Synergy Magazine 50

Magazine of The European Law Students’ Association

No.50 ¡ II-2011

SYNERGY

magazine

Delegation Report

International Trainers' Pool

50th Anniversary of Synergy

ELSA in the United Nations Human Rights Council, p.30

Improving skills and quality in the Network through trainings, p.19

30 years of ELSA - 50 editions of Synergy Magazine, p. 11

50 years of The European Social Charter

Equal rights, equal treatment, p. 33

FAIR 2012 E D U C AT I O N FA I R 10-11 February 2012 Brussels, Belgium

www.eustudiesfair.com

About ELSA The European Law Students’ Association, ELSA, is an international, independent, nonpolitical and non-profit-making organisation comprised and run by and for law students and young lawyers. Founded in 1981 by law students from Austria, Hungary, Poland and West Germany, ELSA is today the world’s largest independent law students’ association.

Our Philosophy

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

Purpose To contribute to legal education, to foster mutual understanding and to promote social responsibility of law students and young lawyers.

Means To provide opportunities for law students and young lawyers to learn about other cultures and legal systems in a spirit of critical dialogue and scientific co-operation. To assist law students and young lawyers to be internationally minded and professionally skilled. To encourage law students and young lawyers to act for the good of society.

Our Network

ELSA is a unique and growing Network of 32,000 law students and young lawyers from more than 300 universities in 42 countries across Europe. ELSA currently has members and observers in: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, 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.

Furthermore, ELSA cooperates with other student organisations across the world, for instance ILSA in North America, COLADIC in South America, ALSA in Asia, ALSA in Australia, ALSA in South Africa and AEJCI in Ivory Coast.

ELSA’s Members

ELSA’s members are internationally minded individuals who have experiences with foreign legal systems and practices. Through our activities such as seminars, conferences, law schools, moot court competitions, legal writing and the Student Trainee Exchange Programme, our members acquire a broader cultural understanding and legal expertise.

Synergy ELSA International in Brussels, Belgium produces Synergy.

The articles are contributions from students, young and experienced lawyers as well as academics. The articles are edited at the discretion of the Editors. Please do not hesitate to visit Synergy Online: www.elsa.org/membersmagazine.html Contributions Synergy is published twice a year for ELSA’s members in 42 countries in Europe. Would you like to contribute with articles or pictures for the Magazine? Please contact ELSA International for further information and guidelines.

Advertising Would you like to advertise your courses, services, company or products, please do not hesitate to contact ELSA International in Brussels. Rates are available upon request from: advertisements@elsa.org

Editor Kaisa Kimmel ELSA International Phone: +32 2 646 26 26 Fax: + 32 2 646 29 23 E-mail: elsa@elsa.org Website: www.elsa.org

ELSA International’s Corporate Partner

ELSA International’s Human Rights Partner CMS_LawTax_CMYK_over100.eps

ELSA English Language Partner

Our Special Status

ELSA has gained a special status with several international institutions through its activities and commitment within the international community. In 2000, ELSA was granted Participatory Status with the Council of Europe. Furthermore, ELSA has Consultative Status with several United Nations bodies; in 1997 ELSA obtained Special Consultative Status with UN ECOSOC, UNCITRAL, in 1994 ELSA was granted Consultative Status in Category C in UNESCO. ELSA also has recently obtained Observatory Status with WIPO. In addition, ELSA has a cooperation agreement with UNHCR and cooperates with ICRC and all the European Institutions.

ELSA Auditing Partner

ELSA LLM Partner

ELSA International’s Marketing & IT partner

Marraine & Patron

Maud de Boer-Buquicchio (Marraine of ELSA) The Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

Chang-fa Lo (Patron of ELSA) Professor of Law, National Taiwan University College of Law. Director, Asian Center for WTO and International Health Law and Policy of NTU College of Law

synergy magazine

ELSA Media Partner

European Commission

This project has been funded with support from the European Union.

This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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Editor’s letter Dear Reader,

Kaisa Kimmel

This issue of Synergy marks the 50th anniversary edition of our members' magazine. Throughout its existence, Syngery Magazine has reflected the development of our Network and the changes in society and in Europe. Read more about the history of Synergy on page 8.

Vice President Marketing

However, what would Synergy be without our Network? Each year our members' magazine receives contributions from partners as well as active ELSA officers and members from around Europe, illustrating the experiences, new skills and international contacts which ELSA offers. Nevertheless, Synergy can only give examples of the numerous projects and events of the ELSA Network. In order to truly understand the opportunities provided by our Association, one has to participate and see for oneself.

ELSA International

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The 50th edition of Synergy coincides with the 50th anniversary of the European Social Charter. During this time the Charter has experienced a number of changes: a revitalised text, additional protocols and the collective complaints procedure. The economic crisis of the past few years has made the European Social Charter even more current and vital for protecting human dignity and ensuring full respect of human rights in Europe. ELSA had the privilege to meet Mr.Regis Brillat, the Head of the Department of the European Social Charter and Executive Secretary of the European Committee of Social Rights. You can read his interview on page 33.

I would like to thank everyone involved in making this Magazine: the ELSA Network, our partners and my board, who was always ready to assist and support me during the process of making this 50th edition of Synergy.

Kaisa Kimmel

synergy magazine

Contents Editor's Letter

4

Introducing the International Board 2011/2012

6

Anniversary 50th Anniversary of Synergy Magazine

8

30th Anniversary of ELSA

11

Network The UN Human Rights Council ELSA Delegation report, p.30

The Power of the Network

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ELSA Online

16

ELSA Development Foundation

18

International Trainers' Pool

Council of Europe Interview: The European Social Charter, p.33

International Focus Programme IFP Mid-Evaluation Conference, p. 42

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Train the Trainers' Week

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Improving Your Group through ITP

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ITP Trainers

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Events Calendar

26

STEP Experience - Two Perspectives

28

ELSA Delegation in UNHCR

30

The European Social Charter

33

Meeting Challenges to Multicultural Europe

36

Cooperation with NGOs

38

Legal English at the London School of English

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The Membership of ELSA Albania

40

ELSA and CBL International - Law School in China or Dubai

41

IFP Mid-Evaluation Conference

42

Bilateral Study Visit

44

Speak Up! - International Conference in Bulgaria

46

Summer School on WTO Law in Romania

47

'1 in 5' Legal Research Group

48

ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law (EMC ) 49 2

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ELSA International

ELSA International 2011/2012

"A new board with new projects" The new International Board of ELSA plans to work together with the Network towards our vision "A just world in which there is respect for human dignity and cultural diversity". This goal will be advanced by an addition to the International Board: The Director for Moot Court Competitions will take over the Moot Courts area within Academic Activities and work on creating a moot court competition focusing on human rights.

Once again two boards get together at the Boulevard of dreams. On one hand it is time to look at the past and reflect about the year. On the other hand it is time to look at the future with high hopes and to plan the upcoming year. With the junction of these two elements, balance can be reached. The past and the future get together in the present to share, to give advice, to teach and to learn.

After one exhausting month of transition we, as the new International Board of ELSA, are aware of the responsibility that the Council has put in our hands, of the commitment to continue the great work of our predecessors and we cannot be more confident: Thanks to a well-structured, patient and knowledgeable transition we are now ready for one of the best years of our lives, working for a Network with 42 countries.

The first one of our board arriving to 239, Boulevard Général Jacques was our President, Niousha Nademi, from Stockholm, Sweden. He will focus on the External Relations of ELSA International, communicating with our partners as well as accessing possible partnerships, not to forget ELS cooperation. Furthermore, he will also try to expand our vision to the other European countries where students are waiting to share the ELSA Spirit. He is also responsible for Board Management.

Jaana Saarijärvi flew to Brussels from Helsinki, the capital of Finland, to be the Secretary General. She is the overall responsible for the Internal Management of our beloved Association. The Network will be her focus, with specific points such as Human Resources, the International Trainers’ Pool, the Network Support System and ELSA Online.

Also from Finland came the inspired and enthusiastic Vice President Marketing, Kaisa-Maria Kimmel. A law student at the University 6

of Lapland, Finland, who moved away from Rovaniemi to Brussels.

She is the main responsible for Synergy and for the ELSA website as well as for ELSA’s promotion. The top priorities in Marketing will be the Market Research and the commitment to raise awareness of ELSA within the Network and in the outside world.

From the South-West of Europe came the Treasurer, Ricardo Gomes, a fourth year student at Faculdade de Direito de Lisboa, Portugal.

However, he was born in a small town called Guarda. His main responsibilities are the Financial Management of ELSA and the assets of ELSA International. His main focus during this year is the financial stability of our Association. He is also the Chairman of the ELSA Development Foundation.

From East to West, Irakli Samkharadze arrived from Tbilisi, Georgia.

He is the Vice President for Student Trainee Exchange Programme (STEP). His main goal is to provide law students with the unique opportunity of working abroad while improving soft skills and contributing to the internationality of law students in Europe.

"These achievements will only be possible with our most valuable resource, the people: the officers, the members, and everyone who is involved with ELSA" Zosya Stankovskaya, originally from Chernivtsi, Ukraine, the Vice President for Seminars and Conferences, will be one of the people responsible for the Legal Education challenges in ELSA. She will focus on promoting the International Focus Programme (IFP) and the IFP Mid-Evaluation Conference in Trieste, Italy. She will also develop the quality of the S&C events and continue the cooperation in the field of Delegations.

ELSA International

The International Board of ELSA 2011/2012: Zosya Stankovskaya, Jaana Saarijärvi, Ricardo Gomes, Liisa Oravisto, Niousha Nademi, Kaisa Kimmel, Irakli Samkharadze and Khrystyna Brodych.

With one position vacant after the elections, we appointed Khrystyna Brodych, also from Ukraine, as the Director for Academic Activities. She will coordinate the Academic Activities of ELSA focusing on Legal Education, promoting legal writing and legal research, mainly innovating and improving the area.

celebrating the 30th Anniversary of our Association and this moment is important for gathering the past generations and for thinking about the future. Furthermore, the Strategic Goals for 2013 are also soon coming to an end, thus it is time to start drafting the plan for the next five year period.

Last but not least, the International Board 2011/2012 will have the great help of an eight person living in the House: the Director for Moot Court Competitions, Liisa Oravisto, from Helsinki. She will be the person in charge of the Moot Courts of ELSA, the successful ELSA Moot Court Competition on World Trade Organisation Law (EMC2) and the Human Rights Moot Court Competition organised in cooperation with the Council of Europe.

As regards academic events, it is time to evaluate the first year of the implementation of the IFP topic, Health Law, and start discussing the next topic on ELSA’s agenda. Moreover, we are celebrating the 10th edition of EMC2, taking pride in the achievements and the recognition the competition has reached outside of ELSA.

These eight people will contribute to the fulfilment of ELSA's Vision: ”a just world in which there is respect for human dignity and cultural diversity”. We set our main goals in our One Year Operational Plan (OYOP) and we are fully committed to these defined objectives. We will have one year to develop, to consolidate and to live ELSA and we want to live it as intensively as possible.

The years 2011 and 2012 are crucial years in ELSA’s history. We are synergy magazine

Being part of the International Team of ELSA for one year is an exclusive adventure. We moved away from our home country and left our conventional life to work for a Network of 42 countries with 32,000 members, to guide the destiny of a 30 year old Association.

Together as a team we will manage the Association, as a unified force working towards the same direction. However, all of this will only be possible with our most valuable resource, the people: the officers, the members, and everyone who is involved with ELSA in some way. We are counting on you to be part of our ELSA year.

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Anniversary

History of Synegy

The 50th Anniversary of Synergy Magazine

Synergy means working together to achieve what you could not alone. In ELSA we seek to work together as students, to bring down cultural barriers, and achieve with students from other countries, what we cannot achieve by staying nationally focused.

This was why the name ‘Synergy’ was chosen for the International Members' Magazine of ELSA. Laurits Ketscher Vice President Marketing ELSA International 2010/2011

In 1987 the first edition of Synergy came out.

However, it was not printed like the magazine you are holding in your hand, but hand copied, and then sent by ordinary mail around the countries and groups in Europe. It was known as the ”ELSA’s International Newsletter”.

Since then Synergy developed, from a text only newsletter to one containing pictures and columns. This was before Photoshop or any other kind of editing materials were readily available, so the pictures were glued onto a paper containing the text, and then copied at the copy station to mass produce and send them out. This was also the time when Synergy was looking for advertisers in order to go and be a real product. In the early Synergys, you could read about study visits, mes-

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sages from the International Board and much more, which the magazine still carries today, as its main focus is to create ELSA awareness, and make students aware of a European perspective on their studies.

