Annual Report ELSA International 2009/2010

ELSA Annual Report 09|10

ELSA International Board 2009/2010

ELSA Annual Report2

The International Team of ELSA 2009/2010

Frida Orring Vice President Marketing

Mirko Djukovic, Vice President Student Trainee Exchange Programme

Leonid Cherniavskyi, President

Sofia Kallio, Vice President Seminars & Conferences

Peter Christian Binau-Hansen, Treasurer

Amanda Bertilsdotter Nilsson, Vice President Academic Activities

Timo Kortesoja, Secretary General

Nina Prantl, Director for International Focus Programme

Stephanie Denowell, Director for Advertisements

Ana Vouk, Director for Training

Morten Rydningen, Director for EMC2

Annamari Männikkö, Director for STEP

„Run By and For Law Students and Young Lawyers“

3ELSA Annual Report

Annual Report 2009-2010This Annual Report is produced by ELSA In-ternational in Brussels, Belgium. The articles are contributions by the members of the In-ternational Team, comprising the International Board and Directors. Furthermore, the closest externals with which the International Board 2009-2010 have cooperated have made a con-tribution of their experience of working with ELSA. The Annual Report is published every year at the end of the term in office of each International Board.

Editor

Frida Orring

ELSA International

Phone: +32 2 646 26 26Fax: + 32 2 646 29 23E-mail: [email protected]: www.elsa.org

ELSA International’s Corporate Partner

ELSA International’s Human Rights Partner

ELSA International’s Auditing Partner

ELSA International’s English Language Partner

ELSA International’s Media Partner

ELSA International’s Marketing & IT partner

ELSA is supported by

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

mote social responsibility of law students and young lawyers.Means To provide opportunities for law students and young lawyers to learn about other cul-

tures 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 30 000 law students and young lawyers from more than 200 universities in 41 countries across Europe. ELSA currently has members and observers in: Albania, Armenia, Austria, 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 Federa-tion, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and United Kingdom. Furthermore, ELSA co-operates with other student organisations across the world, for instance ILSA in North America, COLADIC in South America, ALSA in 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 experience in foreign legal systems and practices. Through our activities such as Seminars & Conferences, Aca-demic Activities and the Student Trainee Exchange Programme our members acquire a broader cultural understanding and legal expertise.

Our Special StatusELSA has through its activities and commitment within the international community gained a special status with several international institutions. 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, in 1994 ELSA was granted Consultative Status in Category C in UNESCO. ELSA also obtained Observatory Status with WIPO in 2005. In addition, ELSA has a co-operation agreement with UNHCR and co-operates with UNCITRAL, ICRC and all the European Union Institutions.

Marraine & Patrons

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

We want to thank Mr. Teja Picton Howell, member of the Executive Committee of the ELSA Lawyers’ Society, for his support to ELSA International in the field of external relations and trademark application. Our special thank you goes to Mr. Russell Denoon Duncan who has been supporting ELSA for many years and was our source of inspiration and advice.

About ELSA

CMS_LawTax_CMYK_over100.eps

Since 1912

4 ELSA Annual Report4

Index

Letter to ELSA 5

Final words from the International Board 2009/2010 6

Highlights 2009/2010 8

Partners

New cooperations 2009/2010 10CMS 12

Mazars 13

Council of Europe 14

London School of English 16

C5 Group 17

Highlights 2009/2010 18

Legal Education

New member of ELSA - Ireland 20

ELS - ELSA Lawyers Society 21

A selection of International Events 22

ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law - EMC2 24

ELSA - CBL China Law School 25

ELSA International Focus Programme - IFP 26

New regulations 2009/2010 28

Final Accounts 30

5ELSA Annual Report

Letter to ELSA

Thousands of words have been written about Human Rights but I know of none which set out the essential concept better than ELSA’s noble vision “A just world in which there is respect for human dignity and cultural diversity”. In another successful year ELSA has, with this vision, continued to make an increasingly im-portant contribution to the Europe we all want to see and to be-nefit its members. By dealing with topics not normally covered by law school cur-ricula ELSA provides its members with extra technical skills and those engaged in ELSA’s activities benefit even more by gaining management experience and communication skills which will be inva-luable in the development of their careers. All of this is excellent. But I believe it is the international aspect of ELSA which makes it so special. We live in an increasingly in-dependent world. Most lawyers will, in one way or another, be affected by this. You may be asked to advise a foreign investor: your client may need your advice in setting up in another jurisdiction. The ability to form a quick relationship and work with someone from a different culture is a valuable attribute. The ICMs and simi-lar events give a unique opportunity of developing these skills. And the good news is that you can do so at the famous ELSA parties and not only at working sessions. Many ELSA members will be-come leaders in their communities: it is important for them to be able to think internationally. So I urge everyone who can do so to be active in ELSA. I had the pleasure at being at the recent ICM in Malta. Here was another good example of ELSA at work. 299 members from 36 European countries, a delegation from Indonesia, and an ELS meeting as well. The President, the Internatio-nal Board, the OC and indeed everyone involved deserved congratulations. This was a week when, in addition to useful business, you could form international relationships and ex-pand your international networks.

„I urge everyone who can do so to be active in ELSA“

I took the liberty at a plenary of explaining how I thought lawyers (including business lawyers despite their reputation !) could conti-nue to contribute to ELSA’s fine vision. Business lawyers are part of the wealth creating section of society. By setting high standards of efficiency and integrity they can make a significant contribution to a sound and prosperous society. Never forget integrity is a lawyer’s greatest asset, and that it is up to lawyers to set high standards for others to follow. Having been a Patron of ELSA Poland some years ago I am bi-ased, but I was pleased to learn the thirtieth anniversary will be

celebrated in Poznan! I have also been honoured to have been a Patron of

ELSA International so I can also see the broader perspective and this tells me that everyone who has contributed to ELSA in the past and those are doing so now are to be congratulated on a most remarkable achievement. My best wishes to you all.

Russell Denoon Duncan Former Senior Partner of Cameron Markby Hewitt Former President of British-Polish Legal Association

Former Patron of ELSA

Former Patron of ELSA addresses the association and its members

6 ELSA Annual Report

Charles Millhuff said that many of life‘s circumstances are crea-ted by three basic choices: the disciplines you choose to keep, the people you choose to be with; and, the laws you choose to obey. Whether it started off as a matter of choice or destiny, the International Board 2009/2010 lived ELSA for one year – the most memorable year of our lives.

What was dis-cipline for us? It was the de-termination to strive towards our goals as a team and as i n d i v i d u a l s . We brought our experience and our visi-ons together as individuals, and we grew up as a team with a motto – One board, one desire. The desire was to

achieve our goals, act professionally and always give the best of oneself. As we have experienced, a year of living ELSA is not a race towards the end, but a mosaic full of memories, great peo-ple, professionalism, battles and laughters. It is a joyride.

As a team our board pointed out what was the focus in each of our areas of activities. We wanted more of legal writing, a successful edition of EMC2, legal research groups, a variety of events and study visits, improving ELSA delegations, following up on the IFP topic, making sure that we exchange as many students and traineeships worldwide providing quality, impro-ving the communication in the Network and the ITP system,

and making sure that the ELSA brand lives through Synergy and the website, making sure that finances are in order and exploring possibilities for grants, taking care about the newly established ELSA Development Foundation and developing our external contacts and being a leading team of professio-nals. Of course all these pieces of the puzzle called the One Year Operational Plan were in line with the Strategic Goals of our association.

