ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
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About ELSA The Association
ELSA Members x 38,000
The European Law Students’ Association, ELSA, is an international, independent, non-political and non-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.
VISION
ELSA Local Groups x 226
ELSA National Groups x 42
ELSA International
"A JUST WORLD IN WHICH THERE IS RESPECT FOR HUMAN DIGNITY AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY"
ELSA’s Members
Partners
ELSA’s members are internationally minded individuals who have 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.
CMS_LawTax_CMYK_over100.eps
ELSA is present in 42 countries Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and United Kingdom.
ELSA International 239 Blvd. Général Jacques B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
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Contact: elsa@elsa.org Website: www.elsa.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/elsa.org Twitter: twitter.com/elsainfo
ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
Contents International Board of ELSA 2012/2013
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ELSA Day - A day for Human Rights
Greetings from the new Patron
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All different, all together
A message from the President A successful year for ELSA
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ELSA for Children Panel Discussion
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About ELSA for Children
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Council of Europe
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Voices about ELSA for Children
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A message from ELSA's former Patron
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No Hate Speech Movement
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A rich and intense year Pleading at the Grand Chamber
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European Human Rights Moot Court Competition
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ELSA and European Social Charter
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CMS Legal - Corporate Partner of ELSA
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Ensuring the developement of ELSA
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ELSA and Council of Europe
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Adoption of a new Strategic Plan
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State of the Network Report A closer look on the inside of ELSA
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Queen Mary School of Law Exploring other continents for legal practice
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Gateway to careers in Trademark Law
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Meda Law - The new focus topic
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Cooperation with the Economist
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Transition of IFRS accounting
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Caring for identical values
Expanding ELSA's traineeship programme STEP Employer - Butzel Long A professional and personal experience
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STEP - A long standing tradition
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STEP Employer - Center for Law & Policy
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STEP Employer - CMS Cameron McKenna
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Summer Law Schools 46
A mutually beneficial experience Experience international decision making
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Delegations to international institutions ELSA Moot Court Competition
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Facing a global challenge ELSA Moot Court Competition in Taiwan
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Updating ELSA's profile online
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European Human Rights Moot Court Competition Page 10 ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
ELSA Moot Court Competition Page 26
ELSA is present in institutions and organisations Page 24 3
International Board of ELSA 2012/2013
International Board of ELSA Introducing the team that dedicated a year to the Association
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Bartosz Balewski
Anette Aav
Alpo Olavi Lahtinen
Anders Liljeberg
President Coming from Miedzyzdroje, Poland ELSA in one word Passion
Secretary General Coming from P채rnu, Estonia ELSA in one word People
Treasurer Coming from Helsinki, Finland ELSA in one word Experience
Vice President for Marketing Coming from V채ster책s, Sweden ELSA in one word Opportunities
Vasco Silva
Corinna M체ckenheim
Federica Toscano
Dena Dervanovic
Vice President for Academic Activities Coming from Porto, Portugal ELSA in one word Diversity
Vice President for Moot Court Competitions Coming from Halle (Saale), Germany ELSA in one word People
Vice President for Seminars and Conferences Coming from Rodeano Basso, Italy ELSA in one word Challenge
Vice President for Student Trainee Exchange Programme Coming from Podgorica, Montenegro ELSA in one word Networking
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Council of Europe
Greetings from the new Patron “ELSA is at the vanguard in promoting the Council of Europe’s legal and human rights activities”
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he European Law Students' Association has proved itself to be a trustworthy and highly co-operative partner of the Council of Europe for the last seven years. By upholding the values of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, you are helping to defend the founding principles of the Council of Europe itself. Together, we are working to make Europe a safer place, where the fundamental freedoms of all citizens are respected. Therefore, it was with great pride that I accepted the invitation to become the Patron of such a commendable association. I am delighted to be able to play a part in promoting our common standards in an ever closer partnership.
Thorbjørn Jagland Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Patron of ELSA
lent knowledge of the Human Rights system, an outstanding command of English and exceptional public speaking skills. The European Law Students Association can use this competition as further stimulus in helping its members to overcome all challenges they are faced with in the professional arena and to provide them with the right tools to compete on an international level. As Patron, I wish ELSA continued success and fulfillment and look forward to close co-operation with the Council of Europe in the years to come.
I was also greatly honoured to be invited to attend the award ceremony for the first Human Rights Moot Court Competition in English. Starting out with 400 law students from 84 different universities in 31 countries all over Europe, this event demonstrated both the extraordinary diversity of ELSA and the extremely high standards it sets itself. This is a very significant project for the Council of Europe because it provides law students with highly valuable practical experience in working with the European Convention on Human Rights and learning the procedures of the European Court of Human Rights. The final round held in Strasbourg featuring 16 teams from 13 countries saw participants showcasing their Thorbjørn Jagland with the winning team of the European Human Rights Moot Court Competition Photo: © Council of Europe talents; demonstrating excel-
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A message from the President
A year of success Bartosz Balewski, President of ELSA, about developments and achievements in ELSA during the term 2012/2013
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ach year all ELSA officers and members try to make another academic year special and unique. They undertake uncountable attempts to fulfill the vision of the association with their projects, initiatives and events. I believe that many of them brought a positive change in the whole ELSA Network during the term that lasted from 1st of August 2012 until 31st of July 2013. There are a few things that especially should be mentioned since they influenced the association extensively. All of them were set in motion with a clear aim of making this year very special. Throughout the term 2012/2013 the International Board of ELSA has been greatly engaged in
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the organisation of the first ever Human Rights Moot Court Competition. With the great support of the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights and under the coordination of Ms Corinna M端ckenheim, the first Vice President for Moot Court Competitions in the history of ELSA, the competition was organised with more than 120 participating teams. The project turned out to be a great success and the decision on the next edition was already taken. The term 2012/2013 was unique also because of the implementation of a new, European wide event. Based on the idea from Ms Federica Toscano, Vice President for Seminars and Conferences of ELSA Inter-
ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
Photo: © Council of Europe
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We are glad that the new initiatives launched during the term will be continued in the future as well.
national, our association chose one day, 20th of March, during which all ELSA members organised different events on human rights and integration. The event, called the ELSA Day, had its motto – "all different, all together". In total, around 150 events in 30 countries made that day special. Due to the great first edition, ELSA is already planning the second edition. With Ms Dena Dervanovic, Vice President for Student Trainee Exchange Programme (STEP) responsible for significant developments made in our system of exchange, our term was marked by one more major success. Over 100% increase of law students who applied for international traineeships and a hugely heightened number of available opportunities made STEP once again a true flagship project of ELSA.
ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
On behalf of the International Board of ELSA 2012/2013 I can say that we are glad that the new initiatives launched during the term in office will be continued in the future as well. We believe that they will be organised even better, since progress is the most vital part of continuation. We hope that our contribution to this association made it stronger and better and thus the term 2012/2013 will be counted as a success. We wish ELSA many great events, loads of interesting activities and numerous members who share the ELSA vision. All the best for the next years!
Bartosz Balewski President ELSA International
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We hope that our contribution made the association stronger. 7
Council of Europe
A rich and intense year Co-operation between the Council of Europe and ELSA during 2012/2013
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012 and 2013 were particularly rich and intense years for Council of Europe and the European Law Students Association (ELSA) co-operation. Together, we have carried out a number of projects reflecting the Council of Europe’s main priorities in the fields of human rights and the rule of law. We have carried out large-scale projects, involving the whole network of ELSA, and a huge number of national and local initiatives, aiming to promote the values and standards of the Council of Europe to ELSA members. The project which marked this period most significantly was undoubtedly the first Human Rights Moot Court Competition in English, both in terms of its size and its importance. This was by far the most ambitious and challenging project organized by our institutions, bringing together a total of 120 teams from 31 countries who competed in an imaginary case which simulated the procedure of complaints to the European Court of Human Rights. The project, co-organised by the European Court of Human Rights and the Directorate of Communications, was efficiently managed by ELSA International, who succeeded in mobilising many teams from a large number of countries. We hope that this competition provided the participants with an in-depth view of the European Convention on Human Rights and with practical experience that will be useful in their future professions.
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Together, we have carried out a number of projects reflecting the Council of Europe’s main priorities
‘ELSA for Children’ was one of the major projects carried out by ELSA’s law students on legislation to fight the sexual exploitation and abuse of children in 23 European countries. This two-year programme gathered factual data on the extent to which legislation in these countries reflects the Council of Europe’s Lanzarote Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse Furthermore, ELSA has co-operated with the European Social Charter Department which has brought significant support to a number of ELSA’s projects on health issues, thus heightening the visibility of the European Social Charter. In addition, two award ceremonies were organised for the winners of the ELSA essay competitions dedicated to ‘The right to health care’ and ‘Biotechnology and health care’. Moreover, the three best essays were published on the Council of Europe’s website and promoted within the Organisation and externally. Another
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I hope that our rewarding co-operation will continue to develop in the future.
I wish to congratulate the 2012/2013 ELSA’s board on these excellent projects and for the amazing work they have done in raising awareness of human rights issues promoted by the Council of Europe. I would like to end by saying that 2012 and 2013 have been especially productive for the Council of Europe and ELSA, creating stronger ties between them. I hope that our fruitful and rewarding co-operation will continue to develop in the future.
major project - in line with the European Social Charter and likely to be held next year - is currently under discussion. We are currently awaiting the outcome of a new and highly-topical project - ‘Online Hate Speech: right or crime?’ - linked to ‘Young People Combating Hate Speech On-line’, which is run in co-operation with the Council of Europe’s youth sector.