As ELSA grew, so did Synergy, and 1993 saw the first real print production of Synergy, shipped in copies all over Europe, funded mainly by larger budgets and advertisers who saw a potential in reaching a big market for law students. Moreover, Synergy started dealing with global and European law topics aside from information on what happens in ELSA. Throughout the 90s, Synergy took more and more the form of a magazine, and dealt with various issues from data protection and the rise of the internet, to the creation of the International Criminal Court, in which ELSA played a part, as we helped draft the regulations.

The first edition of Synergy from 1987 was hand copied and distributed by ordinary mail.

Early issues also saw articles from partners, expressing the importance of an academic focus, the role internationality would play in the future, and the importance of having a network such

Anniversary

Issues of Synergy from 1991 to 2006, reflecting the developments of the Association: cooperation with the International Criminal Court and other international institutions, the establishment of the ELSA Moot Court Competition on World Trade Organisation Law (EMC2) and ELSA's anniversaries. Over the years Synergy developed a unified layout which was changed in 2008 as ELSA adopted a new corporate identity.

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Anniversary

as ELSA, where law students’ could meet across borders, exchange experience and ideas and make valuable friends and contacts for life.

As countries rose and fell in ELSA, Synergy persisted to remain, even in times of economic crisis and political turmoil. ELSA’s non-political stand is a key factor to the success of the Association, and the success of Synergy, and why it could be distributed freely across borders, especially with international conflicts throughout the 90’s.

In the 2000s, the magazine took on a new look, and got its own visual identity, which was much more professional than the look it had throughout the 90s. Synergy was largely outsourced, and layout took place partly away from the ELSA International office in Brussels.

"In ELSA we seek to work together as students, to bring down cultural barriers, and achieve with students from other countries, what we cannot achieve by staying nationally focused."

A lot of graphical changes were made, including author pictures, to show that ELSA was more than just names, and give a faces to the A new layout and design were adopted for Synergy in 2008, building the base for the current look of the magazine. people who helped shape and make the organization at the time.

Throughout the 2000s, Synergy changed, and went from a purely internal magazine, to being distributed at various institutions, from EU to the Council of Europe. As an ELSA member you can find it in faculties and offices all over Europe.

Since then Synergy has changed looks, and the current edition you are holding is the 8th with the layout format of the visual identity of ELSA. Instead of outsourcing the layout, it is done in the ELSA house by the marketing responsible of ELSA International, who

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takes care of the editing, layout, distribution plan and everything related to making the magazine. The making of such a magazine is a great effort, and it’s impressive that ELSA still can claim to be one of the only international student organizations sending out a quality magazine to all Local and National Groups.

Synergy is a great look into the history of a vastly growing organisation, with a wide variety of partners, events, activities and offers for members to just reach out and grab.

Anniversary

Anniversary Team

30th Anniversary of ELSA The Anniversary Team of ELSA introduces you to the Anniversary projects organised by the Network during the year 2011 and shared by previous ELSA generations: Anniversary events, competitions and the Anniversary ICM in Poznan, Poland.

nia), Zinaida (ZiZi) ChkhaidAs we all know it is not possible Kim-Julia Zamljen Martina Berger Zinaida Chkhaidze ze (Georgia). The team was Member of the Anniversary Member of the Anniversary to congratulate ELSA because Director for Anniversary ELSA International Team of ELSA Team of ELSA headed by Kim-Julia Zamljen it is not a formal person - it is 2010/2011 2010/2011 2010/2011 - the Director for Anniversary however possible to celebrate and Filipe Bismarck - Secrethe commitment of all of us, tary General of ELSA International 2010/2011. because we are ELSA. Nearly all of us celebrated ELSA’s 30th Anniversary. Somebody just said: ”We do not come together to organIn order for our work to be more effective, the team was divided ize events, we are organizing events to come together.” into four groups: a project management group, the marketing group, a fundraising group and a research group. Each team had Many National Groups celebrated the 30 years of ELSA, and the its own goals and responsibility. But we, all together, formed the International Board of 2010/2011 tried to be present in as many Anniversary Team who was responsible for making ELSA 30th Anevents as possible. Around the 4th of May, our President was in niversary unforgettable.

Greece, our Secretary General in Hungary, our Treasurer in Poland, our VP for Marketing was in Austria, our VP for Academic Activities was in Romania, our VP for Seminars and Conferences was in Estonia and our VP for STEP was in Turkey. Many other groups organized events to celebrate and we would like to thank them all for their efforts. The whole network went beyond borders to celebrate the Anniversary of our Association.

Organizing and preparing a lot of Anniversary events created by ELSA International meant a lot of work. Therefore we needed an international team in order to make this year special.

On the basis of submitted applications the Anniversary Team was created: Antti Husa (Finland), Ania Napierala (Poland), Martina Berger (Austria), Sara Lema Bouza (Spain), Tudor Bolgar (Roma-

synergy magazine

One day during this Anniversary year will hopefully stay forever in our memories: The Anniversary day during the LIX International Council Meeting in Poznan, Poland. Especially the Anniversary exhibition was one of the most spectacular events during the whole year. To connect the event with the vision of ELSA - ”A just world in which there is respect for human dignity and cultural diversity” and with the slogan of the Anniversary year ”ELSA – 30 years of broadening your horizon” it was agreed that every National Group had to bring their national drink, national food, pictures which reflected the history of their National Group and other materials related to ELSA. But mainly it was up to the National Group how they would represent their country.

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Anniversary

The winning picture of the Anniversary Photo Competition by Andrea Konjevic from Croatia.

The runner up picture of the Anniversary Photo Competition by ELS member Gregor Wenda from Austria.

The second runner up picture of the Anniversary Photo Competition by Rūta Bernotaitė from Lithuania.

We had high expectations concerning this event. We hoped that almost every National Group would try to show the best part of their country, their culture and of course their ELSA. But what was really happened exceeded all our expectations. The venue of the exhibition was overcrowded. Almost all of Europe was in front of us, in one hall. The representatives from e.g.

Georgia, Greece or Croatia offered their national drinks, national foods, traditional toasts and songs. They were telling the history of their National Groups and their ELSA career. And what is the most important thing - all these people with different origin and with different culture were proud to be part of ELSA.

The ELSA Spirit is probably best described as the "engine" of our Association. The phenomenon that brings students from all over Europe since 1981 together, builds friendships that cross borders, enables us to visit legal and non-legal events at every corner of Europe, it contributes to legal education and promotes social responsibility and so much more!

Another highlight of the Anniversary year was the picture competition: 30 years of ELSA - Uncountable moments of ELSA Spirit. What is this famous ELSA Spirit that everyone keeps talking about? Is it something we can see, experience, are able to touch?

The cultural diversity, the energy of young, motivated students or our passion for law? In our opinion it is all of this.

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As it is often said, a picture can say much more than thousands of words. Therefore the Anniversary Team decided that one of our main goals was to launch a photo competition and ask the Network to show us their personal ELSA moment! As it was important for us to show that - beyond all the statistical achievements of ELSA in the last 30 years in which we take pride – it is also and above all - the so called ELSA Spirit that keeps ELSA active and makes it the wonderful opportunity it is for students all over Europe.

Anniversary After some brainstorming it was with the help of the Network at the International Council Meeting in Alanya that the perfect theme was found: ELSA Sprit caught on camera. With KODAK we found a prestigious partner for our competition and in May 2011 the competition was launched.

" Almost all of Europe was in front of us, in one hall. And what is the most important thing - all these people with a different origin and with a different culture were proud to be part of ELSA." The tradition of the legendary ELSA Cake Bake Competition was also pursued. ELSA members were invited to bake a cake for the birthday of ELSA on the 4th of May. The competition was really successful as many members participated. It was quite hard for the jury, the Anniversary Team, to choose the winner as all of the cakes were just creative and committed to ELSA. This competition perfectly showed how important ELSA is in the everyday life and how much effort the ELSA enthusiasts put into the Anniversary of our beloved Association.

The Anniversary was also a great chance to get in touch with our alumni. ELSA consists not only of the active members but is also formed by past generations of active members.

A huge number of Alumni celebrated the Anniversary in Poznan together with us. Even though we all have experienced ELSA in a different way, we all share one experience – friendship. Many meetings just show the friendship between all generations. People from all over Europe and from all ages are present when ELSA organizes events and it seems as if they have all known each other for a long time even though they met five minutes earlier. Alumni are helpful- we can learn a lot from them and we should always keep in mind that ELSA would not be what it is right now without their effort and their standing from the beginning on.

The winning cake of the ELSA Cake Bake Competition by Judith Faust from Marburg, Germany.

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As the review of the last 8 months of the Anniversary year 2011 it can be said that this year was spectacular, amazing, and most importantly unforgettable. We do hope that we will continue with the ELSA Spirit, with organizing events to broaden our horizon and with building up friendships which will stay forever. Thank you ELSA members for making this year special!

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Network

Human Resources

"The power of the Network – How ELSA builds and supports it" The human resources and quality of a Network of over 32,000 students can be ensured with a combination of recruitment, communication, trainings, alumni cooperation and fresh new ideas. Examples for tackling these issues in Poland include recruitment of directors concentrating on human resources as well as the Polish Freshers' Camp.

As a student organisation with over 32,000 Assistant for Market Research students in 42 countries, ELSA is conELSA International stantly facing the challenge of dealing with 2010/2011 the growing number of members. ELSA’s strength derives from its devoted and creative members and that is why keeping a strong Network is a priority for the Association. It is crucial and indispensable to gather and use the human resources wisely in order to maintain ELSA’s current role within the area of legal education in Europe.

Katarzyna Stecko

The quality of every event we offer reflects on our people. Members develop their skills and obtain satisfaction from their work and nonmembers get interested in joining our team.

Nevertheless, ELSA officers responsible for recruiting new members should start the process as soon as local university enrollment is finished. How to reach the people? How about the idea of ‘Freshers Camps’? This summer ELSA Poland is organizing the 15th edition of the great event. Over 150 participants will spend the best week of their life meeting new friends, legal professionals and their future lecturers. The agenda includes also moot courts, simulations, presentations and workshops as well as a social programme. The combination of lectures and fun attracts hundreds of students every year. After the camp, many of the participants decide to join ELSA as they have already seen ELSA’s work and are impressed by the famous ELSA Spirit! Actually, this is how my personal ELSA career began in 2007. Furthermore, the Polish ”Freshers Camp” is widely recognised by lawyers and law faculties nationwide.

There is no simple recipe for building a strong Network but it is worth considering a few suggestions. Over the years, ELSA has been constantly increasing the number of students involved in its activities, not only the members but also the thousands of law students and young lawyers who have been taking part in hundreds of events. Usually, the participants have decided to join ELSA, encouraged by the enthusiasm and atmosphere created by ELSA members and officers. In my opinion it should never be forgotten: Participants of the Polish Freshers' Camp - getting to know ELSA Spirit.

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Network Nevertheless, ELSA’s policy covers not only recruiting new members but also managing existing human resources. Having a person who would be constantly in charge of the issue – a Director for Human Resources - is a simple and efficient idea. Without any doubt, the position requires excellent communication skills and specific knowledge but I am convinced every National Group is able to find the right person. For example, in Poland there are 15 local and 1 national HR directors who cooperate with annual recruitment, trainings, meetings and try to deal with some conflicts which arise within the Association. Moreover, they are planning, together with Local Boards, all the trainings for members. In order to do it, they usually discuss the needs with interested Local Groups and contact trainers.

ELSA Poland has created a National Trainers’ Pool which consists of experienced members and alumni who are eager to share their knowledge and stay in touch with ELSAnians. ELSA gives their members the possibility to grow and develop themselves and it is actually one of the most popular sources of motivation for joining our Association. However, without good trainings and workshop the goal seems to be impossible to achieve. Our members do need new knowledge and skills and ELSA is obliged to provide them with good training. Therefore, ELSA has an International Trainers’ Pool which offers many top-class trainings for every group interested in increasing its qualifications.

"The quality of every event we offer reflects on our people. Members develop their skills and obtain satisfaction from their work and nonmembers get interested in joining our team."