How did we choose the people to be with? Simply we didn’t. It was the choice of the International Council in Budva, Monte-negro in spring 2009. Each of the individuals brought their cul-ture, experience and personalities to the stage. Together we met our own strengths and weaknesses and as a result we learned to live and work as a team and not just next to each other. We appreciate the advice and example that the previous Internatio-nal Boards gave us, and in addition, we were supported by two people we owe a lot. Our great ITP trainers Ka-rina Sultanova and Pierangelo Grazziani helped us to confront our personali-ties and to learn about ourselves and about our new family. The-re is one essential thing in living in a team – success of one is a suc-cess of the team. This success was not done by us alone, but we had the pleasure

Final words from the International Board 2009/2010

„Carried by a network of driven people”

International Board

7ELSA Annual Report

ternationality and giving a good example for the network to follow. Discussing every single step beforehand we learned that the only way to achieve our goals is to be open towards the Network and its needs. But one of the main rules however is the one that defines how to keep up team spirit and enjoy every single moment working in ELSA. That is the vision we share, the vision that is the core of all of ELSA’s activities: A just world in which there is a respect for human dignity and cultural diversity.

ELSA’s future is defined by the people in it, by the history we have, and by the activities we are organising. We are proud that the 29th year of existence of our beautiful organisation was a part of our lives and we were a part of ELSA’s life. We are soon to celebrate the 30th year of the association where ELSA enthusiasts will be welcomed to many events that will celeb-rate the three decades of work of thousands of people all over Europe. We will be ready to learn about Health law as our new International Focus Programme, about legal challenges all over Europe and how this is connected with every day life.

Albert Camus said “Don‘t walk in front of me; I may not fol-low. Don‘t walk behind me; I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend”; this is how we saw the role of the In-ternational Board. We hope that the term 2009/2010 will be remembered as a year of friendship and that you all felt that you were a part of the joyride.

to welcome five precious people in our team. Evaluating our goals and the needs of the Network we were working for, we appointed Annamari Männikkö from ELSA Fin-land as a Director for STEP, Ana Vouk from ELSA Slo-venia as a Director for Training, Nina Prantl from ELSA Germany as a Director for International Focus Program-me, Stephanie Denowell also from ELSA Germany as a Director for Advertisements and Morten Rydningen from ELSA Norway as a Director for EMC2. They were our right hand without which we wouldn’t have reached the goals we set as a team. For that we are grateful and we appreciate first of all their friendship and support and, of course, their devotion to work with us and for one of the key team players; the player without whom all our efforts wouldn’t be worth: the ELSA Network. Together with the Network we strived to create the tools needed to reach the Strategic Goals for 2013 and to develop the association of 41 countries to the place where it is now.

But what are the laws that we set? Besides the rules that we were obliged to follow, such as our Statutes and Standing Or-ders and the Council Meeting Decision Book, there were some additional rules that we committed to. We acknowledged the importance of our task to represent the worlds’ largest law students’ association and strove towards professionalism, in-

International Board


Highlights 2009/2010

289 delegates from 35 member countries present at the autumn International Council Meeting in Sinaia, Romania

79 trainings held by our International Trainers Pool for active ELSA members throughout the network

5 new Legal Research Groups*

16 % increasement of STEP traineeship placements

Statistics of the executive year 2009/2010 in comparison to the previous year

.

.

9ELSA Annual Report

289 delegates from 35 member countries present at the autumn International Council Meeting in Sinaia, Romania


6 % increasement of ELSA members (according to the State of the Network Enquiry)

299 delegates from 36 member countries present at the spring International Council Meeting in Qawra, Malta

99% more applicants for our STEP placements

* Legal Research Group (LRG) is a project in which ELSA members investigate a specific legal topic across boarders.


The ELSA Vision is supported by thirty thousand law students and young lawyers in 41 European countries and has been the source of strength of our network. The idea of “a just world in which there is respect for human dignity and cultu-ral diversity” has also been supported by

numerous external organisations and companies throughout the almost thirty years of existence of our Association. They support it by becoming a Partner of ELSA and with financial or in-kind contributions increase the value of the projects and events that are organised throughout Europe by students for students who all share the same vision. In this manner our Partners support the development of legal education in Euro-pe and contribute to the mutual understanding and social responsibility of ELSA members.

Different law firms, education providing companies and law schools, international intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations, professional associations, IT- and media-companies, travel agencies and publishing houses have been supporting ELSA and our projects throughout the years for the same reasons.

The past year has been very successful for our Association in the sphere of external relations bringing ten different firms and organi-sations to the number of the Partners and supporters of ELSA.

English Language PartnerELSA as an international association brings together students and young professionals from different European countries to work together on different projects aimed at improving legal education and mutual understanding among future lawyers of the continent.

Through these activities they learn how to cooperate successful-ly with other nations, how to understand and deal with cultural differences and together work for the same goals. The official lan-guage of ELSA is English. It was for these reasons that this year the London School of English has gladly accepted our offer to be-come the English Language Partner of ELSA. This partnership has provided our members not only with an easier access to the high-quality general and legal English training but also will gave them an opportunity to receive a professional training on intercultural communication skills from the qualified trainers of the London School of English at the upcoming International Council Meeting in Alanya, Turkey.

Auditing PartnerPositioning ourselves as a professional organisation we aim to com-ply with this status in all spheres of our activities including our financial reporting. Especially having received a grant from the Eu-ropean Commission this year we understand how important it is that our financial statements are in accordance with the highest re-quirements in this field. Therefore after research and few months of negotiations with different companies we were delighted to reach the auditing partnership agreement with the international accoun-ting firm Mazars, an international, integrated and independent organisation, specialising in audit, accounting, tax and advisory services. They have found an obvious correlation with ELSA and decided to support us in different ways including an in-kind audit of the accounts of ELSA. From now on the International Board of

New Partners of ELSA

Supporting our Vision and extending the Value for the members of the Association

International Board

Leonid CherniavskyiPresidentELSA International 09/10

„bringing ten different firms and organisations to the number of partners and supporters of ELSA“

11ELSA Annual Report

ELSA will be able to provide an independent external professional audit to the International Council and our different Partners.

LLM PartnerThe members of ELSA are internationally-oriented open-minded individuals interested to develop their careers in a global environ-ment. They are willing to go on a law related traineeship abroad or to attend an international meeting with participants from more than thirty different countries and discuss legal issues from compa-rative point of view. It is natural that most of them are interested to attain a law degree in a foreign law school with many international students. Therefore ELSA was pleased to connect its European net-work of students with one of the leading law schools with a large variety of courses, prominent staff and outstanding facilities – the Queen Mary School of Law University of London. This partner-ship will not only give opportunity for our members to learn more about study and research opportunities at Queen Mary School of Law but also to listen to the lectures of its professors at various conferences, seminars and summer law schools organised by ELSA all around Europe.

Legal MagazineOne of the purposes of ELSA is to assist its members to become professionally skilled as well as to discover the world of different ca-reer opportunities, in particular to give opportunity to learn more about international law firms. Corporate International, a firm-ly established leading monthly title which gives a unique insight into international legal business world, was a perfect partner for us. ELSA is happy to be featured on the pages of this magazine in adverts and an article as well as to provide significant discounts for our members for the subscription for it.