Barbara Orkwiszewska Directorate of Communications Council of Europe
Photos: © Council of Europe
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Photo: © Council of Europe
Pleading at the Grand Chamber The first edition of the European Human Rights Moot Court Competition took place at the European Court of Human Rights
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ver 400 law students, 120 teams, more than 80 universities from Europe, over 30 different European countries, 16 final teams and only 1 place to go – the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, France! On the 15th of July 2013 ELSA finally brought life into one of its biggest new projects on Human Rights. On this date, ELSA International launched the first Human Rights Moot Court Competition ever in cooperation with the Council of Europe. The first talks about the competition had started some years ago, but only last year it reached the stage of setting up the competition in connection with the introduction of a new board position, the Vice President for Moot Court Competitions. Together with the Directorate for Communications of the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights, the case was created, guidelines, a structure and the timeline set up.
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Despite ELSA’s 12 year experience in organising a worldwide Moot Court on WTO law, the huge outcome and interest from law students was unexpected. 5 minutes after the launch of the competition on the 15th of July 2013, the first teams were already registered. By the end of the team registration deadline in October, the enormous amount of 120 teams was reached. This was a big success for the first edition of the competition and shows that law students in Europe are very interested in the topic of Human Rights. A Jury composed of a group of Human Rights experts from various areas of Europe reviewed the written submissions of the 120 teams and had the difficult task to decide which teams would qualify for the Final Round of the Human Rights Moot Court in Strasbourg. In January 2013, the best 16 teams were announced. This group could not have been more diverse: Ireland, UK, Greece, Poland, Serbia, Czech Republic, Romania, France, Finland, Estonia, Ukraine, Turkey, Georgia.
ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
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On the 15th of July 2013, ELSA finally brought life into one of its biggest new projects on Human Rights.
On the 24th of February 2013 all those teams gathered in Strasbourg to officially open the 1st Final Round of the competition in the villa of the Permanent Representation of Poland to the Council of Europe which was one of the big supporters of the competition. For four days, the teams competed in the holy halls of the ECHR about a case dealing with the sterilization of an HIV infected woman after giving birth in the fictitious country of Orosia. After the preliminary rounds, where each team had to present their arguments on both sides of the case, the Jury decided that the best 4 teams from Poland, Ireland, Greece and UK would advance to the Semi-finals. After long deliberations, the Trinity College Dublin, Ireland and the University of Essex, UK, made their way to the Grand Final.
The Grand Final, held in the biggest hearing room of the ECHR, was supported by honourable Jury members: Ms Nina Vajic, former Judge at the ECHR; Mr HansChristian Krüger, former Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe; Mr Johannes Silvis, Judge at the ECHR and many current and former lawyers of the Court. The tension right before the bell rang to mark the start the Grand Final like in a real hearing was touching. The two teams had to present their best arguments since only one of them could get the most wanted prize: a traineeship at the European Court of Human Rights with accommodation provided. Approximately two hours later, the Secretary General and Patron of ELSA, Mr Thorbjørn Jagland, announced the winner of
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The tension right before the bell rang to mark the start the Grand Final like in a real hearing was touching.
Photo: © Council of Europe
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the first edition: Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. The prize for the best written submissions also went to the Trinity College and the best orator was from the Torun University, Poland. The competition and especially the Final Round in Strasbourg would not have been possible without the financial support from the Permanent Representation of Ireland and Andorra to the Council of Europe. A major academic support came from the European Human Rights Association, partner of the competition. Mostly, the Directorate for Communications of the Council of Europe supported the competition and ELSA in an outmost way. The 2nd edition will be launched in July/August 2013.
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This competition was a great success for the association and its purpose. Photo: © Council of Europe
Photo: © Council of Europe
This competition was a great success for the association and its purpose for “A just world in which there is respect for human dignity and cultural diversity”.
Corinna Mückenheim Vice President for Moot Court Competitions ELSA International
The winning team of the first edition of European Human Rights Moot Court Competition celebrating their achievement
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ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
CMS, Corporate Partner of ELSA
Partnering for client success “The CMS business is built on the same foundations and we are delighted to support ELSA in its work”
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ontinued success and growth over the past year has seen CMS become one of the world’s top ten law firms. The ranking is based on the number of lawyers in our firm – currently more than 2,800 – a measure of expansion which we believe underlines our commitment to providing our clients with exceptional legal service and offering outstanding career opportunities for CMS professionals. CMS people are rising to the challenge of today’s tough market environment by focusing on what business around the world needs from leading legal and tax advisers. We work in teams, locally and internationally, through 54 offices in 29 countries, to offer clients deep expertise in their sectors and markets. This past year we added new offices in Barcelona and Dubai because we saw a direct link to demand for our services from clients. Our expansion underlines our focus on client success. We believe that delivering real value only happens when we work from a point of total client understanding and commitment. We call this philosophy ‘Your World First’. ELSA’s outlook fits well with the CMS approach, and we are proud to be the association’s main corporate sponsor. We share ELSA’s commitment to the highest standards of individual and collective achievement along with an emphasis on cultural awareness and understanding. Across our network we look to recruit the kind of law students that ELSA attracts and develops – individuals with an international outlook who thrive on offering their knowledge and skills in crosscultural, cross-border teams.
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At CMS we are proud that clients in a wide range of sectors trust our professionals to deliver on matters that are critical to the future of their enterprises. Whether we are working on the IPO of Telefónica Deutschland Holding AG (the largest flotation in Germany during the last five years), advising a fast-growing concern such as the CitizenM hotel chain headquartered in Amsterdam, or breaking new legal ground in the field of renewable energy, we are always aware that we are ambassadors for CMS. ELSA is also proud of its corporate reputation and is keen to build awareness of its activities in the right way. To this end, I was very pleased to to contribute to ELSA’s International Council Meeting, held in Cologne in April 2013, where we debated the role of social media and its appropriate use by ELSA Officers in promoting the association. CMS were also proud hosts of the 2013 ELSA Partners’ Reception, held at the offices of CMS Belgium in Brussels in February 2013. This highly successful event again demonstrated the relevance and dynamism of ELSA’s commitment to legal excellence in a truly international context. The CMS business is built on these same foundations and we are delighted to support ELSA in its work.
Isabel Scholes Director for Communications CMS Legal
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ELSA & Council of Europe
Caring for identical values A year of significant development of the co-operation with the Council of Europe
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t was clear since the beginning of our term that a special priority would be put to Human Rights and to the development of the cooperation with the Council of Europe. This institutional co-operation, based on the Human Rights partnership agreement, since 2008, has permitted the mutual promotion and collaboration between both organisations for several years. The established projects were very satisfactory, but it was our intention to do even more. Throughout the year 2012-2013, various new projects and synergies were established in addition to previous initiatives. As an example of the last ones, the ELSA for Children Legal Research Group, part of the Council of Europe campaign to stop sexual violence against children (One in Five) was successfully concluded. The 4th edition of the International Focus Programme Essay Competition on Health Law has also finished and the winning essays were published online by the Council of Europe’s European Social Charter that has also organised, for the first time, an award ceremony for the winner of this competition, Mr Alejandro Zamora Perez, in Strasbourg. The Directorate of Communications supported ELSA by giving visibility to the competition and the event. For the 5th edition, the Council of Europe decided to support our project again, with visibility, the publication of the best essays, and the second edition of the award ceremony, taking place in Strasbourg on the 4th of July 2013, with the participation of Ms Horiana Secara, winner of the competition.
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Various new projects and synergies were established in addition to previous initiatives.
2012-2013 was also the year of the very first edition of the European Human Rights Moot Court Competition and of the first delegations at the Council of Europe. ELSA International also engaged in the new campaign of the Council of Europe “European Youth Against Online Hate Speech” that developed the “No Hate Speech Movement”. The decision to focus this topic resulted not only from the importance of this campaign of our partner, but also the conclusions of the Market Research 2012 that indicated the striking preference of European law students for subjects such as Human Rights and Criminal Law. Following this, two projects were launched. Firstly, the Essay Competition “Online Hate Speech: right or crime”. It was widely promoted by the Youth Department of the Council of Europe on their website and also via e-mail. The Directorate of Communications gave visibility to the competitions, supporting ELSA with its visual image and posters, and by providing the winners with prizes. The Information Society Department published the 3 best essays online. The second major project launched with the support of
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During 2012-2013, ELSA International enlarged the developed work to new departments of the Council of Europe
the Council of Europe, in particular from the Directorate of Communications and the Information Society Department, was the International Legal Research Group on Online Hate Speech. The Academic Framework contains 11 questions and 18 National Groups registered for the project. The final report will be concluded and published on the Council of Europe’s website in November 2013 and will be presented at the Conference on Online Hate Speech, Oslo, December 2013. An online survey regarding the same topic was also planned to tackle the knowledge and awareness of law students about the studied issues. When it comes to general aspects of the co-operation with the Council of Europe, there are other important achievements to address. Firstly, it is remarkable that during 2012-2013, ELSA International enlarged the developed work to new departments of
Photo: © Council of Europe
ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
the Council of Europe. This is the case of the Information Society Department, involving the Media Division and the Data Protection and Cyber Crime Division, the Youth Department, the European Court of Human Rights and the Liaison Office of the Council of Europe in Brussels. From previous years, the co-operation was maintained and improved with the Directorate of Communications, the European Social Charter and the Children Rights Division. What is also remarkable is the increase of official meetings, with the total of 11 visits to the Council of Europe either in Strasbourg or Brussels, by all the members of the International Board, involving different divisions of this institution. ELSA International was also represented at the 1st World Forum for Democracy, at the ONE in FIVE Capacity building workshop and the Online Hate Speech Campaign Preparatory Seminar. The constant growth of the cooperation also brought new contacts, for example, from the UNHCR, the European Human Rights Association and some of the Permanent Representations to the Council of Europe (Poland, Ireland, Andorra). Regarding spontaneous opportunities, we would like to highlight the Training on Online Hate Speech given by the Youth Department. Regarding Synergy Magazine, for each edition, Council of Europe received 500 copies that were kindly distributed among different departments and selected offices, including some of the Council of Europe’s partners. Council of Europe also decided
The winner of the 5th International Focus Programme Essay Competition, Alejandro Zamora Perez, during the award ceremony at the Council of Europe, January 2013.