Another issue connected to ELSA’s Network is staying in touch with former ELSA members, in other words our alumni. There is ELS – The ELSA Lawyers Society founded in 1991. According to the Statutes its aim is ”to bring together lawyers and other members all over Europe who have been part of or who have supported the ELSA Network and structure or who wish to do so now and in the future; to enhance the exchange of knowledge and experiences and to create and maintain personal contacts amongst lawyers in Europe.” ELSA’s alumni are always willing to help and participate in current events and meetings, give advice or even financial support.

Their experience cannot be overrated and forgotten. It is also worth considering a national alumni association.

Another topic is communication. Keeping in touch with 32,000 students can be difficult and demanding. For this reason ELSA still

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develops new means and ideas to reach its Network. The ELSA website, ELSA Online, mailing lists or social media can be mentioned here. However, we strongly support personal meetings because we are convinced they are the best way to build a great team. We believe there is no better idea for mutual motivation and understanding, exchanging experience and views on what can be done in the future. What is more, the ELSA calendar does not stop during summer as we organize around twenty international meetings (conferences, seminars, summer law schools, etc.) giving our members the opportunity to spend some free time together and learn as well as have fun with some old friends.

What conclusion can be drawn? It appears that ELSA is doing a great job managing its members and using a lot of tools and resources.

Nevertheless, it is indispensable to promote fresh ideas such as Freshers Camps or national alumni Associations which are not so popular in many countries. We must not forget that ELSA is constantly developing and increasing the number of students involved because of its great members. However, it means that our Association has to keep the pace with the change.

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Network

ELSA Online

"Facebook soon to become ELSA members’ second choice in online communication?"

ELSA Online is a tailor-made online tool, designed for improving communication and event promotion on all levels of the Network and for making the STEP application procedure more efficient. In other words, ELSA is moving to a new level of online cooperation.

Peter Christian Binau-Hansen

No doubt ELSA is an amazing association. If you ask the members of ELSA what ELSA International they appreciate the most as a member you 2010/2011 will hear many different answers based on various reasons. Coming from 42 different countries all 32,000 members will always have one thing in common: we are all internationally minded.

Assistant for ELSA Online

Having that mind-set also requires ELSA members to be able to have fast, reliable and wellstructured communication across borders.

What better way to do that than a tailor-made online tool especially developed for ELSA? – Please let me introduce ELSA Online 2!

ELSA’s first online system was developed in the late nineties and completed around the millennium. When the system was launched ELSA had a state of the art system of its time! ELSA increased its STEP jobs and the communication between the member countries was better than ever. The system was such a great success that after only a few years it broke down due to the heavy amount of bytes, mostly because of the amount of STEP applications.

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A few years ago the decision was made during an ICM to initiate the development of a new online system that would be designed from scratch and include all the necessary tools for ELSA officers and members to perform their daily tasks and improve the members access to relevant information.

Network So what will we actually get? ELSA Online 2 will include features for member management, which includes keeping track of members, alumni and trainers in groups on all levels. All users will also have access to news feeds, event invitations and applications from local, national and international hosts.

One of the key features of the new system is the very advanced STEP module, which gives all members access to the current available STEP jobs offered throughout the Network. You, as a user, are then able to apply for a traineeship directly through the system without having to download, e-mail or print anything. Supporting features make the rest of the application procedure completly paperless and in the end leaves the STEP officers with more time for Job and Student Hunting – hopefully resulting in a growing number of traineeships offered to our members.

"Having an international mind-set also requires ELSA members to be able to have fast, reliable and well-structured communication across borders. What better way to do that than a tailor-made online tool especially developed for ELSA?" Study visits, being a key element to cultural diversity, will now be easier to realise as all Local and National Groups are able to indicate exactly when they are available for a bilateral visit. A group eager to go on a study visit will then just have to pick a suitable destination from the list and contact the group using the contact information also available in the system.

The features described above are only a fraction of the possibilities that will be available through the new system. As the system is launched two videos and written documentation from ELSA International will be released to describe the system’s many features to officers and regular members.

ELSA Online 2 is a portal, which will become very efficient for the entire ELSA Network and will benefit every group on all levels in many years to come. I am certain that by using this system ELSA will in the next years reach a professional level we have never seen earlier and we will be able to attract many young students all over Europe by offering trainings, study visits, STEP jobs and local, national and international events. All are items which are easier, faster and more reliable by using the features of the new system.

The University of Houston Law Center

The Perfect Place to Earn Your LL.M.

The University of Houston Law Center is a Tier One school with an LL.M. program that holds a worldwide reputation for excellence. Foreign-trained lawyers from every corner of the globe are attracted by our renowned faculty and one of the largest course selections in the United States. Students are able to design a general course of study or a customized curriculum built around specific interests and career goals in five distinct programs: Energy, Environment & Natural Resources Law; Health Law; Intellectual Property & Information Law; International Law; and Tax Law. Our two-semester program begins in August, and your home will be Houston, the nation’s fourth largest city with an affordable cost of living and vibrant international connections.

The University of Houston Law Center is the perfect place to take your legal career to the next level. Learn more about our LL.M. program at www.law.uh.edu/llm.

UH is an EEO/AA institution

To sum it up: ELSA is back online! synergy magazine

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Network

ELSA Development Foundation

EDF Helps the Network in Overcoming Challenges

The ELSA Network draws its strength from the people involved in our Association.

Treasurer Sometimes however, the hands of ELSA ELSA International officers are tied, as financial difficulties or structural weaknesses of their ELSA group prevent them from realizing their plans. This is why the ELSA Network came up with the idea of creating a mechanism to contribute to the further development of the Association.

Ricardo Gomes

In 2006 that tool, called at the time the ELSA Development Fund, was transferred from the Internal Management section to the Financial Management part of the Decision Book. Since that time it has been under the responsibility of the Treasurer of ELSA International.

Finally in ICM Budva, in the year 2009, the Fund became a Foundation and today we have a solid entity working full time on the development of the Association, supporting ELSA International, National Groups and Local Groups.

The ELSA Development Foundation is a foundation financed collectively by ELSA International and ELSA National Groups to help to overcome structural weaknesses within the Network, whether financially or non-financially. The purpose of the Foundation is to give financial support to projects and activities within the Association which further the vision and purpose of ELSA. The development of any association can only be reached by the involvement of the members and officers who build together the core structure of the association. These two play different roles, on one hand the members will contribute with their presence in ELSA’s activities and on the other hand the officers will provide members with

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quality activities contributing to further mutual understanding and legal education as well as developing soft skills.

One of the most popular modes of support of the ELSA Development Foundation, since its creation, is Training Support, which justifies that by investing in our members and in our officers we are tracing the path to further development of the Association.

From this perspective trainings and the International Trainers’ Pool play a decisive role in the Network.

This mode of support is accessible to all ELSA groups in the Network. From ELSA International to Local Groups, every group is eligible to apply for an EDF Grant in the form of Training Support.

For each level of the ELSA Network, there are different requirements but the tool is available for every ELSA level. Training Support from EDF enables ELSA groups to obtain financial assistance either for training events, or events incorporating trainings but also to cover expenses, such as travel or accommodation, of trainers to deliver the training. There is also the possibility to cover the National Board members’ expenses to attend a training session.

The ELSA Development Foundation was designed to strengthen the Network with financial assistance, either through supporting events, trainings or covering officers’ expenses. However, we need to administrate the Foundation accounts prudently in order to ensure that in the future the Foundation can have a stronger economic position and we can support even more ELSA groups within the Network.

By using EDF grants wisely, our Network of 42 countries will surely benefit from the investment made and this is the way to higher success.

International Trainers' Pool

Train the Trainers Week

Experiencing the Train the Trainers Week The International Trainers' Pool of ELSA received an addittion of nine new trainers after an intensive week of preparation in Büdingen, Germany. ELSA ensures the quality and experience of trainers through the Train the Trainers Week. This year the experience and preparation were provided for new trainers by experienced ITP trainers.

We remember the day so clearly. It was the Lucia Pálušová 9th of July 2011, Saturday morning, the Trainer last day of the Train the Trainers Week. International Trainers' Pool Twelve trainees were facing their own expectations written on a wall at the beginning of the week and three trainers asking for the final feed-back on the event. In May we had been selected to attend the upcoming Train the Trainers Week. We were twelve young lawyers full of energy and ELSA Spirit. This day, this Saturday, we are formed trainers and moreover we are friends. In this article we would like to tell you about our experience: what happened, how it happened and what to make out of it.

Why do we want to tell you about this event? TTTW was one of the most intensive ELSA experiences we have ever had. At the beginning of July twelve trainees from all over Europe (Belgium, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, United Kingdom and Turkey) met three trainers from the International Trainers’ Pool (Jochen Hoerlin, Nina Klotz and Koen Klootwijk) to learn how to become good trainers. Either you are an ELSA member looking for prepared trainers, an alumnus still wanting to get involved or an external interested in our activities, this article will give you an insight over the serious process of forming new ITP trainers.

What happened? Even though we arrived in Büdingen full of confidence, during the week our trainers taught us the most important thing: it is not easy to become a good trainer. We have been working hard to prove especially to ourselves that our motivation was strong enough to manage all the hard tasks and efforts. But synergy magazine

Arabela Trifoi Trainer International Trainers' Pool

as challenging as it was for us, it seemed even harder to be the one who teaches such things. Our trainers were simply amazing – so professional, so smart, so full of ELSA knowledge and spirit!

We were impressed to see how they gladly gave up their vacation time with warm, sandy beaches and cocktails with little straw hats in order to come to Büdingen in Germany, to not rest and to teach us everything possible in one week. We have got the impression that they knew us already, sometimes they even knew how we would act in certain situations and, guiding us with professionalism and fair perception, they kept on teaching us – and especially about ourselves. Everything went smoothly following an authentic German schedule; the workshops were inciting and really well prepared, using different methods, various materials and fun activities. The success of the event rests on the result itself: this year nine new ITP trainers have been appointed.

How did we become trainers? To be honest, some of us were expecting an ICM-like event – fun, socializing and knowledge – but in reality TTTW was much more different. We had 12 hours per day of intensive working and learning. The content touched subjects as learning typologies and the 4-MAT technique, team phases and training design, behaviours in communication, body language, moderation and conflict management, and it was followed the next week by a detailed hand-out. Every day we would learn something new, something important, and each time in a different way and with a different learning perspective, meanwhile making sure that everything was understood and well stored for the rest of our lives.

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International Trainers' Pool

One of the best things besides the new knowledge was the strong friendship tied between the participants thanks to the trainers who constantly encouraged us to work together. We never thought it was possible to reach so strong emotions, to build up friendships and to bring up co-operation during just a couple of days.

But our trainers really knew what they were doing: starting from small things like each participant having a special nickname, which represented our personality, and each of us having a buddy with whom to discuss anything, anytime, to larger interactions like the outdoor activities. We were led to do everything as a group and in the end we have each got 11 new friends and the impression that we had spent a month together, not only one week.

"A week of intense train the trainers can teach about what a good trainer needs to do, but more importantly it can teach you what you need to know about yourself – your strengths, your weaknesses, your personality and what to do with them as well."

Because after all that challenging time some mind-resting and fun was needed, we’ve got a big surprise prepared for us: one day before the final trainings and the evaluation of the IB, our trainers took us out from the workshop room to clear our minds by tree climbing, swing jumping and having a barbeque.

Friday was the evaluation day.

Aware of the received feedbacks and nervously expecting new ones, armed with fresh new information and intense practice we had to present ourselves as good trainers. But thanks to our trainers and to ELSA International (Arvind Rattan, Filipe Bismarck and Jaana Saarijärvi), the atmosphere was relaxed and friendly.

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We thank you for that and also for the careful organisation and for having offered us the possibility to take part in this great week.

What if you would be an ITP trainer? In case you are animated by the desire to stay connected to ELSA, motivated to learn new things and keep travelling, if you consider participating to the next TTTW, in 2013, bear in mind that it can be a life-changing decision. A week of intense train the trainers can teach about what a good trainer needs to do, but more importantly it can teach you what you need to know about yourself – your strengths, your weaknesses, your personality and what to do with them as well.