Project PartnerAs a progressive and open-minded organisation we are always se-arching for the possibilities to widen our horizons and assist ELSA members to discover new cultures and legal systems. This year we have started coope-ration with an experienced international education provider CBL International which specialises in or-ganising tailor-made individual university courses, executive conferences and summer schools for in-ternational students and professionals in emerging and advanced markets. ELSA-CBL International China Law School attracted a great interest from the network and 17 members of ELSA from 9 different countries will participate in the first summer law school arranged by our association in cooperation with CBL International in Beijing and Shanghai this August.

ELSA Online ContractorThis year ELSA International faced the need to find

a contracting company to realise one of the most ambitious and costly projects of the Network – to create an online administration system which would in particular become a centralized member management system and simplify other activities and their coor-dination throughout the whole association. To meet this end the International Board has initiated the adoption of procurement re-gulations in ELSA and realised a tender according to them. “Bmo-tion Communications”, a Ukrainian company, has won the tender and will be working on the implementation of the online system of ELSA.

Partner Law Students’ AssociationsThis year ELSA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Asian Law Students’ Association (ALSA) which resulted in an improved connection between our organisations. We were also glad to cooperate with the Dominican Republic Chapter of the Latin American Council of Scholars of International and Compa-rative Law (COLADIC-RD) in the organisation of the Final Oral Round of the ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO law in Santo Domingo. Moreover, as we speak the Memorandum of Un-derstanding between ELSA and the International Law Students’ Association (ILSA) is being negotiated and we are looking forward to starting the new cooperation.

Exchange Partner AssociationThe Student Trainee Exchange Programme, being one of the pri-orities in the five-year Strategic Plan of ELSA, made us search for expertise in the associations which are the most successful in the field of exchange. This led us to the partnership with AIESEC, the world’s largest youth-run organisation, which provides over 8,500 traineeships to its members with an opportunity to live and work abroad. ELSA aims to learn from the experience of the Exchange Partner Association in order to increase the number of law related traineeships abroad we organise each year.

11

International Board


CMS aims to be recognised as the best Eu-ropean provider of legal and tax services. Given our strategy we find it beneficial to be a long-standing supporter of the world’s largest law students’ association, being re-presented at more than 220 law faculties in 41 European countries. The clear European

link for both organisations was something that brought us together and contributes to the development of our relationship. Further, the recruitment strategy of CMS is to find lawyers who have an inter-national mindset and ELSA provides law students with intercultural communication skills and knowledge, which enable them to work in an international team across borders and cultures. After the usual evalu-ation meeting in July with the International Board of ELSA, we were satisfied with the professionalism of the work done and the way our cooperation developed throughout the year.

One of the projects in the term 2009-2010 that CMS was delighted to support was the annual ELSA Essay Competition on the topic of the International Focus Programme of the Association – Intellectual Property Law. The topic for the essays suggested by our IP lawyers was: “Copyright/Broadcasting: Cable transmission rights in the EU and European Countries”. The competition ran throughout the au-tumn of 2009 and it was our pleasure to evaluate the contributions and identify the winner – Sofio Maisuradze from ELSA Georgia. As our prize, CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre will welcome Ms Maisu-radze in September 2010 for up to four weeks’ work experience in their office in Paris.

CMS was also glad to accept the invitation to the international events of ELSA. The autumn´s 56th International Council in Sinaia, Ro-

mania was attended by a partner from CMS Cameron McKenna’s office in Bucharest, Mr. Horea Popescu, who spoke to almost 300 ELSA delegates from 31 European countries presenting the challen-ges and benefits of working in an international law firm. Another partner from the CMS office in Kyiv, Mr. Daniel Bilak, delivered a presentation for the presidents of national groups of ELSA on the to-pic of “Corruption in the administrative system”, during the winter at the 40th International Presidents’ Meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Another example was when CMS DeBacker welcomed 45 partici-pants and members of the Internatio-nal Board in their Brussels’ office and partner Tom Heremans, spoke on the timely issue of “Ambush marketing”. CMS is happy to see the great interest

ELSA members show during the lectures and presentations and look forward to being able to attend ELSA events in the future.

CMS is pleased to write articles and be featured in ELSA publica-tions and marketing in order to reach the 30 000 internationally minded law students all over Europe, who provide a network of open-minded people who are the future of the legal profession. We strongly support ELSA’s overall vision and look forward with great optimism to working together in the year ahead.

CMS Legal Services - Corporate Partner of ELSA

Successful partnership with a mutual ambition to reach the top!

Partners

CMS_LawTax_CMYK_over100.eps

„a network of open-minded people who are the future of the legal profession“

Dick TylerExecutive PartnerCMS Legal


On behalf of Mazars, I am delighted to con-firm the new cooperation between Mazars and ELSA. As ELSA’s new auditing partner, we will audit ELSA’s interim and full year accounts, reporting our findings there, and provide ad hoc taxation advice.

Having just confirmed our new relationship with the ELSA board, it is my pleasure to commit a few thoughts to paper about this relationship whilst travelling from London to Paris on the Eurostar - itself a great symbol of trans-European communication. As the train passes through the English country-side, it occurs to me that our organisations are on similar journeys, calling at a number of the same stations.

A European footprintWhilst Mazars is an international accounting firm, operating in 56 countries worldwide, it was born in Europe and has a European heartbeat and culture. As one of Europe’s largest accountancy firms, and with ELSA active in 41 countries across the expanded Europe, it is clear that Mazars and ELSA are operating in the same European footprint.

A shared visionWith every new member of ELSA that I meet, I increasingly under-stand that ELSA is determined to contribute towards a just world in which there is respect for human dignity and cultural diversity. Indeed, this is set out as ELSA’s strategic vision.

At Mazars, we also have a vision: to make a difference to our clients, our team and our communities. Mazars began practising corporate responsibility long before it was popular. For us, ethics come before profit. We are loyal to our principles, our colleagues and our profes-

sion. We are not afraid to say ‘no’, for all the right reasons. Respect for individuals is another core value that applies to everything we do – through the sharing of knowledge, expertise and experience, human relationships are what drive us forward. Indeed, difference is something to be celebrated – we firmly believe that innovation co-mes from the healthy mix of cultures and perspectives. At the same

time, we work very hard to ensure that, as one generation hands over to another, our relationships, experience and knowledge survive. We learn from the past, but look to the future. We also ensure that our commu-

nities benefit from our work - in the UK alone we give 1.75% of our pre-tax profits to charity, while many colleagues are involved in community projects such as literacy programmes. And, last but not least, we are also determined to prove that accountants are not all dull people in grey suits!

Contributing to educationWith its 30,000 members and its flourishing Student Trainee Ex-change Programme (STEP), ELSA clearly makes a great contributi-on to the education of its members. At Mazars we take on hundreds of graduates across Europe, and train them to become accountants and advisors. We even have Mazars University.

The way forwardI will be making this journey from London to Europe again in a few weeks time in order to carry out the audit of ELSA’s accounts for the last year. It is a journey that I am greatly looking forward to making, while working alongside ELSA to make Europe more open. I look forward to our journey into the future together.

Partners

„working alongside ELSA to make Europe more open“

Mazars - Auditing Partner of ELSA

A new cooperation - a bright future

Nigel GrummittPartnerMazars UK


The cooperation between the Coun-cil of Europe and ELSA International during the term 2009/2010 was under-taken in accordance with the Human Rights Partnership Agreement III/2010 signed on 18 March 2010.

