Annual Report, ELSA International 2014/15

ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

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ABOUT ELSA The Association 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.

ELSA International

Phone: +32 2 646 26 26 Fax: + 32 2 646 29 23 E-mail: elsa@elsa.org

ELSA Members x 44.000

ELSA Local Groups x 300

ELSA National Groups x 43

ELSA International

VISION

"A JUST WORLD IN WHICH THERE IS RESPECT FOR HUMAN DIGNITY AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY"

Corporate Partner of ELSA

Human Rights Partner of ELSA

ELSA’s Members

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

English Language Partner of ELSA

LLM Partners of ELSA

Our Special Status

ELSA has gained a special status with several international institutions. In 2000, ELSA was granted Participatory Status with the Council of Europe. ELSA has Consultative Status with several United Nations bodies; UN ECOSOC, UNCITRAL, UNESCO & WIPO.

General Partners of ELSA

ELSA is present in 43 countries

Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and The United Kingdom.

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Auditing Partner of ELSA

International Summer School Partner of ELSA

ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

Contents International Board of ELSA 2014/2015

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ELSA and Grants

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Year of the International Board

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An Association in 43 Countries

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A Message from the President

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State of the Network

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Kocks & Partners - STEP Partner

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Council of Europe - Human Rights Partner

Sharing common values

STEP trainee: The Julius Ceaser of Modern Times

CMS Legal - Corporate Partner

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Results that make a difference World Trade Organization - EMC2 Partner

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ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law King & Spalding - EMC2 Partner

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EMC2 goes to Africa

STEP - Perspective of a Trainee

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Corporate Identity & Branding

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After 30 years of STEP

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Globalisation of STEP

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The Visual Identity of STEP

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Delegations and WFD

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Moot Court Competitions

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3rd edition o the ELSA Day

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CBL International

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Catolica Global School of Law

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ELSA Summer Law Schools

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Human Resources in ELSA

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A successful co-operation DLA Piper

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Opening the doors to the legal profession The European Youth Foundation

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From a donor to a partner

International moot court competitions, p.18

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International traineeships provided

by ELSA, p.36

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A unique opportunity to experience international decision making, p.42

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International Board of ELSA 2014/2015

International Board of ELSA 2014/2015

Armin Khoshnewiszadeh

Alina Shchetinina

Lauri Vaihem채ki

Idil Buke Civelek

Olav Vogt Engeland

Tanja Sheikhi

Marko Dolenec

Dariia Oliinyk Vice President for Student Trainee Exchange Programme Coming from Ukraine

President Coming from Norway

Vice President for Academic Activities Coming from Norway

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Secretary General Coming from Ukraine

Vice President for Moot Court Competitions Coming from Sweden

Treasurer Coming from Finland

Vice President for Seminars and Conferences Coming from Croatia

Vice President for Marketing Coming from Turkey

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Year of the International Board

Jumping walls together The International Board of ELSA 2014/2015 about a year of achievements and obstacles

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n 1995 the International Board of ELSA moved into Boulevard Général Jacques 239 in Brussels – a place that quickly became known as the ELSA House. Since then around 150 people have lived in the House working full time for our association. Moving to a new country and working with people you have limited experience with is simply put a scary endeavour, but it’s an experience that prepares you for a future in an increasingly internationalised reality.

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ur adventure started 1st of July 2014 when the 8 of us moved to Brussels to receive transition from the outgoing International Board. 8 people from 6 countries who have never worked together automatically trigger an alarm of concern. Won’t your working styles and your cultural differences make it difficult?

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he truth is that even though we like to highlight the multitude of different cultures and practices that cover our continent the reality is, if anything, the complete opposite. We have discovered that we have much more in common even given the great distances our home countries have from each other. Even given our diverse backgrounds, coming from different countries that carry different cultures one quickly realises that working together is much more than determining which country you are from.

