA House is a place of history, a place which thousands of law students and young lawyers connect with a special and very much defining time of their lives.
our first meeting with the landlord, Mr. Gygax. Already during this meeting, we discussed with him several things, which in our opinion were necessary to be improved. We were very glad to hear that Mr. Gygax agreed that improvements were necessary and that he was ready to discuss the way forward with us.
Even though all of us had been to the ELSA House prior to moving there, one thing you really do not grasp when running for the International Board of ELSA is the fact that you are becoming a tenant of a house, which is more than 120 years old. This alone brings a lot of challenges with itself. But yet again, the ELSA House is somewhat special.
During our OYOP training, our OYOP trainer, Mirko Djukovic, told us what the House had looked like back when he was in office in 2009/2010. He told what his predecessor boards had improved, and which things have been untouched ever since he had been living in the ELSA House himself.
As part of our transition in July our predecessors gave as a tour around the House. They explained some particularities about this old building. It quickly became evident that some improvements needed to be made. A couple of weeks later we had
With all that in mind, it was clear from an early stage that one of our agenda points for the year would be to invest in the ELSA House. At that time, we had no idea on how much time and effort
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before
after
before
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it would actually take to make the necessary changes. In the end, the refurnishing of the ELSA House should become an equally important and time-consuming project for us like any of the Flagship Projects. When you know the personal background of the construction workers and they even participate in the Transition Barbecue, I think we reached a level where we should actually have considered appointing the worker as part of the ELSA International Team. From our first tour through the house until the last improvement was finished we went a long road. Refurnishing the ELSA House comes with a lot of obstacles such as a language barrier when talking with the workers, who do not speak English. So, it happened one day that Mads and I found ourselves standing somewhere in Brussels realising that we had no idea where to look for a reasonably priced office carpet. At one point, we ended up standing in a small carpet store speaking on the phone with the English-speaking friend of the cashier asking whether
before
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they would also offer office carpets. After our odyssey through Brussels continued for several hours, we found a great place. They did not just have great carpets and spoke English, but also offered a vast variety of furniture options. One of our immediate focuses was the staircase of the ELSA House. The staircase had been significantly tilted and throughout the first couple of months we had noticed that some of the existing cracks in it had become bigger. We had a long discussion with Mr. Gygax about it, and he told us that the staircase, due to its age, has a historical value and cannot, as we had hoped, be replaced by a new one. Therefore, we discussed alternative solutions. A carpenter was hired who lifted the entire staircase and attached it to the wall. At the same time, two big poles were put in place to help further stabilise the staircase. The carpenter reassured us that this was the maximum that could be done in order to secure the staircase. Coordinating such immense and space limiting work whilst
after
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before
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8 people are living and working in the building was another challenge we faced. In the meantime, we fixed the broken ceilings in the individual rooms and painted most of the rooms and the staircase. We said “goodbye” to the old office carpet and the old office furniture, and by getting height adjustable desks ensured that ELSA’s office has not just arrived in the 21st century by now, but also provides the International Board members to work ergonomically correct. That is a really beneficial change during a 14-hour-long office day. The new office carpet is made of tiles and can be replaced one by one in case of need. This fact will ensure the professional appearance, even though the ELSA House from time to time faces quite some extensive usage. Already during the first partner meeting it was understood that the meeting room needed improving. The pen of the partner had dropped since the tables of the meeting room were eve-
rything but stable. The meeting room needed to be adjusted to the size and reputation our beloved organisation has in the world nowadays. Therefore, it was a great pleasure to remove all the old cabinets and folders and empty the office - only to get new tables as well a new flat screen TV with wireless Internet connection in order to conduct any meeting in a professional manner. The new tables are portable and, therefore, ideal to adjust when hosting a study visit. The need of one particular improvement came evident in the middle of our term. The ELSA House became a “victim” of a burglary. A shocking moment for our board. So, we decided to take action. After some extensive research, we consulted a security company, which analysed all potential ways to break into the house and set up a proper alarm system for the ELSA House. We are confident that this should avoid a similar situation from happening again in the future.
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before
Finally, in the end of our term, two huge containers, more than ten visits to Ikea and hundreds of hours spent, the ELSA House has become a far better working and living place. A house of the age of the ELSA House demands consistent maintenance. Having that in mind and the fact that there is only so much you can improve in a year’s time. We also ensured that there is money put aside to continue the work in the house. We sincerely hope that ELSA and all of its members will continue to cherish this great historical place. At this stage the International Board of ELSA 2016/2017 would like to thank the Board of ELS, which has supported us all along. Their contribution of twenty new office chairs played a crucial role to the professionalisation of the office. Further through donating a dishwasher and garden tables, ELS has also helped to improve the general living quality of the International Board.
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after
When going through the ELSA House, you can see and feel the history of this great association. I must say, it is a special feeling when leaving after a year. Not only do you connect some very special memories with each of the rooms of the house, but also have put your piece to the history of this special place. It has been a privilege for the eight of us to live in the ELSA House for a year. We have treated it like it was our own home. Nevertheless, the ELSA House belongs, at least to a small extent, to every ELSA member. It was our great pleasure to warmly welcome many hundreds of students from all over Europe and make them feel like home. Therefore, each investment into the ELSA House is not just an investment into the International Board but also to every single ELSA member.
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THE NEW INTERNATIONAL FOCUS PROGRAMME (IFP) JAKUB ÄŒĂ JA Vice President for Academic Activities
The International Focus Programme has always been one of the most important projects of ELSA on all levels. The point of the International Focus Programme is to get all the local groups of our Network to start organising events around the same topic; if done properly, this can become a major factor in forming the general opinion and mindset of young lawyers and law students. After the new topic was voted in during the ICM Batumi, we were excited to work on implementation of Environmental Law, as we considered this topic as an opportunity to contribute to the legal field that currently needs a huge development. As one of the implementation procedure improvements, we came up with the system of IFP National Coordinators that worked successfully with the ELSA Day. The most important change was the implementation of the IFP Week - one week when all the ELSA Groups organise events focused on Environmental Law all over Europe with the aim of making the results as visible as possible. We were very happy to see that the first IFP Week, which took
place between the 3rd and the 9th of April, had involved more than 3,000 participants from over 20 countries that were engaged in over 80 events organised in the whole Network. Supporting ELSA Groups along the way through personal assistance, promoting the supporting materials and Handbooks as well as through improving marketing of the IFP by creation of a brand new IFP logo were some of the key activites from our side. Realising that Environmental Law brings us various opportunities in all the Flagship Projects, Nigel has applied for the observership status of ELSA in the UNFCCC as a new institution for ELSA Delegations. In addition to the preparations for establishing a global IFP Partnership, we have started to develop contacts that will hopefully lead to a new academic partnership for the next International Legal Research Group. We believe that the first year of the implementation of the new IFP has provided a solid ground for further success and truly hope that ELSA will keep up its committment to the environment!
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SPECIAL FOCUS
IFP WEEK #IFPWeek 3000 participants 80 events 20 countries
INTERNATIONAL F
ENVIRON LAW
CAMILLA HIGRAFF ÅMOTSBAKKEN Vice President for Seminars & Conferences ELSA Norway 16/17
ELSA Norway’s contributions to the IFP week were an online awareness campaign and a magazine on Environmental law. The campaign consisted of daily and varied content, such as articles, interviews, A-grade exam answers etc. on ELSA Norway´s social media accounts and our webpage. Everything we posted during the campaign was finally included in a magazine, which we published on the last day of the IFP week. The overall goal of the campaign and the magazine was to introduce Environmental law to students and underline how highly relevant and interesting this field of law is. Moreover, we also wanted to motivate students to be more engaged when it comes to Environmental law, and to introduce them to some possible career paths. The content was tailored in order to achieve these goals. We published two articles on environmental law; one was written by Hans Fredrik Marthinussen (a law professor at the University of Bergen) and the second article was by Tarjei Istad (a
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public prosecutor in the Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental crime). Furthermore, we had the pleasure of interviewing three professionals that have chosen intriguing career paths within the topic. Finally, we also published an A-grade exam answer on Environmental law, as well as illustrations and quotes on environmental law. By taking an all “internet friendly approach” we managed to reach out to a broad spectre of readers. The content has been shared and read by law students from all of the three law faculties in Norway, as well as students in other faculties and also relevant professional persons and bodies. Another idea behind the magazine and the campaign was to establish a project which future Norwegian IFP coordinators would be able to carry on and develop further in the upcoming years.
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ELS - A NEW BEGINNING MORITZ AM ENDE President, ELSA Lawyers Society
You never step into the same river twice. But even the river that is arguably new is most likely just as difficult to cross. The other side of the river is commonly described as "the place where everything is awesome". It is the place where we have a thriving community of ELS members and other ELSA alumni everywhere in Europe, forming a high-spirited professional and social network capable of shoring up support to ELSA in whatever form and whenever it is needed. It is the place where the ELSA House has been bought and paid for, and the most contentious topic of debate in the overcrowded ELS Assembly Meeting is whether paying business class tickets for IB members is bad for their character formation. Competition for the Executive Board of ELS is so fierce that would-be contenders are fought off with sticks. Unfortunately, we are not on that side of the river. We are not on the other side of the river, where everything is terrible,
either. As a matter of fact, we are standing in the river: We do have a community of ELS members and other ELSA alumni all over Europe. It is just not as big as we would like it to be. Our alumni do form a professional and social network, and it is actually quite effective. It is just not as strong and active as we would like it to be. ELS and individual alumni do provide support to ELSA on many levels and in many forms. But buying the ELSA House is a distant dream, seemingly far from our current reach. Apart from the wet feet, one of the things being unfortunate about standing in a river is the tendency to get stuck in the mud. And somehow, I don't know when, this kind of seems what had happened to ELS. Progress, if any, seemed incredibly difficult. That’s not to say that nothing happened. But we weren’t really progressing in our effort to make it to the other side of the river, but rather struggling in maintaining the status quo.
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When you stand in the river with your feet in the mud, the following usually happens: a bit of splashing, but not much more. You are stuck, and the mud won't budge. Yet change is still possible. Because the river is never the same, and the strength and direction of its current varies. With the International Board 2016/2017, the current was particularly strong. Also, it was going in our direction. In hindsight, it is difficult to say whether we cleverly used the current or if were simply dragged away by it. It doesn’t matter though. The important thing is: we started moving again. I want to sincerely thank everyone in the International Board 2016/2017, and in particular Mads and Robert, who made this possible. With your input and your motivation, we jointly worked out new ways how to support ELSA, strengthened the visibility of ELS within the ELSA network, and greatly increased the recruitment of new members. Just one example: It was great to see a full delegation of ELSA Belarus at the ICM
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in Prague after we had awarded two scholarships (instead of one) to ELSA Belarus for the ICM Porto – which we would probably not have done without your input. It is still a long way to that other side of the river. But we are on the move again, and we will get there eventually: writing these lines in Croatia, where the founder of the national ELSA group, Andrej Plenković, just opened the IPM and also happens to be prime minister, I know for sure that "awesome" and "alumni of ELSA" have more in common than just the first letter. You are more than welcome to join us for the way!
Main Focus
ERIK MUCKENSCHNABEL President, ELSA Austria 15/16
After four years of being active in ELSA the spring ICM in Prague marked the first international event as alumni for us. Back in the days we were both intensively involved in the work of our national groups, holding the position of Secretary General of ELSA Germany and President of ELSA Austria. During our active years we were both already strongly connected to our national alumni networks. May it have been by contacting and meeting predecessors, the organisation of alumni events or the connection to the German alumni association EAD – being alumni and taking some kind of responsibility in this special role was not a new topic to us. After those years of well spent energy and effort for ELSA it seemed that the time has come to enter – let’s say – a more “comfortable” stage of our ELSA careers. It’s not necessary to mention that the international level was always a pretty big deal for us back in our active time. So we asked ourselves two really important questions: “Why do we not benefit from the international network
ALISA OBERT Secretary General, ELSA Germany 15/16
for an even longer time? And even more importantly why do we not give something back to the association we have learned so much from?” Having experienced so many ICMs as rather stressful and tensed, we used our newly won free time to organise something fun – the first official ELS Pre Party. Due to the various experiences we made throughout the organisation of this event we decided to take one step further and not only experience ELS and its social activities but also get to know ELS from an internal perspective. The attendance and participation in the ELS Assembly Meeting gave us a better understanding of the importance of our Alumni Association. Thus we can only encourage active “ELSAnians” to participate and support ELS in whatever way it is possible for them. First and foremost, not because of their own benefit, but rather because of the association’s one.
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International Cooperations
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATIONS INFORMAL FORUM OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS (IFISO) ASIAN LAW STUDENTS' ASSOCIATION (ALSA) DOMINICAN LAW STUDENTS' ASSOCIATION (DLSA) ERASMUS STUDENT NETWORK (ESN) INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF YOUNG LAWYERS (AIJA)
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International Cooperations
INFORMAL FORUM OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS ROB VAN BERGEN Treasurer
When it comes to the ELSA network, the most essential characteristic is the fact, that the entire organisation consists of students. Students volunteer for an organisation next to their studies for several reasons: for fun, to network, but also to gain valuable experience in order to increase their employability. Experience comes in many forms and in ELSA it is assumed that there is a certain attention for sharing experiences on all levels. The local ELSA officers share experiences with each other when they are attending National Council Meetings and the national ELSA officers do this at the International Council Meetings. What about the International Board members? The increasing interest in extracurricular activities means that International Student Organisations are thriving. ELSA is not a unique concept; similar organisations exist for many fields of studies or even ideologies. At some point in time, the exact year is unknown, some of these organisations, ELSA included, came together and established IMISO: Intersectoral Meeting of International Student Organisations. Later it became IFISO: Informal Forum for International Student Organisations. Cherishing the idea that experience-sharing would create mutual benefits, IFISO meetings took, and still take place twice a year. The four-day long meetings usually have a cosy atmosphere with around 25 participants. It is an optimal environment to learn from the best practices of others.
Understanding other organisations can help to increase the understanding of one’s own organisation, even for International Board members. The structures of the organisations are often completely different from one another, with each its own, mostly valid, reasons for it. For example, ELSA is one of the few that has its own house and fulltime International Board members. We cannot imagine working without that any more, but for other organisations it could not be imagined that their board members need to live and work together. Not only does IFISO provide a platform for sharing experiences, over the years there have also been discussions about joint projects, such as an International Students Forum, a joint International Trainers’ Pool, and many more. It is only a matter of time before one of these projects will become successful and increase the cooperation of International Student Organisations even further. To conclude, IFISO has certainly contributed to the development of many International Student Organisations, but it has a lot more potential in the form of joint projects. This potential should become reality in the upcoming years and ELSA will take its part in it!
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International Cooperations
ASIAN LAW STUDENTS' ASSOCIATION (ALSA) JAYDEN CHEW President, ALSA 16/17
Over the course of many years with the effort from our predecessors, I believe that the partnership between ALSA and ELSA has achieved greater heights in the past year. With the assistance rendered by the ELSA, ALSA has successfully implemented the STEP program. Further, as a collaborative effort between both organisation to work to the betterment and benefits of our members, the STEP program (offered by both ALSA and ELSA) is now available to members from both organisations. This year, my Director of Exchange and Organisational Development, Ms Chung Jee-Yoong Anna and myself had the opportunity to attend the International Council Meeting that was held in Prague from 26th March 2017 – 2nd April 2017. It was a memorable week where we tasted multiple different national drinks, spoke to many student leaders from all around Europe, experienced the working (and partying) culture of Europeans and learned a whole deal of processes and ideas that we hope could be emulated within our organisation.