Two sectors of the Council of Europe were actively involved in the cooperation, the Directora-te of Communication and the Human Resources Division and, especially, the Traineeship Unit.

The major project conducted by the Directorate of Com-munication with ELSA International was the Our Rights, Our Freedoms competition devised to mark the 60th an-niversary of the European Convention on Human Rights. The project, aimed at appraising the performance of this Council of Europe’s flagship treaty, was open to all law stu-dents in Europe and, in particular, members of ELSA. Par-ticipants were invited to submit either an essay, assessing the achievements and shortcomings of the Strasbourg legal system or a photo report showing the impact of the Con-vention on European citizens’ day-to-day lives.

The competition was broadly promoted within the ELSA network and in other institutions. Some 450 law schools, a number of law societies, human rights institutions, law firms, specialised medias, journalist schools and other ins-

Council of Europe - Human Rights Partner of ELSA

Our work, our achievements

Partners

Barbara OrkwiszewskaDirectorate of Communication,Council of Europe


titutional partners were targeted and some 600 competiti-on posters were distributed through interested parties. As a result, the competition’s website was visited by over 4,000 visitors from 85 countries to date.

Another impor-tant aspect of the cooperation was the promotion of the Council of Europe’s legal and human rights activities during academic events organised by ELSA on in-ternational, national and local levels. During the 2009/2010 term, partici-pants of the eleven ELSA events in nine countries were provided with 1,819 Council of Europe infor-mation and visibility ma-terials; 6104 items were distributed in the first se-mester of 2010, equating to 10% of the items distri-buted by the Directorate of Communication over the same period.

In addition, 4 Council of Europe officers gave lec-tures and participated in workshops at the Internati-onal Council Meetings in Romania and Malta as well as at the conference on the Maritime Piracy – Legal Perspectives organised by ELSA Copenhagen. The Council of Europe’s Officers greatly appreciated the academic content, good or-ganisation and social context of these events.

Legal and human rights activities of the Council of Europe as well as the Organisation’s career op-portunities available to lawyers were promoted through using ELSA’s communication tools. Four articles were featured in the ‘Synergy’ magazine: Half of a centu-ry commitment to the protection of human rights, NGOs are often the true human rights defenders, interview of the Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, by the representatives of ELSA, Building on the past, loo-king to the future, by Philippe Boillat, Director General of

Human Rights and Legal Affairs and Our Rights, Our Free-doms, presenting the competition. The Council’s commer-cial publications were also advertised in the Association’s

magazine.

The Traineeship Agreement established between two in-stitutions in mid 2009 gives the Association’s members

access to traineeship opportunities within the Council of Europe. During the current term, 6 regular trainees and

10 study visitors were able to work alongside Council of Europe officers. At the same time, amendments simplifying and accelerating the selection procedure were introduced. The Council of Europe has a very high estimation of the professional level and commitment of ELSA’s trainees.

This annual partnership resulted in the creation of stronger links and confir-med complementarity of activities between both organisations.

The Council of Europe is grateful to the 2009/2010 ELSA board for their active co-operation and commitment. We hope Amanda, Frida, Leonid, Mirko and Sofia benefited from their experience with the Council of Europe. We take this opportunity of wishing them every success in their fu-ture careers.

Partners

The Our Rights, Our Freedoms Competition website had over 4 000 visitors from 85 countries

Stronger links and confirmed complementarity of activities between both organisations


When ELSA approached the London School of English earlier this year with the offer to become its English Language Part-ner we were delighted to accept. Indeed the similarities in our respective philoso-phies and goals and the clear mutual bene-fits of working closely together meant this

was a natural step for us to take.

The School’s mission is to help people communicate more effec-tively across borders and cultures leading to personal and professi-onal development and greater international understanding. This is nowhere better illustrated than in the work we do in helping young lawyers develop the essen-tial legal English skills and cultu-ral awareness they need to work successfully in an international, multi-cultural environment.

The London School of English has been working with the inter-national legal community for over 25 years developing a wide range of dedicated skills based courses with entirely separate pro-grammes for experienced practising lawyers, in both the com-mercial and public sectors, and for law students and graduates in their 20s. In the last 3 years over 600 participants from 46 countries have benefited from the training we provide at our cen-tre in London with many of them taking examinations to obtain internationally recognised certificates in Legal English which will help them forward in their careers.

During this time we have forged links with many branches of the legal profession: law firms, bar associations, ministries of justice, prosecution authorities, high courts and courts of appeals. As with these other organisations our partnership with ELSA will help to make our courses even more widely known and accessible to its members.

But running specialised English language courses is only part of what we do. In all professions, not least the legal one, there is an ever growing demand for training in the soft skills which ra-rely form part of a student’s academic training or a legal trainee’s workplace induction process. When we were invited last year to co-sponsor, with the UK’s Commercial Bar Association, the Law Society of England and Wales’ Junior Lawyers Division Interna-tional Weekend, we used the opportunity to deliver a workshop for its delegates entitled “Cross-cultural Skills for Lawyers”. Desi-gned especially for those in the first stages of their careers, fifty or so delegates from over a dozen countries attended the workshop. The session was very well received being described in EuroLawy-er, the European Young Bar Association’s digital magazine, as in-

teresting and inspiring.

When we first met ELSA’s re-presentatives in January we were highly impressed by their pro-

fessionalism and the Association’s commitment to training. We were attracted by the shared values and the opportunity a part-nership would give us to work with its members. It is with great pleasure therefore that we look ahead to attending the Internati-onal Council Meeting in Turkey in October and to running one of our cross-cultural training workshops tailored to the needs of ELSA’s wide international membership. We look forward to see-ing many of you there.

London School of English - English Language Partner of ELSA

Clear mutual benefits of working closely together

Partners

Since 1912

Chris NewmanMarket ManagerLondon School of English

„to help people communicate more effec-tively across borders and cultures“


Partners

17

Daniel SchreyerMember of the Executive BoardC5 Group

The working year 2009/2010 seems to bring stability and a usual workload into the cooperation between ELSA and C5:

Cooperating in questions of design, printing and shipping of materials, es-pecially the magazine Synergy as well as

in the further development of webpages on the basis of ELSA International´s new homepage throughout the ELSA Network.

But I think it was a lot more than this. Having assisted ELSA with ser-vices worth approximately 20.000 euros over the past three years on a sponsorship bases, C5 got more involved in this year. In our day to day business, we think a good supplier has to understand his client. With ELSA being more than a client for us, we deci-ded to take us time and to bring know-how to this organisation where I, myself, spent more than four years in active roles.

Having started with the transition period in Brussels, where we held a workshop, the next step was towards the east: Internatio-nal Marketing Meeting in Prague 2009. We gave input on De-sign topics and Content Management Systems. Even Sinaia was not too far for us where we concen-trated on IT questions and our sys-tem for local and national websites. Last but not least we participated on a bid invitation by ELSA Internati-onal who asked for the implemen-tation of the whole backpage online system till end of July 2010. Unfor-tunately our offer could not succeed, but of course we are still partnering ELSA in IT matters and especially the local and national websites.

In the last annual report I wrote about the fantastic possi-bilities ELSA offers young people. I could write the same this time. And of course there are still enough tasks for the International Board and all other boards to do. But as I know ELSA now for years, for 15 years exactly, I am a bit proud and satisfied to see how the development has been and still is.