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upon the topic of the autumn edition 2012, Arab Spring and the autumn edition 2013, Corruption and Gender Equality. For the 2 editions produced during the term 2012-13, Council of Europe provided ELSA with 4 articles written by prestigious authors. This was the case of Ms Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni (the Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe), Mr Nils MuiĹžnieks (Commissioner for Human Rights), Mr Jan Kleijssen (Director of Information Society and Action against Crime) and Mr Jan Malinowski (Head of the Information Society Department). Finally, it is important to highlight the fact that after 6 years of co-operation in diverse domains and 3 years after the first version of the Guidelines of Cooperation of ELSA and the Council of Europe, during the term 2012-2013, the referred document was successfully updated and given back to its use by our Network. This brief guide aims at providing information on how the local and national groups can benefit from the cooperation established between ELSA International and the Council of Europe. It is with special satisfaction, as the contact person with the Council of Europe for the term 2012-2013, that I notice outstanding results and achievements of this cooperation during 12 months. It is also my
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It is also my hope that this partnership of vital importance for ELSA and its members keeps growing.
hope that this partnership of vital importance for ELSA and its members keeps growing in quality, in the number of initiatives and challenges. For ELSA, for Human Rights!
Vasco Silva Vice President for Academic Activities ELSA International
Members of the International Board with the Directorate of Communication
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ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
Queen Mary School of Law
The year with ELSA Queen Mary School of Law was present for many events and conferences during the year
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he School of Law at Queen Mary, University of London is proud of its long-standing partnership with ELSA. Last year Queen Mary representatives attended the bi-annual ELSA International Presidents' Meeting in Paris and were impressed by the professionalism, enthusiasm and commitment shown by ELSA members to the organisation, as well as representing the views of their respective country members. In August 2012, Prof. Dr. Stefan Kröll, (practicing Rechstanwalt) who has a long standing visiting Readership at Queen Mary’s School of International Arbitration, presented at the 1st ELSA Summer Law School on Dispu-
te Resolution in Vienna. In January 2013, Anne Flanagan, the LLM Co-Director and colleagues assisted with hosting the ELSA U.K.'s annual conference at Queen Mary’s Postgraduate Law School in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, Holborn. In April, Dr Costanza Russo, Leverhulme Lecturer in Banking Law attended ELSA’s International Conference: Mitigating the impact of the Economic Crisis in Europe by law regulations, in Cracow, Poland. Dr Russo’s presentation - “The new architecture of banking supervision in the EU: Banking Union” examined the most critical issues stemming from the introduction of a single supervisory mechanism in the EU. Dr Russo was impressed by the quality of the presentations, the overall organisation of the conference, the enthusiasm of the members of the organising committee and their forward looking thinking. “Despite their young age, they have proved to be very well suited for the job” she added. In May, Dr. jur. Marc Stauch, (University of Hannover) and long standing guest lecturer on the LLM in Medical Law at Queen Mary spoke at the International Focus Programme Final Conference - Health Law, in the "Medical Malpractice" panel at the University of Gdansk, Poland.
Dr Costanza Russo during the International Conference in Cracow
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Nicole Carpenter Nichole Carpenter Law Marketing Manager School of Law, Queen Mary University of London
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Student Trainee Exchange Programme
Longitude: Exploring other continents for legal practice
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he Student Trainee Exchange Programme (STEP) has set its roots on the European continent and grew in a reliable and stable way since 1984, counting thousands of satisfied employers and trainees. With its tradition so strongly built on the old continent, dealing mainly with legal matters of the area, STEP has undertaken a task of going global. Since ELSA is Europe-based, this is considered a major step out of geographical boundaries and opening of new opportunities and horizons for law students from Europe. With the climate shifting from a solely-European focus to a wider, global one it is natural that the future of the European legal scene will head that way as well. ELSA successfully builds the lawyers of tomorrow through its projects and, essentially, through STEP. STEP is a hands-on approach to law, giving students, varying from undergraduate to postgraduate, an opportunity to experience law. But that is not quite the attribute of STEP, because just practising law is not where ELSA stops at. STEP makes a difference by putting it out of the border of the students’ country,
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We are taking steady steps towards expansion outside of Europe.
making it more challenging, rewarding and prestigious. Our trainees are ready to experience law internationally, to move forward to another country, another legal system, in order to get invaluable experience in an international environment. We are taking steady steps towards expansion outside of Europe. We carefully choose our partners for STEP and make sure that there is substance in a possible traineeship. We have started doing that by entrusting our students to an international law firm from the United States of America, namely – Butzel Long. The cooperation has been continuous for several years already, with circa 4 traineeships per annum.
ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
Another very important STEP partner outside of Europe is located on a different continent: in central Asia. The Center for Law and Policy in Lahore, Pakistan is one of the most recently established cooperations. The Center for Law and Policy has expressed interest in having trainees with background in e.g. Human Rights, International Law. These opportunities are met with great interest of European students. The appeal of going East or West and exploring international law on a different continent is a solid proof of the international mind-set of European law students.
It is our long-term goal to continue exploring traineeship opportunities outside of Europe. It is a direction of upgrading the meaning of international legal practice to a new level, a major interest by our students and quite possibly an advantage in the eyes of our current and potential traineeship partners outside of Europe.
Dena Dervanovic Vice President Student Trainee Exchange Programme ELSA International
A professional and personal experience A decade of trust for receiving qualified trainees
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first became aware of ELSA about 10 years ago. I learned about the organization’s Student Traineeship Exchange Progamme (STEP) from a German “Rechtsreferendar,” a legal trainee at Butzel Long who was a former ELSA officer himself. He suggested that Butzel Long take part in the STEP program. The concept appealed to me immediately. STEP benefits all parties involved; it enables aspiring law students from across Europe to learn new concepts and immerse themselves in another legal culture, and it also allows participating law firms like Butzel Long to heighten their knowledge of the trainees’ home countries and cultures. The successful relationship between ELSA and Butzel Long continues in 2013 due to the professionalism and excellence of ELSA’s officers and the standards met by all STEP applicants. In addition, through the input of ELSA officers, Butzel Long has developed a faster selection process which continues to improve year after year. The benefits for the trainees participating in this program at Butzel Long are significant. For example, the ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
trainees have the opportunity to meet with senior judges and observe legal proceedings in their courtrooms. The judges have commented that they enjoyed their discussions with our trainees and were favorably impressed by them. Based on the feedback that we have received from the trainees, the considerable professional and personal experience they gained while at Butzel Long has helped them immensely in the development and honing of their legal skills. Such experience is invaluable not only for the trainees themselves but also for their future employers. We at Butzel Long look forward to continuing our exceptional relationship with ELSA for many years to come.
Nicholas J. Stasevich Shareholder Butzel Long, United States of America
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Student Trainee Exchange Programme
An exchange system with a long-standing tradition Connecting employers and trainees for almost 30 years
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he Student Trainee Exchange Programme (STEP) enables law students and young lawyers to spend a certain period of time working abroad in a law related area, thus introducing them to a different legal system and enabling them to gain valuable professional experience. ELSA supplements the traineeship schemes of law firms, companies, banks, universities, public and private institutions, and provides suitable trainees for both short and longterm placements. Traineeships can last between two weeks and two years. STEP works for both sides of the process – the employer and the trainee. ELSA took note of the significance of building competitive Curricul Vitae for trainees, and of the importance of connecting employers with internationally minded young academics ready to face challenges of various legal systems. However, STEP does not stop at the point of connecting young professionals with their employers. We personally take care
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This personal approach makes ELSA and STEP incomparable to other exchange programmes.
of every trainee and their needs and wants during the traineeship. Our devoted officers make sure the trainee feels welcome and they assist them with anything trainees could need – from obtaining visas to utter social inclusion during the traineeship. This personal approach makes ELSA and STEP incomparable to other exchange programmes.
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STEP has established a reputation and tradition of a reliable system of trainee exchange.
The particularity of STEP is that it is always improving and giving its best to both employers and trainees. For almost 30 years of the programme, STEP has established a reputation and tradition of a reliable system of trainee exchange. ELSA always takes care of how the process works and aims at making it as smooth as possible. One of the latest evolutionary stages of STEP was made during the year 2012/2013. STEP was given a new deadline-based structure and a whole new face. The deadline-based structure implies launching traineeship opportunities twice a year, followed by a set of different deadlines for the whole procedure, making it very spot-on and accurate. The image of STEP has been improved to a fresh and contemporary one that appeals to the employers and applicants. This year was also marked by an extraordinary marketing strategy focused mainly on social media. All of these factors have had major impact on the overall result and success of STEP in the year 2012/2013, as shown to the right. This is a powerful proof that, in STEP, stagnation is not an option. We look forward to putting the standards up every year in the future.