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The highlight of ICM in Prague was the election for the ELSA International Board 2017/18 – the effort every candidate put into setting up meetings with different National Chapters prior to the election, the respective presentations and quality of leaders elected into office, instils in me an immense amount of confidence for future collaboration between our organisations moving forward. Under the renewed leadership of Anastasia and my eventual predecessor, I am certain that with the platform of communication established that ought to be consistently utilised, it will be an even more exciting year ahead for more experiences to be shared and new initiatives to be developed. I look forward to our organisations working ever more closely; to collectively organise an all-student led worldwide conference, and to allow the voice of youths to be heard and positive impact to be made. Thank you and ALSA Always Be One!
International Cooperations
DOMINICAN LAW STUDENTS' ASSOCIATION (DLSA) ALYONA LITVINOVA Vice President for Student Trainee Exchange Programme (STEP)
The Student Trainee Exchange Programme has always been striving to bring internationality to our members. Therefore, for the past years, we have been focusing on expanding our traineeship offers to countries and continents outside of Europe. We have been very lucky to enter a cooperation with the Dominican Law Students’ Association (Asociación Dominicana de Profesionales y Estudiantes de Derecho – ADED). This cooperation is unique in many ways. First of all, it was started as a great cooperation with another student association, which shows how far we can reach with our vision and passion. Secondly, over the last three years they have welcomed 18 trainees from all the corners of Europe – and they have all said the same: Each minute in the Dominican Republic was worth traveling so far and has changed them both personally and professionally. Last but not least, DLSA has managed to perfect the reception in their country – they combine it with the elements of a study and institutional visit, which gives a
ANTONIO F. PONTIER Founding President, DLSA
great insight into the country to our STEP Trainees. Here is what Antonio F. Pontier, the Founding President of DLSA, says about our cooperation: “Thanks to the vision and genuine leadership of ELSA and ADED, these past three years have been exceptional not only for the eighteen (18) trainees who visited the Dominican Republic so far, but also for the Dominican people, authorities and law firms. This STEP involves the trainee in our legal, political and academic system and naturally with the essence of our culture. In the present day and for the third year uninterruptedly, we brought together prestigious law firms, such as; Castillo & Castillo, Pellerano & Herrera, Alburquerque & Alburquerque, Biaggi & Messina, Staff Legal, Medina Garrigó, Sánchez y Salegna, Marzano Rodríguez and Iuriscorp. Moreover, we’ve welcomed guests from countries such as: Denmark, France, Norway, Czech Republic, Spain, Italy, Poland, Finland and the Slovak Republic, individu-
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International Cooperations
als who delighted us with an exchange of knowledge, customs and additionally, they gave us a tangible treasure, which is friendship, a strong bond between our countries and people... Step it up and come to the Dominican Republic!” To illustrate what this traineeship means to our members, here are some words from Noora Emilia Wilen about her time in the Dominican Republic in June 2017: “A traineeship in the Dominican Republic is a once in a lifetime experience. An experience that will stay with you –also in your CV- for the rest of your life. It is not just a traineeship but also an institutional visit abroad. Law students of the ADED took us to very interesting places that we would not have been able to visit without them. For example, we met some of the top politicians, talked on the national radio station and visited the Presidential Palace. Dominican people are very kind with open hands, espe-
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cially the members of ADED. They will keep in touch with you even before you arrive so once you reach the Dominican Republic you already have some local friends. For sure you will also become friends with your colleagues and what could be better than to explore a country with the locals?” The traineeship lasts a month and that is a perfect amount of time. If you work annually back home, it is most likely the time period that you will have vacation. And on the other hand, if you are planning to travel during the summer to the South, the Centre or the North of America what could be better than adding one-month of legal traineeship in the Caribbean to it?” I would like to thank Antonio for the continuing cooperation, and for how happy this traineeship makes our members every year! As Antonio said himself: “STEP it up and come to the Dominican Republic!”
International Cooperations
ERASMUS STUDENT NETWORK (ESN) MADS LORENTZEN Secretary General
MATT CLEMO Vice President, ESN International Board 15/17
I believe all officers in the European Law Students’ Association (ELSA) have the feeling that working for ELSA feels like being in a bubble of like-minded people. Living and working from Brussels, engaging yourself completely to ELSA, makes this bubble almost real. My bubble burst on the 20th of April in Berlin. When I arrived at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) it took me less than 5 minutes to realise that ESN is just like ELSA and at the same time different. They clearly had other aims and projects but the energy was the same. The energy that you are met with at an International Council Meeting of ELSA was identical with what I met here. This was a wakeup call for me. How could we be so alike?
Too often, we rely solely on knowledge and ideas from within our organisations in our attempts to innovate and improve, whereas one looking to the outside might find solutions in places where we didn’t even know to look. Through attending external meetings, such as ELSA’s ICM, aside from learning the ways in which ESN can and should improve, I was also instilled with the notion that it’s our obligation to share and also to help others. During the ICM, I was constantly approaching Robert and Mads to ask questions and to share relevant tips or templates that may help them. It was really fascinating to see the similarities between ESN and ELSA’s procedures and discussions and I came away from the meeting with plenty of notes to follow-up on!
The answer is simple. ESN, ELSA and many other students’ associations are working for an individualised vision. A vision that requires full motivation and commitment from its volunteers. This fact results in a need for administrative solutions to uphold the association. These solutions are - besides the energy from the volunteers – what we have in common. Visiting the AGM gave me page after page of questions and comments ideas on how to improve the internal management of ELSA. By following up with Matt and thereby getting the chance to understand why ESN is tackling certain challenges as they are, I found solutions that will improve ELSA. I want to thank Matt and his board for inviting me to the AGM in Berlin. Let this be the beginning of a close cooperation between ESN and ELSA.
By the time of ESN’s AGM, I was intrigued to see if Mads would have a similar experience to that which I had at your ICM, and sure enough every time I looked over to him in plenaries, he was eagerly watching and taking notes. I think it’s safe to say that we both drew a lot of inspiration from these experiences and our organisations will both be better as a result. After the ICM and AGM, Mads and I had a meeting in Brussels to go through our notes and I just thought to myself ‘why haven’t we done this more often?’ It was a great experience and I’d like to thank ELSA for your invitation, and Mads for the great collaboration and discussions we had in the weeks afterwards. I look forward to seeing how future generations will take this cooperation to new heights!
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International Cooperations
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF YOUNG LAWYERS (AIJA) ROBERT VIERLING President
ALYONA LITVINOVA Vice President for Student Trainee Exchange Programme (STEP)
As an Association of Law Students and young Lawyers it is only natural for ELSA to cooperate with international Lawyer Associations. The mutual interests to interconnect legal professionals from various countries and to work together to achieve a just world is the core of such cooperation.
development of the association, activities that are organised and, of course, getting to know each other. Attending the Half Year Conference has helped us to understand how AIJA works as an association, exchange best practices and to network with young Lawyers from all over the world.
AIJA – The International Association of Young Lawyers has been ELSA’s general partner for several years now. AIJA is striving for similar aims and goals as ELSA does, and therefore, the cooperation has been of mutual interest. The board and the bureau of AIJA as well as the members of AIJA have been supporting us with our projects, especially with STEP. The cooperation has been developing over the past years, and we are glad to see that it continues to be highly valuable for both parties.
It was a great honour for Robert and myself to actively participate in some of the workshops. Our inputs especially on how to attract more young members and where we see the future of associations like AIJA and ELSA were highly appreciated. A lot of AIJA members are former ELSA members which also gave us the chance to learn something about ELSA’s past as well as why those former ELSA members have joined AIJA. One of the main reasons was the famous AIJA spirit, which is indeed very much comparable to the ELSA spirit.
This term Robert and myself participated in the Half Year Conference held in Verona, Italy. The Half Year Conferences are similar events to the International Internal Meetings of ELSA, meaning that the members of AIJA meet to discuss the
The warm welcome we have received by everyone, the including atmosphere and the sharing of experiences has really made us feel like, AIJA and ELSA - Two associations, one spirit. We will be back for another AIJA meeting in the future.
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International Cooperations
Since 2013, every year in early July, I have had the pleasure to meet the new Board members of ELSA International who take over from the previous Board and land in Brussels with lots of new ideas and ambition. The first thing I try to let the “new ones” understand is: AIJA is just like ELSA…just a few wrinkles more. The passion for justice and the rule of law is what makes young people become law students…and what makes young lawyers be passionate about their work! But not only that. There is a special connection between ELSA and AIJA: meeting people, making friends, being part of an international network, working hard (and partying hard!): no wonder why so many AIJA members are former ELSA members. It is just the most natural choice after ELSA and I am sure many more ELSA members will join AIJA too, either today as future lawyers or once they get their law degree. GIUSEPPE MARLETTA Association Manager, AIJA
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF YOUNG LAWYERS
ELSA members find their next home at AIJA, the International Association of Young Lawyers. Join as future lawyer and start building your future as of now!
www.aija.org
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International Internal Meetings
INTERNATIONAL INTERNAL MEETINGS INTRODUCTION LXXIII INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENTS' MEETING LXXIV INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENTS' MEETING VI KEY AREA MEETING VI SUPPORTING AREA MEETING LXX INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL MEETING LXXI INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL MEETING VI PARTNERS' RECEPTION REGIONAL OFFICERS' MEETINGS III NORDIC OFFICERS' MEETING II SLAVIC OFFICERS' MEETING CHRISTMAS COCKTAIL & TRANSITION BBQ 48 | ANNUAL REPORT
International Internal Meetings
INTRODUCTION MADS LORENTZEN Secretary General
The International Internal Meetings (IIMs) are the base of all communication in the European Law Students’ Association (ELSA). The meetings provide the officers with a chance to develop the Association. By ensuring that ELSA officers from all over Europe can meet and discuss we establish the proper settings for further cooperation and internationality amongst law students in Europe. But the IIMs are not just a facilitator of knowledge and experiences. They are much more than that. They are a multiplier of motivation boosting the engagement of all active members in their pursuit to do something extra. ELSA is not just offering extra-curricular activities to the passive members. Far from it. ELSA provides passionate law students with the chance to commit themselves and their time to do good for others. In the midst of it all is six IIMs that constitute the foundation for all this. Being the academic responsible for these events is a
different involvement that very few get the pleasure to try. During the last 12 months I have had the pleasure of preparing, delivering and evaluating some of the IIMs. Internal Area Meetings (IPM, SAM and KAM) The Internal Area Meetings (IAMs) are the first chance for the new officers of the term to meet each other. Since 2011 these three IAMs have been on the annual schedule of the International Level of ELSA (IPM back to 1990). The academic responsible are the International Board Members of ELSA. For the new National and Local officers these are meetings where you get the chance to feel the international ELSA Spirit. However, for the International Board these are also first ones. This is the chance to deliver our first workshops, engage our participating officers and to meet the ELSA Network in a new and exciting position. For me personally, SAM Lviv was a chance to try myself out as an International Board Member with all that it entails.
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The fourth and last IAM of the term is the IPM taking place in the winter. Over the last couple of years it has changed relevance from being a pure Presidents Meeting to now being more of a mini Council Meeting. Our Board took the chance to use the Winter IPM to prepare the Network to our ideas and proposals for the upcoming Spring ICM. This approach engaged more than just the participating Presidents. International Council Meetings For the Secretary General of the International Board of ELSA, the International Council Meetings (ICMs) are the highlight of the ELSA term. This is where all of the hard preparations for several months finally result in a concrete outcome. Writing this article I remember the ICM in Porto with pride. It was a truly amazing experience to sit in front of the Council to orchestrate the Plenaries together with the Chairs.
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The second ICM and the final IIM of the term was even more breath-taking. After working for 8 months with several initiatives the ICM in Prague was the climax of the work we produced. The ICM resulted in such diversified emotions. Not just because of the final conclusion to the 78 proposals that we presented to the Council but also because of the mix of roles that the Spring ICM has. It is the beginning of the end to the term and at the same time it is the early start of the new term. As the ICM culminates with the election of the upcoming International Board it constitutes a very emotional moment for the outgoing board. We, in the International Board of ELSA 2016/2017, felt a strange combination of frustration, happiness, insecurity and fulfilment. We understood that we provided a clear touch to the history of ELSA, and at the same time we were to leave office in order to make space for the next generation.
International Internal Meetings
ARMIN KHOSHNEWISZADEH Chair of the LXXI ICM in Prague President, ELSA International 14/15
Within five minutes of arriving at the check-in desk of the conference hotel in Prague and receiving my ELSA badge, an unknown ELSA member approached me with the sole purpose of saying “hi� and befriending me. Having been active in ELSA from 2011 to 2015, last as President of the International Board, I had for a moment forgotten about the open and inclusive spirit that ELSA events always have. Equally representative for the spirit of this organisation was when five minutes later the Secretary General of the International Board, Mads Lorentzen, came towards me with 4 big folders, ready to start preparations for the plenary. When asked to chair the Council Meeting, with my good colleague Max Scriba, the previous president of ELSA Germany, we were both honoured and ready for a challenge. After accepting the invitation, we realised that the amount of proposals submitted were record breaking, in all 90. After the initial shock and slight panic, we buckled up and started
to prepare. As it turned out, the process went smoothly and stayed within the time limits, much thanks to the attentiveness and preparedness of the National Groups present. And so did the highlight of the Council, namely the elections for the International Board. As with all elections there were a lot of feelings and passion involved, as should be, but the battles that were fought were dignified and the wheels of democracy once again turned. At the end of the day, I was thoroughly impressed with everyone. From the Organising Committee that provided a great venue and made sure we all were comfortable. To the participants who made a great balancing act of hard work and having fun. And of course, the International Board who simply, but precisely put, were an absolute joy to work with.
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International Internal Meetings
LXXIII INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENTS' MEETING (IPM) TALLINN, ESTONIA
GERTRUD PALU Head of Organising Committee Vice President for S&C, ELSA Estonia 16/17
During the spring ICM of 2015 I received a phone call from my president who asked me whether I would be willing to organise the IPM. There is only one correct answer to this question – “Of course!” Therefore, in August, I had the pleasure to greet 48 enthusiastic ELSAnians and even one ALSAnian in Tallinn, Estonia. For our small country it was the perfect opportunity to experience the ELSA spirit in our home yard. Even though two of the IB members were locked into the Patarei Sea-Fortress Prison for a while and most of the participants departure was delayed, thanks to the airline gods, everyone got home safely and hopefully had lots of new ideas and inspiration to share with their boards. I truly hope it was the kick off the participants needed for the term that is about to end now. I take with me all the positive feedback and encourage everyone to grab any opportunities that life gives you – at the end it’s all worth it!
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LISA HENRIKSSON President, ELSA Sweden 16/17
The first meeting of the new ELSA year, the IPM, is always special and definitely a personal favorite. Special because it is for some participants the first international ELSA meeting, and for most of the participants also is the first meeting in their new role as a President. The high energy level, excitement to start a new year and the big amount of new friends makes the week crazy, inspiring and for many it creates an addiction to ELSA trips. The first IPM of 2016/2017 took place in beautiful Tallinn and was my third IPM, but the first meeting in my role as President of ELSA Sweden. Once again the spirit and energy of the meeting made it possible to handle both the responsibilities as the representative of ELSA Sweden and as the Chair of the meeting, as well as to also fully take part in the evening activities. The most special evening at the IPM Tallinn was definitely the gala ball night. Starting with a dinner in a wonderful castle including all sorts of entertaining speeches, songs and games, and ending the evening by watching the sun rise over Tallinn’s coast with almost all participants together.