ELSA gains partnerhips for important parts of the workload. ELSA invests in modern design and communica-tion tools. ELSA has sta-ble financial conditions.

With these more technical aspects ELSA now gains more and more possibilities to do its own business: to focus on law students and young lawyers, to offer European, indeed even humanitarian, goals and issues, and a comprehensive educa-tion of these young legal experts.

Today we see: ELSA International set the right ball rolling in 2007 and little by little all ELSA members will profit from a bigger and more attractive association, which surely improves in structure and professionalism.

C5 is happy to support ELSA with services that do not belong to ELSA’s “core business”. This in turn prepares the ground for new ELSA activities.

We are looking forward to all the-se ELSA activities, we stand by for any help and we thank the Board of 2009/20010 for the good and professional cooperation.

SYNERGY magazine‘Our Rights, Our Freedoms’

Essay and photo competition

No.47 · I-2010

Thomas Hammarberg

Commissioner for Human RightsELSA and ELS

Offi cial alumni association

Magazine of The European Law Students’ Association

From Intellectual Property Law to a new Focus:

Th e Year of Change

C5 Group - IT & Marketing Partner of ELSA

An ongoing support

„attractive association which surely improves in structure and professionalism“



visits from 173 countries

and 4 494 cities all over the world to our website elsa.org

the International Board received

26 233 emails throughout the year

32 countries visited by the International Board in Brussels throughout the year

Statistics of the executive year 2009/2010 in comparison to the previous year



44 bilateral study visits** throughout the network

44 institutional study visits* throughout the network

over 6 000 new fans of the ELSA facebook page

* study visit made by a local group to an international insti-tution such as the European Parliament** study visit between two local groups from different coun-tries where they visit each other and learn about their legal and social culture.


Network

Ever since hearing of the European Law Students’ Association we have been eager to ensure that the organi-zation was established in Ireland. Ireland has

long been an integral part of the European Union and is a committed member of the Council of Europe. Ireland, with its long and distinguished history has always been commit-ted to European integration and co-operation. The spirit of co-operation, fellowship and brotherhood that is integral to the ELSA Network is also important to Irish law stu-dents and for that reason students here were very eager to become part of the Network.

At the beginning of the 2009/2010 academic year we made contact with ELSA International and began Ireland’s road to observership. The support of Leo and the International Board was essential to the success of our ap-plication.

The International Council Meeting in Malta was where Ireland’s observership began. We were delighted to travel to Malta to make our presentation for observership. We were very excited about the prospect of entering the Network and were excited about seeing the Network in action.

Our expectations and excitement were more than fulfilled on the beautiful island of Malta. The ICM was an extraor-

dinary experience and was one of the greatest moments of our student life. Taking part in the workshops and the mee-tings we soon came to realise how important and strong the Network is. We were inspired by the spirit of co-operation, mutual respect and open dialogue that we soon came to realise are the hallmarks of the Network.

The greatest moment of the ICM came at the final plen-ary when Ireland was admitted unanimously to the ELSA network. As Irish students our joy at becoming part of the Network is reflected in all Irish law students who are keenly interested in growing and developing the network in Ire-land! We understand that our work to establish ELSA Ireland is just beginning. We currently have only one Local Group, so we are keen to expand the Network throughout our small island. We have made contact with students in several uni-versities around the country, many of whom are as exci-

ted as we are by the opportunities and experiences offered by ELSA.

Encouraged by inte-rest in the Network

around our country, we held our first NCM in May, which was attended by students from four Irish universities, two ELSA trainers, Rudolf Reiet and Johanna O’Duinnin, and as Former President of ELSA Slovakia Katarina Vanerko-va (who supplied us with the notorious Stroh!). We had a wonderful weekend, and felt that the ELSA Spirit had well and truly come to Ireland!

Expanding the association - ELSA Ireland

The 41st member country of ELSAAt the 2010 spring International Council Meeting in Malta the plenary voted in favour of welcoming ELSA Ireland as a new member country of the association.

Daniel ReganDirector for TrainingELSA Ireland 2010

Katie O‘LearyPresidentELSA Ireland 2010

„The ICM was an extraordinary experience and was one of the greatest moments of our student life.“


Traditionally ELS provided financial and in-kind support to ELSA and our mem-bers.

Apart from the financial support to the International Board of ELSA and the ELS Scholarships given to active ELSA

members in order to facilitate their participation in the Inter-national Council Meetings, the remarkable development in the field of financial support to ELSA as a network was the int-roduction of the ELS Granting System. Following the ge-neral concept of the system stipulated in the ELSA-ELS Agreement we have elaborated through negotiations with the Executive Board of ELS the model of functioning for the Granting System and the launching, which was made possible in the beginning of 2010. The outcome of the in-itiative could be seen already by the end of our term in office. Two Local Groups received grants from the ELSA Lawyers’ Society for the organisation of their international events; ELSA Bucharest for their law school “Banking and Finance Law” and ELSA Zagreb for their law school “Hu-man Rights and Globalisation”.

Many members of ELS are also active as trainers in our International Trainer’s Pool. Throughout the year we were glad to have the support of ELS members who gave trainings to the members of our association at all levels. We would like to give a special thank you to Mr. Pierangelo Graziani, member of the ELS Executive Board and ITP trainer, who gave a spectacular team-building training to the International Board in the middle of our term in office. This training was a unique opportunity for us to learn even more about each other and deepen the understanding of our motives and opinions under the highly skilled guidance of

Mr. Graziani. As a result we got a great load of motivation for the rest of our term. Naturally, many trainings and workshops were given by our ELS members as ITP trainers during ELSA’s internal meetings throughout the year, which to us felt like a good proof of the interrelation between our associations.

Besides trainings, ELS members have also been an endless source of support when it comes to searching for sponsorships, organis-ing legal education events or STEP traineeships.

We are always happy to invite former ELSA members to our international events and it has been a great pleasure for ELSA members to socialise with the members of ELS throughout the year during the International Council Meetings of the associati-on.

As a representative from the board, which board members today are members of ELS, we look forward to seeing the further deve-lopments of the cooperation between ELSA and ELS!

Alumni

ELSA’s alumni association - ELS

Development of a mutually beneficial partnershipThe official alumni association of ELSA, the ELSA Lawyers’ Society, has been giving us inspiration and support to our activities throughout the term in office 2009-2010. We were glad to develop the cooperation and work together with fostering the mutually beneficial partnership that officially started in January 2009 when the cooperation agreement between ELSA and ELS was signed.

Leonid CherniavskyiPresidentELSA International 09/10


A selection of International events organized throughout the network 2009/2010

Something of interest for every memberThroughout the ELSA network our members are offered the opportunity to participate in international events where they get to meet members from other countries, increase their knowledge in a specific legal topic or their knowledge of the organisation and other soft skills. All in all, as a member of ELSA you have all the means to develop as a person and into a profession, every year, all year around.