STEP in numbers 2012/2013
177 TRAINEESHIPS
33% increase*
2 067 APPLICATIONS
105% increase*
300 PEOPLE INVOLVED
27 COUNTRIES
Dena Dervanovic Vice President Student Trainee Exchange Programme ELSA International
ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
*compared to 2011/2012
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Student Trainee Exchange Programme
CLP and ELSA: A Worthwhile Partnership
I
established Center for Law and Policy (CLP), in the fall of 2009, as an institute that would, among other things, play a meaningful role in improving the outdated system of legal education in Pakistan. In this regard, my team and I initiated different activities and projects. One of them was to invite legal scholars and law students from Europe and North America to teach short-courses, speak at conferences, conduct research, etc., in Lahore. The idea was that such visits would allow an opportunity to Pakistani law professors and law students to not only learn about prevalent legal practices and academic standards in developed countries, but also their cultural traditions and norms. In the summer of 2011, CLP hosted Tianyu Yuan as its first foreign intern. At that time, Tianyu was a student at the Faculty of Law, University of Heidelberg, Germany. He was also a member of European Law Student’ Association [ELSA] in Germany. During his stay at CLP, while pursuing research on Islamic capital markets under my supervision, Tianyu, informed us about ELSA and its traineeship program. We realized that it would be mutually beneficial for both CLP and ELSA to collaborate in this regard. ELSA wanted its members to get a valuable academic and cultural experience, CLP wanted to expose Pakistani law students to the latest academic and cultural trends in developed parts of the world. Close interaction between European trainees and Pakistani law students would satisfy these goals. Tianyu introduced us to ELSA’s head office in Belgium and we received a very positive response. At that time, ELSA had no traineeship partners in Asia and, therefo-
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All applicants had impressive credentials and it was not easy to select the two most suitable candidates.
re, CLP was an excellent opportunity for European law students to experience this part of the world. The paperwork was swift and soon CLP received short-listed traineeship applications from ELSA. All applicants had impressive credentials and it was not easy to select the two most suitable candidates. We finally selected one from Turku University in Finland and the other from Charles University in Czech Republic. Based on our great first experience with ELSA, we advertised two more positions for the fall of 2013. In my opinion, it is really a very useful opportunity for both European and Pakistani law students.
Syed Imad-ud-Din Asad LL.M. Harvard Law School Founder and Director, Center for Law and Policy, Pakistan
ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
Student Trainee Exchange Programme
A mutually beneficial experience CMS Cameron McKenna in London gives traineeships through ELSA's Student Trainee Exchange Programme
C
MS Cameron McKenna is part of CMS, Europe’s leading network of law firms with 10 partner firms spanning 53 offices across 28 countries. Last year we entered into a partnership with ELSA who provided us with two exceptional candidates, Nora Firtzberg and Johanna Holmström, each spending three months under my supervision in our Insurance department. The partnership is a genuinely mutually beneficial arrangement as the trainees that were placed with CMS proved to be extremely capable and valuable additions to the team. Both demonstrated a genuine desire to become truly involved in working life in London, and before long they had the trust of the department and were valuable assets to the team. Each trainee had their own strengths but both demonstrated a keen interest in the London and international markets they were working in. From the start, however, it was clear that the learning process was to be reciprocal as the trainees were able to provide a fresh insight into approaches to work from their own learning experiences and procedures in their home jurisdictions. CMS being an international law firm also placed them in the position of engaging with work across Europe, liaising with our partner firms in other countries, during their time here. The ELSA trainees are bright, enthusiastic and quick to learn. They were treated as trainees within the department and consequently were exposed to a wide variety of work for a number of different partners and associates. On a personal level I found them incredibly easy to supervise as they always approached tasks in
ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
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We look forward to continuing our sponsorship of the STEP programme and working with ELSA again in the future.
a professional manner and never shied away from helping either on their own or as part of a wider team. It is clear that to be selected to participate in the STEP programme candidates are required to have very strong academic and social skills, and we aim to ensure these are fully utilised in their time at CMS. The Insurance team is extremely social and offers trainees a chance to meet clients that we believe is relatively unique in law firms, and certainly unusual compared the approaches encountered by the trainees in mainland Europe. Both trainees responded strongly to this and cited the opportunity to form and develop relationships as one of the most enjoyable aspects of their time at CMS. We look forward to continuing our sponsorship of the STEP programme and working with ELSA again in the future.
Amit Tyagi Lawyer CMS Cameron McKenna
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ELSA Delegations
ELSA Delegations to decision making bodies
A
n opportunity offered to our members is the possibility to represent ELSA in the session of international institutions and organisations where ELSA has a consultative status. In the last four years, ELSA responded to the increase in interest of ELSA members by intensifying the focus on this area. During the
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To intervene in the closing session of the Forum on Business and Human Rights was an unbelievable experience I will never forget and which was a large enrichment for my studies with a huge motivational boost.
term 2012/2013, ELSA launched 42% more delegation opportunities than in the previous term. An updated online procedure for applying for delegations resulted in an important increase in the number of applications. 228 ELSA Members have been selected to represent ELSA at the international level, ELSA has built a good basis to reach even better results next year!
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Being an ELSA delegate not only enriched my ELSA CV, but also my professional goals and mindset. Ida Dojcinovic
Asha Hannaleck
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ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
List of ELSA Delegations During the term 2012/2013, ELSA was present at the following sessions: Human Rights Bodies
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 8th Session
Geneva
Human Rights Council, 21st, 22nd & 23rd session
Geneva
First Annual Forum on Business and Human Rights
Geneva
Forum on Minority Issues, 5th Session
Geneva
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 54th session
Geneva
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 55th session
Geneva
United Nations
Committee on the Rights of the Child, 61st & 63rd session
Geneva
Economic &
Commission for Social Development, 51st session
New York
Social Council
Commission on the Status of Women, 57th session
New York
Commission on Population and Development, 46th Session
New York
United Nations
Working Group III: Online Dispute Resolution
New York
Commission
Working Group IV: Electronic Commerce
New York
on international
Working Group V: Insolvency Law, 43rd session
New York
Trade Law
Working Group VI: Security Interests, 22nd & 23rd session
Vieanna/New York
Commission
on International Trade Law
Vienna
Council of
Poverty and Inequality in Societies of Human Rights: the paradox of
Europe
democracies - Proposals for an inclusive society -"
Strasbourg
World Intellectual
Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP): 10th & 11th Session
Geneva
Property Organization
Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (CCRR): 25th & 26th Session Geneva
Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP): 19th Session
24th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property
and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC), 24 & 26th session Geneva
Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Working Group: 6th Session
Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs
and Geographical Indications (SCT): 29th Session
Geneva
Geneva
Geneva
International Design Protection Conference Copenhagen Trademark
Advanced Anticounterfeiting Strategies Conference Istanbul
Association European Court of
50th Anniversary of the Van Gend en Loos case
Luxembourg
Justice
ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
25
Facing a global challenge 80 teams from all over the world simulated a World Trade Organization dispute settlement process
T
he ELSA Moot Court Competition is a simulation of a WTO dispute settlement Panel process. A hypothetical case question, drafted by a young academic with expertise in World Trade Organization (WTO) law is circulated in the Autumn. Participants prepare written submissions and compete in regional rounds in the Spring, where oral arguments simulate Panel hearings. Regional Rounds take place in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. ELSA Moot Court Competition contributes to the development of International Trade Law at large by building trade capacity through the voice of the next generation of trade lawyers, trade negotiators and trade economists and by addressing, through the hypothetical case, evolving issues of WTO law.
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One cannot emphasize enough the importance of international trade to the world economy. The WTO agreements form the fundamental basis for economic activity between over 150 countries representing more than 97% of world trade. A solid foundation in trade law is essential to the success of the world trading system. Events like the ELSA Moot Court Competition shape the world's future leaders in international trade law and policy. We hope that the competition will inspire law students to pursue careers in international trade law and to contribute in future to strengthening the legal capacity necessary for their countries to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by the multilateral trading system. Indeed, many ELSA alumni have gone on to internships with the WTO or their governments and several have gone on to careers in the WTO Secretariat.
ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
The global reach of the ELSA Moot Court Competition is demonstrated by the fact that in 2012-2013 eighty-four teams registered globally to compete. Four Regional Rounds were held for 2012-2013: two in Europe (Porto, Portugal and Cluj Napoca, Romania), one for Asia-Pacific in Taipei, and one for the Americas in San Jose, Costa Rica. Teams from Belgium, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong China, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Chinese Taipei, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, and Viet Nam. The WTO is pleased to partner with an organization that provides such a valuable educational opportunity to students from all corners of the world developed and developing, north and south. This year, the WTO was delighted to once again host the SemiFinal and Final Rounds with the Preliminary Rounds being held at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies at the University of Geneva. Due to the location, in Geneva students were able to benefit from the significant support of WTO Secretariat staff and other experts in the field. Delegations to the WTO were also pleased to see students from their homes taking an interest in WTO law. As a new innovation for this year, to help students develop their careers in the sector, the WTO hosted a panel discussion on Careers in International Trade Law with participants from Member delegations, the WTO Secretariat, NGOs, law firms, consulting, and private industry.
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Events like the ELSA Moot Court Competition shape the world's future leaders in international trade law and policy.
This year's ELSA Moot Court Competition champions - along with the new Director-General of the WTO - come from Latin America, specifically the Pontifica Universidad Javeriana in Bogota, Colombia. Prizes were given to the top teams as well as for the written submissions and orators from the preliminary, semi and final rounds. The Director-General of the WTO, Pascal Lamy, announced the winners and handed out the prizes including the WTO DirectorGeneral's prizes for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd best overall written submissions. Mr Lamy stayed to meet and take photographs with the students.