International Internal Meetings
LXXIV INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENTS' MEETING (IPM) ARŁAMÓW, POLAND
MARCIN LISZKA Head of Organising Committee President, ELSA Rzeszów 16/17
The International Presidents’ Meeting 2017 was held from the 15th to the 19th of February in Arłamów, Poland. It was an honour for me to be the Head of Organization Committee of such an amazing event. In particular, it was the very first international meeting organised by ELSA Rzeszów. As the coordinator, I had the opportunity to gain new experiences, increase my management and negotiation skills but most importantly, I got to meet crazy ELSA Officers. Moreover, as the whole OC we have renewed acquaintance and engaged in the preparation of our ELSA Rzeszów alumni who also took part in the Gala Ball during the IPM. Furthermore, as a Local Group we have made contact with new companies which are interested in supporting us in our future activities. Last but not least, we have consolidated our position in our university. As a result, more students are likely to join ELSA next years. In my opinion, organizing the international meeting was a great experience therefore I truly recommend everyone to organize it in the future.
LAURI HAVIA President, ELSA Finland 16/17
The second International Presidents’ Meeting of the term 2016/2017 was full of fruitful discussions and a lot of fun. As always, we worked extremely hard but also had time for getting to know each other better. During the week, we of course worked very hard in the workshops. We got the latest updates from the International Board and shared our latest activities. We had workshops on many topics that were preparing us for the upcoming ICM Prague. To name a few, we had very constructive discussions on renaming the area of S&C, regulating external relations, EDF and STEP fees. In addition to that, we discussed the strategic goals and developed our skills in board management. After workshops, we had a lot of fun during the social program and using the amazing facilities the hotel provided us with. All in all, thank you amazing OC, IB and all the participants for making this amazing event.
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International Internal Meetings
VI KEY AREA MEETING (KAM) MÜNSTER, GERMANY
JULIA HORN JAN SCHILLMÖLLER Co-Heads of Organising Committee
For the first time in ELSA history an International Area Meeting took place in Germany – the VI KAM. The idea was born out of the motivation we felt after the NCM of ELSA Germany. Even though our own board was sceptical at first - especially because the application deadline was just a week ahead at that point - a quick but detailed action plan managed to convince them and our local members’ assembly. We applied and got appointed by ELSA International. So, the Organising Committee, supported by ELSAnians from all over Germany, could welcome 54 ELSA members from Europe in Münster. Five days full of workshops, OYOP-plans, hot topics and of course social programme followed, while the OC was working almost non-stop. Some OC members did not sleep at all. In the end, everybody was grateful for all the experiences we gained during this event. On behalf of the OC we would like to thank everybody who made the KAM such a success.
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ANDREA ELISABETH MAIRHOFER Vice President for Academic Activities ELSA Austria 16/17
From 31st of August to the 4th of September 2016 the VI. Key Area Meeting in Münster, Germany took place. This event was my first international experience after my election for the National Board of ELSA Austria in May 2016. Many challenges were awaiting me. One of them was the honorable task to be the chair of the Academic Activities Workshop during the VI. Key Area Meeting in Münster, Germany. Next to informative workshops and amazing evenings I made a lot of new friendships and strengthened old ones with the newly elected Key Area Officers of the term 2016/2017. It was another incredible ELSA experience, which I really do not want to miss, the kick-off to a great year! A huge "Thank you" to the OC for the great week and to all participants for this unforgettable memories.
International Internal Meetings
VI SUPPORTING AREA MEETING (SAM) LVIV, UKRAINE
KYLYNA ZABRODSKA Member of Organising Committee Vice President for S&C, ELSA Lviv 16/17
September 2016 appeared to be both a stumbling point and a push for ELSA Lviv. For the first time in the history of the local group, an international statutory meeting was organised. The responsibility resting with ELSA Lviv was enormous, since, apart from the obligations before ELSA International and the whole network, the duty of presenting ELSA Ukraine as a strong and active National Group ready to keep up with all the standards, became one of the aims of our Local Group. The days of the event itself were the most intense. We as ELSA Lviv appeared to have a great disadvantage: we can’t abstain from partying. We danced with the participants all night long and had just enough time to change for taking them to breakfast. We believe lack of sleep did not influence the quality of the event and we hope it didn’t impact our health. After the event was successfully held and all the guests returned home leaving awesome feedback, we felt no exhaustion but instead the boost of motivation. The consequences of this boost became crucial: we were elected to be the host of ICM of spring 2018, which is a new challenge and a great opportunity for ELSA Lviv!
NATALIA COSÍO Vice President for Marketing ELSA Madrid - ICADE 16/17
The 6th edition of the ELSA Supporting Area Meeting in Lviv was an incredible experience. It was my second SAM meeting and it surpassed my expectations. These four days were amazing: Lviv is one of the most surprising and beautiful cities I have ever been to, full of culture, history and vitality, the workshops were incredibly useful and I felt inspired by the awesome participants. The Organising Committee and the team of ELSA Lviv did an extraordinary job, everything was very well organised and they were always helpful and took care of every detail. Those people, full of spirit and motivation inspired us, and that I overly enjoyed SAM Lviv over other events was largely because of them. Meeting new people from around Europe and old friends is always great, but this occasion was even better and aweSAM!
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International Internal Meetings
LXX INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL MEETING (ICM) PORTO, PORTUGAL
JOSE LENCASTRE TORRES POUZADA Head of Organising Committee President, ELSA Portugal 16/17
For the Organising Committee the work starts well before the participants arrive. Although we were troubled from the beginning with a small amount of time to work with, we, in a typical Portuguese expression, pulled back our sleeves and went to work. It took us 6 months to put up an event for more than 350 international guests and it was a hard job, but full of great moments as we struggled and accomplished much as a team. We were lucky to have had great support from the International Board and the alumni network, and we pulled off a brand new concept - an ELSA Village - to give the participants the full Porto experience. Although I have many highlights from that week, including a Gala Ball inside one of our most beautiful palaces, I must say it was the kind and truly happy participants I remember most fondly. They made all our efforts worthwhile!
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TIM EDELHOFF President, ELSA Heidelberg 16/17
7 days in one of the most beautiful cities in Portugal – from the 16.10.16 to the 23.10.16 the ICM took place in Porto, Portugal. The weather and the temperatures were good and everyone was really excited about the upcoming week. During the week a lot of workshops were planned and we discussed important topics about our future and how we want to develop. But we also had enough time during the workshops and also afterwards to get to know all the new people, find new friends and discover new cultures. There were also three plenaries to vote on the discussed proposals and to have several presentations about upcoming projects or partners. At night we enjoyed awesome parties and could socialise a lot. All in all everyone enjoyed another great ICM and made a lot of new experiences, which he or she could take home.
International Internal Meetings
LXXI INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL MEETING (ICM) PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
MATĚJ BENDA Head of Organising Committee President, ELSA Czech Republic 15/16
ELSA Prague organised the 71st International Council Meeting – the annual meeting of all of ELSA’s members from 43 countries. We, more than 60 team members, took all our experience from after ICM Prague in 1997 and 2007 and after 10 years we invited the whole association back to the heart of Europe. “A just world in which there is respect for human dignity and cultural diversity” is the vision of ELSA and we did our best to continue in its pursuit. Not just with internal plenaries and workshops bearing agendas to expand the future possibilities of law students, but also a prestigious international conference on data protection and investment arbitrations delivered by top lawyers from Allen & Overy and an interesting cultural and social programme to show all participants that ELSA doesn’t just mean work to us, but rather more so our lifestyle.
ETHAN DODD President, ELSA Exeter 16/17
The ICM in Prague, the 71st ICM, was my first truly international experience with ELSA. Having spent the year prior working in my Local Group and national network, it was thrilling to finally get the opportunity to experience ELSA’s global reach. The incredible ability to bring together 40 countries of different political, cultural, and social backgrounds is unique to our association. The Czech OC, under Matěj Benda’s direction, pulled off an ICM that will set high standards and expectations for years to come. Having been a BEE workshop secretary, I quickly came to grips with how the workshops functioned and the variety of issues we face as a network, and would strongly encourage any newcomer to volunteer themselves as a tribute. I am not sure whether our diversity and understanding, or our ability to survive on so little sleep for a week is more impressive! Regardless, I hope to see you all in Sarajevo!
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VI PARTNERS' RECEPTION BRUSSELS, BELGIUM | VBB OFFICE ROBERT VIERLING President
For the past six years the International Board has welcomed the Partners of ELSA in Brussels for the Annual Partners’ Reception. The Partners’ Reception is a unique forum of exchange and networking for the International Board, for the members of ELSA and most importantly for the Partners of ELSA. This year’s Partners’ Reception took place on the 18th of May at the offices of one of our Platinum Partners of the ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law (EMC2), Van Bael and Bellis. We had decided to move the Partners’ Reception, which was usually held in January, to a later stage in our term in order to be able to present to our partners a more in-depth overview of the current state of ELSA and the achievements of our term. It has been of great importance to the International Board to portray the fact that ELSA is continuously growing every year and hence collaborating with ELSA becomes more and more valuable. It was our honour that Joanna Redelbach from Van Bael & Bellis
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as well as Prof. Gabrielle Marceau and Iryna Polovets from the World Trade Organization addressed our guests and gave them an insight into our collaboration. Furthermore, with Fredrik Lofthagen, a former President of ELSA and current CEO of Interel, we had the pleasure of hearing about the development of ELSA over the past decades. During the reception, which followed the official presentation part, all guests used the opportunity to network over a snack or a glass of wine. The feedback we have received from the partners and alumni present has been an inspiration to keep working tirelessly for the last couple of months of our term. The presence of the three members of the new International Board of ELSA allowed us to introduce them to our partners and alumni and to start the transition and shift of generation already. Lastly, I would like to use this opportunity to thank all the guests for attending the Partners’ Reception and especially Van Bael & Bellis for hosting us in such a great manner.
International Internal Meetings
JOANNA REDELBACH Associate, Van Bael & Bellis
This year Van Bael & Bellis had the pleasure of hosting the annual ELSA Partners’ Reception, an event bringing together ELSA enthusiasts as well as current and former members of the association. Van Bael & Bellis has been supporting ELSA for several years, in particular, in the context of EMC2. Our cooperation has taken many different forms: from supporting the African Regional Round to providing panellists for the regional and the final oral rounds. Today we are proud to call ourselves a platinum sponsor of that competition. The annual Partners’ Reception in the Brussels office of Van Bael & Bellis provided a unique opportunity to learn more about other projects and activities of ELSA. It also allowed for a valuable exchange between law firms and other ELSA partners, as well as the members of that association. It was impressive to see the quantity and diversity of work undertaken by ELSA, while the enthusiasm and professionalism of its members is inspiring. Over the years, ELSA has grown from a small student organisation into a well-known institution in the legal world. Van Bael & Bellis remains fully committed to supporting ELSA and looks forward to our future cooperation.
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International Internal Meetings
REGIONAL OFFICERS' MEETINGS IVAN CHOPYK Vice President for Marketing
The unique concept of Regional Officers' Meetings is developing fast forwardly. During the recent couple of years there has been a steadily growing amount of participants and the interest of the ELSA Groups increased. The idea behind it is to unify the effort of regional ELSA Groups, to enhance the knowledge of the officers, create an experience-sharing platform, and introduce a place for tighter cooperation usually in the time between the ICMs. This term I had the opportunity to attend two of the most recognisable among them – the Nordic & Slavic Officers' Meetings (NOM & SOM respectively). The experience which each offer is vastly different - both in an academic & cultural regard. On one hand, NOM introduces the participants to an ICM-like experience. The workshops are designed and conducted by the National Board members of the regional countries and mostly serves as an experience-sharing platform, where the attendees can
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enhance their knowledge and learn new skills. The social part of the event is quite compelling with a variety of traditional events, such as the annual Nordic Beer Pong Championship and the Christmas dinner. SOM, on the other hand, has a different approach towards the academic part. Two workshop lines are being conducted simultaneously to reach the desired result - one for Supporting Area officers & one for Key Area officers. Obviously, each line has its own treats to enhance specific skills depending on the area. The lines are recommended to be attended by the relevant officers; however, a participant is free to shift between the lines. The social part is quite traditional as well as having a possibility to taste mostly drinks from different cultures. Such regional meetings give officers a real place to network and find solutions. They allow closely situated ELSA countries to unite effort and become stronger in the spirit of our philosophy.
International Internal Meetings
III NORDIC OFFICERS' MEETING COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
CHRISTIAN KROGH Head of Organising Committee Secretary General, ELSA Denmark 16/17
Privileged to be the third organiser of the Nordic Officers Meeting, ELSA Denmark was happy to hosts 128 participants from Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark along with some special guests from the International Board. A meeting which has grown tremendously in size and meaning, with the purpose of discussing further possibilities with cooperation as well as to create a great social bond between the countries. The spirit during the weekend was truly inspiring and the amount of excited and hard-working officers from all the Nordic countries was truly remarkable. Next year, the next in line of hosting the Nordic Officers Meeting is ELSA Finland. With a great memory of the previous three meetings, with the beginning in Uppsala, Sweden and the year after in Bergen and last Copenhagen, we look forward to travel to Finland and keeping up with this tradition, and we thank everyone for their participation.
MARIE BAKKEN Vice President for Marketing, ELSA Bergen 16/17
The Nordic Officers’ Meeting – NOM – was hosted in November by ELSA Copenhagen. 128 participants from Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark were gathered for a weekend filled with productive workshops and an awesome social programme. We shared experiences and helped each other to improve in all areas. The workshop discussions were constructive and informative. We discussed common issues as well as different possibilities for us to cooperate with each other. The meeting was useful to the officers and a lot of freshers also attended. Together with experienced officers, they created an excellent ELSA spirit. On Friday, the annual Nordic ELSA Beerpong Championship was held and Saturday was reminiscent of Christmas, with decorations and traditional Danish Christmas food. Next year ELSA Finland has the honour of hosting all the Nordic guests for the fourth NOM and we can’t wait!
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International Internal Meetings
II SLAVIC OFFICERS' MEETING PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
NIKOLA KRĂ TKĂ Head of Organising Committee President, ELSA Czech Republic 16/17
The organisation of the II SOM was exciting for many reasons. Firstly, it was the second time all the Slavic countries gathered and discussed regional issues and development, therefore a successful organisation was crucial for the establishment of the new regional tradition. Secondly, regarding the fact that only five countries were present during the last meeting, we strived for something bigger and aimed to welcome participants from at least ten countries. The number of participants exceeded all our expectations with 120 people from 12 countries. Especially the high number of participants from countries which are usually not that active at the international level made me feel that this event was totally worth it. Two different programme lines went on at the same time and everyone was active and willing to share their experience and new ideas, which made the workshops very productive. Last but not least, I would like to mention that the organisation of the II SOM was also very important for our national network because together with the organisation of the ICM in Prague, it allowed our members to experience the international level of ELSA.
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MARIA RIIVARI President, ELSA Russia 16/17
The Slavic Officers' Meeting, also known as SOM, was in many ways a very special ELSA event. During the weekend, it was not possible not the enjoy the location, magical city of Prague, which, so close to Christmas, has a very special atmosphere. The SOM itself was organised with a very tasteful balance of sightseeing, ELSA activities and social programme. Not too often in ELSA do you get such an amazing opportunity to not only visit amazing locations, but also see them! Workshops and trainings worked out well too. As an international ELSA event, the SOM, with its reasonable pricing and duration, was an attractive event for many freshers as well and significantly enhanced their willingness to attend other international events. It also gave a lot of inspiration for the whole rest of our ELSA year. As the crown jewel of any SOM, the Slavic Night, was undoubtedly unforgettable for all of us. Not every day do you get to taste ALL national drinks of so many ELSA Slavic countries at once!