Legal Education

Topic Type Location Date

United S&C and AA Meeting Internal Cagliari, Italy 5th - 10th Aug 2009

International Presidents‘ Meeting Internal Amsterdam, The Netherlands 12th - 16th Aug 2009

International STEP & MKT Meeting Internal Prague, Czech Republic 26th - 30th Aug 2009

Joint Internal & Financial Internal A Coruna, Spain 9th - 13th Sept 2009Management Meeting

ELSA Baltic Sea Exchange Conference Finland & Sweden 30th Sept - 2nd Oct 2009

Seminar on WTO Law Seminar Georgia 18th - 19th Oct 2009

International Council Meeting Internal Sinaia, Romania 25th Oct - 1st Nov 2009

Islamic Finance Seminar Germany 5th Nov 2009

Human trafficking and human tissue Conference Opole, Poland 17th - 18th Nov 2009trade: „Not everything is on sale!“

National moot court on Labor Law Moot Court Finland 20th Nov 2009

X National Tax Conference Conference Wroclaw, Poland 21th - 22th Nov 2009

National Training Days Internal Bulgaria 21th - 22th Nov 2009

IPR and Human Rights Conference Helsinki, Finland 24th - 29th Nov 2009

Moot court on Civil law Moot Court Dresden, Germany 27th Nov 2009

„Human Rights‘ Days“ Conference Gdansk, Poland 15th - 17th Dec 2009

National Conference on Cybercrime Conference Toruń, Poland 15th - 16th Dec 2009

ELSA and UNICEF: Project Lithuania & Poland Dec 2009Traditional Christmas action

Essay Competition on IP Law Essay ELSA International until Dec 2009

Essay Competition on Space law Essay Cologne, Germany until Dec 2009

Moot court on Criminal law Moot Court Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany Jan 2010

An Error in Medical Judgement Conference Kraków, Poland 15th Jan 2010

International Presidents‘ Meeting Internal Kyiv, Ukraine 3th - 7th Feb 2010

Moot court in Criminal law Moot Court Tübingen, Germany 16th - 18th Feb 2010


Legal Education

Topic Type Place Date

Holocaust and War Crime Prosecution Conference Brno, Czech Republic 1st - 4th Mar 2010

EMC2 Regional Round Moot Court Leuven, Belgium 3rd - 7th Mar 2010

EMC2 Regional Round Moot Court Helsinki, Finland 10th - 14th Mar 2010

International Humanitarian Law Seminar Tallinn, Estonia 10th - 14th Mar 010

Corporate Governance of Corporations Conference Pilsen, Czech Republic 11th - 12th Mar 2010

Environmental Law Law School Tbilisi, Georgia 12th Mar - 16th Apr 2010

Sports Law Seminar Georgia 13th - 14th Mar 2010

Psychology and Law Seminar Georgia 20th - 21st Mar 2010

International Council Meeting Internal Qawra, Malta 21st - 28th Mar 2010

Law and Medicine Conference Gdansk, Poland 24th - 25th Mar 2010

Moot Court on Commercial Law Moot Court Czech Republic Apr 2010

Research Group Competition on Project Czech Republic Apr 2010Google Book Search

Days of Criminalistic Conference Wroclaw, Poland 12th - 13th Apr 2010

Protection of Cultural Heritage Conference Kraków, Poland 20th Apr 2010

Moot court in Criminal law Moot Court Frankfurt (Oder), Germany 20th Apr 2010

Illegal Immigration - Different points Seminar Reggio di Calabria, Italy 20th - 22nd Apr 2010of view of a common phenomenon

Canonical Procedure Conference Olsztyn, Poland 21st - 22nd Apr 2010

Changes in the new family code Seminar Bulgaria 24th Apr 2010

Lobbying in Legislative Procedure Conference Warsaw, Poland 24th Apr 2010

Intellectual Property Days Seminar Toruń, Poland 27th - 28th Apr 2010

Final IFP Conference on IP Law Conference Munich, Germany 27th Apr - 2nd May 2010

Allen&Overy Regional Competition Essay CZ, HU, PL, SK until Apr 2010

Public Speech Competition Bulgaria 1st May 2010

Criminal Procedure Workshop MRU, Lithuania 4th - 5th May 2010

National Moot Court on Civil Law Moot Court Czech Republic 14th May 2010

Islam in Germany, Europe and the World Seminar Jena, Germany 7th - 9th May 2010

Europe – Where are we heading? Conference Muenster, Germany 13th - 16th May 2010

Final Oral Round of EMC2 Moot Court Santo Domingo, DR 24th - 30th May2010

Essay competition on European law Essay Leipzig, Germany until Jun 2010

International Seminar on Internet Law Seminar Dresden, Germany 24th - 27th Jun 2010

How to become Homo Europeus? Law School Slovakia 18th - 25th Jul 2010

Climate change, energy and trade law Law School Lithuania 18th - 25th Jul 2010

Law Is Better Than War! Law School Bucharest, Romania 18th - 29th Jul 2010

Banking and Finance Law Law School Bucharest, Romania 18th - 29th Jul 2010

Mergers & Acquisitions Law School Istanbul, Turkey 26th Jul - 1st Aug 2010

Human Rights and Globalization Law School Zagreb, Croatia 26th Jul - 2nd Aug 2010

„How much is your life worth? Conference Olsztyn, Poland 24th - 26th Feb 2010 Legal, social and criminological aspects of kidnapping for ransom“


Legal Education

Again this year, the standard of the teams impressed all the judges, and after some nerve wrecking semi finals, the team from University of Ottawa was ready to challen-ge the two-person team from West Bengal National University that had displayed they were in good shape. Although the Canadian team was brilliant, the two Indi-

an ladies were unbeatable – indeed so brilliant that they also won several of the best oralist prizes.

This report sounds like it could equally be a report of the World Cup Games in soccer in South Africa – and for those of us that are involved in the EMC2, it is actually equally exciting! As an Academic Supervisor for the competition, my main job is of course to ensure a sufficiently high academic level of the legal scholarship – but the “competition aspect” of the EMC2 is what makes all of us come back as judges year after year.

In my opinion, all ELSA Members should pride themselves in that the “ELSA Moot Court” (which many people call the EMC2) has developed from “nothing” to being the single most presti-gious moot court competition in the WTO area in the entire world. For the outsider, it may not seem like a big deal – but the EMC2 is a really large asset for ELSA. Everybody in the WTO-community now knows what ELSA is due to the existence of the EMC2. In fact, the Depu-ty Director General of the WTO, Alejandro Jara, just recently assisted ELSA in securing the WTO premises for next year’s Grand Final in “Room W” – and he usually also judges the Grand Finale.

The quality of EMC2 reflects directly on ELSA. One aspect that ensures high quality is the high standard of judges. All EMC2 panels

consist of 3 panelist – and semis and Grand Finale often more. This year, former WTO Appellate Body Member, Professor Ta-niguchi, chaired the Grand Final, and current Appellate Body Member, Professor Ramirez, judged beside him in the five mem-ber panel hearing. Last year, former Appellate Body Member, Professor Matsushita chaired the Grand Final – and the story was not less impressive in previous years. Apart from Appella-te Body Members, Counsellors from the WTO Secretariat also judge, alongside top academics and practitioners from all over the world – and as mentioned before: The Deputy Director Ge-neral himself. The EMC2 is actually such a large success that highly esteemed WTO experts put their experience as an EMC2 judge in prominent places on their CVs!

Another thing ELSA members should pride themselves of is the professional reputation of ELSA. Participants and professors al-ways praise the ELSA staff to the sky for their invaluable organi-zational skills and hospitality. I always say that those young law students/lawyers I work with in ELSA will make it “all the way”. By organizing such a huge competition that is not only acade-mically challenging, but also exposes the ELSA staff to cultural differences (across the globe) these young people develop skills in one year, many full-time diplomats of a much older age would be envious of.