Marisa Goldstein Legal Affairs Officer Legal Affairs Division, WTO Coordinator for WTO & ELSA co-operation
Director General of World Trade Organization, Pascal Lamy, with the winning team from Pontificia University Javeriana
ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
27
ELSA Moot Court Competition
Mooting in Taiwan How ALSA got engaged in the ELSA Moot Court Competiton by organising a regional round in Tapei, Taiwan
L
ast March 2013, the European Law Students’ Association and the Asian Law Students’ Association collaborated for the Asia-Pacific Regional Rounds of the EMC2. While a number of law schools in Asia have hosted the regional rounds over the last decade, this actually is the first time that the two associations have officially partnered to promote this competition in the region. The week-long event was hosted by our national chapter ALSA Taiwan, which consists of 5 major law schools, namely: Soochow University, Fu Jen Catholic University, National Taiwan University, National Chengchi University and National Taipei University. Together, member students from these different universities came together to host 16 teams to compete in the Asia-Pacific Regional Round.
The winning team of the Asia Regional Round in Taipei
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Melinda Lapus President Asian Law Students' Association 2012/2013
Hosting the said regional round proved to be a very positive experience for our organization, as this was the first time that ALSA and ELSA collaborated on an academic activity of this scope. Participating in this event was also a good learning experience for ALSA, most especially for the newer members of ALSA, as they had the opportunity to expose themselves to the various aspects of preparing and organizing a moot court competition, particularly one of this scale and prestige. The success of this event would not have been possible without the support of the ELSA International Board, particularly Ms. Corinna Mückenheim, who spearheaded the initiative of initiating this moot court partnership between ALSA and ELSA. In observing the proceedings of the regional competition, I am convinced that this is an ELSA endeavour worthy of recognition and support, as it not only challenges participating law students to represent their schools and countries, but it also is a great opportunity of bridging borders and fostering friendships that I am sure will last well beyond the duration of one’s legal studies.
ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
New website of ELSA
Updating ELSA’s presence on the World Wide Web
E
LSA International’s website - elsa.org - is the face of the association on the internet. Just like any infrastructure, a website has its lifespan. When web technologies and designs advance, websites have to be updated. The main website of ELSA was closing to its fourth birthday when the International Board 2012/2013 decided that it is time to renew the website in order to make this important communication channel reflect the developments in ELSA’s operations and in general website design. After comparison of the leading content management systems of the moment, the International Board decided to opt for WordPress. Main reasons behind this choice were its intuitive user interface and the possibilities to extend the system. The new website allows improved visibility for projects of ELSA with possibility to dedicate sections of the website for certain activities. On the other hand, partners and advertisers do also benefit from the improved visibility. Each partner has a possibility to tailor their visibility by building their own page within the website and advertisers have a range of new possibilities for reaching the visitors. The website is also better inte-
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Each partner has a possibility to tailor their visibility by building their own page within the website.
grated into Web 2.0 with social media newsroom and easy interfaces for videos and other dynamic content. Creating a website for a large association as ELSA is not simple. On one hand, the project requires good IT knowledge, which was this time found within the International Board. This helped ELSA to avoid the expenses of using an external service provider. On the other hand designing a website requires planning the best presentation of all activities of ELSA and a lot of focus on graphics and designs of the pages. Launching the website was a project of the whole board and thus it combines all areas of ELSA into a well-structured package that provides a great overview of ELSA for any stakeholder visiting the site. The new elsa.org was launched on 28th June 2013.
Alpo Olavi Lahtinen Treasurer ELSA International
ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
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A Human Rights day for ELSA The best results are the ones achieved together, the first edition of the ELSA Day
The winning photo of the Human Rights Photo Competition in ELSA Italy
F
or the first time in the history of ELSA, on the 20th of March 2013, ELSA realised an event which involved the entire ELSA Network, taking place at the same time in different cities all over Europe: an international human rights forum organised by students not only for other students, but in a lot of cases for all the population, coordinated events to discuss the International and European standards of protection and implementation of human rights, with a special eye on integration. ELSA officers started working since September 2012 to create this unique event, and the results have been outstanding: around 150 events took place in 30 countries. The events were of all kinds: majority of them had a scientific approach, like panel discussions, moot courts, legal debates; however, some groups organised also photo competitions, marathons and visits to institutions or other NGOs: “All different, all together�, as the motto of the ELSA Day said. Some events aimed at raising a legal discussion on important issues that are very hot at the moment, like migration and refugees, the link between business and
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ELSA made it: All different, all together.
human rights and freedom of speech. Some events also discussed health rights, in the frame of the ELSA International Focus Programme, namely, Health Law. By organising these activities, our Network demonstrated to entire Europe that young students can take part in and influence the international discussion on Human Rights, international obligations and integration, with events of high academic quality and with the energy and creativity that characterize youth activities. At the same time, we demonstrated to ourselves how strong can our voice be and how impressive can the be result if we work together, if we unite our ideas and we coordinate our actions. We demonstrated that there is a generation of young Eu-
ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
ropeans that thinks that a culture of sharing and understanding shall not halt at political borders, but should go beyond these frontiers. The ELSA Day was a possibility for young law students from all over Europe to work as a community on the same project and to promote common values, cultural exchange and the importance of education. Through the synergy that characterised the contributions of students to the preparation of the ELSA Day and its activities, we strengthened the feeling of belonging to a unique community of young Europeans sharing the same identity: “A just world in which there is respect for human dignity and cultural diversity”.
I am sure that there is a reason why destiny made the first ELSA Day and the first International Day of Happiness happen on the same date: on the 20th of March 2013 I felt the joy of being part of ELSA once more and of sharing the satisfactions for this impressive achievement with my board and thousands other students. ELSA made it: All different, all together.
Federica Toscano Vice President for Seminars & Conferences ElSA International
th
20 30 150 of March 2013
countries involved
human rights events
TYPE OF EVENTS Seminars Conferences Lectures Panel Discusions Movie Screenings Legal Debates Photo Competitions
A creative ELSA Day project in Italy Human Rights Photo Competition
T
he experience of the Italian ELSA Day was great. Almost all the Local Boards have been able to organize important events, addressing issues of current importance such as the right to health, protection against torture, the protection of women, immigration, and international advocacy for the protection of human rights. We had the opportunity to work with partners like SISM (the Italian member organisation of the IFMSA), Amnesty International – Sezione Italiana Onlus, Robert F. Kennedy Center For Justice and Human Rights, ProMuoviAmo, which appreciated a lot the initiative, there-
ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
fore granted their patronage and promoted the visibility of these events. One of the most interesting events was “The Human Rights Photo Competition”. The contest was open to everybody, not only the ELSA members, who could send an image which was, for them, representative of human rights. We would like to share with you the winning photo, chosen by the contest’s jury. We hope that next year the Italian Network will be as active as it was this year and will have the same enthusiasm.
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ELSA for Children Legal Research
ELSA for Children, the outcome A panel discussion concluding the legal research project
O
n the 20th of March 2013, ELSA International organised the Panel Discussion ELSA for Children, who took place at the European Parliament in Brussels, kindly hosted by the Member of the European Parliament Ms Elena Oana Antonescu. The Panel Discussion was attended by representatives of the European Commission, the Council of Europe and the European Parliament, by members of NGOs active in the protection of children and by a large number of ELSA members, not only from Belgium, the the Netherlands and Luxembourg, but also from Norway, Sweden, Italy, and Ukraine. On this occasion, ELSA International officially presented the results of the legal research project ELSA for Children, concluded in December 2012 and published in March by the Council of Europe. Moreover, the Panel Discussion has been an opportunity to create a forum where the representatives from institutions and NGOs had the possibility to compare their methodologies about the evaluation of the effective protection of children against sexual abuse and discuss about what further actions can be undertaken.
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The work of ELSA has been very positively evaluated by all speakers present, who highlighted the wide scope and the quality of the report.
This event has been an important opportunity to promote the name of ELSA and its good projects in the European environment. The work of ELSA was very positively evaluated by all speakers present, who highlighted the wide scope and the quality of the report.
Federica Toscano Vice President for Seminars & Conferences ElSA International
Speakers Ms Elena Oana Antonescu MEP – EPP, RO, Host of the Panel Discussion Mr Humbert de Biolley, Deputy Director, Brussels Office of the Council of Europe Mr Eric Ruelle, Chair, Lanzarote Committee, Council of Europe Ms Cathrin Bauer-Bulst, Policy Officer, Directorate General Home Affairs, European Commission Ms Margaret Tuite, European Commission coordinator for the rights of the child Mr Francis Herbert, Secretary General, Missing Children Europe Ms Cristina Goñi, Secretary General, International Juvenile Justice Observatory
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ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
ELSA for Children Legal Research
About ELSA for Children
T
hroughout the year 2012-2013, 250 students coming from 23 countries researched on the national implementation of European and international instruments protecting children against violence and sexual abuse. The project resulted in a final report compiling national data on the different definitions and legal approaches, which was published online by the Children Rights’ Division of the Council of Europe, on the 20th of March 2013, on the website of the "ONE in FIVE" campaign. Each National Research Group, led by the respecitve National Coordinators, consisted of up to ten law students and young lawyers who have expressed an interest and focus on Human Rights and Children’s Rights.