International Internal Meetings
CHRISTMAS COCKTAIL & TRANSITION BBQ BRUSSELS, BELGIUM | ELSA HOUSE ROBERT VIERLING President
Every year the International Board of ELSA invites the network to the ELSA House for the Christmas Cocktail in midDecember and for the Transition Barbecue in mid-July. Those two events embody a great opportunity for ELSA members to gather and to simply have a good time together without any formalities. Since Nigel and I enjoy organising such events with great passion, we decided to change the habit of the whole IB organising those two occasions and rather have only two people in charge, allowing the rest of our board the opportunity to simply relax and mingle with the network. From an early stage, it was a great interest of ours to host a party in a responsible manner, which was only confirmed by watching project X on a flight to London. Thus, Nigel and I agreed not to consume any alcoholic beverages and to stay available to solve any incidents which may occur.
NIGEL MICALLEF Vice President for Seminars & Conferences
Despite that, we had a great time hosting so many fellow law students in our house and fulfilling our goal of ensuring that everyone enjoyed what should be one of the best parties of their time in ELSA. It was our great pleasure to plan and implement the ‘titanic’, beer funnels, funky melons and other fun things for the participants to try out. Opening up the basement with a ‘chill out’ area as well as a beer pong table made sure that everyone could either rest when needed or compete with friends from all over Europe. Finally, to see people dancing until 5am in the morning in our garage was worth every effort. At that point, we would also like to thank Fabian Beine for being our DJ all night long as well as all the helpers who not just helped preparing but most of all helped us with the most joyful task of cleaning the house on Sunday.
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International Internal Meetings
DANNY KOEIJVOETS President, ELSA the Netherlands 16/17
The Christmas Cocktail is already famous but ought to be legendary! Bringing in the cavalry (in the form of myself ), we drove all day through Brussels searching for the needed ingredients and materials.Besides the participants being great (as always, we are ELSA after all), there was also a big variety of games this year, like the funnels and the beer pong tournament. Also worth mentioning is the fact that the ‘Titanic’ was a little bit different than the real one, since this boat mainly sank the people instead of itself! Every year ladies and gents, we show our commitment to our beloved association and our network and we fly, drive, walk and sometimes crawl on a massive scale to Brussels and have a blast! I enjoyed the hospitality of the IB, the good talks and smooth dance moves of all the people who can actually dance (and the ones who can't maybe even more), throughout the entire evening and night. I think it is safe to say that we accomplished the goal of this edition, namely to have a night no one would ever remember (except our medical team in the shape of Robert and Nigel)! May we meet again!
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LEONARD BRÜMMER Secretary General, ELSA Germany 17/18
After six days of transition, me and my fellow board members to-be drove to the Transition Barbeque at the ELSA House in Brussels to celebrate the past year with the International Board of 2016/17 and welcome the new board. While having a chance to talk with those ELSA officers who I had met on the international level over the course of the year, I also had the chance to talk with other newly elected officers from other countries and swap ideas about our plans for the upcoming term. A highlight was the emotional farewell of the outgoing board and the warm welcome for the International Board of 2017/18. Furthermore, I had the chance to get to know the new International Board and talk about their ideas and goals. Overall, the Transition Barbeque was the perfect ending to my time as a local officer and an excellent start for my term as a national officer.
Supporting Areas
SUPPORTING AREAS ELSA TRAINING TRAIN THE TRAINERS WEEK FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT IN ELSA ELSA DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION BRANDING MANAGEMENT SYNERGY MAGAZINE
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Supporting Areas
ELSA TRAINING NARMIN ALIEVA Assistant for Training, ELSA International 16/17
Training is the most intense and advanced method of transferring certain knowledge. It is a joint work of a trainer and participants that requires adequate amount of effort, initial preparation and concentration. ELSA Training, the project that has been contributing to the personal growth and professional advancement of the members, has gone through many levels of development over the past years. The term 2016/2017 started with a general evaluation of the project, and further improvement directed to the change of the present situation. It was decided to continue the rebranding of ELSA Training that was started in the previous term. The very first step was to conduct a survey among the National Groups in order to identify the current status of ELSA Training. After the factors causing the small popularity of the project were determined, we started with increasing aware-
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ness by means of promotion and mentoring. The promotion was carried out through marketing materials that were spread around the officers, collection of testimonials from the Groups that have already organised a training event, and sharing those testimonials with the Network. Furthermore, the contact with National Officers was established in order to implement the individual approach and hold discussions, together with the promotion of materials on ELSA Training, such as the Agility magazine, the National Trainers' Pool Handbook which were created last term but came out recently. ELSA Training is a very important tool that makes sure members not only are fully equipped as ELSA officers but also enhance their interactions, career prospects and job performance.
Supporting Areas
STEPHANIE G. EFSTATHIOU Trainer, International Trainers' Pool
As law students and young practitioners, we strive to achieve excellence in the legal profession by enhancing our knowledge, memorising case law and staying up-to-date with all the new legal challenges. However, only some acknowledge the importance of soft skills in this process of development and excellence. Creating your personal brand is something unique; to you and to today’s recruiters. Trainings embrace the lifelong learning and development process in a more structured and targeted way. This means that your competences and capabilities and what you might have learned ‘by doing’ in ELSA, such as project management, leadership skills or intercultural awareness are revealed more easily to you in a training and explained to you and analysed by you so that they can be made use ofmore effectively. According to WEF, being flexible is the most valuable asset you have; having different kinds of soft skills makes you indeed flexible; and trainings are here to accomplish this. So, what are you waiting for? It begins with getting out of your comfort zone and signing up for that next ELSA Training!
LÉA AURIOL Secretary General, ELSA France 16/17
ELSA Training represents a real added value for the ELSA Network. More than an experience which improves specific competences of the ELSA Officers, it also represents an opportunity to develop personal and professional skills. From May 2016 to May 2017, ELSA France organised five different trainings: Negotiation Skills, Transition, Motivation, Team Building and Conflict Management. From our past experience, it is essential to properly assess the needs and expectations of the Network, in order to make the training sessions as meaningful as possible, both for the trainer and the participants. Included into the event’s programmes or independently organized, training sessions also give the possibility to interact with each other, within a dynamic and professional environment. Training topics and the trainer have to be the result of a common board decision, willing to lead the members and the network to a concrete objective, with the help of the ELSA International team and the International Trainers Pools.
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Supporting Areas
TRAIN THE TRAINERS WEEK (TtTW) TIRANA, ALBANIA
JUDIT OSIKA Head Trainer of the TtTW
This year the focus of the TtTW was to offer a high quality learning experience both at theory and in practice. Our trainers learnt how to provide learning spaces that provide learning on a specific topic and at the same time accommodate the current needs of the group that requested the training. We can see a trend in the world that whether it comes to teamwork or receiving a job, soft-skills are becoming increasingly important next to what you know theoretically. Knowledge is not THE currency anymore, we need skills to succeed in our life and career. Soft skills such as self-confidence, communication, conflict management, negotiation, teamwork, leadership are skills that you cannot learn by simply reading a book; they come through practice. Usually universities do not allow such a broad education on soft-skills yet and the goal of the ITP is to fill in that gap. The trainings are designed in a way that you and your team benefit from them as an ELSA member so that you can make your work more effective and learn skills that help you better realise yourself.
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BJĂ–RKA DUKA Head of Organising Committee Secretary General, ELSA Albania 16/17
Having the Train the Trainers Week happening in Tirana, Albania for the first time as an International event of ELSA it was a great experience. Under the guidance of Judit as a Head Trainer and Mads as co-organiser together with ELSA Albania we made it to deliver an inspiring experience and hopefully a great start for the new trainers. The trainers also had the chance to try their skills on the Open Day Training for Members of ELSA Albania and the result was fantastic. The interest shown and the interaction of the participants in line with each of the training programs made it such a successful event. Apart of the excellent training program this week has been all about creating bonds, making friends and enjoying a nice time in Tirana. We as ELSA Albania are grateful to have hosted this event and looking forward to welcoming the trainers again for other activities.
Supporting Areas
NIOUSHA NADEMI Trainer, International Trainers' Pool President, ELSA International 11/12
Having been active in ELSA for a long time, I have taken part in numerous trainings. I had an image of what the end-result of the TtTW would be, but I had no idea how I would reach my goal and become that person. In late May, we arrived in Tirana, Albania on a journey, under the supervision of our head trainer, Judit Osika. It was an intense week with daily 12-hour sessions of working, learning and sharing. Starting as ten excited individuals, we developed as a group while learning from and with each other in topics such as group dynamics, communication, presentation techniques and the art of hosting. By learning methods to engage, motivate and facilitate a group by collectively acquiring new skills as well as developing existing knowledge, we turned into trainers without even noticing it! We learnt how to hold sessions within short timeframes in topics previously unknown to us, such as powerful questions, story-telling and graphic facilitation. Joining the ITP was a natural step. The main motivator was the
ELSA Spirit and staying connected to the Network. It also gives you the chance to continue your development beyond your active ELSA career. In my job as a Ph.D. candidate I have realised that the best way of learning is by teaching. The same applies to trainings, as you are growing and learning with the group. You master ways of creating an atmosphere where you enhance your skills that is applicable in your personal life and your professional career. This is also the reason why I strongly urge Local Groups and National Boards to utilise the trainers at your disposal! We often forget that as lawyers, our ability to argue in courts, negotiate terms, interpret agreements or manage projects reaches beyond our legal training. We need to package this in an accessible way. Trainings offer you an arena to broaden your palette, acquire new skills that you will get to practice and perfect to get an edge in your legal career. Whether you want to develop active ELSA officers, or provide an event for your members to reach their true potential you can never go wrong with an ITP training!
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Supporting Areas
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT IN ELSA THE ROAD TO EFFICIENCY AND PROFESSIONALISM ROB VAN BERGEN Treasurer
In ELSA, there are quite a few different areas where active members can find their place. One of the areas is obviously Financial Management, taken care of by the treasurers. Unfortunately, as the organisation consists of law students and not accountants, it is also the least popular and perhaps least understood area. This article will focus on the improvements in the area of Financial Management during the term 2016/2017. Looking back at previous International Boards of ELSA, the position of Treasurer always had a big workload. Efficiency is a key factor in this workload as many of the work processes have not been carried out efficiently over the past years. During this term, improvements have been made in the sense of efficiency for the work of the Treasurer. Better archiving methods, investments in proper tools and the help of an accountant should increase the efficiency of the next Treasurer significantly. Improvements have not only been made in the work itself, but also in the ELSA House. A budget of 35,000 EUR has been established to help increase safety and professionalism in the ELSA House. This has resulted in a completely new office and meeting room interior. As for the remainder of this amount, it will be put aside for future years. The idea is that part of a surplus in future budgets gets added to this provision as well, providing a stable foundation for a pro-
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fessional office environment. Knowing that the office will look professional from now on, it is natural that the work of ELSA will also become more professional. This term, a big step has been made towards a more professional organisation with ELSA filing its first VAT declaration and finally having its tax affairs in order. The process was long and took a lot of effort, but finally the VAT registration will also provide us with tax benefits because of the option of deducting a part of the VAT on purchases. Even more good news is in the fact that both structural grant reports received good feedback from the granting entities, which shows that ELSA is in compliance with the priorities of the European Commission as well as the European Youth Foundation. In the past, there were some misunderstandings with regards to the granting criteria, but these ambiguities are now resolved and should not become a problem in the future anymore. Now that taxes and grants have become less of a burden, the future generations will focus on creating even more efficiency in the area of Financial Management. In the end, it is not the task of the Treasurer to have a lot of work in his or her own right. The Treasurer is there to support the key areas and needs to do so in the most efficient way.
Supporting Areas
ELSA DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION ROB VAN BERGEN Treasurer
In ELSA, everyone helps each other out no matter what. One of the ways ELSA is helping the local or national groups that are in need, is through the support of the ELSA Development Foundation (EDF). All ELSA groups have the possibility to apply for support from the EDF and receive a financial contribution to their events or for participation in ELSA’s statutory meetings. Certainly, the EDF is a great opportunity for groups to give their events an extra boost and create more benefits for their members. Over the past 2 years, the EDF has undergone several changes for the good of the network. Not only should the network be more aware of the EDF by now, the application procedure became easier and ELSA International will be contributing to the funds as well. Especially in the beginning of the term, the EDF was promoted heavily not only amongst treasurers, but also for the Key Areas. This became visible already right after the first meetings in the EDF cycle that ended on the 30th of September (9 applications), but even more so in the cycle that ended on the 31st of December (16 applications). By far the most popular support mode to apply for is project support. With 19 out of 37 total applications, it is more popular than training support (11 applications), network support (5 applications) and internal meeting support (2 applications). These numbers make sense, because in general, ELSA groups are also usually more focused on projects than on any of the other activities they could apply for. On another note, when taking away some extreme values, the ave-
rage requested amount per support mode is approximately the same. Out of the 37 total applications, 23 were granted support, with an average of 48.5% of the requested amount. The rest of the applications were either rejected or sent back for clarifications, but never clarified. In total, 19 national groups applied for funding and 13 of those national groups were granted support for at least one of their activities. Obviously, not all applications were of the same quality, but the Board of Directors has tried to overlook problems in the application with common sense and empathy. This does not mean that applications got granted without a proper base for it, but that the quality of the application itself (for example the level of English) was not considered. Before the start of this term, cycles did not exist and therefore, this term was sort of a test to see how the new system with the application cycles would work. Part of the reasoning behind the new system was the thought that application cycles would create an easy opportunity for marketing and with the number of applications this term, it seems to have worked, albeit most noticeably for the beginning of the term. So far, the EDF is fulfilling its purpose and, with the increasing focus for the EDF, ELSA has a well-working support system for its groups, as long as the EDF will keep moving forward and develop itself along with the network. ANNUAL REPORT | 71
Supporting Areas
BRANDING MANAGEMENT IVAN CHOPYK Vice President for Marketing
Created last term, the concept and the strategy of the Flagship Projects within ELSA proved to have become successful. As stated by Dagne Sabockyte & Matej Sadloň, “The goal with this strategy is to make the academic prestige and the benefits of participating in the Flagship Projects well-known, not only to our members, but also to all the law students in Europe in general”, resulted in a complex and refined structure of the most valuable international possibilities offered by ELSA. The next step was to develop the strategy by conducting & concluding the branding of the Flagship Projects and other big projects. We have started from the simplest - identifying the crucial elements of each Flagship - both graphically and promotionally. The result was a framework that facilitated further development process. However, during the working process something vital was realised. The adequate brand awareness of our Projects was impossible to reach if separated from the actual ELSA brand. This, in turn, has resulted in the rethinking of the Corporate Identity (CI) approach in general. Instead of following the original idea of having an additional handbook on the brand identity of Flagships, we decided to take it a step further - to enhance it by creating a solid ELSA Brand Book. Not only does it incorporate the CI rules, but it also serves as a tool to apply accurate and consistent brand implementation defining the understanding of ELSA and the Flagship Projects brand correlation as well as solidifying the philosophy statement reflecting our beliefs and ideas. 72 | ANNUAL REPORT
NIKOLAI KARLEIF LYNGNES Graphic Design Team, ELSA International 16/17
Over the years, the number of ELSA projects we offer to our members has grown significantly. Today the ELSA brand functions as an umbrella term for the overall structure and vision of our association, with a branch of Flagship Projects under the ELSA umbrella. In the past, there has been a clear vision and structure to the brand management of ELSA as such, but our flagship projects have been neglected in terms of brand management. This year, the entire marketing team of ELSA International has been working on redefining and developing the different brands of our flagship projects with the aim to make the projects more understandable and reachable for our members and officers. Our work has been compiled and the result is the first ever ELSA Brand Book. Unlike any previous handbook, the Brand Book focuses not only on the ELSA brand, but goes deeply into detail on our flagship projects. From a marketing perspective one of the goals is also to spread awareness in the network about the importance of brand consistency. We hope to educate marketeers and key area officers in the brand outlines so that each flagship project has its own independent visual profile. In turn, this will make it easier for members and externals to understand the difference between all the opportunities we as an association have to offer.