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ut unlike the process of making a team which depends on the efforts of each individual team member, we have met obstacles this year which have been out of our control. Unfortunately three of our board members were unable to gain visas to stay the full length of their term in Brussels. As Ukraine and Turkey are outside of Schengen and the EU there have been immense legal difficulties in gaining valid visas for our board members’ which has resulted in large parts of time being spent in their home countries.

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his situation has been a burden for the whole board and specially a personal disappointment to our two Ukrainian and one Turkish board member. Working alone from your home country, not being able to travel freely and do you job as you were elected to do effects both motivation ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

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a team. There were rare moments when all 8 of us could spend time together, but those moments were terrific.

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hen we write these words we are happy we have had so many sympathetic voices to help and give understanding. Mr. Amaury Pirlet has done an amazing job as our lawyer, and equally the ELSA network have shown immense support in trying to resolve the matter.

and work efficiency. Much time has been spent trying to work out the legal hurdles, dealing with several countries’ immigration authorities and trying to deal with the emotional strain such a situation carries with it.

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ut as gloomy as it may sounds our board has made the best out of the situation.

We have come together and tried focusing on the positive sides of our work. Dariia, Idil and Alina, who have been going through this have been positive and stayed the course, making sure their work was still executed no matter where they were. And as a team, we have used more Skype than we would under normal circumstances, but we have still stayed

Our work this year on the visa issues has hopefully made sure that no one who will be elected to the International Board of ELSA in the future will experience such hurdles as was experienced during our tenure.

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hroughout this Annual Report you can read from us and our partners alike about the achievements of our year. We are proud and honoured to have served 1 year of our lives for this association and to have had the pleasure to work with our partners in achieving our aims. We look forward to see this association developing even further and to highlight the importance of international understanding and cooperation both in law and in life.

ELSA International 2014/2015 Armin, Alina, Lauri, Idil, Olav, Tanja, Marko and Dariia

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ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

The portion of sun that we got in Bodrum kept us alive in rainy Brussels for many months.

Boys

Armin’s tie supposed to be pink and match Dariia’s dress…

Posing while the rest is working... Our last ICM plenary at ICM ClujNapoca, in Romania.

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A message from the President

A year of increased activity and continued growth

Armin Khoshnewiszadeh, President of ELSA International, about developments and achievements in ELSA during the term 2014/2015.

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nother ELSA year has come to an end and it is time to look back and count the achievements of our year. As always it is important to remember that the developments we have made cannot solely be attributed to the strenuous work of the International Board, but also the individuals of ELSA International’s extended team and the countless hours they have spent on developing our network and improving our activities.

The ELSA year of 2014/2015 can be summed up as the year of numbers. In most of our activities we have seen an increase in quantity, both with regards to the projects we carry out, but also in the form of monetary developments. Below I will highlight some of those increases which you can read more about in this Annual Report.

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s. Dariia Oliinyk, Vice President for Student Trainee Exchange Programme (STEP), has contributed greatly to ELSA’s traineeship programme by supervising the development of and implementation of a new online system for both applicants and employers. With this, the STEP programme has truly embraced the digital age of the 21st century. As previous years the growth of both applicants and traineeship placements have continued now encompassing more than 220 traineeships with more than 2300 applicants.

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LSA’s Delegation programme, sending ELSA members to observe various international decision making bodies, has similarly reached new levels of activity. Mr. Marko Dolenec, the Vice President for Seminars and Conferences, has increased the number from 45 opened delegations and 210 appointed delegates during last term in office to 65 opened delegations and 342 appointed delegates by the end of our term providing a truly unique professional experience to an even greater number of European law students.

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LSA’s Law Schools has similarly expanded from 19 to 34 schools. The schools are organised by the national and local chapters of ELSA and cover everything from international trade law and dispute resolution to human rights and fashion law. The growing interest in organising and attending law schools have now started to attract the attention of non-European law students who are increasingly applying and attending the summer courses in our network.