Involved ELSA Groups ELSA BiH ELSA Croatia ELSA Estonia ELSA Finland ELSA Germany ELSA Greece ELSA Ireland ELSA Italy ELSA Latvia ELSA Malta ELSA Norway ELSA Poland
ELSA Portugal ELSA FYR Macedonia ELSA Romania ELSA Russia ELSA Slovak Republic ELSA Slovenia ELSA Spain ELSA Sweden ELSA The Netherlands ELSA Ukraine ELSA United Kingdom
ELSA for Children Panel Discussion in the European Parliament
ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
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ELSA for Children Legal Research
Voices about ELSA for Children
A
round fifty members of ELSA and a delegation of the Council of Europe gathered at the European Parliament in Brussels in March – alongside lawmakers, MEPs, NGOs and many others – to present ELSA’s new research on national legislation to fight the sexual exploitation and abuse of children in 23 European countries. The ground breaking two-year project, carried out by law students across the continent, gathered factual data on the extent to which legislation in these countries reflects the Council of Europe’s Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (also known as the Lanzarote Convention). This study, operated by dedicated legal specialists, will certainly help the Council of Europe’s monitoring bodies in their work regarding the implementation of the Convention. Adding to the value of the research is the fact that it covers so many countries; all the 23 countries covered by the project are member states of the Council of Europe, 17 being also EU member states, meaning that it will be of considerable benefit to both of these organisations in their respective efforts to fight the sexual exploitation and abuse of children. The event also helped to draw attention to the different, yet complementary, approaches of the Council of Europe and the European Union to this issue in particular. In more general terms, it illustrated to how the two organisations can work together – with valuable partners such as ELSA – to help tackle human rights abuses across the continent. Humbert de Biolley Deputy Director Brussels Office of the Council of Europe 34
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Hosting the ELSA for Children Panel Discussion was an honour for me.
H
osting the ELSA for Children Panel Discussion in the European Parliament, an institution which is a great supporter of human rights, was an honour for me. I must confess I was pleasantly surprised to see so many youngsters who devote their time and energy to volunteer for a very good cause: promoting understanding and diversity among their fellow students, their communities, their countries. Sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children constitute serious violations of fundamental rights. This is why I truly believe that it is important to build strategies for tackling sexual violence against children. I am sure that, for the relevant institutions of the Council of Europe and of the European Union, the report of the Legal Research Group ´ELSA for Children´ will be a very useful instrument in this regard. The quality of the report done by the legal research group, the professionalism and moreover the enthusiasm and motivation I could see among the organisers and the participants convinced me to become one of the supporters of ELSA! Elena Oana Antonescu MEP – EPP, RO, Host of the Panel Discussion ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
Greetings from the former Patron of ELSA
Another successful year for ELSA Mr Russell Denoon Duncan, former Patron of ELSA
W
hen ELSA was created 30 years ago who could have imagined that it would one day have 38,000 members with 42 national groups? The important thing about ELSA's development is that it has all been done by the ELSA students themselves. It has been the ELSA members who have organized it all – planned events, selected venues and topics, controlled budgets, organized seminars and the moot competition, raised finance and secured sponsorships. Those members who have been active in ELSA will have been rewarded by learning skills which will be contribute to a successful career. I have been privileged to have been associated with ELSA for quite a long time. At one time as Patron of ELSA Poland, later at an appropriate time as Patron of ELSA International. During these years I have been convinced that ELSA is not only good for its members it is also good for the legal profession as a whole. And I believe the international aspect of ELSA has a special value. Member states in the EU and other European nations face many difficult issues. ELSA members, with their early experience of participating in International Council Meetings and other transnational events, can provide an increasingly important leadership role in the development of Europe. As I am pleased to remind everyone, the famous ELSA parties provide excellent opportunities to start networks and learn how quickly to develop relationships with others, often from different nations and cultures. This skill must not be underestimated.
ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
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ELSA members can provide an increasingly important leadership role in the development of Europe.
The human rights aspects of legal practice correctly attracts a lot of attention. Protecting the rights of people is a key part of the profession. My own experience as a lawyer, however, has been as a partner in a business law firm in the City of London. It is worth remembering that business lawyers can make an important contribution to the wealth creation upon which society depends by acting efficiently, constructively and above all by setting a high standard of integrity. I know that sometimes it can be difficult to stand firm against corruption and dishonesty, but remember that corruption can destroy economies and damage nations. Never forfeit your integrity.
Russell Denoon Duncan Former Senior Partner of CMS Cameron McKenna Former President of fhe British-Polish Legal Association Former Patron of ELSA
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Council of Europe
No Hate Speech Movement Young people for Human Rights online
T
he No Hate Speech Movement is a youth campaign devised by young people in the Youth Department of the Council of Europe to combat hate speech on the Internet. The continued use of hate speech online has become a major form of human rights abuse, with very serious consequences both online and offline. The motivation for the Movement is the belief that hate speech, if unchallenged, can lead to violent action and discrimination. The success of the campaign and its visibility internationally owes a debt of gratitude to each international partner who kindly supports the campaign through awareness-raising efforts. The European Law Student’s Association, who actively support the Movement, have recently engineered an international essay competition ‘Online hate speech: right or crime’, which contributes to the Movement immensely through setting the agenda to young people on an international platform. The No Hate Speech Movement is a Europe-wide campaign. Each member state of the Council of Europe is invited to form their own national campaign committee
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Creating a human rights culture online is what we aim for.
to combat hate speech online at local and national level. Through awareness-raising activities, educational resources and training the Movement serves to mobilise young people into taking positive action in the online sphere. One of the most effective ways to do this is to report hate speech online to Hate Speech Watch. Creating a human rights culture online is what we aim for. Rui Gomes Education and Training Youth Department, Council of Europe
More information Join the Movement www.nohatespeechmovement.org Hate Speech Watch www.hatespeechwatch.org
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ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
Council of Europe
A clear link between ELSA and the European Social Charter
F
or the second time in 2013, the European Committee of Social Rights will participate in a ceremony for the winner of a competition organised by ELSA and which concerns the right to health. This time, the subject matter of the essay competition was, ‘Biotechnology and health care’. The prize will be awarded during a ceremony due to take place at the Council of Europe’s premises, on 4 July, during the 265th Session of the European Committee of Social Rights.
The subject matter of the essay, decided by ELSA, is therefore timely as it plainly shows the link between the right to health and the right to life. Thus, it highlights the important principles reaffirmed at the 1993 Vienna World Conference on human rights, according to which “All human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and interrelated”.
Protecting and guaranteeing human rights is a never ending activity.
The European Committee of Social Rights’ mission, as the monitoring body of the European Social Charter, is clearly linked to these challenges. It was therefore with pleasure that the Committee‘s secretariat accepted ELSA’s proposal to organise the award ceremony.
The enlargement of the Council of Europe to central and Eastern European countries at the end of the last century generated exceptional optimism for the future of Europe. The reunification of our continent was based on the three cornerstone principles of the Council of Europe: democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
Congratulations to the winner and to all participants! Through this type of activity, the Council of Europe’s message can be widely spread among future legal practitioners who are cordially invited to engage in professional activities with a view to contributing to the realisation of the principles underlying the Council of Europe raison d’être.
Today, Europe is facing many new challenges. One of them concerns the impact of new technologies on the practical implementation of human rights.
Regis Brillat Head of the Department of the European Social Charter and of theEuropean Code of Social Security Photo: © Council of Europe
ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
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Strategic Planning
Ensuring the development of ELSA Another level of managing the ELSA Network
E
LSA, from the very beginning of its existence, is an organisation run by and for law students and young lawyers. Throughout the years it has been growing and engaging more and more students in different initiatives. At a certain point ELSA has reached the level when, despite the fact that association is governed by young people, its size requires implementation of solutions used by big companies. In 2008, ELSA adopted long term planning for the first time. A “Strategic Plan” for ELSA was an answer to a rapidly increasing need of a Network wide strategy, a certain direction that the association shall follow. Based mostly on the market research carried out by ELSA and IPSOS in 2007, the most popular and wanted events by ELSA members and other students - were chosen as a priority for years to come . During the last five years, the organisation has been implementing and constantly evaluating the first longterm plan that covered the entire Network that consist of the International Board, National and Local Groups. After each academic year, the results of the accomplishments were analysed in order to measure the progress in the fulfilment of the goals. Many efforts have been put in the Strategic Plan, since the national ELSA Groups are truly convinced that the organisation with that extensive structure needs it. Therefore, when the first five years of implementation period of the Strategic Plan has been moving towards its ending, the ELSA Network has already started to prepare for the next one. At the beginning of the term in office of the International Board 2012/2013, a Working Group consisting of ex38
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At a certain point, ELSA has reached the level its size requires implementation used by big companies.
perienced ELSA members was created. With the task of creating the second ever long-term strategic plan for ELSA, dozens of officers from different National Groups under the coordination of the International Board commenced their work. The whole process began with diligent analysis of the status quo of the organisation. People involved in the work of the group were analysing the results of the second market research, which was carried out in spring of 2012 by ELSA and Flycatcher. The Working Group went through the statistics and realization of the first strategic plan since 2008, while analysing ELSA’s strengths, weaknesses, and other different aspects with a range of different methods. Based on the available results of the first plan, through the analysis, they tried to find the reasons why the fulfilment of the previous Strategic Goals was not optimal and tried to find out the solutions for the weaknesses of implementing a strategic plan. The International Board of ELSA invited members to contribute with their suggestions regarding a long-term plan. Thus, the scientific work which was done on the Strategic Plan was supplemented with ideas from regular members and officers. This part of
ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
the process was meant to ensure that each of 38 000 members will have a feeling that final plan is envisaging their own point of view as well. It was crucial, because all members of our association are volunteers and they will work on reaching goals set in the plan only if they will believe in it and will identify themselves with it. The Working Group which dealt with the Strategic Plan was also supported with external expertise provided by Vytautas Gaidamavicius, a coach, consultant and a trainer at Konsultavimas. During these sessions, ELSA members received a theoretical basis of a long-term planning, plus knowledge about a properly working plan in companies or institutions and an overview of the role that such a plan is playing in professional environment. The process, which led us to the new plan, was mostly carried out via internet, but it wouldn’t have arrived to
The Strategic Plan 1. Internal structure 2. Professional and academic development of law students and young lawyers 3. Internationality 4. External relations 5. Financial Stability 6. Profile of ELSA
the end without two crucial physical meetings. In February 2013, ELSA officers who have been most involved in the creation of new plan, met in Yalta, Ukraine where during five days they deliberated only upon the new strategy. This meeting brought all the work significantly forward. The most important result of the meeting were so-called “Focus Areas” which the participants choose as the ones on which our association shall focus by 2018. The following fields of activity were chosen and are included in the final version of the plan, as seen below. Workshop sessions during the International Council Meeting in Cologne, Germany, were the final steps that were taken on the way to the final wording of the plan. In total ELSA officers worked for sixteen hours throughout the week on the strategy and the operational goals for the plan. The ELSA Network during term 2012/2013 created and adopted a plan with the Strategic Goals for 2018 which, from the 1st August 2013 will be implemented. Good luck ELSA!