Supporting Areas
SYNERGY MAGAZINE IVAN CHOPYK Vice President for Marketing
With 30 years of history, the Synergy Magazine is undoubtedly the most recognisable publication in the ELSA Network. As all the longlasting projects, the Magazine deserved to be “refreshed” - the new visual approach towards various elements of the publication was to be attained. The starting point was the search for the new cover. The approach that was there for the last 8 years with a big picture and the magazine title on top was so 2000's. Considering the ways on how to make it more appealing to the stakeholders of nowaydays and at the same time keep it as minimalistic, the usage of the “S” letter was apparent since as the signature letter of the previous Magazine title. The combination of the letter and the flexible usage of the background image made it simple enough and simultaneously neat solution for the highlight of the cover page. The Synergy Magazine alos underwent a number of internal changes. The new layout for the calendar in the middle spread was pursuing the aim of making the events clearer & more understandable keeping up with the simplicity. Additionally, small signature “tags” and the separate colouring coding made the chapters of the Magazine stand out. Last but not the least, the new modern layout for the Content page was introduced. With the visual adjustments and newly obtained ISSN number, the Magazine reached its visual and proffesional potential.
ANDREJA FRIŠKOVEC Assistant for Publications ELSA International 15/17
Following the 59th edition of Synergy Magazine, an anniversary edition as ELSA celebrated its 35th birthday, a new milestone in the development of our Association, bringing new challenges – the 60th edition was just around the corner. To commemorate the special occasion, we shed a light on several hot legal topics including Migration Law and Environmental Law. Enhancements to the magazine were made, with an appealing new design and International Standard Serial Number for both online and printed versions. With a new web page, providing our members with essential information about the Magazine as well as enabling them to submit an article online, we succeed in raising the profile of the magazine inside and outside the Association. During both of my terms, I enjoyed working with both Vice Presidents for Marketing, the Proofreading team and members of our Association as the position enabled me to grow personally and professionally. It has been with great pleasure that I witnessed not only the development of the magazine itself but also the development of the Association, as I have come across many new ideas in the Network that will certainly enable ELSA to grow even more in the years to come.
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Academic Activities
ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES LRG with K&L GATES LRG with the COUNCIL OF EUROPE LRG with the INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION THE LAST EDITION OF THE ELSA LAW REVIEW ELSA NEGOTIATION COMPETITIONS ELSA DAY
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Academic Activities
EUROPEAN COMPLIANCE BENCHMARK
LEGAL RESEARCH GROUP OCT '16 - JUL '17
LRG WITH K&L GATES JAKUB ČÁJA Vice President for Academic Activities
The Academic Activities area and its major focus has been developing quite quickly over the last couple of years. After defining a clear focus on legal writing as the core of Academic Activities on the international level, we have been happy to continue with organising Legal Research Groups as the AA Flagship Project. We were therefore truly excited to launch the International Legal Research Group – European Compliance Benchmark in cooperation with the new project partner K&L Gates in October 2016. The hot topic of Corporate Compliance attracted our members from the very beginning, when 30 ELSA National Groups signed up for the project. The National Research Groups answering the questions which aimed at analysis of the main anti-bribery, corruption and fraud acts as well as investigation as to what extent the criminal liability of businesses and companies for such crimes is regulated within their respective national legislation. This edition has been an edition of several changes and improvements. As the first change, we can mention the unified application process which brought us 300 applications in total from more than 30 countries. Furthermore, in order to enhance the academic quality of the research conducted, we wanted to provide the National Groups with support in the form of a webinar, which focused on the most relevant research-related issues. The webinar was given by Ms Christine Braamskamp form the K&L Gates office in London and more
than 150 participants who streamed the webinar obtained additional information about compliance, which helped them during the research process. In the end 24 ELSA National Groups with approximately 240 participants in total managed to submit the national reports, which resulted in a final publication of more than 1000 pages, published at the beginning of July. Moreover, the outcome of this LRG was discussed during the concluding European Compliance Conference, which took place in Brussels between the 15th and the 16th of September 2017. Finally, it can be said that with the International Legal Research Group – European Compliance Benchmark several projects ELSA is offering to its members were successfully combined. Through that a comprehensive insight into the area of corporate compliance was given. We believe that the usage of ELSA Webinars could play a crucial role for the future development of the academic quality of Legal Research Groups in ELSA. On one hand, a supporting ELSA Webinar is easily accessible for the participants as well as for ELSA members in general. On the other hand, through technology ELSA Webinars can be fairly easy provided by the respective academic partners and, thereby, grant them the chance to be in direct contact with the respective researchers. We are very much excited to see the development of the International Legal Research Groups in the years to come.
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Academic Activities
INTERNATIONAL LEGAL RESEARCH GROUP ON MIGRATION LAW MAR '17 - NOV '17 LRG WITH THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE JAKUB ČÁJA Vice President for Academic Activities
Which policies regulate asylum and the integration of migrant in the European countries? To what extent are the migrants involved in politics? How is the migrants' right to healthcare regulated? These and many other questions are part of the content of the International Legal Research Group on Migration Law, with the special focus on the European Integration Policies that launched in March 2017.
research. In order for the Final Report to meet the highest quality standards, a pool was formed consisting of an Academic Coordinator and Research Assistants, who are talented law students in an advanced level of studies, as well as young lawyers which have been dealing with migration law in their legal practice. In addition to that, the research is supervised by Ms. Penelope Denu from a PACE committee.
During this term, one of the main aims was to provide members with opportunities to research various topics in cooperation with partners from different fields. After launching the first LRG focused on Corporate Compliance, we were happy to achieve the aimed variety through offering a second LRG with a human rights-related topic. The Council of Europe had approached ELSA with an opportunity to offer a contribution by means of a report focused on Integration. For the first time ever, ELSA cooperates with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, who intends to use the Final Report of the LRG as input for the discussion on new international legislation concerning the integration of migrants. As a result, this research serves as a direct opportunity for ELSA to contribute to the legal community, similarly as back in 1998 with the ELSA PINIL project.
The Final Report is going to be published by ELSA and the Council of Europe in November 2017 and its executive summary (a concluding report with the main findings) is going to be presented during a session of the Parliamentary Assembly in January 2018 by the participants of the LRG, in particular by the working group that will draft the Concluding Report. Moreover, one of the participating researchers is to be awarded a traineeship in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and thereby will be able to follow up on the work from the research.
The opportunity to contribute to the development of the international legislation has indeed been very attractive. 30 countries signed up and are currently participating in the
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This project will enable ELSA to contribute to the human rights field at an international level as well as to help improve the practical skills set of law students and young lawyers alike. Last but not the least, ELSA’s deepest gratitude goes out to Barbara Orkwiszewska and the Council of Europe for the constant support of ELSA and its activities.
Academic Activities
LEGAL RESEARCH GROUP ON LABOUR LAW OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY & HEALTH LEGISLATION MAR '16 - FEB '17
LRG WITH THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION JAKUB ČÁJA Vice President for Academic Activities
The International Labour Organization and ELSA have the common goal to advance human rights and labour rights, to this aim, in March 2016, they have launched a new International Legal Research Group on Labour Law with special emphasis on Occupational Safety and Health legislation. The set up and research of Legal Research Groups on various topics related to Human Rights together with the unique cooperation of the ILO, yielded highly anticipated legal content the outcome of which was highly appreciated by ELSA members. After a year of hard work carried out by the Research Teams from 7 ELSA National Group, a Final Report of more than
500 pages was published officially in May 2017, by ELSA. Moreover, the LEGOSH coverage was expanded to include data from seven additional European countries. Furthermore, participating ELSA members benefitted from this opportunity to deepen their knowledge on labour law, and on OSH legislation specifically, to gain valuable experience in legal research and analysis, and to learn about the mission and work of the ILO. They have been publicly acknowledged on the ILO’s website for their precious contribution. We believe that the success of this experience establishes a fertile basis for further worthwhile cooperation between ELSA and the ILO.
I would like to thank ELSA for the effective organisation of the Legal Research Group on OSH Legislation. This team of remarkably dedicated, skilled and dynamic young scholars, passionate about law and development, has demonstrated a high level of commitment, professionalism and integrity. It is my hope that we will have more opportunities for fruitful cooperation. TZVETOMIRA RADOSLAVOVA Technical Officer on OSH Legislation, LABADMIN/OSH Branch, ILO
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Academic Activities
THE LAST EDITION OF THE ELSA LAW REVIEW JAKUB ČÁJA Vice President for Academic Activities
The ELSA Law Review reached its peak during the 90s and as with many ELSA projects eventually was stopped when the focus was put on other projects. The time passed and so it was decided during the term 2013/2014 to reawaken the ELSA Law Review. After two editions had been published it was now our time to launch the call for the third Edition in August 2016. In the meantime we followed one of our general primary goals for the term – to clean out and to consolidate the resources to reach the best possible outcome for all ELSA members. We analysed all projects organised by the International Board on their value to ELSA’s members in comparison to their demand of human and financial resources. The breakdown of the numbers for the ELSA Law Review showed that there were as many ELSA officers involved as there were students benefiting from the project. This was mainly due to the fact that it is not possible for ELSA to provide professional academic feedback to the broader scale of the participating students. Hence an ELSA member, who participated, would not know how to improve when not been chosen to be published. After having brainstormed possible solutions the conclusion was drawn that it is not feasible for ELSA to provide enough academic feedback on a long term to make the project beneficial to a broader group of ELSA students. Other projects have a much better input-output ratio and thereby opportunity to grow and reach greater benefits for ELSA members. One example for this is the ever growing ELSA Negotiation Competitions, which has poten-
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tial to become the next new Flagship Project of ELSA. Therefore, we decided not to continue with the ELSA Law Review. Nevertheless, due to the fact that we already had launched the third edition we agreed to finish that last edition of the ELSA Law Review in the best possible manner. By December, we had received 55 Articles written by law students and young lawyers from all over Europe. For the third edition we also maintained the cooperation with ALSA by sharing the best articles from our Law Reviews with each other. These articles were pre-reviewed by the international Editorial Board consisting mostly of LL.M. students and law graduates of high rating. However, the crucial role was played by the academic partner of the ELSA Law Review and LL.M. Partner of ELSA, Católica Global School of Law, which would select the 10 best articles for the publication. The selection will be followed by the compiling of the publication. This will be done as it was in the previous years in cooperation with Wolf Legal Publishers in terms of the technical supervision and the branding of the publication. Through the creation of the first Law Review Handbook a first step was taken into the future, in which the role of the Vice President for Academic Activities will be to focus on supporting the ELSA Network in establishing and developing Law Reviews on the national level. Already during our term we were happy to see that there was a strong tendency for the establishment of Law Reviews in many National Groups. More is to come.
Academic Activities
ELSA NEGOTIATION COMPETITIONS GERTRUD BOHLER ELSA Negotiation Competitions Team ELSA International 16/17
Legal knowledge and practical skills are two of the most important skills one needs as a prospective lawyer. ELSA International had helped to promote and support negotiation competitions of ELSA Groups in the network; in 2016 ELSA International has also launched the concept of the ELSA Negotiation Competition (ENC). This term by implementing the coaching system we focused on putting forward the concept of the ENC to the officers and provide support as an individual approach throughout all the stages of the ENC organisation. Thanks to the great work of the National Officers and their team the competition expanded to over 15 countries, each have organized the rounds on both a local and national level compared to the six rounds of the past year.
Moreover, the improvements on the ENC supporting materials allowed us to increase the quality of the competition as well as to set up a collection of cases as an additional tool. In order to connect the ENC to the international level we have been working on setting up a cooperation with the organizers of the International Negotiation Competition (INC). After this years’ great progress of the ENC the International Board hopes that the competition in the future will continue to grow and become an integral part of many groups’ portfolio.
ELIE SARTCHAMI Vice President for Academic Activities ELSA France 16/17
The French chapter of the ELSA Negotiation Competition held its first edition this year with the support of ELSA International and our coach Gertrud. After 3 successful regional rounds organised in our network, the two first teams of each round gathered for a full 3-day program in Paris. After an intense training in negotiation skills and individual psychological and strategic meetings with specialised lawyers, teams negotiated for two heads up rounds and a final four-party round.
Every time, each team got individual feedbacks from judges. The winning team that will represent France at the INC is being followed and coached by our main partner, an international oriented law firm from Paris.
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Academic Activities
ELSA DAY JAKUB ČÁJA Vice President for Academic Activities
With each year that passes, ELSA Day continues to grow. Since the year it was established, back in 2013, the network has come together in order to raise more awareness on the topic of Human Rights. What makes this years’ edition particularly special, one may ask? This year, the chosen topic was Migration Law. Migration law is currently one of the hottest legally debated topics amongst many. In some way or another, it affects people’s everyday lives and the rights bestowed upon them. Therefore, the network could not have dreamed of a better topic to work on. This year has brought many opportunities that made ELSA Day a truly unforgettable project. Various interesting and extraordinary events took place all over the ELSA Network. The numbers from the year 2016 were indeed very satisfactory. More than 150 events in 31 countries, from the sunny seaside of Malta to freezing fjords of Norway engaged in total almost 10,000 individuals, who offered and embraced their knowledge about human rights and migration law. This year, together with the ELSA groups, the International Board wished to take a more proactive role and contribute more to ELSA Day as a whole and to the unique Human Rights Forum. The board members spent the big day, this year taking place on the 30th of November, visiting various events that took place all over Europe. I had the pleasure to visit the national event of ELSA the Netherlands in Amsterdam, Christine visited an event organised by ELSA Cluj80 | ANNUAL REPORT
Napoca in Romania and Alyona participated at a conference that took place at the European Parliament in Brussels. Most importantly, Robert, Nigel and Ivan travelled to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg to mark a big day for ELSA's history, the 30th of November went down as the day when the first ever ELSA Webinar on Migration Law took place. The ELSA Day Webinar was streamed live reaching over 14,000 views from the Council of Europe's studio in Strasbourg. The ELSA Webinar’s success and ELSA Day itself would not have been possible to accomplish without the support of our Human Rights Partner - the Council of Europe. One more highlight of this year's edition of ELSA Day was the “I spread the word about Migration Law education” online FacebookTM campaign. More than 500 people - active ELSA officers, regular members, our alumni - made a little effort by changing their profile pictures to show the important role ELSA Day plays in the extracurricular education all over Europe. In order to encourage the network to be more creative, socially responsible, visible and increase cultural diversity thereby contributing to the whole purpose behind ELSA Day, the Board was glad to continue the tradition of the ELSA Day competition. Indeed, there were strong candidates for winning, however, only one could take home the beautiful statute provided by the Council of Europe. It was a true pleasure to hand the trophy to ELSA Izmir during ICM Prague for their event.