Saturday morning we hugged as friends and split, each flying in their own direction, physically and psychically exhausted, with heavier luggage from each transfer, with brand new conscious competences packed inside. Now, your highly motivated new members of the International Trainers Pool are looking forward to meeting you: Cristina Dan (Romania), João Thiago Rocha Ferreira (Portugal), Giovanni Jaerisch (Germany), Jean-Marc Lauwers (Belgium), Calina Mircea (Romania), Lucia Pálušová (Slovakia), Dixsha Patel (United Kingdom), Arabela Trifoi (Romania) and Katrien Willems (Belgium)

International Trainers' Pool

Trainings

Improve Your ELSA Group through a Training from the ITP

When an ELSA group is planning to organise a project, develop a cerSecretary General tain area or improve the skills of their ELSA International members, asking for a trainer from the International Trainers’ Pool is the perfect starting point. The International Trainers’ Pool is the main trainer body of ELSA, founded in 2000 to improve the quality of our work in ELSA. It is administrated by the Secretary General of ELSA International with the help of the Director for Training, who during the term 2011/2012 is Zinaida Chkhaidze from Georgia.

Jaana Saarijärvi

have preferred training topics in which they are qualified. You can find out more about individual trainers and what they offer on the next pages of Synergy. The training itself is for free, however, the ELSA group requesting the training needs to cover the travel and accommodation expenses of the trainer.

Training is essential to ELSA officers but also gives our members skills they do not learn just by studying in the university.

Negotiation skills, public speaking and time management are all good examples of skills lawyers need in their work. Thus, offering trainings to ELSA members on topics like these is important.

How to then decide on the suitable training topic and get a training from an ITP trainer? You should approach the Director for Training with your request and she will help you with assessing the needs of your ELSA group and possible topics which might fit the circumstances of your group. After you have decided on the training topic, you will need to fill in a Pre-Training Questionnaire explaining your expectations for the training and your wishes for approaching the topic as well as giving other information.

Next, ELSA International will approach the ITP trainers and suggest a trainer. It is possible to request a certain trainer if you have someone in mind, but please bear in mind that the response depends always on their availability on the dates requested.

In addition to the trainings offered in international internal meetings, ELSA groups have their own need for trainings based on their current situation. If an ELSA group is for example organising an international event for the first time, they can ask for a training about project management, or if they are writing their One Year Operational Plan, they can ask for someone to guide them through the planning process.

After both the ELSA group and the trainer agree to have the training, they need to be in contact to settle practical issues and discuss more about the training topic. This is because the trainer wants to make sure that all the expectations of the group are fulfilled. Afterwards the participants will evaluate the training as this is one significant way for ITP to keep developing to match the needs of the Network even better.

ITP trainers have a background in ELSA and are equipped to give specialised trainings to ELSA officers and law students. ITP trainers have been trained to give trainings and in addition have gathered the needed experience from working life. The trainers

It is always a good opportunity to have a training. So next time your group is planning for National Council Meeting, OYOP, transition, new event for the members or something else, consider having a training and requesting for an ITP trainer!

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International Trainers' Pool

International Trainers' Pool

Introducing the International Trainers' Pool The International Trainers' Pool of ELSA was created to provide qualified and committed trainers for the entire Network. Whether your ELSA group needs support in planning its activities and future, in creating a motivated team, in organising an international event or in raising funds for realising its plans, the ITP can assist in finding a solution. Our experienced and motivated trainers are looking forward to meeting you and to working together with you towards a skilled and solid Network.

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Tiago Moreira Alves Nationality: Portugese Active in ELSA since 2000 Preferred trainings: Internal Management, Fundraising, External Relations, Human Resources, Strategic Planning, Project Management

Rebeca Cenalmor Rejas Nationality: Spanish Active in ELSA since 1997 Preferred trainings: Project Management, Teambuilding, Conflict Resolution

Kate Aleksidze Nationality: Georgian Active in ELSA since 1999 Preferred trainings: General ELSA Knowledge, Project Management, Teambuilding, Motivation, Decision Making, Planning, Leadership, Communication, Chairing, Presentation Skills

Cristina Dan Nationality: Romanian Active in ELSA since 2007 Preferred trainings: Teambuilding, Presentation Skills, Motivation, Conflict Management, Negotiation, Communication, Time Management, Board Management, Financial Management

Sofia Amaral Nationality: Portugese Active in ELSA since 1996 Preferred trainings: General ELSA Knowledge, Transition, Planning, Teambuilding, Communication, Motivation, Presentation Skills, Teambuilding

Jo達o Thiago Rocha Ferreira Nationality: Portuguese Active in ELSA since 2003 Preferred trainings: Teambuilding, Presentation Skills, Motivation, Conflict Management, Negotiation, Communication, Time Management, Board Management, Internal Management, AA, S&C

International Trainers' Pool

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Pierangelo Graziani Nationality: Italian Active in ELSA since 1988 Preferred trainings: General ELSA Knowledge, BEE, Academic Activities, STEP, S&C, Fundraising, External Relations, Project Management, Motivation, Chairing

Nina Klotz Nationality: German Active in ELSA since 2000 Preferred trainings: Project Management, Teambuilding, Communication, Presentation Skills, Conflict Management, Risk Management, Strategic Planning, Chairing

Tuulia Hietaniemi Nationality: Finnish Active in ELSA since 2005 Preferred trainings: General ELSA Knowledge, Internal Management, STEP, Motivation, Communication, Presentation Skills

Marcin (Boulie) Krzysko Nationality: Polish Active in ELSA since 1995 Preferred trainings: Marketing, Project Management, Communication, Strategic Planning, Selling Technique, Public Relations, Academic Activities, Internal Management

Jochen Hoerlin Nationality: German Active in ELSA since 1998 Preferred trainings: Strategic Planning, Communication, Teambuilding, Leadership Skills, Conflict and Project Management, Negotiation Skills, Risk Management

Jean-Marc Lauwers Nationality: Belgian Active in ELSA since 2004 Preferred trainings: Teambuilding, Presentation Skills, Motivation, Conflict Management, Negotiation, Communication, Time Management, Board Management, Financial Management

Giovanni Jaerish Nationality: German Active in ELSA since 2002 Preferred trainings: Teambuilding, Presentation Skills, Motivation, Conflict Management, Negotiation, Communication, Time Management, Board Management, Internal Management, AA, S&C, STEP

Johanna Lindblad Ó Duinnín Nationality: Swedish Active in ELSA since 2002 Preferred trainings: General ELSA Knowledge, Internal Management, Communication, Teambuilding, Transition, Motivation

Sylvie Fransziska Kleinke Nationality: German Active in ELSA since 2002 Preferred trainings: Project Management, Teambuilding/development, Presentation Skills, Motivation Skills, Negotiation Skills, Strategic Planning, Chairing

Halvor Lekven Nationality: Norwegian Active in ELSA since 2003 Preferred trainings: General ELSA Knowledge, Academic Activities, Project & Time Management, Communication, Motivation Teambuilding, Presentation Skills

Koen Klootwijk Nationality: Dutch Active in ELSA since 2005 Preferred trainings: General ELSA Knowledge, BEE, Academic Activities/EMC², S&C, Motivation, Teambuilding, Presentation Skills, Project Management

Calina Mircea Nationality: Romanian Active in ELSA since 2007 Preferred trainings: Teambuilding, Presentation Skills, Motivation, Conflict Management, Negotiation, Communication, Time Management, Human Resources, Strategic Planning, Project Management, Chairing, Fundraising, Public & External Relations

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International Trainers' Pool

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Mircea Serban Moraru Nationality: Romanian Active in ELSA since 2001 Preferred trainings: General ELSA Knowledge, Marketing, Human Resources, Conflict Management, Fundraising, External Relations, Project Management, Presentation Skills, Internal Management

Rudolf Christoph Reiet Nationality: German Active in ELSA since 2003 Preferred trainings: Project Management, Conflict Management, Strategic Planning, Teambuilding, Motivation, Negotiation Skills, Presentation Skills

Espen Rostrup Nakstad Nationality: Norwegian Active in ELSA since 2000 Preferred trainings: Board Management, Strategic Planning, Risk Management, External Relations/UN/ Institutional Relations, Chairing, Project Management, Presentation Skills, Communication & Networking

Karina Sultanova Nationality: Kazakh Active in ELSA since 1999 Preferred trainings: Negotiation, Communication, Conflict Management, Teambuilding, Board Management, Motivation, OYOP, Risk Management, Presentation Skills, Leadership

Delia Orabona Nationality: Italian Active in ELSA since 2002 Preferred trainings: STEP, Strategic Planning, External Relations, Motivation, Teambuilding, Project Management, Communication, Presentation Skills

Andras Szilagyi Nationality: Hungarian Active in ELSA since 2002 Preferred trainings: General ELSA Knowledge, Financial, Board and Project Management, Presentation and Negotiation Skills, Chairing, Communication, Planning, Leadership

Lucia Pálušová Nationality: Slovakian Active in ELSA since 2006 Preferred trainings: Teambuilding, Presentation Skills, Motivation, Negotiation, Communication and Networking, Time Management, STEP

Arabela Trifoi Nationality: Romanian Active in ELSA since 2004 Preferred trainings: Teambuilding, Presentation Skills, Motivation, Conflict Management, Negotiation, Communication, Time Management, Board Management, Internal Management, Marketing

Dixsha Patel Nationality: British Active in ELSA since 2007 Preferred trainings: Teambuilding, Presentation Skills, Motivation, Negotiation, Communication and Networking, Time Management, Internal Management

Katrien Willems Nationality: Belgian Active in ELSA since 2005 Preferred trainings: Teambuilding, Presentation Skills, Motivation, Conflict Management, Negotiation, Communication, Time Management, Internal Management, Marketing

Andras Perlaki Nationality: Hungarian Active in ELSA since 2000 Preferred trainings: Board Management, Team Building, Motivation, Negotiation Skills, Conflict Management, Presentation Skills, Public Speaking

Patrick Zupansic Nationality: Dutch Active in ELSA since 2002 Preferred trainings: General ELSA Knowledge, Internal Management, S&C, Human Rights, Project & Time Management, Teambuilding, Chairing, Communication, Presentation Skills

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Date: 10th - 13th November 2011 Place: Greifswald, Germany Working Language: German Contact Information: Anne Utecht E-mail: secgen@elsa-germany.org Website: greifswald.elsa-germany.org

Date: 1st - 4th December 2011

Conference “Publich Health - Quo Vadis?“

DECEMBER

Date: 5th - 9th March 2012 Place: Maastricht,The Netherlands Working Language: English Website: http://www.elsamootcourt.org/

EMC2 ELSA Regional Round in Maastricht

Date: 25th March - 1st April 2012 Place: Algarve, Portugal Working Language: English Contact Information: Francisco Pedago E-mail: president@elsa-portugal.org Website: www.elsa-portugal.org

Date: 25th - 27th November 2011 Place: Lviv, Ukraine Working Language: English Contact Information: Taras Repytskyi E-mail: repytskyi@gmail.com Website: www.elsalviv.org.ua Registration deadline: 01/11/2011

Date: 4th - 6th November 2011 Place: Bayreuth, Germany Working Language: German Contact Information: Johanna Bundscherer E-mail: vpsc@elsa-bayreuth.org Website: www.elsa-baureuth.de

National Officers‘ Meeting of ELSA Germany

LX1 International Council Meeting of ELSA

MARCh

XLIV International Presidents‘ Meeting of ELSA Date: 7th - 12th February 2011 Place: Malta Working Language: English Contact Information: Tessa Mallia Borg E-mail: tmalliaborg@gmail.com

XV National Council Meeting of ELSA Ukraine

Date: 18th - 20th November 2011 Place: Helsinki, Finland Working Language: English Contact Information: Juulia Tuomaala E-mail: secgen@elsa-finland.fi Website: www.elsa-helsinki.fi

XXXVIII National Council Meeting of ELSA Finland

FEBRUARY

CMS_LawTax_CMYK_over100.eps

Conference “An Educated Patient“

Date: 3rd- 6th November 2011 Place: Passau, Germany Working Language: English Contact Information: Patrick Stöhr E-mail: vpsc@elsa-passau.de Website: www.elsa-passau.org

International Conference “European Union and Competition Law - Does Economy Play by the Referee‘s Rules?“

NOVEMBER

ELSA Events Calendar 2011/2012

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International Seminar “Mediation - Another way to solve cases“

Date: 17th - 20th November 2011 Place: Szczecin, Poland Working Language: English Contact Information: Angelika Szufel E-mail: angelika_szufel@wp.pl

XLIV National Council Meeting of ELSA Poland and 30th Anniversary of ELSA Poland

Date: 11th - 13th November 2011 Place: Lviv, Ukraine Working Language: English Contact Information: Taras Repytskyi E-mail: repytskyi@gmail.com Website: www.elsalviv.org.ua Registration deadline: 30/10/2011

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Date: 8th - 11th January 2012 Place: Heidelberg, Germany Working Language: German Contact Information: Anne Utecht E-mail: secgen@elsa-germany.org Website: heidelberg.elsa-germany.org Registration deadline: 25/12/2011

XLVIII National Council Meeting of ELSA Germany

JANUARY

Place: Augsburg, Germany Working Language: German Contact Information: Steffen Huebner E-mail: vpsc@elsa-augsburg.org Website: www.elsa-augsburg.org Registration deadline: 31/10/2011

Date: 16th - 22nd April 2012 Place: Trieste, Italy Working Language: English Contact Information: Antonella Biasi E-mail: ifp@elsatrieste.it Website: www.elsatrieste.it Registration deadline: 31/01/2012

IFP Mid-Evaluation Conference “Mental Health & Human Rights“

APRIL

Date: 12th - 16th March 2012 Place: Münster, Germany Working Language: English Website: http://www.elsamootcourt.org/

EMC2 ELSA Regional Round in Münster

STEP

Student Trainee Exchange Programme

STEP Changes Your View of the Legal Profession An interview with a STEP employer and a STEP trainee presents two points of view to the benefits of ELSA's Student Trainee Exchange Programme. STEP works as a flexible option for an employer to find a trainee representing another legal culture. For a law student, working as a STEP trainee provides an exceptional opportunity to broaden ones legal expertise internationally.