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n the administrative side of ELSA numbers are also in focus. ELSA’s treasurer, Mr. Lauri Vaihemäki, has co-ordinated a renewed effort to increase revenue through grant applications. This has led to 2 successful grant application from the European Youth Foundation for organising international conferences. Addi-

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We end this year on a positive note with the assurance that ELSA’s activities are as relevant as ever before and with confidence that the next generations will continue building our association on achievements of the past.

organisation of the ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO law, the European Human Rights Moot Court Competition, the international Legal Research Group on Social Rights, the 3rd edition of ELSA Day, our effort to improve the International Trainers Pool and our efforts to develop the brand of ELSA. We end this year on a positive note with the assurance that ELSA’s activities are as relevant as ever before and with confidence that the next generations will continue building our association on achievements of the past.

tionally, ELSA has this year again started to receive money from the EU through the Erasmus + programme, an accomplishment leaving ELSA with €35 000 in increased general income.

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hese are only some of the areas and projects where ELSA has successfully developed in the past year. Throughout this Annual Report you can read more about the successful

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Armin Khoshnewiszadeh President ELSA International 14/15

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Council of Europe - Human Rights Partner

Sharing common values

The co-operation between ELSA and the Council of Europe

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ver the years, the Council of Europe has succeeded in building strong and productive relations with the European Law Students’ Association, ELSA. We consider ELSA as a dynamic, serious and constantly growing network providing law students with a wide range of both professional and social opportunities complementing the traditional university curriculum. We also very much appreciate ELSA for making its members sensitive to human rights and democracy issues.

This co-operation takes different forms but consists mainly of projects highlighting the work of the Council of Europe on topical issues faced by society today. The objective is to ensure that the pillars of our Organisation, democracy, human rights and the rule of law, continue to be given the place they deserve among the members of the Association.

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We consider ELSA as a dynamic, serious and constantly growing network providing law students with a wide range of both professional and social opportunities complementing the traditional university curriculum.

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he European Moot Court Competition, simulating the procedure of complaints to the European Court of Human Rights, has become a flagship project. In 2015, a total of 106 university teams from 30 countries applied to this third edition of the high-level contest to plead a case on LGBT reproductive and parenting rights.

The best 16 teams from 12 countries (Austria, Croatia, Greece, The Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and The United Kingdom) qualified for the finals. They competed before a panel of international experts in law and human rights to win a traineeship at the Court.

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hile it is true that an extensive and accurate knowledge of the European Convention on Human Rights is crucial for all law students, the current economic crisis shows the extreme relevance also of the European Social Charter. With unemployment, poverty and inequality on the rise, some austerity measures actually weaken social rights which in turn affects the European social and democratic model.

Young people are among the worst affected.

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earing this in mind, ELSA’s current international board set up a legal research group and an essay competition dedicated to the role of the European Social Charter in maintaining minimum social standards in countries undergoing austerity measures. As many as 300 students from 28 countries compared national ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

social legislations and the results were compiled and the report published on the Council of Europe’s website. The winner of the essay competition, a member of ELSA Kalingrad, Russian Federation, has been offered a four week traineeship at the Council of Europe.

Social responsibility was also at the heart of ‘ELSA Day’, celebrated on 26 November 2014, under the slogan ‘All different, all together’. ELSA’s members organised more than 133 academic and charity events in 33 countries dedicated to the protection of the rights of vulnerable groups.

events, very much in tune with the Organisation’s priorities, offering ELSA groups some 3 000 brochures and 10 000 visibility items.

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e will also be happy to encourage all future initiatives of ELSA promoting universal rights among its Pan European network. Such projects, conducted with energy and drive, strengthen democratic security in Europe on a daily basis.

The Directorate of Communications was very pleased to be in a position to support a number of these

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Barbara Orkwiszewska

Directorate of Communications Council of Europe

We will also be happy to encourage all future initiatives of ELSA promoting universal rights among its Pan European network.