Moot Court Competitions
MOOT COURT COMPETITIONS EUROPEAN HUMAN RIGHTS MOOT COURT COMPETITION EHRMCC PRE-MOOTS FINAL ROUND OF THE EHRMCC ELSA MOOT COURT COMPETITION ON WTO LAW ALL-AMERICAN REGIONAL ROUND OF THE EMC2 1ST AND 2ND EUROPEAN ROUNDS OF THE EMC2 AFRICAN REGIONAL ROUND OF THE EMC2 FINAL ORAL ROUND OF THE EMC2 20 FLIGHTS, 5 REGIONAL ROUNDS, 4 CONTINENTS, 2 MONTHS, 1 COMPETITION 2 EMC FROM THE PARTICIPANTS' PERSPECTIVE ANNUAL REPORT | 81
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EUROPEAN HUMAN RIGHTS MOOT COURT COMPETITION (EHRMCC) CHRISTINE BECK Vice President for Moot Court Competitions
The fifth edition of the European Human Rights Moot Court (EHRMCC), that simulates the procedure of complaints to the European Court of Human Rights, was launched on the 4th of August 2016. Though being a fictitious case, the core of the case was based on real cases happening all over the world. The 5th edition of the European Human Rights Moot Court Competition gave us a number of over 90 teams registered for the Competition, from 30 different countries. Until January, the teams had time to write the memorials for the Applicant and the Respondent. Based on their submission, volunteers from ELSA, experts from the Council of Europe, lawyers from the court, members of EHRA, representatives from the Permanent Representations as well as lawyers from private law firms double scored the submissions. The 20 best teams qualified for the Final Round in Strasbourg. The Competition Final took place in February 2017, with
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more than 100 participants. Before coming to the Final Round, the participants had the great opportunity to attend one of the Pre-moots held in Vienna, Warsaw and Baku. Those Pre-Moots are not elimination rounds, but provide the participants on a voluntary basis some additional ground to train their skills and to perfect their pleadings. Once again, the EHRMCC raised the awareness of Human Rights and helped to impact the students on the way they understand the European Convention on Human Rights. Through this, ELSA is making an actual impact by providing the students with legal knowledge and soft skills. The Moot Case and the materials are becoming an invaluable source of knowledge for not only participants, but also researchers. The biggest strength of this competition is that it is bridging together theory and practice and by this affecting future lawyers education directly.
Moot Court Competitions
NIHAT M. CINGÖZ Director for EHRMCC ELSA International 16/17
The 5th edition of the European Human Rights Moot Court Competition was unique. It was unique not only for the competitors and panellists but also for the organisers… for many reasons. This year, the competition’s Final Round hosted four more teams in Strasbourg. For the ELSA International Team, it was like seeing our baby walk without any help anymore. It sure needed a lot of practice, but was totally worth it! For the competitors, the bigger size enabled more people to taste the pleasure of pleading at the European Court of Human Rights by expanding the reach of the competition. It also pushed the organizing committee to come up with creative and unprecedented solutions to logistical complications, which have turned out to be the perfect basis for a more sharing and smooth atmosphere. For experts, the uniqueness consisted in the vast geographical and generational diversity of the panel.
MARK O'REILLY Assistant for Teams in the EHRMCC ELSA International 16/17
During the past term, I was lucky enough to be appointed as the Assistant for Teams for the 5th Edition of the European Human Rights Moot Court Competition. This edition saw over ninety teams register to compete. In the end, the top twenty teams travelled to Strasbourg to plead at both the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights. It was my responsibility to maintain contact with each of these teams, relaying important information to them as well as answering their many queries. In February, I then travelled to Strasbourg for the Oral Round of the Competition. All the work from the previous months was now coming to fruition. The Competition would not have been as much of a success without the hard work of both Christine and Nihat. Together, with the rest of the International Board, I can’t thank them enough.
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EHRMCC PRE-MOOT
ORGANISED JOINTLY BY ELSA AUSTRIA AND ELSA GERMANY | VIENNA, AUSTRIA MARTINA KOECK Vice President for Moot Court Competitions ELSA Austria 16/17
In order to prepare the teams selected to participate in the Final Round in Strasbourg on the one hand and to give all the other teams who were not selected a chance to plead in front of a jury on the other, ELSA Germany and ELSA Austria came together and organised, with the help of the Business University of Vienna, a Pre-Moot on 17th of January 2017 in the city of Vienna. Teams from Luzern (CH), Vienna and Graz (AUT) and Freiburg and Halle (GER) spent a day pleading under the same conditions as in Strasbourg and could present their arguments as applicants and respondents in front of a jury. The juries were formed by a mix of professors, research associates, team coaches, former moot court participants and a member of the German Section oft he International League of Human Rights and took their task of interrogating the parties very seriously and offered valuable feedback following every round concerning rhetoric, presentation, style, teamwork, structure and the way of answering the questions of the jury.
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KATINKA VON RHEIN Vice President for Academic Activities ELSA Germany 16/17
After the pleadings, all participants and coaches were generously invited for dinner by the Institute for International and European Law of the Business University of Vienna, during which everybody had the chance to mingle, exchange experiences and chat in a casual setting. We would like to thank everyone involved in the organisation, to the jury members for their valuable time and the teams for making their way to Vienna.
Moot Court Competitions
CENTRAL-EASTERN EHRMCC PRE-MOOT
ORGANISED JOINTLY BY ELSA POLAND, ELSA UKRAINE AND ELSA ROMANIA | WARSAW, POLAND KONRAD KORZENIOWSKI Director for Moot Court Competitions ELSA Poland 16/17
This year's novel, which meets the needs of the teams and members of our association, is gaining in importance. Premoots in their premise fill the gaps in the EHRMCC structure, giving the team the opportunity to participate in oral pleadings, regardless of whether the participating teams entered the finals or not. ELSA members had the opportunity this year to look at such initiative held by ELSA Poland, ELSA Ukraine and ELSA Romania, embodied in the Central – Eastern European Round of the European Human Rights Moot Court Competition. The competition and its finals, held in Warsaw, proved to be more successful than originally planned. They included the core values of our association: international cooperation, the promotion of human rights and the development opportunities for students who participate in moot court competitions. CEEREHRMCC has assembled 11 teams from 10 countries across Europe during its first edition from across the UK to
Ukraine. What needs to be highlighted: the winning team in Warsaw was also the first in the Finals in Strasbourg. Three quarters of ELSA members are aware of pre-moots held in Europe, which is a huge success. As a result, national groups will be increasingly aware of the strengths of pre-moots, which will lead to rapid growth. For the EHRMCC itself, this may be a good intermediate solution before the emergence of regional rounds. At this time, national groups will gain experience in the organisation, the teams will have a voluntary opportunity to participate in this kind of events across Europe, seeking for themselves the chance of the best performance during the finals in Strasbourg. The organisation of the competition itself is not a challenge beyond any of us. It requires only a bit of courage and imagination. All the hardships associated with it are forgotten before the competition starts.
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FINAL ROUND OF THE EHRMCC STRASBOURG, FRANCE
CHRISTINE BECK Vice President for Moot Court Competitions
This year, we celebrated the 5th edition of the European Human Rights Moot Court Competition (EHRMCC). Over 90 teams from all over Europe participated and the best 20 teams were selected to compete during the Final Round held at the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. Experts from the Council of Europe, private law firms as well as Judges from the European Court of Human Rights were assessing the teams. During the 5 days in Strasbourg, France, we held the Preliminary Rounds, the Quarter Finals as well as the Semi-Finals and the Finals. On the opening night, we had the honour to be welcomed by the Permanent Representation of the United Kingdom to the Council of Europe. The Quarter Finalists were announced at the City Hall of Strasbourg, followed by an apĂŠro hosted by the City of Strasbourg. For the Closing Reception, the very generous Perma-
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nent Representation of Cyprus to the Council of Europe invited us for food and drinks. It is my great pleasure to look back to an amazing event. After having worked for half a year together with my team, it was an incredible experience to see the work take shape. It was astonishing to see the performances of the teams and their development during the competition. They gained a deep knowledge of the European human rights, how to plead in a court and most importantly, how to be a team. The winning team won an internship at the European Court of Human Rights and the Best Orator won an internship at the liaison office of the Council of Europe in Brussels. For the first time, we livestreamed and recorded the Grand Final and the Award Ceremony. We reached over 11,000 people following us and the teams on this exciting journey.
Moot Court Competitions
ELSA MOOT COURT COMPETITION ON WTO LAW (EMC2) CHRISTINE BECK Vice President for Moot Court Competitions
The ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO law (EMC2), which is a simulated hearing of the World Trade Organization dispute settlement system, started out in 2002, and since then it has become one of the most important Moot Court Competitions in the world. This year the fictitious case was written by professor Gabrielle Marceau. At the end of February throughout March and the beginning of April, the Regional Rounds took place all over the world. The European Regional Rounds were held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania and Kyiv, Ukraine, the All-American in Bogota, Colombia, the Asian-Pacific in Singapore, Singapore and the African in Grahamstown, South Africa. 94 teams from over 30 countries took part in that stage of the Competition. This stage marked the elimination of teams before further proceedings to the Final Oral Round held at the Headquarters of the WTO in Geneva, Switzerland.
This year, we increased the number of advancing teams to the Final Oral Round from 20 to 22 teams. We increased the number in order to be able to have a better representation of all continents during the Final Oral Round. Furthermore, we once again received the generous support from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). Thanks to their support, we were able to fund the whole African Round which led to true capacity building throughout the whole continent. As professor Melaku said: “Africa won!� This competition is a global challenge and not only does it educate students to be the future of international trade law, it also fosters mutual understanding and closes the gap between different cultures, background and ideologies. I am very honoured to have had the chance to be part of the global challenge!
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Moot Key Areas: CourtAcademic Competitions Activities
MICHELLE GOOSSENS Assistant for Teams in the EMC2 ELSA International 16/17
This past term I was the Assistant for Teams for the ELSA Moot Court Competition in the ELSA International Team. In my role, I assisted the Vice President for Moot Court Competitions of ELSA International 2016/2017, Christine Beck, with the coordination of all the teams participating in the EMC2. This entailed processing the teams’ registrations in the competition and functioning as their main contact person. I was also able to travel with Christine to both the European Regional Rounds, where I was able to meet the teams I had been corresponding with since September. Furthermore, I aided Christine and the OC with all the logistics tied to successfully conducting a Regional Round of the EMC2. I am extremely grateful for this opportunity as it allowed me to see how the Regional Rounds are conducted and the intricate functioning and coordination of all the parties involved. It was a true pleasure to work with Christine this year and I gained valuable skills and knowledge that will guide me through this upcoming term. Thank you, Kikki!
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LUCIE KALOUSKOVÁ Assistant for Panellists in the EMC2 ELSA International 16/17
Back in August 2016, I was thinking about joining the EI Team for the EMC2 since having experience with the Regional Round in my local group was a real pleasure. I sent my application in the last hour before the deadline and was lucky enough to be selected. My job was mainly to communicate with Christine and potential panellists regarding written submissions scoring and later on sending the necessary documents and information to oral regional rounds panellists. Another equally enjoyable part of my job was to be present during the Final Oral Round in Geneva! It was a great pleasure to see panellists who I was in contact with face to face. During the Final itself I assisted with a variety of things but my main responsibility was still to take care of the panellists. I am really happy that I could be a part of this year’s EMC2 Team since I believe that all of us gave our best and enjoyed it at the same time.
Key Areas: Moot Court Academic Competitions Activities
ALL-AMERICAN REGIONAL ROUND OF THE EMC2 BOGOTA, COLOMBIA
SANTIAGO WILLS Director of International Trade and Investment Protection at Lewin & Wills
For any city around the world it is a privilege to organise a regional round of the ELSA Moot Court Competition (EMC2). This time, for the EMC2 15th edition, it was the turn of Bogota, Colombia to represent the Americas as its host. At 2,600 metres above sea level, the Universidad de los Andes hosted an amazing round between 14 outstanding teams: Harvard University, Georgetown University, the University at Buffalo, American University, Queens University, University of Ottawa, Escola de Direito de Sao Paulo, Universidade Catolica do Parana, Universidad Francisco Marroquin, Universidad Javeriana, Universidad Sergio Arboleda, Universidad del Rosario, Universidad Externado and Universidad de los Andes. Moreover, highly recognised panelists were brought to judge the round, such as Jennifer Hillman, Philippe de Baere, Greg Tereposky, Marisa Goldstein, Tomer Broude and Pablo Bentes, among many others. In total, more than 20 panelists were part of the All American Regional Round held in Bogota.
Throughout the course of three days, the teams delivered their oral arguments, reflecting deep preparation, good structuring, creativity and incredible advocacy skills. Such pleadings concluded with the winners from Latin America – Universidad de los Andes – and the winners from North America – Harvard University – moving forward to the Final Oral Round in Geneva. Georgetown University and Universidad Javeriana as North American and Latin American finalists respectively also moved forward to the Final Oral Round. Teams were also able to attend a conference on the ‘current distortive elements on international trade’, organised by the Universidad de los Andes and Lewin & Wills – the main sponsor of the AARR where some of the panelists gave their in-depth views on this topic. Aside from the excelleny performance of all teams, the participants, the coaches and the panelists had the opportunity to visit some of the beautiful cultural sites of Bogota, amazing restaurants and, of course, a enthralling Colombian-style farewell party.
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1ST EUROPEAN REGIONAL ROUND OF THE EMC2 CLUJ-NAPOCA, ROMANIA
ADRIAN LAZAREC Student at Universitatea Babes-Bolyai Law faculty
The First European Regional Round of the ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law that was hosted in ClujNapoca this past spring constituted a great honour for the ELSA Cluj-Napoca local group and the Babes-Bolyai University. It was with great pleasure and excitement that our Organising committee welcomed participants, panellists and all the other guests to the 15th edition of the competition and, given that this round was the fifth time our local group got involved in organising this competition, we believe we managed to give everyone involved an amazing experience. We started organising this competition back in the summer of 2016, when we decided to apply for the regional round. Back then, we did not expect this competition to be as complex as it turned out to be but getting to meet students and teachers from Universities all over Europe, as well as experts from various organisations has made it all
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much easier. As such, I would like to thank everyone that attended this competition for their professionalism and understanding. Finally, this competition wouldn't have been possible without the involvement of the Babes-Bolyai Law Faculty, our sponsors Cabinet Avocat Alexandru Risnita; SCA Lapusan, Moscovits, Steopan si Asociatii; and SCA Costas, Negru si asociatii and, of course, without the help of an army of about 80 ELSA volunteers and the support of the organising committee and ELSA International. We hope we will have the opportunity to host this competition in the future as well and let everyone involved experience an extraordinary moot court competition in the city of Cluj-Napoca.