”My heart is beating with ELSA and STEP is the blood that feeds that heart” Director for Anniversary says Umut Kurman, 33 years, partner at ELSA Lawyers Society (ELS) a law firm in Ankara, Turkey. Founded in 2004, Aydaş Liman Kurman Attorneys at Law has three partners and is active in commercial transactions and litigation. About half of their clients are international companies and the other half are Turkish companies and private persons. Aydaş Liman Kurman have hosted four STEP trainees in the past, the latest one in August, 2011. When asked about the necessary qualifications Umut states that they do not have particular requirements, but prefer to employ students in their 3rd or 4th year of studies, if given the choice. ”We call them empty jars which can fill with our requests. If people have too many preconceptions about how to work in a law firm, it is not so easy to adjust.”

Johanna Kauppinen

The length of a typical traineeship has been four weeks and STEP trainees have come from the Czech Republic, Germany, Montenegro and Russia. Umut has been able to provide them with interesting work. Each STEP trainee is asked to write an article of a comparative legal nature and the best of those may be published in the Ankara Bar Review. Trainees have also worked on client cases making comparative studies of specific fields of law in Turkey and in their home jurisdiction. ”It’s all about similarities and differences”, Umut 28

explains. ”The client feels more secure if we can compare the Turkish legal system to how the same matter is regulated in his home jurisdiction”, he continues.

I ask where his foreign clients are coming from and the answer is ”United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, France”. But students from different countries win the jobs – perhaps ELSA groups allover Europe should take this opportunity and promote STEP as a great opportunity for obtaining work experience?

"The client feels more secure if we can compare the Turkish legal system to how the same matter is regulated in his home jurisdiction." - STEP Employer Umut Kurman Aydaş Liman Kurman also has Turkish trainees and they have the task to show the foreign trainees how the Turkish courts work and also to welcome them to the office environment. ”We do not only want something from the STEP trainees, we want to give them something valuable back,”, Umut states. By being a STEP trainee, the student gains first-hand experience how a law firm works, expe-

STEP rience of working in a different culture and different legal system.

Umut specifically corrects me that it is not only about learning about Turkish legal culture, but a foreign legal culture in general.

Comparing this to my own experiences, I can only recommend working as a STEP trainee. In 1993 I worked six weeks as a trainee at Sigle Loose Schmidt-Diemitz und Partner in Stuttgart. The firm has since then merged to CMS. That summer changed my opinion about attorneys. Seeing real people working with real cases made me respect the profession and I ended up working as an attorney in Helsinki for almost eight years. That was great preparation for my current job as in-house legal counsel at Wärtsilä Norway and definitely decisive for my career choices.

Challenging, interactive and a cultural shock – those are the words with which ELSA member Claudio Piombo describes his recent five month traineeship at Butzel Long in Detroit. Butzel Long has 160

lawyers and a history starting from 1854 and is based in Detroit and in other parts of the US. Claudio is 28 years and is soon to be graduated. Luckily for him, these five months count towards his practice period in Italy. Claudio has been assisting American lawyers in EU and Italian law issues, helping Italians applying for visas and citizenship, translated documents into English and undertaken research work.

"I enjoyed the most the part of my work in which I saw EU and US systems interact." STEP Trainee Claudio Piombo Remembering my own times as a trainee, I wonder whether Claudio’s perception of being a lawyer has changed in any way. ”My perception changed very much, because I discovered a different approach in advising clients. The American style is much more client advising and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) focused, while Italian and European is more based on litigation.” Claudio explains. "The biggest surprise was the way of treating clients and developing business. I enjoyed the most the part of my work in which I saw EU and US systems interact.”, he continues.

As part of the Anniversary Year of ELSA – the ELSA Lawyers Society (ELS) in cooperation with ELSA International wishes to promote the STEP programme amongst alumni of ELSA.

ELSA member Claudio Piombo had the opportunity to work at Butzel Long in Detroit, USA, as a STEP trainee.

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STEP is the one programme of ELSA which really can make a dramatic difference to the professional and personal skills of future lawyers.

I know many of my fellow alumni share the same opinion. By providing STEP jobs to students, we as alumni of ELSA can really help and guide law students to become ”internationally minded and professionally skilled”. But it is up to the individual ELSA groups and STEP officers to approach us alumni and make the offer – ”take a STEP trainee”. Discuss with the potential employers and I am sure that in many law firms and companies, you are able to find sensible and interesting tasks for the STEP trainee. There is ”hidden work” – tasks that the in-house counsel is too busy to do himself, but what would be too expensive to give to a law firm. This is my message to STEP officers – be creative and do not take no for an answer. We are waiting for your calls!

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Delegations

United Nations Human Rights Council

Witnessing Human Rights Development at the Source An ELSA member shares her experience from the 16th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. Participating in an ELSA delegation is a unique opportunity to gain knowlegde and contacts close to ones interests and relevant to any law students' future career.

One of the biggest mistakes that a law student in 20th century can make is to try Burcu Filiz ELSA Delegate to improve their knowledge only by reading textbooks. From now on, civil society needs and values only a lawyer possessing international vision who systematically brushes up on recent developments, global principles and current challenges. Beyond any doubt, the United Nations Human Rights Council introduces us to a glorious and sophisticated stage of international law and encourages to behave as a modern international will do – improve ourselves constantly.

As we all know, ELSA has remarkable reputation among international organisations, as well as in universities. There is no doubt that ELSA's reputation depends on us, our endeavours, and our success. Therefore I truly believe that one of our greatest achievements as members is the trust in ELSA within international society.

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The relationship between ELSA and the UN dates back to 90’s.

ELSA has gained a consultative status with several bodies of the United Nations. In 1994 ELSA was granted a Consultative Status in Category C in the UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation), in 1997 ELSA obtained a Special Consultative Status with the UN ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social Council). In addition, the UNCITRAL (UN Commission on International Trade Law) regularly invites ELSA delegations to participate in their sessions. Moreover, ELSA has a cooperation agreement with the UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees). In October 2005 ELSA obtained an Observer Status with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). Besides these, in 2000 ELSA was granted a Participatory Status with the Council of Europe. This cooperation was further widened with the signing of the Human Rights Partnership between Council of Europe and ELSA in 2008.

Palais des Nations: The United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland.

Delegations Since its replacement of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 2006, the United Nations Human Rights Council remains one of the most important institutions from the point of view of ELSA’s focus on human rights. Representing ELSA in the United Nations Human Rights Council for the whole session, apart from the first week of the session which concentrates on procedural meetings and activities, was a unique opportunity for me as a lawyer and a world-citizen. Not only have I improved my knowledge of human rights, international relations and worldwide politics; but also I have got detailed information on specific subjects at side events.

In 3 weeks of the 16th Session, various topics were presented and discussed. Some of these topics were human rights of people of African Descent, human rights of persons with disabilities, human rights and the prevention of terrorism, rights of the child, right to food, right to water. Moreover, several reports were presented to the Council, such as the Report of Forum on Minority Issues and the Report of the Social Forum. The Session consisted of two main sections: the Universal Periodic Review (a mechanism to check the state of affairs in the different

member countries of the United Nations by the Human Rights Council) and other decision procedures. The decision procedure took altogether two days. Forty resolutions were adopted then.

"The United Nations Human Rights Council introduces us to a glorious and sophisticated stage of international law and encourages to behave as a modern international will do – improve ourselves constantly."

In addition to all these meetings side events were held by the governments or the NGOs aiming to attract attention to certain events or situations. Few of the side events we attended as ELSA Delegates were on Human Rights in China, Human Rights in Iran, Human Rights and Islamophobia, The Role of the Media in Arab Revolutions. Apart from this, we witnessed an exceptional procedure: suspension on Libya was executed. After the report of

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Delegations the cases on human rights violations, Libya’s credibility, which was also discussed in 15th Session, was found unfavourable and the suspension was granted. It was a unique experience for us to get attached to such an important event.

building complex in Europe after Versailles. Apart from Palais des Nations, Geneva hosts numerous international organisations such as the Red Cross, the World Trade Organisation and the International Labour Organisation.

"Representing ELSA in the United Nations Human Rights Council for the session was a unique opportunity for me as a lawyer and a world-citizen."

To be an ELSA delegate is clearly a one of a kind opportunity which must be taken. I recommend everyone to be a part of this magnificent experience. Every ELSA member can apply for Delegations and United Nations Human Rights Council is not the only option. ELSA sends delegations to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, the Assembly of State Parties of the International Criminal Court, the Council of Europe and the World Intellectual Property Organisation; there are enough options for different interests and specialisations. The only condition for being a delegate is to be equipped with good knowledge of the work of the institution as well as a good level of awareness of ELSA work gained by attending and organising ELSA events.

It would be a huge mistake to not mention the magnificent city, Geneva. The United Nations’ office, Palais des Nations, located near Lake Geneva with a beautiful view of French Alps. The building was used as headquarters of the League of Nations between 1929 and 1935. The premises constitute the second-largest

ELSA delagates at the 16th Session of United Nations Human Rights Council.

32

The European Social Charter

Interview: The European Social Charter

The 50 th Anniversary of the European Social Charter Members of the International Board interviewed Mr. Régis Brillat, the head of the Department of the European Social Charter in the Coucil of Europe. Social rights concern every European citizen every day of their life.

The year 2011 celebrates the 50th anniversary of the European Social Charter. Mr. Régis Brillat (RB), the head of the Department of the European Social Charter and Executive Secretary of the European Committee of Social Rights in Council of Europe, describes the development and future of the Charter in an interview to representatives of the International Board of ELSA. ELSA: Mr. Brillat, can you tell us about your professional background?

RB: I’m a lawyer and I joined the Council of Europe in 1983. After working for the European Court of Human Rights, I moved to other departments including the Legal adviser department and the Venice Commission on Constitutional Law Issues. In 1993 the Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe of the time, Peter Leuprecht, appointed me as the head of the Social Charter Department. My aim in this function is to make the indivisibility of Human Rights a reality: to treat the rights in the Social Charter in the same manner as the rights which appear in the European Convention on Human Rights.

The increase of ratifications is one of the achievements of the department in my time. The number of state parties to the European Social Charter has risen from 20, at the beginning, to the current 43.

The second achievement is the implementation of the revised European Social Charter which is more modern compared to the 1961 Charter. Our main achievement is the collective complaints procedure: The Social Charter will become concrete and effective through establishing the procedure of treating complaints from NGOs and trade unions.

ELSA: As the head of the Department of the European Social Charter, how do you advance the enforcement of the Charter?

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RB: Enforcement rests with the monitoring body of the Charter, the European Committee of Social Rights. The Charter does not provide for a Court, contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights, but for a committee of 15 independent and impartial experts. They represent the various legal systems of Europe and monitor the implementation of the Charter at national level. The Committee publishes its conclusions on whether the situation of state parties is in compliance with the Charter.

Secondly, the Committee deals with collective complaints launched

by NGOs and trade unions. There is a first stage of admissibility, examining whether the complaint meets the criteria of the protocol.

The second stage examines the merits of admissible complaints, usually in a written procedure.