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CMS Legal - Corporate Partner

Results that make a difference

How ‘Your World First’ translates into international client success

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elivering results for clients around the world is a key reason why CMS is ranked among the top ten global law firms. But we believe it is the way we approach our work that makes the difference. We have more than 3,000 legal and tax professionals operating from 59 offices across 33 countries, giving CMS the second-largest international footprint of any legal firm. Everywhere we operate, our focus is on providing exceptional value through advice that is rooted in a deep understanding of what matters most to our clients.

We call our approach ‘Your World First’ – a phrase which sums up our promise to be client-centric, offer local expertise with a global vision and be performance-driven in all our activities.

‘Your World First’ is helping to make CMS a strong and growing organisation. In 2014, we posted total annual revenues of EUR 934.5 million, an increase of 11% over the previous year. We added 109 new partners, taking the total to over 800 and welcomed major new firms to CMS, including Dundas & Wilson in Scotland and ZPG Avocats in Switzerland.

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ornelius Brandi, Executive Chairman of CMS, has pointed out that these impressive results are based on an increase in the level and quality of mandates entrusted to us by our clients. We work with businesses of all shapes and sizes, from multinationals to mid-caps to innovative start-ups across all major industries. In recent years, we’ve advised on many major deals in our strategic sectors of Technology, Media and

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Communications, Energy, Financial Services, Lifesciences and Dispute Resolution. CMS topped the deal tables by volume for European M&A in 2014 for the fourth time in five years.

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trong relationships with clients and across CMS underpin the way we work.

Close teamwork together with individual responsibility and motivation are vital. We see clear parallels between the way we conduct our business and ELSA’s drive to provide opportunities for international exchange, diversified legal education and personal professional development.

Our work with clients and development programmes create an environment in which top performing

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We see clear parallels between the way we conduct our business and ELSA’s drive to provide opportunities for international exchange, diversified legal education and personal professional development.

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A commitment to learning and deep curiosity about applying legal expertise in a wide range of circumstances are characteristics shared by CMS and ELSA.

professionals can apply their technical expertise and business understanding in unique ways.

Once again this year, we were pleased to host ELSA’s Partners’ Reception, held at CMS in Brussels in January. This annual event is an important platform for ELSA to promote its services and connect with key partners who are committed to its goals.

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commitment to learning and deep curiosity about applying legal expertise in a wide range of circumstances are characteristics shared by CMS and ELSA. ‘Your World First’ means CMS will continue to help our clients by looking to understand the details of their business and environment, helping them to get ahead today by anticipating challenges tomorrow, and by developing international expertise with deep local roots. Above all, we aim to act both as technical experts and pragmatic advisors and deliver quality results that clients can act on to achieve their goals. Our aim is to make a difference, not just to offer opinions.

Georg Schmidt

HR Training and Development Manager CMS

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World Trade Organization - EMC2 Partner

ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law The gift that keeps on giving

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ach passing year, we undertake the responsibility of supporting ELSA's Moot Court Competition on WTO Law with great enthusiasm for it continues to be a rewarding experience. The competition provides those of us immersed in the daily grind of international trade law the refreshing opportunity to witness talented students, of diverse backgrounds and nationalities get bitten by the international trade bug as they grapple with the contemporary issues in WTO law and offer plausible solutions to today's multilateral trade concerns. We also greatly enjoy the privilege of collaborating with the bright young minds heading ELSA International. This year, we were particularly blessed to work closely with Ms. Tanja Sheikhi, a gifted organiser, who worked tirelessly and steered the 13th edition of the ELSA Moot Court Competition to great success.

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he WTO has been a technical sponsor and partner of the ELSA competition on WTO law since its inception 13 years ago. In this regard, the WTO sends legal experts on technical assistance missions to act as panelists in the regional rounds. WTO staff members also, when requested, advise ELSA on the academic as well as the logistical aspects of running the competition. Furthermore, the WTO hosts the Grand Final of the Final Oral Round of the competition, at the WTO Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. For the second year in a row the WTO was pleased to offer financial support to teams from the African Region. In particular, for the 20142015 edition of the competition, the WTO, through

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the generous contribution of Norway to the Global Trust Fund, was able to provide financial assistance to the top African teams to facilitate their participation in the Final Oral Round.