Next year, the competition goes back to Ge-neva and the WTO headquarters – thanks to our good friends in the WTO Secretariat. The 2010/2011 year‘s case will be a “Dolly Case”; i.e. a case about cloned animals, which me-ans the students will have to argue a so-called “SPS case” concerning particularly scientific evidence. Soon, new teams will enter the competition and start writing their submissi-ons on cloned animals. I hope to see many of you next year in Geneva.

ELSA Moot Court Competition - EMC2

A Report from Sunny Santo Domingo about Bright Young Lawyers This year, the Final Oral Round of the EMC2 was held in Santo Domingo. It was successfully organized by COLADIC – in close cooperation with ELSA International.

Laura NielsenAcademic Supervisor of EMC2

Denmark


Legal Education

This summer a new opportunity had ari-sen for ELSA members: taking part in a three-week summer school in Shanghai and Beijing organized as a joint program-me by ELSA and CBL International.

As a participant of this summer school I am glad to share part of my experience with you. During the summer school the main topics were: legal system of the People’s Republic of China, Chinese tax law, intellectual property rights in China, ASEAN dispute settlement and Chinese labor law. The-se topics were especially worth analyzing and comparing to the European system mainly because of China’s rapid development and substantial growth. It is very interesting to see the differences when it comes to implementing laws that are basically the same as the European ones but practiced in a totally different hierar-chical and political system. The visits to important companies and institutions were a strong attraction for participants since we could interact with representatives from: Price-WaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte, Siemens, Thomson Reuters, Lehman, Lee & Xu, Google, Schindhelm, Tecis and institu-tions like European Chamber of Com-merce, US embassy and the German Center at the Zhang Jiang high-tech park in Shanghai.

The best thing about this summer school was that I could meet people from all over the world (US, Iran, Malaysia, Sin-gapore, France, Belgium, Sweden, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Russia, Fin-land) and discuss cultural differences,

political and legal issues, all in a very interesting and challenging setting as the one we had to adapt to in China.

Of course the sightseeing programme is also worth mentioning since the organizers arranged VIP entrance for us to several pavi-lions at the World Expo Shanghai 2010 like US, Mexico, Switzer-land, Austria, Germany, India, a Big Bus tour in Shanghai, a visit to the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs in Beijing.

The language barrier was the most important challenge we had to face, but thanks to the CBL planned Chinese language course we actually gained some basic knowledge in order to manage while at the restaurant, in a cab, bargaining in a shop, asking for direc-tions, meeting someone and introducing ourselves.

China is definitely a place worth seeing not just because of its unique landscape and architecture, but also for understanding a new culture, religion and way of life. I strongly recommend an experience like the one I had for a broaden horizon of knowledge

and for experiencing new life concepts.

Also I have to say that China is defini-tely the place to be in the next 10 years. The reason behind this statement is the government’s daring development plan called Shanghai 2020. This plan aims to transform Shanghai in the world’s first financial and logistic hub by the year 2020. And with the current de-velopment rate they are experiencing there is no doubt that they will actu-ally succeed. Having the implications of such an initiative in mind you just might want to consider Shanghai as a strong candidate for your ambitious fu-ture career plans.

Valentina PavelMember of ELSARomania

A new summer law school for members of ELSA

Discovering China


The International Focus Programme

The term 2009/2010 was the final year of implementation of Intellectual Property as the topic of the International Focus Pro-gramme (IFP). For the past three years the ELSA Network has been focusing on the law related to, for example, copyright, patents and trademarks.

As a highlight for the programme, the final year of implemen-tation was devoted to compiling the Final IFP Publication and organising the Final IFP Conference, which took place in Mu-nich, Germany. In addi-tion, the second editi-on of the International Essay Competition on IFP was finalised. The winning contribution on the theme of cable transmission rights was written by Sofio Maisu-radze from ELSA Geor-gia. As a large international IFP event, there was a conference on IFP and Human Rights organised in Helsinki, Finland in November 2009. The event brought together two major play-ers in ELSA, the IFP and the commitment to Human Rights.

During the years there have been a number of local, national and international events and projects where law students have had the possibility to broaden their knowledge on Intellectual Property beyond the traditional curricula of universities. The-re are several examples of young lawyers who have found their

niche due to attending an ELSA event that inspired them to learn more and to become experts in the field. In addition, the ELSA Delegations have participated in numerous meetings of the World Intellectual Property

Organisation (WIPO). Thereby, the ELSA Network has had the possibility to influence the development of and discussion on Intellectual Property Law. These events and projects have challenged their participants to look at Intellectual Property from various points of view – the private sector, technology, protection of Human Rights and legislative work, to mention a few.

During the term 2009/2010 also the groundwork for the new topic was made. After the discussions for the next “hot le-gal topic”, three legal research groups were created to study the

possibilities of Health Law, Internet Law and Energy and Cli-mate Law, and during the International Council Meeting in Malta the Council decided to focus on Health Law for the period 2010–2013.

The Final IFP Conference

This spring, the moment we had been waiting for more than half a year finally came true: the Final IFP Conference on Intellectual Property Law 2010, which was the climax and

ELSA’s International Focus Programme

From Intellectual Property Law to Health LawSofia Kallio describes the IFP and Lena Mischau reports on the Final IFP Conference.

International Focus Programme

„There are several examples of young lawyers who have found their niche due to attending an ELSA event that inspired them to learn more and to be-come experts in the field.“

Lena MischauHead of OCFinal IFP Conference 2010

Sofia KallioVP S&CELSA International 09/10


conclusion of the last years` International Focus Programme (IFP) on Intellectual Property Law.

Therefore, it was a great pleasure for ELSA Munich and espe-cially for the Organising Committee to welcome more than 90 students and young lawyers from exactly 20 European coun-tries to actively participate in this very special event. With the kind help of our supporters such as our patrons Prof. Dr. Hans-Jürgen Papier, eighth President of the Federal Consti-tutional Court of Germany, and Mrs. Dr. Beate Merk, the Bavarian State Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection, as well as our academic advisor Prof. Dr. Michael Lehmann and our sponsors, we were happy to provide our participants with an academic programme at the highest stage and a week full of ELSA spirit as well.

Marking the end of the current IFP “Intellectual Property Law”, it was our main goal to sum up the last years` results and to reappraise the outcome of the numerous seminars,

conferences and diverse events having taken place since 2007 throughout the whole ELSA network. On the other hand, we wanted our participants not just to stick to the “classical” topics concerning IP but instead to go beyond the previous themes and to concentrate on some exciting new issues rising up in this context.

Therefore, the academic part of the conference was structu-red into three different main topics: “IP & Communications Law”, “IP & Economy”, and “IP & Ecology”. Within this frame, more than twelve lectures, four workshops and one pa-nel discussion held by some of the most renowned experts in

the field of IP were carried out mainly in the premises of the European Patent Office, but also at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University and the European Commission.

Additionally, the participants had the chance to get to know the role IP can play in practice during the visit of three inter-nationally working law firms in Munich, all of them specia-lised in IP.

However, it was not only a pleasure for us to show our guests the latest aspects and developments concerning IP, but also to show them the most beautiful sights of Munich and make them acquainted with the city and its people.

At the ELSA party on Thursday evening in one of the finest clubs of Munich the participants were able to get to know each other and the city’s modern face, whereas on Friday during our typical Bavarian evening at “Hofbräuhaus”, they got the chance to discover our traditional music, dances and dishes.