Besides facilitating the work of the Committee, I am also involved in awareness-raising of the Charter by communicating with contracting parties and inviting Council of Europe member states to ratify additional commitments and to accept more provisions of the Charter.

ELSA: How do you see the Charter influence the everyday life of an ordinary citizen?

RB: The rights in the Social Charter concern everybody every day of their life. They concern housing, health, education, employment, legal and social protection and non-discrimination. These key concepts demonstrate that the Charter is an active instrument for protecting human dignity.

The European Committee of Social Rights is extremely important as it leads the interpretation of the Charter. However, the influence on the life of European citizens would be greater, if governments reacted more rapidly and more effeciently to the finding of a violation of the 33

The European Social Charter

Members of the International Board of ELSA 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 with The head of the Department of the European Social Charter, Mr. RĂŠgis Brillat.

Charter by taking the appropriate measures and changing the legislation and the practice on national level. It is a very important task for every actor, including trade unions, NGOs, governments, parliaments as well as the judiciary to take the Charter into consideration on national level.

Over the last decade, significant progress was made in spreading information and knowledge about the Social Charter and about the ways it can be implemented in practice. However, we could do better and I would like to invite NGOs and trade unions to constantly refer to the Social Charter as a source of inspiration for collective bargaining, as a source of information for advocating for new legislation and for changes at national level in order to improve the life of European citizens.

ELSA: How would you assess the 50 years of the Social Charter: Is it well-known among European citizens?

RB: In October we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the European Social Charter. The anniversary is an exceptional opportunity to raise awareness of the Charter and to make progress in realizing social rights. During the first decades of the Charter it was virtually 34

unknown and not very effective. In 1990 the Council of Europe decided to revitalize the Social Charter, to update it and to improve the control mechanism, leading to the series of protocols and to the revised European Social Charter.

Nowadays the Charter is a very important actor in the world of human rights. It is a point of reference also for institutions besides the Council of Europe: the European Union, the United Nations as well as national courts. But definitely we can improve: My priority would be the collective complaints procedure. It is accepted only by 14 member states, which is in my view not enough and we must convince the other Council of Europe member states to take the same step.

ELSA: How has the economic crisis influenced your work in the past years?

RB: One major consequence of the economic crisis is a huge social crisis throughout Europe. Work is an essential value of the European Social Charter and it is even a right guaranteed by the Charter and a precondition for the exercise of other rights. Very often social security or social protection is dependent on the fact that you are a

The European Social Charter worker or have been a worker before. Work is vital for citizens’ social inclusion. Therefore the European Committee of Social Rights pays great attention to the evolution of the labour markets.

It is also worth noting that the Committee has received several collective complaints from trade unions, notably concerning Greece, on the measures taken on national level following the crisis. Those trade unions complain that several measures taken are not in compliance with the European Social Charter. The Committee has concluded that they are admissible. Next it will start its examination of the merits of the complaints.

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ELSA: Which steps should be taken in the nearest future towards improving the effective realisation of Social Rights?

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RB: If we consider the last 50 years, Europe was a divided continent with two groups of states: One being part of the Council of Europe. We have managed to unify the European continent within our organisations and now 47 states are Council of Europe member states.

Still, there is a division which is at the heart of human rights: on the one hand civil and political rights and on the other hand social rights. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights embodied all those rights without any distinction. We should strive for having one single European treaty where every right would be treated in the same manner.

There is still a gap with the Human Rights Convention, as there is no right for individual application before the European Committee of Social Rights, nor before the European Court of Human Rights in terms of social rights. We should try to unify the protection of those rights to clearly show that these rights are interconnected since the full respect of social rights can be seen as a prerequisite for the full respect of the European Convention on Human Rights.

ELSA: Could you mention some current issues which need to be addressed?

RB: Talking to students, my first reaction would be a basic principle of fundamental human rights not guaranteed in Europe today: equal pay for work of equal value. It is hard to understand that in European societies women are less paid than men for the same jobs. This should be addressed as a priority.

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www.jmls.edu/international ance, the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and many other activities. That is the situation of the Roma population. Although it varies from one country to another, it is clear that there are many situations where the basic rights and values that the Council of Europe is advocating are not respected.

ELSA: Do you have any recommendations on how we, law students, could advance the goals of the Charter?

RB: Students represent the future and your role is essential towards better implementation and respect of human rights in Europe.

Therefore I would advise you to follow and respect the lessons and experience of your professors. In addition, you should try to find your own position in the issues surrounding human rights. My conviction is that social rights are human rights and whenever you read the contrary, I would invite you to question the author, to study the issue and to make your own judgement.

Working on the European Social Charter, I would also advise you to study the case law of the European Committee of Social Rights and encourage you to be proactive in the implementation of the Social Charter in your professional life as well as in your private life as members of NGOs and associations and to be active in the fight for human rights for all.

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Migration and Human Rights

Council of Europe on Migration

Meeting Challenges to Multicultural Europe

Martyn Bond Press Correspondent for the United Kingdom at Council of Europe

In a speech in Potsdam lst October 2010 Angela Merkel said that multiculturalism had failed. David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy both echoed her opinion early this year. But just what did they mean? Is ‘multiculturalism’ an ideology, a set of policies, or a social reality?

A recent Report launched by the Council of Europe at a ministerial meeting in Istanbul in May - Living Together: Combining Diversity and Freedom in 21st Century Europe - avoids using the term but deals with the substance. Diversity, it declares, is Europe’s destiny.

The continent is a patchwork quilt of languages and tribes, the residue of migrations over several thousand years. Today’s migratory flux is a fact of globalisation.

Many immigrants into Europe remain attached to their heritage, recreating with their neighbours the familiar culture of their previous home. Culture determines identity, and maintaining traditional religious faith helps to bond communities. As a result you can now find a little Anatolia in Berlin, an echo of Algeria in the Parisian suburbs, a miniature Pakistan in the English Midlands.

Most of those who have come to Europe in recent decades expect to stay. Many immigrant families have now been in Europe for two or even three generations. European populations are aging, which means that the economy needs a younger labour force. Europe needs more migrants, not fewer. The European Commission calculates that in the EU alone, over the next fifty years, the indigenous workforce could decrease by nearly 100 million. Without additional migration, that is a recipe for economic decline. But in our crowded, urbanised 36

and highly sophisticated society, immigration on this scale will put European society under considerable strain.

Europe’s record on coping with recent immigration is not good. The fear of globalisation brings with it discrimination, xenophobic and populist parties, Islamic extremism, distorted media images, harmful stereotypes, and inherent prejudice against foreigners. In addition there is a shortage of inspiring leaders in Europe who can articulate a clear and positive vision of the continent’s destiny. In many cases the settled population has failed to accommodate the newcomers, and immigrants have failed to adapt to their new environment.

"The Report argues that all long-term residents in European countries should be accepted as full citizens and be treated equally by the law."

To minimise the strains in society, the Report argues that all long-term residents in European countries should be accepted as full citizens – and all, whatever their faith, culture or ethnicity, must be treated equally by the law, the authorities and their fellow citizens. As residents in Europe, they enjoy the protection of the European Convention on Human Rights, and like all other citizens in a democracy, they should have a say in making the law. But neither their religion nor their culture can be an excuse for breaking it.

The Report does not shy away from suggesting special measures to ensure that members of disadvantaged or marginalised groups within Europe – including indigenous minorities such as the Roma - enjoy genuine equality of opportunity. And to apply these principles in practice, the Report urges states to extend the full rights and

Migration and Human Rights obligations of citizenship to as many of their resident population as possible. As an interim step they should give all foreign residents the right to vote in local elections. Migrants, in return, should obey the law, learn the language used by the majority of their new neighbours, and make themselves economically useful in their new society.

At the same time special treatment does not imply special privileges.

The right to freedom of expression must not be curtailed, by law or practice, to appease violent intimidation by minorities asserting values not shared by the wider community – as in the case of the cartoons of Mohammed. Nor should public statements tending to build or reinforce public prejudice against members of any group – immigrants or others – be left unanswered by figures in society who command respect. Laws against discrimination in all areas of public life should not only be explained to the wider public so that they rest on an accepted consensus – take the recent burqa ban in France, for instance - but also fully implemented in practice. www.coe.int

Much of the Report is couched in terms of ”should” rather than ”must”. It explicitly states that it aims to ”minimise compulsion and maximise persuasion”. Rather than suggest new laws, it proposes a checklist of seventeen guiding principles, which policymakers, opinion leaders and civil society activists can refer to.

The Report rests on liberal assumptions, encouraging and expecting the best of citizens rather than constraining them for fear of the worst. Hence many of its recommendations are addressed as much to civil society as to public authorities. Teachers, the media, employers, trade unions, civil society, churches and religious groups, celebrities and other role models, all have a role to play in changing public attitudes in the direction of greater tolerance and mutual respect. While states have a right and duty to control immigration, the Report urges governments to present citizens with a more realistic picture of Europe’s economic and demographic needs. Europeans should treat asylum seekers and other migrants fairly and humanely, with appropriate solidarity and burden-sharing among European states. Countries should work towards a comprehensive, coherent and transparent immigration policy with a view to minimising acute local problems – for instance, in the Mediterranean – that often hit the headlines. EU states reneging on the principle of free movement by dismantling the Schengen Agreement is no answer, though this has been the reaction to Italy’s granting temporary residence permits to recent migrants, with the consequence that they were at liberty to travel freely to neighbouring countries. At the same time European states should reach out to their neighbours in the Middle East and North Africa, offering them the chance to participate in European institutions and conventions. That could help to ease the pressure of migration in countries of origin, as well as helping in countries of destination. synergy magazine

Living together Combining diversity and freedom in 21st-century Europe

Report of the Group of Eminent Persons of the Council of Europe

The Report was produced by the Group of Eminent Persons established by the Council of Europe - Joschka Fischer, Emma Bonino, Timothy Garton Ash, Martin Hirsch, Danuta Hübner, Ayşe Kadıoğlu, Sonja Licht, Vladimir Lukin and Javier Solana. The Group Secretary was Edward Mortimer, and the full text of the Report can be found at www.coe.int.

Beyond its seventeen strategic recommendations, the Report also proposes more than forty specific measures to improve the situation – facilitating migrants’ access to citizenship, easing the practical situation of asylum seekers, developing education in what it terms ”intercultural competencies” and media literacy, as well as guidelines for ending discrimination in the media and promoting a better balanced narrative about migration. It also proposes measures to monitor discrimination, racism and xenophobia at local, regional and national levels, and urges politicians not to seek political advantage by pandering to extremists and playing the migration card.

The Report is confident that, if states recognise its principles and follow its recommendations, Europe’s democratic security will be better assured. Europe would become a less anxious and more hopeful place than it is today. The term ‘multiculturalism’ may be played out, but the reality of diversity in our European societies still needs considerable attention if we are to manage it without sacrificing some of the freedoms that have made Europe attractive in the first place.

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External Relations

Cooperation with NGOs

Becoming Part of the World

During the last few years the ELSA Network has truly blossomed. We have President reached an impressive 42 National ELSA International Groups and we are now present in over 300 universities. If we look at our Association internally we can see that we have reached more and more universities, and that our cooperation is growing, both in quantity and quality.

Niousha Nademi

Since there has traditionally been a strong focus on the internal matters and on how to improve our Association’s productivity, one area of focus within the last few years has lied on finding new ways to grow, including cooperation with different types of Non-Governmental Organisations.

With previous years’ success in mind we can clearly state that having reached outside of the ELSA sphere has been a key factor in this development. We have tried to work with not only the NGOs but a big focus has been on other student organisations.

We have deepened our cooperation with the Asian Law Students’ Association when it comes to not only the aims of the different associations but also the possibilities that exist when it comes to participation in events in other continents and the opportunities for study visits with our partner law students’ associations.

tions, one notable link is the cooperation we have with the Council of Europe, and the "Our Rights, Our Freedoms" essay and photo competition which were arranged together. When it comes to other NGOs, the development of the cooperation between ELSA and the International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation (IPSF) has been a very positive one. Students from both associations will be conducting legal research as trainees on the topic of Health Law in the Headquarters of the International Pharmaceutical Federation during a period of six months. This exemplifies one way of proceeding and developing our cooperation to be able to fulfill goals even outside of our regular range.

This is why we believe that cooperation and exchange of ideas and knowledge from each other is the way to proceed, and the interest and willingness to learn from each other is how we can continue developing our Association. This applies for all the different Local and National Groups, and from experience we can see that this has been a very successful way of working.