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s can be seen from the ever-increasing list of sponsors and technical supporters, it takes a village to run the competition. For the WTO, the enthusiasm and support for the competition stretches across its Membership, as well as amongst staff members in several divisions of the WTO Secretariat. In our view, this is, in no small part, owed to the contribution that the ELSA Moot Court Competition has made, and continues to make, to the enhancement of trade-related capacities of WTO Members.

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Moreover, we witnessed a lot of progress that has been made towards increased participation, the improvement in the academic quality of the competition, the reduction of costs and efficiency gains in spending, as well as an improvement in fundraising efforts.

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We are optimistic that the ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law will continue to provide promising students, of all diverse backgrounds, with a venue to hone their advocacy skills and further their interest in international trade law.

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his year, in particular, we observed that the competition continues to be a powerful tool for capacity building in the development of knowledge in WTO law, and WTOrelated studies. Moreover, we witnessed a lot of progress that has been made towards increased participation, the improvement in the academic quality of the competition, the reduction of costs and efficiency gains in spending, as well as an improvement in fundraising efforts. All of these improvements have helped ELSA ensure that the competition remains a truly global one, open to students from all around the world.

The enhanced capacity and knowledge of WTO law and WTO-related subjects, to which the ELSA moot court competition contributes, will increasingly allow WTO Members to take full advantage of the rulesbased multilateral trading system, to deal with emerANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

ging challenges, and to enforce Members' rights and obligations. These are important goals of the WTO's technical assistance mandate and we are pleased to be able to partner with ELSA in the furtherance of them.

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herefore, as ELSA International starts preparing for the 14th edition of the competition, we take this opportunity to thank the outgoing board of ELSA International, and welcome the new one, whom we look forward to collaborating with. We are optimistic that the ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law will continue to provide promising students, of all diverse backgrounds, with a venue to hone their advocacy skills and further their interest in international trade law.

Marisa Goldstein

Counsellor at World Trade Organization

Chibole Wakoli

Dispute Settlement Lawyer, Appellate Body Secretariat

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King & Spalding - EMC2 Partner

EMC2 goes to Africa

Why expansion into Africa is good for the continent and good for the multilateral trade system

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his year marks the second year that the ELSA Moot Court Competition (“EMC2”) on the law of the World Trade Organization (“WTO”) held an African Regional Round.

Since opening a regional round of this prestigious moot court competition in Africa, students representing thirteen universities from eight countries in all regions have competed in the simulation of the WTO dispute settlement system. This interest in WTO law across Africa reveals the value that African countries place on the multilateral trade system as an engine for economic development across the continent. At the same time, the decision to establish a regional round in Africa reveals the importance of fully incorporating African economies into the international community of trade and economic law and policy, as ELSA and its WTO moot court are key institutions within this community.

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frica is home to 43 WTO Members – more than 25% of the 161 Members – and its role in global economic development is not in doubt. According to the African Economic Outlook 2015, a report by the African Development Bank, the OECD Development Centre and the United Nations Development Programme, the past decade has seen strengthening economic performance in many African countries with consistent growth in continent-wide gross domestic product. This growth has translated into increased trade – both among African countries and between Africa and the rest of the world. Recent events such as the launching of the Tripartite Free Trade Area among the three regional

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economic blocs in Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA, EAC, and SADC) reveal that Africa will continue to be a leading region for international trade in the future. By holding a regional round of the EMC2 in Africa, ELSA is able to tap into this burgeoning interest in trade law and policy and to provide students and universities with the opportunity to develop their specialization in the law of the WTO. These students – the future lawyers, government officials, trade representatives and diplomats of their respective countries – will be able to better integrate into the international community through participation in the African Regional Round as well as the Final Round in Geneva, the hub of the multilateral trade system.

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By holding a regional round of the EMC2 in Africa, ELSA is able to tap into this burgeoning interest in trade law and policy and to provide students and universities with the opportunity to develop their specialization in the law of the WTO.