Bartosz Balewski President ELSA International
Members of the Council celebrating the adoption of the new Strategic Plan
ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
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Internal Management
State of the Network Report A closer look on the inside of ELSA
D
uring every term, ELSA International conducts a survey among the National Groups of ELSA. During the term 2012/2013, all 41 National Groups of ELSA filled in the State of the Network (SotN) questionnaire. This is the first time in the 6-year history of the questionnaire that all the National Groups fill in the survey. Besides the results of “all out of all responded” we can finally get a full overview of the status quo of the ELSA Network. The questionnaire includes a range of questions gathering information on topics such as number of members and Local Groups and how is information about activities passed to members. These are the results that will also be pointed out in the article below. However, these are only few of the 39 questions that also cover for example the evaluation of communication between different levels of the Network, evaluation of transition (the knowledge transfer events between officers), length of transitions and evaluation on the use of different guidelines, manuals and other tools. Before moving on to the results, it is worth noting that the questionnaires were conducted in October 2012 (the 13th SotN) and end of February – beginning of March 2013 (14th SotN). Thus, the results from the last months of the term from April to July are not included and this article gives mainly an overview of the results during term 2012/2013. One of the main questions asked in every SotN is the number of individual members of ELSA. Comparing to the results of the two SotN-s, the 11th and 12th from the past term, the number of members has continuously increased during the term 2012/2013 as 40
shown in the graph on the next page. As you can see, we can proudly say the number of members has exceeded the border of 38 000. At the time of conducting this survey, ELSA consisted of 41 National Groups all over Europe. These National Groups in itself comprise of Local groups that carry out their activities in a local level through Local groups and the officers there. Therefore, what also gives us a great overview about our Network is the number of Local Groups and law faculties where ELSA is present. What has made a decrease in the number of Local Groups (see graph on the following page), is the fact that some of the groups have merged into one. For example, two different law faculties in one city formerly formed two different Local Groups, whereas now they have joined into one Local Group. In total, ELSA has still done more expansion than merging and thus is now active in 323 law faculties all over Europe. ELSA provides a wide range of different activities to its members, starting from essay competitions and panel discussions up to offering traineeships abroad, in Europe and outside, United States and Pakistan. Local activities are often jointly organised with other NGOs. Out of 41 National Groups 30 are actively cooperating with NGOs such as Amnesty International, ECPAT, BETA and also local student associations and councils, bar associations and NGOs dealing with different human rights topics. The list is very long.
ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
40 000 38 000 34 955
36 000
32 000
38 000
30 000
38 076
37 921 34 955
36 000 34 000
Number of ELSA Members
32 783
34 000 40 000
38 076
37 921
11th
12th
13th
32 783
th Number 14 of ELSA Members
32 000 How does information about ELSA-s activities One of ELSA-s main focus is to raise awareness about One of ELSA's main focus is to raise awareness about How does information about ELSA's activities reach Human Rights. From thest 1st of August 2012 until the its members? Regularly all ELSA groups have 30 000 reach human rights. From the 1 of August 2012 until the time its members? Regularly all ELSA groups have internal time of conducting 14ththe SotN, the 41 Groups National internal mailing lists, that include all the members and th th mailing lists, that include those of conducting the 14the SotN, 41 National 13th and via14 11th 12th all the members Groups of ELSA had in total organised 221 events via mailing those mailing lists, the main information is passed. lists, the main information is passed. However, of ELSA had in total organised 221 events on human about Rights. Thisnot number not include the However, withmedia, the social media, lists the are mailings lists are with social the mailings complemented rights.Human This number does includedoes the events organiOne of ELSA-s main focus is to raise awareness about How does information about ELSA-s activities events organised at the in end March in of theELSA framework complemented with electronicand Newsletters pages. and Faceat the end March theofframework Day, with Regularly electronic Human Rights. From the 1stsed of August 2012ofuntil the each its members? all Newsletters ELSA groups have Facebook of ELSA Day, that gathered more than 150 events book pages. In total there are 15 National Groups in thatSotN, gathered than 150 events itself dedicateditself to time of conducting the 14th the 41more National nternal mailing lists, that include all the members and dedicated to221 Human Rights. the lists, whose distribute electronic Groups ofNetwork ELSA had in total organised events a those mailing the main information is Groups passed.Groups human rights. InNetwork total there are Local 15 National in the about Human does not include thethese results here are only a small owever, withNewsletters thewhose social media, mailings lists10 areLocal As mentioned before, oncethe a week and Groups whoRights. do This number Local Groups distribute electronic Newsletters events organised at the end of March in the framework omplemented with electronic Newsletters and Facebit the full questionnaire. The full results have been it once The 10 restLocal of the National havea As of mentioned before, these results here are only a small oncea amonth. week and Groups whoGroups do it once of ELSA Day, that gathered more than 150 events itself ook pages. In total there are 15 National Groups in bit of the full Thethe fullInternational results have Council been rest of the National Groups have theirtwice Local presented to questionnaire. the Network in theirmonth. Local The Groups issuing the Newsletters either dedicated to Human Rights. he Network whose Local Groups distribute electronic presented to the Network in the International Council Groups issuing the Newsletters either twice a month, in the case of interest can be received by a month, a quarter once a year. When As mentioned before, these Meetings results here and are only a small ewsletters once a week once and 10inLocal Groupsor who do in half Meetings and in the case of interest can be received by once quarter once have in half year. it cobit of the fullLocal questionnaire. The full results have been once a month. The restin the National Groups contacting ELSA International. it comes toofahaving a or Facebook, 183a out of When 222 presented to Local the the International heir Local Groups issuing the aNewsletters either twiceThis ELSACouncil International. mes to having a Facebook page, 183 out of does 222 Groups have Facebook page. number notNetwork incontacting Meetings and in the case of interest can be received by month, once in aGroups quarter or once in half a year. When a Facebook page. Thisdon’t number does not As a conclusion, it is important to mark, that thanks include thehave 7 National Groups that have Local contacting ELSA International. comes to having a Facebook, 183 out of 222 Local include the 7 National Groups, as in graphfor below, Asthese a conclusion, it is important that thanks outnumber of these have stillthe a page the to questionnaires we getto a note, very accurate and Groups have aGroups. FacebookSeveral page. This does7not that don’t have Local Groups. Several out of these 7 to these questionnaires we get a very accurate and goodtooverview of the status of our Network and its Group,that since the main to regularit is important Aslink a conclusion, mark, that thanks nclude the 7National National Groups don’tthey haveare Local stillofhave a7page for athe National Group, sincequestionnaires they are good overview of and the status of our Network and its to these we get a very accurate Groups. Several out these have still page for the members. potential, especially in organising such a wide ranthe main linkthe to main regular potential, especially good overview of the status Network and itsin organising such a wide ranational Group, since they are link members. to regular geofofour different events and projects all over Europe. potential, especially in organising such a wide ran- and projects all over Europe. members. ge of different events And this all in itselfEurope. only shows the skills and motivation of Next to the more structural and functional quesge of different events and And projects Next to the more structural and functional questions, this in over itself only shows the skills and motivation of students and young lawyers regardless of where the State offunctional the Network also inclu- showslaw And this in itself the skills and motivation of Next to the tions, more structural ques- inquiry the State of and the Network inquiry also includes a rowonly of law students and young lawyers regardless of where ons, the State Network inquiry also inclulaw activities students and regardless of where desofathe row of questions about the main ofyoung lawyers they study. questions about the main activities of ELSA. they study. they study. es a row of ELSA. questions about the main activities of
LSA.
400
400 300 200
Number of law 323 faculties ELSA
314323
314
300
226
Local Groups cover
222 226
222
Numer of ELSA Local Groups
200
100 7
100 7 0 13th SotN
0
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14th SotN
13th SotN
National ELSA Groups without Local Groups
7
14th SotN
Number of law faculties ELSA Local Groups cover Numer of ELSA Local Groups Anette Aav Secretary General
National ELSA ELSA International Groups without Local Groups 5
5
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International Trademark Association
Gateway to careers in trademark law ELSA's partnership with INTA helps shape future trademark professionals
T
he International Trademark Association (INTA) recognizes the importance of providing information and guidance to law students and future trademark professionals. The Association offers a wide range of services to the academic community, including affordable membership options for law students, recent graduates and professors; annual essay and moot court competitions; and networking events and educational seminars designed to help students shape careers in trademark law. INTA first formed a strategic partnership with European Law Students’ Association (ELSA) in 2008 under the auspices of ELSA’s International Focus Program (IFP) on Intellectual Property Law. With a key goal of helping law students understand the importance of trademarks and the crucial role trademark professionals play in protecting IP rights, the partnership gives ELSA members direct access to the INTA community through networking and educational events. INTA has over 6,200 members from around the world, with over a quarter of these based in Europe. Members in the region enthusiastically provide advice and assistance to ELSA members in the following ways: INTA volunteers are frequent speakers at ELSA events, such as the “IP in Daily Life” seminar in Istanbul, where students learned about trademark protection from INTA members. In Helsinki, the discussion focused on “IPR and Human Rights” related to the Internet. And in Munich, the Association debated “ICANN’s expansion of the domain name space and its impact on trademark owners.” Most recently, INTA attended ELSA’s International Council Meeting in Colog-
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ne in April 2013 to present the learning, partnership and career development opportunities that the Association offers to students and new lawyers. INTA’s Europe Office in Brussels frequently hosts student groups who wish to meet INTA staff and members and take part in more detailed discussions on trademark law. Groups from Belgium, Croatia, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Romania and Turkey have benefited from the Association’s expertise on trademark and intellectual property rights protection and have received career advice from INTA’s seasoned trademark professionals. ELSA members network with trademark professionals from around the world by attending INTA conferences in places such as Vienna, Barcelona, Dublin, Copenhagen and Istanbul. INTA has also launched a scholarship program for student members who wish to attend its Annual Meeting. The International Focus Programme on IP Law has enabled ELSA to foster an enduring partnership with the trademark community. INTA looks forward to continuing its fruitful cooperation with ELSA in promoting the opportunities of a career in trademark and intellectual property law.