Therefore we would like to encourage you all to expand your scope and make use of all types of cooperation to make sure that we will have an inventive and flourishing development together.

With this in mind, just working with the legal world also has its limitations, and therefore exchanging knowledge also between different fields of activity is of utmost importance. Every association has its strengths, be it arranging international conferences, fundraising, traineeships or research.

Participation in other student organisations’ events has been one example of how one can interact, but there are also other ways.

If we look at it in a broader scope among international organisa38

The winners of the "Our Rights, Our Freedoms" essay and photo competition, together with ELSA's Marraine, Maud De Boer-Buquicchio, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

Legal English

London School of English

Studying Legal English

Nowadays, proficiency in general English is not enough for employers who place President emphasis on specified language skills ELSA Poznań such as business or legal English. Following those trends I would like to encourage you to develop your language skills at the source – in England, and talk about my personal experiences with The London School of English (LSE).

Piotr Szulc

plement each other very well. In my opinion the course format corresponds with the exam’s needs and it helped me to feel more confident.

In conclusion, The London School of English courses are designed perfectly to meet law students’ expectations, both at developing legal English and getting familiar with the common law system. I recommend those courses to all demanding and ambitious law students who would like to build up their abilities.

Firstly, I would like to clarify why I have chosen LSE. It is the oldest English language school designed for foreigners, founded in 1912.

As a result, this school has unrivalled experience in teaching English through a learning system which is personal and individualised. Secondly, LSE offers a variety of courses and what is the most interesting and what encouraged me to join, are specialised courses fitting lawyers' expectations. Law students can choose the English for Young Lawyers course and examination courses (TOLES/ILEC preparation) in which I have participated in July 2011. Thirdly, LSE is a Partner of ELSA International, and as an ELSA member you can get 10% discount on all courses at the school.

'The Legal English: English for Young Lawyers' course lasts for three weeks and covers vocabulary from civil law and EU law to the language of more specified areas of law. I appreciated during the course that it consists not only of regular classes but also includes gues lecturers and external visits such as visits to the Crown Court and the Royal Court of Justice, where I had a chance to observe both criminal and civil cases. The course itself is mostly focused on expanding legal vocabulary and communication skills but also improving written English.

The Test of Legal English Skills (TOLES) preparation course is especially aimed for those who wish to take the TOLES Advanced exam which is also possible at LSE. The intensive, one-week TOLES preparation course fits well with the Young Lawyers course and they comsynergy magazine

39

Expansion

Membership of ELSA Albania

"ELSA Albania, Please Approach!"

ELSA Albania represents one of the groups who experienced a bumpy road, partially bePresident ELSA Albania cause of regional and national problems and 2010/2011 partially because of issues we come across everyday in any student organisation. However, in October 2010 ELSA Albania embarked on a different journey, one towards the breakthrough in the International Council Meeting in Poznan.

was waiting for us during the meeting. I remember someone saying after the ICM that the first night we looked like scared lambs. That is the truth – probably because in the months prior we had worked so hard and especially knowing that this was the last shot for membership made the pressure grow. The way the Network welcomed us and our application was truly beyond our expectations. We were voted as a new full Member of ELSA by a majority of votes and that felt … amazing – I would say amazing to the point of tearing up.

During ICM Lisbon in March 2008 ELSA Albania became an observer country when its application was approved unanimously. This was a great achievement and definitely one which paved the path for us. Even so it appeared that there was a lot more to do. So when in October 2010 a group of eager students decided to take up this once in a lifetime -project, they had no clue about what to do, how big this Network was and how it would change their life. What was sure was that Albanian students were for a long time looking for a chance like this. They quickly expressed their interest and thus ELSA Albania was rapidlygrowing into one of the largest organisations of its type in Tirana.

In Poland we all understood the importance of being internationally minded, participating in and organising international events.

We saw the effect which participating in an international event had on us, how it really expressed the ELSA Spirit and this made the following months even more important. The ICM served not only as recognition of the work done but it helped us to strengthen the cooperationwith other groups. As a consequence immediately after the ICM, we organized together with ELSA Republic of Macedonia the first Bilateral Study Visit ever for ELSA Albania. We became partners in the Summer Law School ”Beat the Wolf” organised by ELSA Italy and seven of our members participated in it. At the moment we have started planning events for the new academic year and intend to raise ELSA Albania to the next level.

Nevin Alija

We are very glad that during our journey we had the cooperation of such an amazing coach as Ezgi Kilinç, Vice President for Academic Activities of ELSA International 2010/2011.

She also visited us in Albania during January becoming the first representative of ELSA International in Albania in a long time.

Our time to shine was ICM Poznan. When starting our trip, we were very anxious of what 40

At the end I would like to thank everyone for helping us to start this journey. The National Board of ELSA Albania 2010/2011 did the best they could and now while passing on to another very motivated board, we know that - all it takes is ELSA Spirit!

CBL Law School

ELSA and CBL International 2012

Law School in Dubai

For the third consecutive year, ELSA and CBL International are providing ELSA Regional Manager members with the opportunity to acquire CBL International global education. This winter all ELSA members will have the chance to participate in the journey of a life-time to Dubai.

Pablo Carvallo

The past success of the ELSA - CBL International Law School has been greatly attributed to its relevance in today’s international affairs where students experience first-hand the new legal and economic trends of the most important regions around the world. Due to the world’s recent economic instability, the scales of power have tipped in a new direction. For that reason, ELSA and CBL International are providing ELSA members with the highest quality of international education in the most commercial city in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai.

tions such as NASDAQ Dubai, JP Morgan, FedEx Middle East, Dubai International Financial Centre and others.

The ELSA – CBL International Dubai Law School takes place on the 27th December 2011 through to the 8th January 2012. Please feel free to contact us at elsa@cbl-international.com and to visit the programme website www.cbl-international.com/elsa to apply or for any additional information on prices, dates and special discounts.

During the past few months, the Middle East has experienced significant political changes, while the UAE on the other hand has proven to be the most stable country in the region, serving as mediators and an example of stability to the rest. As the leaders in the region it is important to understand their foundation in order to then understand their key to success.

The principles of Islamic law have had a profound success in the commercial sector of the Middle East and are extremely important for European enterprises to understand, as interest for the region’s market is growing. During their time in Dubai, delegates will have the chance to better understand this region by studying the basics of Sharia Law, Islamic Finance and Banking, and Intercultural Communications. In addition, participants of the ELSA – CBL International Dubai Law School will have the pleasure to assist company visits to multinational corporasynergy magazine

41

IFP - Health Law

IFP Mid-Evaluation Conference 2012

"Mental Health Law and Human Rights" The IFP highlight of spring 2012 will be the IFP Mid-Evaluation Conference in Trieste.

After its first year in the ELSA Network the Local Board of ELSA Trieste is ready to face a new challenge and proudly invites all of you to the Mid-Evaluation Conference on IFP, which will take place in Trieste from 16th to 22nd of April 2012.

Antonella Biasi Head of OC IFP Mid-Evaluation Conference

We decided to choose the specific topic ”Mental Health Law and Human Rights” inspired by the activity of Franco Basaglia, Italian psychiatrist, reformer of Italian psychiatry and founder of the modern meaning of mental health, who has been director of the psychiatric hospital in our city. He proposed the dismantling of psychiatric hospitals and was the principal proponent of the law which abolished them in Italy (known as Basaglia Act).

Franco Basaglia didn’t approve of inhumane treatments, shock therapies, physical abuse, strait jackets, ice packs, bed ties and considered psychiatric hospital as an oppressive, prison-like institution. Having regard to his great attention to human suffering and to many recent programmes launched by WHO in this field, we also choose to focus on the issue of the protection of the rights of people affected by mental illness.

Lorenzo Licitra President ELSA Trieste

We are preparing a high level academic programme with the cooperation of the University of Trieste and many international and national experts in order to give to all participants the chance to increase their knowledge in this field of law and to discuss with other young law

The Castle of Miramare will be one of the venues of the cultural programme at the IFP Mid-Evaluation Conference, held on 16th to 22nd of April 2012 in Trieste, Italy.

42

IFP - Health Law

students and graduates about the topic. Lectures and workshops will focus on human rights violations, mental illness and everyday life, medical treatment, informed consent, places of care and ”madness” in art, literature and theatre.

"Our goal is to increase the debate concerning mental health care and mental health promotion and to understand the conditions of people affected by mental illness."

The goal we would like to achieve is to increase the debate concerning mental health care and mental health promotion and to understand the conditions of people affected by mental illness. Furthermore, we aim at improving the knowledge of the participants concerning mental diseases and their families and the strategies adopted at a national level in different European countries in order to prevent human rights violations and inhumane treatments.

synergy magazine

Speakers will offer contributions not only from a legal point of view, but also an alternative vision resulting from their experiences in a medical, psychological and philosophical field. This will provide the participants with a deeper knowledge of the topic and for ELSA it will be a great opportunity to involve other students’ associations (medical and pharmaceutical, for example) as partners.

The event will take place in different venues: the University of Trieste, the former psychiatric hospital and one of the oldest cafes in Trieste. Participants will have the opportunity to visit the most characteristic and beautiful places and the city’s hidden corners. There is no better way to start a tour than by setting off from two of Trieste’s best known and most magical places: the Castle of Miramare with its wonderful gardens and the Castle of San Giusto. Our cultural programme, in addition to the visits, will also include a theatrical and musical show, an artistic and photo exhibition about places of care in Italy and Europe and a live performance by different artists interpreting the theme of madness through their drawings and paintings.

We will do our best to meet your expectations and we hope to see you in Trieste next spring. The OC is already working for you, so don't miss it!

43

Study Visit

Bilateral Study Visit

"Strengthening the ELSA Network through friendship" The organisers of two sides of a study visit share their experience and views on improving the international nature of our Association: increasing motivation and bringing forward new ideas through a bilateral study visit.

Nevin: It all started with a warm hello, Nevin Alija President smiling face and an offer for help and ELSA Albania friendship. Coming back from Poland with 2010/2011 hopes and plans to get ELSA Albania to a new level, I decided to take that person on her word. I sent a short email to Ljupka, President of ELSA Republic of Macedonia, asking if she would want to be a partner on what resulted in one of the best experiences our ELSA group has had so far.

Ljupka: Of course I accepted immediately and so in a lapse of time of less than a month we organized everything. How could I miss the chance to cooperate with one of the most energetic ELSA people I have ever met? We haven’t had a study visit in ELSA Repub-

Ljupka Noveska President ELSA Republic of Macedonia 2010/2011

lic of Macedonia for 4 years, and I knew it right away that ELSA Albania were the guest we were waiting for.

During the organization of the Study Visit there were many changes along the way concerning the programme and logistics and of course unexpected issues would come up. Even so we made it: Suddenly there were 11 law students from Albania on a bus heading for Republic of Macedonia, looking so much forward to seeing again people they had only met once.

During the event itself, organisation worked smoothly: Thanks to the VP S&C of ELSA Republic of Macedonia Sanja Trajanovska, everything was going according to plan.

One day before, the Albanian group and the coach of ELSA Republic of Macedonia, Laurits, came to Skopje.

This study visit was about friendship, spending time together, getting to know each other and our groups. It was incredible how exchanging experiences made us realize that we were very similar – to the point of thinking about future cooperation. ELSA Republic of Macedonia showed a side of the city which the participants had never seen. We visited Vodno St. Pantelejmon with a panorama of Skopje; Scupi, a town from late ancient and Roman period, located in north-western part

44

Study Visit worries and during the study visit the participants understood why study visits are so important to the Network.

As the hosting group, the people of ELSA Republic of Macedonia agree on this note – The study visit was the first of many to follow!

When asked to define ELSA, some of us say networking.

There is no better way than a study visit to strengthen this Network, spread the ELSA Spirit, the knowledge and the motivation. On this study visit apart from the organisers, all the participants were freshers who knew only the very basics of ELSA and did not have a clear vision of the multitude of things ELSA is about. After spending 3 days talking, socialising, sharing experiences and knowledge, like ELSAnians do it – walking, laughing, and singing everywhere we go – two of those participants are now members of the National Board of ELSA Albania 2011/2012.