Moot Court Competitions
2ND EUROPEAN REGIONAL ROUND OF THE EMC2 KYIV, UKRAINE
MARIA USATENKO Intern, USAID Trade Policy Project
For the first time, 12 teams from different European universities and law schools came to Kyiv for the EMC2. The competition was judged by top international trade law experts from the World Trade Organization (WTO), leading law firms and academia. Every year the organisation of the EMC2 reaches a higher level, but the goal is always the same – to make these five days a rewarding and unforgettable experience for both participants and panelists. In addition to hours of thorough preparation and pleadings, EMC2 is a priceless opportunity to make new friends, establish professional contacts and learn more about the hosting country. It is also a chance for national or local ELSA groups to face the challenge of organising such a prestigious ELSA event. Hosting the EMC2 is always a big honour and, at the same time, a big responsibility. For more than seven months the
Organising Committee had been working hard on various organisational issues. We concluded eight partners’ agreements, established cooperation with hotels and restaurants, organised transportation and the social programme and secured the opportunity to hold the Final Oral Round at the Supreme Court of Ukraine. Communication, coordination, team work, creativity and attention to detail – these are the skills that we were able to apply and to develop while hosting a Regional Round of EMC2. While contributing to the training of young professionals in the field of international trade law, EMC2 is therefore also a perfect chance for ELSA members to develop excellent organisational skills. With the tremendous support of our international and local sponsors, the WTO and ELSA International, we delivered this event that hopefully not only met, but also exceeded everybody's expectations.
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AFRICAN REGIONAL ROUND OF THE EMC2 GRAHAMSTOWN, SOUNTH AFRICA VICKY HEIDEMAN Lecturer at Rhodes University
Participation in the African Regional Round has increased steadily year on year, except this year saw a 50% increase in the number of teams: from 10 to 15! This shows that the competition is having the desired impact: spreading awareness and capacity-building in trade law in Africa. However, for a sponsorshipdependent competition, the sudden increase in teams brought with it the challenge of raising the additional funds. Thankfully our established partners were back on board this year and we managed to secure some new ones, both local and international. This would not have been possible without the constant communication and brainstorming that took place between myself and Shuaib, Chibole Wakoli and Svetlana Chobanova from the WTO, Kholofelo Kugler from ACWL and Christine Beck from ELSA. With some furious fundraising, as well as some careful planning and budgeting, we were able to host all 15 teams at the competition and the African Round was bigger and better than ever this year. Another challenge we faced this year was a sudden change in term date on the part of Rhodes University as a result
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of a student protest which took place in 2016. This meant that the competition took place during term time rather than during the vacation period (which is when conferences usually would take place at the university) and thus we didn’t have the benefit of university accommodation or venues this year. Thankfully the newly built National English Literary Museum (NELM) was able to assist with venues and teams were accommodated at Victoria Girls High School. The increased awareness and interest in international trade law which our hosting of last year’s competition created meant that we had no shortage of student helpers during the round. Drawn mostly from the final year LLB International Trade Law class, we had a dedicated team of 11 helpers who not only did the timekeeping but also looked after the teams and panellists throughout the competition. And because the competition took place during term time, the International Trade Law class and teams who didn’t make it into the semi-finals had the benefit of a guest lecture by Wamkele Mene from the Department of Trade and Industry!
Moot Court Competitions
FINAL ORAL ROUND OF THE EMC2 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
CHRISTINE BECK Vice President for Moot Court Competitions
The last part of the global challenge was concluded at the Final Oral Round of the 15th ELSA Moot Court Competition that took place between in June 2017 at the headquarters of the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. After having competed in the various Regional Rounds, the best 22 teams were selected to compete in Geneva against other teams from all over the world. For the first time, the announcement of the Quarter-Finalists was held during the Annual Report launch of the Appellate Body. We had the great honour to be welcomed amongst the most brilliant minds in the world of international trade law. The announcement was followed by a joint Reception where the participants had the opportunity to network. In addition, the Georgetown Law Conference on WTO law was held at the same time as the EMC² and our participants had the opportunity to join the conference as well. Those facts highlight
that the participants of the ELSA Moot Court Competition are truly welcomed by the trade law family. During the Final Oral Round, it was astonishing to see how much the teams had developed and how much they had learned. There is no better feeling than seeing the happiness on the faces of the team members. This is truly a heart-warming moment, to see that all the hard work, done by so many people, results into something so extraordinary. Once again, the EMC² brought teams from all across the globe to Geneva for a week and contributed to the future of international trade law.
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20 FLIGHTS, 5 REGIONAL ROUNDS, 4 CONTINENTS, 2 MONTHS, 1 COMPETITION FABIAN BEINE Assistant for Marketing in the EMC2 ELSA International 16/17
For 15 years the European Law Students' Association has been organising the largest Moot Court Competition on International Trade Law and with that the most well-known project for the promotion of young talents in that area of law. For 15 years ELSA has supported the international exchange, the development of soft skills and the network of young lawyers through the ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law. For 15 years, groups of ambitious and dedicated law students have travelled around the world with one goal: The Final Oral Round held at the World Trade Organisation in Geneva. In celebration of the anniversary edition of the EMC2 the idea was born to create a memory of this milestone by filming the long road, which should lead the participants and organisers from the five regional rounds all the way to Geneva. Following this idea, I came to the honour to accompany Christine “Kikki� Beck (Vice President for Moot Court Competitions) on countless flight miles and five Regional Rounds. For me this very special trip began mid-February at Frankfurt Airport. With all the video equipment in my luggage I
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went over Amsterdam and New Delhi to the first stop of our trip. A trip that not only brought us around the world, but also let us witness exciting pleadings and meet dedicated and talented law students, but above all gave us the chance to experience many unforgettable moments and intense impressions in different countries and cultures. At the National University of Singapore, the Asian-Pacific Round was the start for the first of five Regional Rounds of this year's edition. From now it was on: negotiating, discussing and convincing. After working dedicatedly on the written submissions, the soft skills were brought to the fore in the oral proceedings. Only those who were able to convince the panel of experienced lawyers, in the field of international trade law, took a step further towards Geneva. After the successful completion of the first round, 24 hours spent on a plane, a half-day stay in Istanbul, including a quick city tour, we went across the Bosporus to the Colombian capital Bogota. Once we had managed to deal with the altitude of the Colombian mountains,
Moot Court Competitions
we were excited to meet inspiring law students from various countries of the American continents, who were waiting for their chance to prove their pleading skills and compete for a spot in Geneva. After the All American Regional Round was successfully finished we went back to our home continent. Now it was time for the European teams to prove their skills in front of the internationally renowned panellists, during the two European Regional Rounds held in ClujNapoca (Romania) and Kyiv (Ukraine). After a short break in Brussels, Frankfurt and Prague, we went to the last stop of the Regional Rounds to the South African student city Grahamstown. Once again we had the chance to witness fantastic pleadings and with the “time is up� sign of the final of the Regional Round, the chapter of the Regional Rounds was successfully closed. Now all finalists were chosen and everyone was ready for the big final in Geneva.
At the end of our journey a reunion with many well-known faces from Singapore, Bogota, Cluj-Napoca, Kyiv and Grahamstown awaited us at the Graduate Institute and the venerable premises of the World Trade Organization at Lake Geneva. Here, the winners of the Regional Rounds came together to find out among themselves this year's overall winner. In addition to the focus on the Grand Final, this meeting of best participants of each of the rounds also provided a perfect opportunity to foster friendships, and to look back on this very special project. And finally the participants, the panellists, and the organisers of the EMC2 can say about themselves: We faced the global challenge! And because it is difficult to put the experiences of this intense time into words, I recommend having a look back on the 15th anniversary edition of the ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law with the Aftermovies. All Aftermovies of the five Regional Rounds and the Video of the Final Oral Round are available on YouTube.
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EMC2 FROM THE PARTICIPANTS' PERSPECTIVE GRAHAMSTOWN, SOUNTH AFRICA HARRISON MBORI Kenya School of Law Student
The ELSA Moot Court Competition was for me an experience that will be rivaled by few in my life. The experience of the 2017 moot has inspired a complete resolve in me to delve deeper into the area of WTO law. The regional rounds at Rhodes University and the global rounds in Geneva provided for my team and I an opportunity to make and present arguments on specific and interesting areas of WTO law. Learning the workings of the WTO through the rigorous process of legal argumentation has enabled me to gain numerous opportunities, expand my networks and sharpen my advocacy skills. I would highly recommend the moot to potential future participants. African countries have not been keen participants in the WTO dispute resolution body, but the EMC2 is creating a critical mass of lawyers, like myself, who will change this position.
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ALEX KAMATH
I will never forget my ELSA experience. It truly is the best international moot out there. The friends I made at both the regional rounds in Bogota as well as in the international finals in Geneva are friends that will stay with me for life. Having the chance to argue in the Grand Final at the WTO headquarters in front of the Chairman of the Appellate Body was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Beyond being the first North American team ever to win the competition, I will always remember the hard work over ten months that I put in with my team and the friendships that I made with people from all over the world. The EMC2 has made me a better lawyer, and, more importantly, a better global citizen.
Seminars & Conferences
SEMINARS & CONFERENCES SUMMER ELSA LAW SCHOOLS WINTER ELSA LAW SCHOOLS ELSA LAW SCHOOLS TRAINING WEEKEND ELSA WEBINARS IBA-ELSA STUDENTS' CONFERENCE ELSA DELEGATIONS
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SUMMER ELSA LAW SCHOOLS NIGEL MICALLEF Vice President for Seminars & Conferences
ELSA Law Schools have continued to flourish within our year. The aim of our term was to continue to improve, expand and professionalise the unification of ELSA Law Schools. This project has grown to a total number of 42 ELSA Law Schools all over Europe, offering over 1,800 spots. The 2017 Summer Cycle received 5,754 applications and over 30,000 individuals visited our website to look into our project, making ELSA Law Schools the biggest project that ELSA offers. Statistics have shown us that 69% of applicants are female whilst 31% of the applications received are from male applicants. This project has managed to reach individuals not only from ELSA countries, but also from countries outside of the ELSA horizon such as Nigeria, United States, China, Brazil and other countries. Statistics have shown us that 22% of applications are received from non-members of the Association. 61% of the applicants are undergraduate students whilst 19% are applicants which hold a Bachelors degree.
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This past year will always be remembered for the multitude of changes and improvements to continue to improve the project. The biggest achievement for ELSA, within this flagship project, is that relating to IT. Together with Camscape, we have developed an ELSA Law Schools Portal tailored for applications for ELSA Law Schools. This portal allows the applications to be stored into a different server which secures and saves all applications. One of the major benefits of such a portal is that it can handle the load of applications, which is constantly present especially during the last few days of the application period. The portal allows organisers to access their applications freely, in a user-friendly manner, and at any point of time during the application period. On the other hand, National Officers can also access the portal to view the applications, sent by members from their respective ELSA country. This allows for better filtering and security for both parties in order to improve the standards of the application process. This portal makes it easier for organisers to
Seminars & Conferences
read through their respective applications due to the elegant structure of the applications. Finally, the portal allows for the creation of detailed statistics relating to all parts of the application form, which could give us a better understanding of the target groups related to the project. Hence, it is with great pride to state that the implementation of the above-mentioned portal allows for all applications for ELSA Law Schools to be constantly stored and safe without any hiccups.
respective ELSA Law Schools and hence provide a better overall experience to the participants that are attending the respective ELSA Law School. Finally, we have also created a unified participants’ evaluation form which is sent to the participants directly so that both the Vice-President for Seminars & Conferences and the ELSA Law Schools Team get a better understanding of the situation of the network and can properly guide the organisers in the years to come.
Apart from improving the website to be ecstatically nicer we have, together with Ivan Chopyk, introduced marketing templates falling under the following 5 categories – Public Law, Maritime Law, Corporate Law, Intellectual Property Law and Human Rights in order to assist the organisers which do not have marketing resources and to unify the promotion even further. We have also introduced the ELSA Law Schools Training Weekend and implemented an increase and change in the ELSA Law Schools fees, which allowed organisers to increase the standards for their
Now, that we are coming to an end with regards to the 2nd unified Cycle for ELSA Law Schools, I can proudly state that we have achieved all of our goals for this term with regards to this project. With all of this in mind, I’d like to personally thank the ELSA Law Schools Team which has successfully assisted all organising committees (OCs), all the Organising Committees and Camscape for their 24/7 support. Together, we have continued to professionalise the sustainable framework for the biggest extracurricular project related to legal education in Europe.
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WINTER ELSA LAW SCHOOLS NIGEL MICALLEF Vice President for Seminars & Conferences
Winter ELSA Law Schools are a project that is still yet to become popular within the ELSA network. During this term, we had two Winter ELSA Law Schools organised. One was held in Innsbruck, Austria tackling the subject of Sports Law and another law school was organised in Komotini, Greece and dealt with the subject of Environmental and Energy Law. Having been a member of ELSA for almost three years now, it's truly impressive how the world of ELSA has broadened and has progressed in its projects, leaving a mark in the law student society. However, amongst everything else, ELSA Law Schools are one of the most important flagship projects, which developed and became the most known and appealing aspect of ELSA. ELSA Law schools present a constructive and creative way to make good use of your time, combining the profession that we love and we study with an insight of a whole different country, a new culture and different people. They offer a unique opportunity to familiarize oneself with a foreign legal system and to provide yourself with an
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CHRISTINA MASTORIDOU Vice President for Seminars & Conferences ELSA Komotini
experience of lifetime. As the Vice President for Seminars and Conferences of ELSA Komotini and the Head Organiser of the 2nd edition of Winter ELSA Law School on Environmental and Energy Law in December 2016, I had the chance along with an exceptional Organizing Committee to carry out a successful and memorable Winter ELSA Law School, uniting students and professors from all over Europe, in the small town of Komotini and sharing great moments together. Organising an event of such an extent does not provide one solely with new legal knowledge, instead it offers you even more. We managed to express our creativity, gaining "soft-knowledge" and evolving ourselves. Finally, as a participant of the Summer ELSA Law School in Amsterdam on Information Law in July 2015, ELSA Law Schools is the project that urged me to embrace the ELSA Spirit, finding a different aspect of myself, whilst meeting people and making friends from all over the world. Spread the ELSA Spirit!
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ELSA LAW SCHOOLS TRAINING WEEKEND NIGEL MICALLEF Vice President for Seminars & Conferences
Following the unification of ELSA Law Schools, ELSA International saw the need to continue to professionalise the biggest flagship project of the organisation. One key factor for its improvement was direct communication and knowledge-sharing between the ELSA International and the organisers of ELSA Law Schools. The idea of this Training Weekend grew from the fact that not enough time or human-resources could be dedicated at ELSA’s internal meetings. Hence, January 2017, saw the establishment of the very first ELSA Law School Training Weekend. 13 different organisers from different ELSA Law Schools participated in this weekend held in Brussels, Belgium. The training sessions were organised at the ELSA House and the participants were accommodated at Meininger Hotel. All the costs for this training weekend were covered by ELSA following the implementation of the administrative fee for ELSA Law Schools. The sessions organised included both individual sessions for per-
ROBERT VIERLING President
sonal attention and also group sessions to tackle different topics dealing with the project. The topics of the group sessions included general requirements of ELSA Law Schools, Disaster Management, Logistics and Human Resources. The aim of this Training Weekend was to provide the participants with an opportunity to learn as much as possible in a smaller group environment. Moreover, we also organised a rotation system where the group would be divided into 3 smaller groups, then each group would alternate between different sessions. The sessions mostly focused on marketing, budgeting and externals. All the participants had the opportunity to have individual sessions with Robert Vierling and myself to go over their respective programme, venues, budget and issues that they face. Apart from having the opportunity to learn and discuss with ELSA International, the biggest benefit of this event is that the participants had the advantage to discuss and share different issues and best practices amongst themselves.