Yet, without doubt the great Gala Ball in a gorgeous pavilion next to a small lake was the highlight of the non-academic part as the conference as well as the IFP “Intellectual Property Law” as a whole came to its official end there. Together with the participants and other guests e.g. professors and former ELSA mem-bers we summed up one last time the numerous events having been carried out within the framework of the IFP throughout Europe, and thus rounded off the week, the Final IFP Conference, and the IFP “Intellectual Property Law” altogether.

In conclusion, the Final IFP Confe-rence on Intellectual Property Law 2010 was worth of marking the end of the last IFP “Intellectual Property Law”

and to start the new one “Health Law” which I hope to be as productive and successful as the old one was.

Last but not least, I would like to thank once more our many supporters without whose kind help we would have never been able to realise this conference in the scale we fortunately were. Thank you to all of our participants, as well, for taking part in the conference so enthusiastically and for making this week the magnificent experience it turned out to be for everyone of us. My dear friends, keep up the ELSA spirit and I am looking forward to meeting you again during one of the events in the framework of the new IFP topic to come soon!

International Focus Programme


As ELSA is the world’s largest law stu-dents’ association, we need a framework that keeps us on the right track, so that we will not forget the general principal of ELSA. As law students we are, or at least we should be, interested in regula-tions and how they work as guidelines

and binding rules for the work that is being done.

The general principal for the term 2009/2010 regarding the re-gulations was clear; to introduce new regulations and amend-ments when they serve the benefit of the whole network in the long run. Jim Rohn once said: “If you wish to find, you must search. Rarely does a good idea interrupt you.” The Internatio-nal Board 2009/2010 was lucky to be interrupted by good ideas that would help the whole network e.g. in planning, following the progress of our Strategic Goals and having clear internal proceedings for procurement. The International Board presen-ted its ideas to the network during the ICMs, IPMs and area meetings.

In ICM Sinaia, the Council approved a Strategic Planning-section that was introduced by the International Board. The meaning for these regulations was to develop a tool to follow the realisation of the Strategic Goals as well as to clarify that the whole network is committed to the Strategic Goals. Besi-des this introduction, the International Board also introduced several amendments to the Decision Book. Also the National Groups were active in proposing their amendments to the De-cision Book and as a result the new Human Resources Strategy was amended. It concerned the network activities timeline and hosting of the officers’ trainings events.

In IPM Kyiv, the presidents formed a working group for pro-curement regulations. The idea of regulations on this area was initiated by the International Board based on the online system project. The proposal of the IPM on procurement was then ap-proved by the Council in ICM Qawra, Malta. Besides a working group for procurement regulations, we also had working groups for expansion and external relations whom made their proposal regarding their search in the area of expansion in the ICM Qa-wra. The Council approved the proposal to amend the Statutes of ELSA and the Decision Book with an expansion definition that would make a full stop for the discussion that has been

going on the past couple of years. During ICM Qawra, the working group for ex-ternal relations was created and it started working on

a proposal regarding external relations and fundraising for the autumn ICM in Alanya.

Besides these working groups we had several other working groups for different handbooks and initial projects e.g. a wor-king group for network support system and working groups for different handbooks throughout the functional areas. As the International Board 2009/2010 for the whole year strived for active involvement of the network, we are happy to conclude that the network truly was actively involved in the work and together we managed to strengthen the network and increase the mutual understanding through the exchange of ideas and views on different topics.

For this remarkable work of the whole network, the Internati-onal Board 2009/2010 is very proud and we wish to thank all the people involved in these working groups! It has been our pleasure to co-ordinate the work, to see the results and together implement them in our beloved network of law students.

New regulations and working groups

An executive year of ELSAELSA as an association for law students’ and young lawyers is special in many ways. However, in order for ELSA to be established as unique, we need something that gives us internal structure and proceedings of how we make decisions, how we execute them and most importantly which are the common rules and boundaries that keep us uniform throughout our 41 member countries.

Network

Timo KortesojaSecretary GeneralELSA International 09/10

„to introduce new regulations and amendments when they serve the benefit of the whole network „


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Final Accounts

30

Balance Sheet31st July 2010

Assets 31/07/10 31/07/09EUR EUR

Fixed AssetsAssets 1.359,01 1.894,71Assets under construction 30.000,00 0,00Total Fixed Assets 31.359,01 1.894,71

Current AssetsDebtors Control AccountReceivables to EDF 0,00 2.554,50Receivables from Members 27.646,20 28.894,15Accounts Receivable 34.469,72 34.873,84

62.115,92 66.322,49

Deposits and Cash 42.227,41 35.650,90

Prepayments 1.240,91 1.347,14

Total Current Assets 105.584,24 103.320,53

Total Assets 136.943,25 105.215,24

Liabilities 31/07/10 31/07/09EUR EUR

CapitalOpening Balances 01.08.09 23.028,71 22.823,84Prior period adjustment -8.333,33Profit/Loss 337,02 204,87

15.032,40 23.028,71

EDF Reserves 14.405,01 14.405,01Transfer to EDF balance sheet -14.405,01Provision for EDF 6.500,00Total EDF 6.500,00 14.405,01

Provision for bad debts 4.524,63 4.000,00Use of provision -3.516,60 -975,37Provision 30.000,00 1.500,00Total provision for bad debts 31.008,03 4.524,63

Provision for ELSA Online 6.000,00 0,00

Total ELSA House 1.000,00 1.000,00

Total Capital & Reserves 59.540,43 42.958,35

LiabilitiesAccounts payable 21.560,81 9.308,88Deferred Revenue 55.842,01 52.948,01

Total Liabilities 77.402,82 62.256,89

Total Capital & Liabilities 136.943,25 105.215,24

31ELSA Annual Report 31

Final Accounts

Income EUR Expenditures EUR

Externals 81.236,96 The ELSA House (office) 32.787,87

Membership Fee 18.000,01 Office running costs 2.504,90

Membership Contributions 7.500,00 Communication 3.413,44

Observership Administration Fee 350,00 Online portal administration 2.441,26

ELSA Online Fee 14.999,97 Publications 30.919,40

Grants 14.105,00 Moot Court Competition 3.937,41

Moot Court Competition 21.02434 Contribution EDF (Foundation) 1.200,00

Bank Interest 304,25 Statutory and Internal Meetings 5.675,82

ELSA Lawyers' Society (ELS) 5.541,78 Travel 12.416,04

Miscellaneous Income 2.378,59 Board allowance and directors 18.625,58

Provision for bad debts 3.516,60 Write off bad debts 3.516,60

Representation 432,00

Auditing 2.005,65

Annual Report 2008/2009 463,60

Projects 1.019,02

Marketing Budget 1.071,32

Costs related to previous years 1.681,08

Miscellaneous 2.009,49

Provision for bad debts 30.000,00

Provision for online development 6.000,00

Provision towards EDF (Foundation) 6.500,00

Income total 168.957,50 Expenditures total 168.620,48

Profit total 337,02

Detailed income and expenditures1st August 2009 - 31st July 2010

ELSA International

239, Boulevard Général JacquesB-1050 Brussels, BelgiumPhone: +32-2-646-2626

Fax: +32-2-646-2923E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.elsa.org

Annual Report ELSA International 2009/2010

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Transcript of Annual Report ELSA International 2009/2010