"There is no better way than a study visit to strengthen this Network, spread the ELSA Spirit, the knowledge and the motivation." of Skopje; Canyon Matka where we also took a boat trip and had the chance to see some of the most beautiful underwater caves – bats included – and the Old Bazaar. Since during our study visit we had the chance to have the Vice President for Marketing of ELSA International with us, we also had a workshop on the corporate identity of ELSA and on negotiation. We visited the Law Faculty and had a chance to see the offices of ELSA Republic of Macedonia and to get to know their activities and future plans. The Macedonian organisers were glad to have a chance to show their city and were amazed to see the shine in the guests’ eyes as they looked at the everyday surroundings of the local organisers. Friendship is the most adequate word to describe what the result of this study visit was. And it was a great experience.

ELSA is about communication in the Network, true friendships and wonderful journeys. Study visits are the right way to accomplish that and moreover to establish a firm connection between National Groups. Through international events of a smaller scale, such as study visits like this one, members have the chance to meet everybody, get to know them better and build new cooperation.

Especially for smaller National Groups like ours, these events are a perfect opportunity to create a bond that lasts and takes us few steps ahead in our development. This experience proved the importance of these events to us. The participants cannot wait to meet their friends in Albania for the second part of the bilateral study visit!

This was the first study visit ELSA Albania ever took part in and organized. As everything was done for the first time, the Albanian organisers had their concerns.

What to expect? How will the visit relate to ELSA? Will we have fun? Will we get along? These proved to be unnecessary synergy magazine

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Legal Education

International Conference

"Speak Up!" The Legal Right toExpress Yourself An international conference on the rights of expression, organised by ELSA Bulgaria, is proof of the Group entering a new phase of international activity and participation in ELSA.

ELSA Bulgaria was established in 1989 and for some years it was not very acVice President Marketing ELSA Bulgaria tive on international level. However, a 2010/2011 few enthusiastic people, having decided to see what ELSA actually is and how it develops, faced the challenging task of bringing ELSA Bulgaria back to the international level. Having acquired members at the five largest law faculties in the country, ELSA Bulgaria developed relations with such renowned organisations as the Council of Europe in Bulgaria, The Foundation America for Bulgaria, The American Embassy, UNICEF Bulgaria, The Foundation ”Open Society”, The Sofia University itself, The New Bulgarian University and others. This success inspired and encouraged the young team to organise their first international event – an international conference on media and politics in 2010!

Simona Veleva

renowned and highly respected Bulgarian professor of Constitutional law, Prof. Georgi Bliznashki. All of them offered bright and very productive lectures, which turned into fruitful and crucial discussions. ”Speak Up!” was the grand closing of a much bigger project which had begun in 2010 when ELSA took part in the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Council of Europe. International student legal research groups, working in the field of freedom of speech in media and politics in Europe, presented their work during the event.

”Speak Up! The Legal Right To Express Yourself ” took place in the old capital of Bulgaria- the ancient and beautiful city of Veliko Turnovo. Students from Bulgaria, Greece, Georgia, Ukraine, Austria and the United Kingdom gathered for a once in a lifetime experience and at the same time for developing their skills as future lawyers.

Apart from that, ELSA Bulgaria offered its guests a unique cultural program. The municipality of Veliko Turnovo helped a lot by kindly allowing to hold the opening of the conference in the actual Constitutional Hall, where the first Bulgarian Constitution was signed and which nowadays is a historical museum. Our guests had the possibility to experience the famous ”Sound and Light Show”, highlighting the most important events in Bulgarian history. The participants enjoyed the finest cuisine, the best views and the most exciting social programme, all the time surrounded by the beauty of Bulgaria's old capital- Veliko Turnovo.

ELSA Bulgaria had the honour and the unique chance to invite and to host some amazing lecturers such as: Mr. David Corn, an attorney and a professor in New Orleans, who came from the United States of America specially for the conference; Prof. Bistra Zankova, a lector representing the Council of Europe, and the

As always in ELSA, the conference was appropriately closed with a round of loud applause, a lot of new lifetime friendships and also some tears. We departed not with a ”Goodbye!” but rather with a ”Well done! We should do that again! It was an unique experience, my friend, see you soon!”

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Legal Education

International Summer Law School

Summer Law School on World Trade Organisation Law in Romania ELSA Cluj-Napoca introduces its new Summer Law School, inspired by the ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law (EMC2).

ELSA Cluj-Napoca is proud to offer the First Edition of the World Trade Organization Law International Summer School, an event which will take place in July 2012, near Sibiu (Hermannstadt), the Cultural Capital of Europe in 2007.

Bogdan Buta

Timea Sojka

President

Diretor for PR

ELSA Cluj-Napoca

ELSA Cluj-Napoca

Having organized three Regional Rounds of The ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law (EMC2), ELSA Cluj-Napoca initiates another great international event focused on International Trade Law. The WTO Law Summer School is a truly unique event in Europe, covering numerous areas, including topical issues not addressed by a majority of European universities, such as Mercantilism, Free Trade, Economic Nationalism and Economic Integration.

The main purpose of the Summer School is to give law students a chance to meet practitioners of trade law and to learn from their experience in the field of trade law: to allow a glimpse into the backstage of the practice of law in an international setting, starting from fundamental notions of Balance of Trade, Trade Pact, synergy magazine

Trade Creation, Export Orientation, Import Substitution, Trade Finance, Domestic Trade or Tax, and closing with some practical aspects to brush up newly acquired theoretical knowledge.

The first edition of the WTO Law Summer School aims to bring together up to 30 interested students from all over the world and provide the opportunity to improve their understanding of the WTO law and to interact with representatives from World Trade Organization along with highly-regarded lecturers from European universities.

The academic features of our event will be spiced up with a variety of social experiences that will give you the opportunity of bonding together and introducing ELSA Spirit. Moreover, you will have a chance to discover the most alluring sites of Romania, while sharing a wide range of international views.

So, why not spend a week in Romania? For further details please visit www.cluj-napoca. elsa.ro.

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Legal Education

Legal Research

'1 in 5' Legal Research Group Once again, ELSA cooperates with its Human Rights Partner, the Council of Europe, on an international project spanning the whole ELSA Network.

This year, ELSA is extremely proud to present a new project in cooperation Director for Academic Activities with the Council of Europe focusing on ELSA International Children’s Rights. The name of the project is ”One in Five: Stop Sexual Violence Against Children”. By its nature, the project is a Legal Research Group (LRG) brought to life by ELSA International. The Legal Research Group is organized for law students and young lawyers enthusiastic about ELSA and its involvement within human rights.

Khrystyna Brodych

The history of the creation of ”One in five” dates back to November 29, 2010. On that very day the ”One in five campaign” was launched by the Council of Europe in Rome, Italy. And since then ELSA did its best to promote the campaign in its 42 member countries and in various national and international meetings.

In the meantime, ELSA started a Legal Research Group named '1 in 5' with the purpose of further development and strengthening of students’ interest to the Children’s Rights as an important subdivision of Human Rights in general. The '1 in 5' project will become a compilation of country reports analyzing the legislative situation of Children’s Rights in each country. Hence, this project will primarily require an enthusiastic approach and consistent work on the part of National Groups.

The National Groups are expected to dwell upon the various aspects of the following issues in their reports: the minimum age of criminal responsibility and sexual consent in Europe, sexual violence against children, child pornography, child-sensitive counseling, complaint and reporting mechanisms, etc. The list is 48

indicative and non-exhaustive and any kind of initiative is more than welcome, as always.

The '1 in 5' will be coordinated by its International Coordination Board which will consist of the 42 Coordinators of each National Research Group and the Director for Academic Activities of ELSA International. For each National Research Group, ELSA International will appoint one Academic Advisor. We expect that every National Research Group will consist of 10 students and young lawyers elected by ELSA International according to their academic qualities upon the examination of a professional who is an expert in its field.

Let me draw your special attention to the fact that another very important deadline is approaching – in October 2011, during the ICM Palermo the marketing materials will be distributed and a call for researchers and Coordinators of the National Research Groups will be launched. After a year of tough work the output of all National Research Groups will be presented in the ICM in October 2012 and the respective reports will be placed in a dedicated section of the Campaign ”One in five” website.

We expect this project to evoke enthusiasm in those who have a genuine interest in human rights protection. ELSA puts a special emphasis on the subdivision of Children’s Rights as the least protected and vulnerable to any kind of abuse segment of society. We believe that the '1 in 5' Legal Research Project will become another step forward to ELSA’s primary objective of building ”A just world in which there’s respect for human dignity and cultural diversity”.

EMC 2

ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law

Facing the Global Challenge – for the 10 th Time!

This year the flagship project of ELSA – the ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law (EMC2) is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Once again, law students from around the world have the opportunity to improve their knowledge on WTO law, to practice their skills as orators and to experience the excitement of mooting.

In spring 2012 EMC² will for the 10th Iryna Polovets time bring together the brightest young Assistant for EMC minds from all over the world to argue a ELSA International hypothetical case in front of panels consisting of renowned trade law experts. The anniversary edition of the Final Oral Round of EMC² will take place in May 2012 in Montpellier, France.

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As always, the FOR will be preceded by five Regional Rounds where the highest ranked teams qualifying for the Final Oral Round will be selected. At present, there are two ELSA Regional Rounds, this year to be held in Maastricht (the Netherlands) and Münster (Germany), and three non-ELSA Regional Rounds – the Latin American Regional Round, the Asia-Pacific Regional Round and the North American Regional Round. Hopefully, given the increasing popularity of the EMC² among law students, more Rounds will be under way.

I will briefly highlight my ”insider’s look” at the advantages of stepping into the competition and outline where the EMC² road might bring you.

I clearly remember the day when I first happened to visit the Ukrainian National Round of EMC². I gazed speechlessly at students making statements before a simulated panel on a very intriguing subject - biofuels. I was enchanted by their expertise in WTO law, fluency in English and eloquence with which they delivered their arguments. On that very day, I set my heart on stepping into their shoes and participating in EMC² myself.

After launching the case of the EMC² 10th edition, many students are currently second guessing their decision ”to be or not to be” in the competition. As a kind of ”EMC² veteran” (this will be my 4th year of involvement) I often receive requests from those who still have to decide whether or not to take up the challenge about the benefits of participation. In a nutshell, there are two of them – The finalist teams of EMC2 had the opportunity to argue in front of an international panel of WTO knowledge and opportunities. In this article professionals. synergy magazine

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EMC 2

" I will never forget the words of Mr. Ricardo Ramírez-Hernández: 'When I was a student, there was no such moot court. And for a little boy like me, getting to the WTO was like flying to the Moon. So if I did it, just imagine how far you can go'."

The World Trade Organisation Headquarters in Geneva worked as the venue for the final pleadings of EMC2.

Arguing in front of the ”real world” WTO panelists and Appellate Body members in the Final Oral Round taking part in the Dominican Republic was simply beyond description. And I will never forget the words of Mr. Ricardo Ramírez-Hernández (current Appellate Body member), which turned into a perpetual source of inspiration for me: ”When I was a student, there was no such moot court. And for a little boy like me, getting to the WTO was like flying to the Moon. So if I did it, just imagine how far you can go.”

And indeed, you can go far. The examples of the previous EMC² participants are more than illustrative – you can enroll into one of the world’s best trade law programmes, get an internship at one of the trade law firms or international organizations, meet your future employer in one of the Rounds or even pave your way to permanent employment in the ”holy of holies” for everyone interested in international trade – the WTO. In my own case, participation in the EMC² resulted in getting a job in the trade law field and later – a scholarship for studying WTO law at one of the EMC² sponsoring universities.

Of course it all comes with a price. EMC² is a long distance race and requires a good deal of determination and hard work. The competition has two stages. At the first one, you have to prepare two memorandums (for both the complainant and the respondent), around 30 pages each. After that, you need to pick and choose your strongest arguments and present them orally in front of a panel of experts in trade law and policy.

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As a result, you not only improve your research, analytical and writing skills, but also perfect your oral advocacy skills and learn to work in a team and under time pressure. As these are the qualifications of the utmost importance for every litigator, participation in the moot court becomes a valuable resume builder.

On a more personal level, participation in EMC² brings into your life many interesting people, who may become your future colleagues, employers, classmates and maybe even more. It allows you to see other countries and cultures, broadens your mind and widens your horizons. To sum up, participation in EMC² may open some doors which seemed to be closed before. And then it is only up to you which door to enter and what way to choose…

As an ”EMC² addict”, I encourage every law student who has read the above, to start the ball rolling towards the profession you choose right now, and to check out the EMC² official website (www.elsamootcourt.org). Once giving it a shot, you will be absolutely ecstatic about the result!

The winning team of EMC2 with WTO law expert Professor Thomas Cottier.

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