Alan C. Drewsen Chief Executive Officer International Trademark Association
ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
International Focus Programme
New era, new challenges Media Law, the new International Focus Programme topic
S
ince the beginning of the term of the International Board 2012/13, it was clear that this was going to be a milestone in many ways and areas. As the International Focus on Health Law was at the end of its second year of implementation, it was time to start thinking about a new International Focus Programme era. After a few months spent collecting ideas from all sides and corners of our Network, during the International Council Meeting (ICM) in Batumi we had to face the hard task of choosing a new International Focus Programme (IFP) topic. Four versatile, internationally relevant and topics with a big impact on everyday life were presented to the Network. In the end, ELSA decided for Media Law to become the International Focus Programme of ELSA in the next three years. New technologies and social networks have a great impact in today’s world, where the intensive flow of information and data has caused a chaos and a chronic lack of systematic and sufficient regulation. Media Law is a possible response to these new trends and potential regulator that can bring back faith in the open, free and safe cyberspace, proven, accurate and timely news in newspapers and on television and generally in socially responsible and ethically oriented creators of the media content. As a Network of law students and young lawyers, oriented towards promotion of human dignity and social responsibility, with this new IFP topic we have an extraordinary opportunity to contribute to the development of the international and European legal framework of the Media Law. By deciding the implementation of the new
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We have an extraordinary opportunity to contribute to the development of the international and European legal framework.
IFP for the next three years, we opened many possibilities for creating strong partnerships within the area, for developing different activities and for providing our members with additional legal education, since there is a lack of systematic and formal education for the Media Law at universities. The preparatory period in the spring of 2013 gave possibility to the Network to get acquainted with Media Law by participating in the international Legal Research Group on Online Hate Speech and to the International Board to start working on partnerships and ensuring good knowledge transfer as one of the preconditions for a right start of the implementation from 1st of August 2013.
Marko Dolenec Director for Media Law ELSA International
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Co-operation with The Economist
Realising the importance of cognisance A new co-operation established with the aim of bringing relevant information close to law students
F
ounded in 1843, The Economist is a weekly international news and business publication, offering clear reporting, commentary and analysis on global current affairs, business, finance, science and technology, culture, society, media and the arts. It is firmly established as one of the world's most authoritative and influential publications. The Economist is read by more of the world's political and business leaders than any other newspaper. The Economist partners with numerous professional and student associations providing benefits to their members. As the world’s largest independent law students’ association, we reached out to ELSA to discuss a potential cooperation with The Economist to give their members the opportunity to subscribe to The Economist at a preferential annual subscription rate.
We see this as a mutually beneficial co-operation, where ELSA members have the added value of saving 20% on a regular student subscription rate while The Economist is able to welcome new globally minded subscribers to our newspaper. The response has been positive so far and we look forward to working closely with ELSA in the future and hope to see more ELSA members subscribing to The Economist.
Marina Haydn Circulation & Marketing Director EMEA The Economist
DO NOT FORGET TO FOLLOW ELSA VIA INTERNET! WWW.ELSA.ORG YOUTUBE.COM/ELSAINFO FACEBOOK.COM/ELSA.ORG TWITTER.COM/ELSAINFO
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ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
Financial Management in ELSA
Transition to International Financial Reporting Standards Translating ELSA into the global language of accounting
E
LSA encompasses 42 countries, each with their own set of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). The Treasurer of ELSA International can originate from any of these countries and most likely will not be familiar with the Belgium GAAP for which all the supporting documentation is also available only in the native languages not always spoken by the Treasurer. In this challenging situation arise the idea of using a world-wide accounting standard aimed at international audiences and with quality documentation in English. Only such standard available is the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) issued by the International Accounting Standards Board. IFRS is adopted into use by the European Union and is valid also on numerous other European countries so it is by far the best standard for ELSA’s needs. A clearly defined accounting standard is also requirement for professional external auditing, which in turn improves significantly the reliability and comparability of the statements. The process of adopting IFRS is not a simple one. On one hand, the accounting policies of ELSA must be adjusted to the Standard and in several cases written down for the first time. On the other hand, IFRS requires a comparison of data from the financial year immediately prior to the reported term. Also, this comparative data has to be drafted in accordance with the Standard, which in practice means two years of accounting in the initial adaption of the Standard. In term 2012/2013 ELSA undertook the challenge of adapting the Standard. In this endeavor we received great support from our Auditing Partner Mazars
ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
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Adoption of the Standard will greatly enhance the quality of ELSA’s accounting and thus the whole administration of the Association.
LLP, who commented on our draft statements and accounting policies in several stages and provided useful tips for creation of a solid accounting framework for the upcoming years. Without their support, a successful first time adoption would have been impossible. Adoption of the Standard will greatly enhance the quality of ELSA’s accounting and thus the whole administration of the Association. Professionally audited general purpose financial statements can be used by any stakeholder to get a standard insight in the financial situation of ELSA. Thus, high quality accounting strengthens ELSA’s professional image towards externals and hopefully opens new possibilities in fundraising, especially in the grants sector.
Alpo Olavi Lahtinen Treasurer ELSA International 45
ELSA Summer Law Schools
Legal education and summer experiences combined Each year, ELSA organises Summer Law Schools on different legal topics in many European countries
S
summer Law Schools offer members of ELSA opportunities to go abroad, gain friends and international exchange, but also to gain valuable experiences for their curriculum. ELSA's Summer Law Schools are organised each summer all around Europe. A Summer Law School usually covers a hot legal topic educating ELSA members during one week. During Summer 2013, several Summer Law Schools took place in our ELSA Groups. Here you can read about some of the Summer Law Schools organised this summer.
Strong Summer Law School traditions in Croatia
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his year ELSA Zagreb organized the 14th edition of International Summer Law School „Human Rights and Globalization“, from 21st to 28th of July in the beautiful Mediterranean city of Zadar. We gathered 40 participants from 21 countries of our Network, a very good result in terms of diversity of nationalities.
With careful selection of interesting topics and lecturers and strong academic support of the Faculty of Law in Zagreb (our Law School is recognized as official course for which participants are awarded with 4 ECTS credits) we are one of the oldest SLS in ELSA Network and the only one dedicated to the Human Rights that involves every years important partners, as for example the UNHCR office in Croatia, which supported us again for the latest edition. ELSA Zagreb always believed that synergy of areas is the main precondition for organizing strong and recognized projects. Therefore this year we also organized an international essay competition under the topic ‘European citizenship: Does it Strengthen the European Integration Process?’. The winner was awarded with the free participation at the SLS in Zadar. Marko Dolenec President ELSA Zagreb 46
ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
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Summer Law Schools offer members of ELSA opportunities to go abroad, gain friends and international exchange.
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International Summer Law Schools were organised in the ELSA Network during 2012/2013.
A new-comer among ELSA's Summer Law Schools
T
he 1st edition of the Summer Law School on Arbitration took place on September 1-8, 2013 in Geneva – the first ELSA event of this kind ever held in Switzerland. Organized under the Patronage of the Swiss Arbitration Association, the event brought together 40 motivated participants from all over Europe to the world’s most international city. The academic programme included not only lectures from top arbitration practitioners and academics like Professor Pierre Tercier and Professor Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler, but of course, visits of Geneva’s famous institutions: the United Nations, the WTO and the WIPO. The social programme left participants with a distinct taste of Switzerland, with a boat cruise on the Lake Geneva, Swiss wine tasting, Swiss fondue and of course, lots of delicious Swiss chocolate all week. And lots of parties and team spirit made the event complete. The Summer Law School wouldn’t have been possible without the generous support of our Sponsors: Wenger Plattner Attorneys at law, Schellenberg Wittmer Attorneys at law, LALIVE Attorneys at law, Sidley Austin LLP, Brown&Page and Presence Switzerland (www.swissworld.org) as well as the invaluable help of our Supporters: the Geneva LL.M. in International Dispute Settlement (MIDS) and the University of Geneva Faculty of Law. Alisa Burkhard Director for Summer Law School ELSA switzerland ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013
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ELSA International 239, Boulevard Général Jacques B-1050 Brussels Belgium Phone: +32 2 646 2626 Fax: +32 2 646 2923 E-mail: elsa@elsa.org 48
Website: www.elsa.org Facebook: facebook.com/elsa.org Twitter: twitter.com/elsainfo YouTube: youtube.com/elsainfo ANNUAL REPORT | 2012/2013