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DÓNAL MERRICK Vice President for Seminars & Conferences ELSA Ireland 16/17
The inaugural ELSA Law Schools Training Weekend took place from the 28th to the 30th of January 2017 at the ELSA House in Brussels. The concept was to gather representatives from ELSA Law School organising committees across the network, together with our coaches from the ELSA Law Schools team, to attend workshops delivered by the International Board and to exchange ideas. This being just the second year of ELSA Law Schools as a unified, flagship project of ELSA – and the ELSA Law Schools project being bigger than ever before – the theme of the weekend was not just about equipping us as organisers with the knowledge needed to have as smooth an experience as possible, but also helping to ensure that the ever-growing ELSA Law Schools brand continues to be associated with the high standards with which it has come to be associated over the years. The main part of the training sessions consisted of workshops delivered by Nigel and Robert, Vice President for Seminars and Conferences and President of ELSA International 2016/2017, respectively. They focussed on areas such as the academic programmes, social and cultural programmes and human resources within organising committees, helping us to understand the requirements of ELSA Law Schools in these areas and how best to implement them in our various scenarios.
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Roundtable discussions followed each session, which allowed us to exchange useful experiences and knowledge, as well as some interesting ideas. In addition to this, Nigel and Robert spent time with each participant one-on-one, to help provide more guidance to each of us for our specific situations. Other useful workshops included financial management for ELSA Law Schools, with Rob, Treasurer of ELSA International 2016/2017, explaining to us the importance and techniques of processes such as cashflow planning and contingency budgeting. As well as this, Ivan, Vice President for Marketing of ELSA International 2016/2017, delivered a workshop helping us to understand how to market our law schools to prospective participants and build-up a successful brand from year to year, while respecting ELSA’s corporate identity regulations. Of course, the International Board made sure to show us the importance of the ELSA Spirit in any ELSA project and organised a robust social programme for us each evening, which helped to remind us of one of the most important reasons for organising an ELSA Law School in the first place: the sharing of intercultural experiences with our international counterparts. We all returned to our respective ELSA groups with added knowledge and renewed motivation.
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ELSA WEBINARS NIGEL MICALLEF Vice President for Seminars & Conferences
The term 2016/2017 saw the birth of a new project within the Association. A project that would later be known within the whole ELSA network as ELSA Webinars. The aim of this International Board of ELSA was to lay down the fundamental groundwork for this project that will affect the whole network in the years to come. A webinar is a presentation, lecture, workshop or seminar that is transmitted over the internet using video conferencing software. Such software enables the hosts of the webinar to interact with participants via live presentations, documents and other materials, which are accessible to the attendees. One of the unique features of such a project is that it enables participants from all over the world to ask questions live to the speakers present in the webinar. As seen during the webinars hosted during this year this can be done either through through the features of such technological programme or through Twitter.
The first aim for us was to get the concept out there and therefore during the Key Area Meeting in MĂźnster, Germany we started to promote the concept to the network and later on during the International Council Meeting held in Porto, Portugal we launched the first ELSA Webinar for our term. The goal was to get the ball rolling and hence to get the ELSA network to think in-depth about the capabilities of what modern technology at this day and age could offer to our network. This medium of communication would enable us to reach individuals that ELSA had not yet been able to reach out to and share its message with. The dream came true on the last Wednesday of November whereby with the assistance and the resources of the Council of Europe the birth of the first ELSA Webinar was added to the long lists of achievements of the Association. This webinar formed part of the ELSA Day celebrations whereby ELSA International had the ability to reach directly to individuals
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and also offer a tool for national and local chapters of the Association to organise events directly linked to the webinar. This resulted in a whopping audience of over 14,000 individuals viewing the webinar.
Webinars will continue to provide this Association with more opportunities. With the work of our successors, this project has the potential to reach new heights and take our association even further.
What originally started as a project that would only involve the area of seminars & conferences ended up a project which would involve most areas of the Association. This was seen when a webinar was organised together with K&L Gates LLP to assist all those involved in the Legal Research Group tackling the subject of European Compliance Benchmark. This did not stop here and ELSA together with the Council of Europe aired the final oral round of the EHRMCC in Strasbourg, France.
Whenever someone suggests an unknown path or a new direction, it is up to us as future law professionals to decide whether we want to stick to the familiar or follow into the unknown. We as the board have decided to follow. It brought us many challenges, an unforgettable experience and, above all, a new educational platform in ELSA. That is why I can only encourage every law student to always dare to go the unknown path and those of you, who have an idea, to never hold back but work hard on pursuing it.
Who would have told me that my small little dream for ELSA back in Malta would later on come true? It is with great satisfaction to see this dream flourish into a project that will continue to grow and reach more students and young professionals. ELSA
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IBA-ELSA STUDENTS' CONFERENCE NIGEL MICALLEF Vice President for Seminars & Conferences
For the second consecutive year, ELSA together with the IBA students’ committee organised an international conference for 100 students and young lawyers from all over the world. ELSA assists in finding international speakers for the sessions of the conferences, marketing and with the logistics and preparation of the event. The topic for the 2nd edition dealt with International Courts and Tribunals. A variety of topics were discussed during the two-day conference at Queen Mary University of London. The topics included an analysis of the success and failures of the ICC, the lack of woman judges on international courts and tribunals, the legitimacy and effectiveness of these courts and tribunals, a career in public international law, the lack of woman judges on international courts and tribunals, the politics of such courts and much more. The sessions involved panel discussions, lectures and key-note speeches allowing the participants to have direct access to the floor to ask questions to any of the international speakers present at the conference. Over 25 speakers participated in the conference. The latter included judges, former-judges, academics, professionals and NGO representatives. This allowed for a great mixture in experiences and for an even better discussion to the questions posed by the attendees. Following the success attained over the past two years, the IBA students’ committee represented by Ms. Vaneeta Sharma and ELSA have joined forces yet again to organise the 3rd consecutive conference on a hot legal topic. The conference will take place between the 4th and the 5th of November in London, United Kingdom. The topic chosen for this upcoming edition is Human Rights. The structure of the conference will be similar to the years before, with sessions tackling the topics of Human Rights and Environmental Law, the death penalty, terrorism, women and international human rights and much more.
ARMIN KHOSHNEWISZADEH Co-Chair of the IBA-ELSA Students’ Conference President, ELSA International 14/15
The conference has helped strengthen the ties between the world’s largest law students’ association and the largest organisation for legal professionals in the world. Most importantly this co-operation has enabled our two organisations to offer a high-quality conference on a relevant topic of international law, reaching students from all corners of the world. This year’s edition featured impressive speakers which yielded very interesting and relevant panels on the current state and future of international courts and tribunals. Having students actively participate and challenge the speakers raised the level of discussion and made for very fruitful debates. Hopefully, ELSA and the IBA Law Students’ Committee will continue to organise this conference in the years to come. For now, I am looking forward to attending the 2017 edition which will be on International Human Rights law. THOMAS BAETENS Vice President for Marketing ELSA Belgium 16/17
The cooperation of the IBA and ELSA made it a professional event where lawyers gave their insights and thoughts about the international courts and tribunals to law students. Within the subject there was a good balance between the knowledge from the books and experience obtained in the field. This was possible because of the impressive panels of academics, lawyers and judges. For example, Judge Rosalyn Higgins inspirited us all with her insights in international law and personal experiences in the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Finally, I loved networking with people from around the world. These law students with all their own perspectives made this event what it was, exceptional.
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ELSA DELEGATIONS EVGENIA PODGORBUNSKIKH Director for ELSA Delegations ELSA International 16/17
2016/2017 has been a successful year for Delegations in the ELSA Network. With the strong promotion, we increased the quality of received applications. The stability from the previous years was achieved while the common interest for Delegations was developed in the whole network. We also updated the Guidelines & created new ones, to improve the preparation of ELSA Delegates for respective sessions. ELSA International 2016/17 has opened the calls for Delegations every second month – September, November, January, March, May and July. For every call we received more than 200 applications – this shows a stable result, which favourably compares with the last year. Beside the regular UN and WIPO sessions, we offered spots to some special conferences – INTA in Brussels, Missing Children Europe in Malta, World Forum for Democracy in Strasbourg, World Summit on the Information Society Forum in Geneva and OECD Annual Forum in Paris. The team was also present on the international stage. We travelled to the ICMs in Porto and Prague, and to the German, Austrian and Czech NCMs. We gave an official presentation about ELSA Delegations, and promoted the idea of Delegations in the network. On this occasion I would like to thank Nigel Micallef for his hard work and the Delegations Team 2016/17 for working hard and showing themselves as reliable team players whilst managing their work on time. 106 | ANNUAL REPORT
OLESYA DOVGALYUK ELSA Delegate at the WSIS Forum 2017
By far the most diverse in the number and background of its participants’ ICT-focused forum in the world, World Summit on Information Society (WSIS), launched in 2003 with the aim to bridge the digital divide between the rich and poor states, has become the key platform for the stakeholders to collectively address globalisation challenges through digital innovation and appropriate national programmes. Held under the theme of “ICTs for SDGs”, WSIS 2017 saw numerous interventions from government representatives, businesses and civil society sharing, among others, achievements such as providing internet access in the less-developed world regions, teaching digital skills for youth employment, and responding to urban crimes through AI technologies. The most significant feature of the Forum was an overarching consensus on the need of greater power diffusion between multiple stakeholders for a more even and proportionate internet governance. Being part of the very first ELSA delegation to WSIS and laying foundation stone for its presence in the Forum (which will hopefully become a regular practice) has been an unmatched experience and a privilege for me. Since borderless digital space and related issues are doubtlessly on the top of international agenda, with calls for the harmonisation of laws regulating prosecution for cross-border cyber-facilitated crimes getting louder, discussion platforms like WSIS have to be more inclusive of younger participants – crucially, Law students – to reflect their values and needs in the process of shaping digital environment of the future.
Student Trainee Exchange Programme
STUDENT TRAINEE EXCHANGE PROGRAMME (STEP) GENERAL DEVELOPMENT STEP COACHING SYSTEM
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GENERAL DEVELOPMENT ALYONA LITVINOVA Vice President for Student Trainee Exchange Programme (STEP)
The Student Trainee Exchange Programme is ELSA’s traineeship programme, which focuses on sending our members abroad to gain practical legal skills and new cultural experiences. All the traineeships are displayed on the STEP Portal, which makes the application procedure easier for our members. However, this is not the only thing that makes our programme unique. The Local ELSA Group that welcomes the trainee in their city, involves him or her in their academic and social activities – so there is no need to be scared of going abroad to an unknown city. And this is how everyone knows STEP, how we present it to our potential traineeship providers and the vast numbers of members who we hope to “recruit” as STEP applicants. What we usually take for granted (even ourselves) is the development our beloved programme makes each and every year. We are constantly improving the numbers of the traineeships offered to our members. This term we had an increase of 7 percent in the number of traineeship providers with them being represented in 35 countries, including such “exotic” destinations as Mexico and Ecuador. This is what our STEP partner says about the programme: “ELSA and Bierens are partners offering traineeships to graduate students from all over Europe. Bierens’ goal is to cover 42 European countries with in house lawyers, all specialized in dispute resolution. Their traineeship out of the Amsterdam office runs for a year, starting in October. Bierens has 120 employees and offices in Amsterdam, Antwerp, Barcelona, Düsseldorf, Rome, Veghel, New York and Shanghai.”
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And STEP is of course about the trainees we are sending abroad. Unfortunately, we have seen a decrease in the total number of applications this term which has shown us the long discussed need in the change of the Portal and our internal systems for STEP. However, those trainees who got to do a traineeship have truly enjoyed the time and experience they got during their stay. Here you can read the impressions of Evangelina Liasidou who was a legal intern at the Council of Europe Liaison Office in Brussels: “I absolutely enjoyed my time as the STEP trainee of the Council of Europe in Brussels. Within only 6 months I learned so many things and I acquired so many skills that I cannot even count them! To be more specific, I was working for the Liaison Office of the Council to the European Union, and thus I had the opportunity to see how the European Institutions are functioning, as well as how EU Law is applied. Moreover, the personnel of the Council of Europe were friendly and helpful and treated me as an equal and not as a subordinate, which was also a reason why I developed so many skills in such a short period of time. Additionally, living in such a vibrant city like Brussels, which is so international and vibrant, was also a remarkable experience that I owe to the Student Trainee Exchange Programme. Overall, I feel so excited and lucky to have been selected for this traineeship immediately after my studies. I would recommend STEP to every young lawyer, as the experience one can get from working abroad is outstanding!” Hopefully, STEP as a programme will see great improvements in the years to come and continue fostering of the mutual understanding in Europe and beyond.
Student Trainee Exchange Programme
STEP COACHING SYSTEM INGA SCHEEL Director for STEP Coaching ELSA International 16/17
Why do officers need STEP Coaching? As the value of STEP is obvious, it seems unclear to many how STEP exactly works. Once a new ELSA term begins, newly elected officers end up wondering about the same technical terms and processes. Additionally, STEP is based on all the previous experiences, as is ELSA in general. However, STEP is usually difficult to sell to potential traineeship providers (having the requirement of being paid, hiring students from a different legal system etc.) and prone to national particularities, the traineeship programme especially requires all previous experiences, tips, and tricks. Furthermore, it also requires a lot of dedication, which the Coaching Team provides, since the road to success seems quite long. How does STEP Coaching work? During the term 2016/2017, our Coaching Team consisted of five STEP Coaches: Alyona Litvinova, Asen Dimitrov, Aysha Abdel Qadir, Tetiana Grudinina and me, Inga Scheel. As STEP officers of 43 different countries needed coaching, each of us was in charge of either 8 or 9 countries. We conducted skype meetings and messaged one another, some regularly, others only when problems occurred or questions were asked. The Coaching System doesn’t force any help upon STEP officers, we simply offer it and adapt it to the country’s need. Then we “STEP in”. Asen summarises the Coaching System’s benefits: “The STEP Coaching System is like a glove: it fits to each ELSA Country individually in order to provide a guiding hand for better STEP results. The ELSA Network can only benefit from the STEP Coaching System.” Additionally, there are great social and exchange aspects, which Aysha points out: “The Coaching System is a great op-
portunity both for Coach and Coaching Country to get acquainted with each another, learn about problems and try to solve them together.” Why did I become a STEP Coach? Being abroad with STEP does not only mean travelling, but also learning about another culture, meeting different people, collecting new experiences, strengthening skills and doing legal work. This is already inspiring as it is, passing on knowledge about how to contribute to this great programme. Additionally, I’ve been a national STEP officer before and therefore know about the difficulties. During my term, I collected loads of experiences, which is why I felt the urge to put this knowledge to use and help other officers. Furthermore, I wanted to contribute to the ELSA Network for one more term and amass experience on the international level. Tetiana summarises wisely: "One of the life lessons, which I have learned from ELSA, is that everyone needs support. By this I don’t mean that we should stop being initiative, I mean there is always someone who can help us to reach our goals easier and faster. I believe that the STEP Coaching System is such a tool.” A big thank you goes to all our great Coaching Countries. It was a pleasure working with and getting to know you! As Tetiana puts it: “I would like to thank all of my Couching Countries for the collaboration and the hunger for information and knowledge. It was an excellent job you did this year.” You did indeed. We, your STEP Coaches, may have provided you with help during this term, but we were provided with cross-border friendships and new coaching experiences in return. Thank you for that! ANNUAL REPORT | 109
Academic Activities
365 days 42 countries visited 2 new member countries 1 new initiative group 300+ flights 50000+ EUR additionally fundraised 1 refurnished house 1000+ Cokes and Red Bulls 111 proposals #IB16/17 #overandout #efficiency 110 | ANNUAL REPORT
Academic Activities
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