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his mutually supportive expansion of trade law into Africa and Africa into the trade community is a keen interest of King & Spalding LLP. Our International Trade/ WTO practice group has been committed to supporting ELSA and the EMC2 and is especially pleased to see the fuller integration of African universities and students into the moot court competition. Our firm has supported African governments for years through pro bono representation of Least Developed Countries in trade-related development issues, including the WTO accession negotiations of Liberia, the trade and economic partnership negotiations of Malawi with the European Union, and even nontraditional trade work such as supporting intellectual

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Our International Trade/WTO practice group has been committed to supporting ELSA and the EMC2 and is especially pleased to see the fuller integration of African universities and students into the moot court competition.

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property law and policy development in Burkina Faso to grow its film industry.

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n sum, we are convinced that Africa is a key part of global economic development and the multilateral trade system. ELSA too has recognized the continent’s pivotal role and the benefit that fuller African integration into the international trade community brings to all involved. African participation in the EMC2 is a welcome sign of increased integration of African economies into the world economy in the future.

Alejandro Jara

Counsel on the International Trade team King&Spalding, Geneva

Jordan Shepherd

Associate in the International Trade and WTO Practice Group King&Spalding, Geneva

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Moot Court Competitions

International Moot Court Competitions ELSA’s way to challenge todays’ law students!

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LSA continues to contribute to today’s legal education not only in Europe, but all around the globe. Part of the annual projects organized by ELSA International, are the two major international moot court competitions, the European Human Rights Moot Court Competition (EHRMCC) organized in co-operation with the Council of Europe, and the ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law (EMC2).

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n the 15th of August 2014 the 3rd edition of the EHRMCC was launched and promoted around Europe. The reputation of the competition is growing among universities and institutions and in November the competition had 106 registered teams from 30 different countries. The competition is a simulation of the procedure in the European Court of Human Rights which enables students to gain invaluable experience and to learn how to use the European Convention on Human Rights 18

in practice. After the written stage, where almost 80 teams participated, 16 teams from Austria, Greece, Switzerland, Russia, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Turkey, Croatia, Romania and Spain participated in the Final Oral Round from the 22nd to the 26th of February 2015 in Strasbourg.

They were gathered to plead the case in the European Court of Human Rights itself, in front of distinguished human rights experts acting as judges in the competition. This year’s case concerned LGBT rights and minority issues, a hot topic which raised many interesting arguments. The winner of this year’s competition was the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.

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LSA would also like to thank the Permanent Representation of United Kingdom for kindly hosting the Opening Ceremony of the Final Oral Round in Strasbourg. For the first time a “Panel debate” was organized during the Final, ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

the members of the panel consisted of practitioners from different professional backgrounds within the field of human rights. The event was kindly supported by the Permanent Representation of Norway.

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he last event of the competition was a lovely Award Dinner sponsored by the Permanent Representation of Belgium that also supported the competition financially. The academic quality of the competition is secured by the immense support from the European Human Rights Association that help us to write the case and to find suitable experts who can acts as judges throughout the competition. Lastly, ELSA would like to thank the Council of Europe for the massive financial and technical help throughout the year, and for supporting ELSA in making the competition more successful.

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he EMC2 is the largest project of ELSA, and it is also one of the most prestigious international moot courts in the world.

Being the only international moot court competition on WTO law, students learn about the dispute settlemet system of the World Trade Organization.

In March 2015 Regional Rounds were organized in Manila, Washington D.C., Halle, and Bucharest and in addition to these rounds, for the second time in the EMC2 history, a Regional Round was also organized

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in Johannesburg.

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he 13th edition had 80 participating teams in the various Regional Rounds and in June 2015 the Final Oral Round was once again held in Geneva, Switzerland. ELSA highly values the technical support from the WTO and wishes to express our sincere gratitude to staff members from the WTO who has been involved in different aspects of the competition. The competition has become a well-known competition in the trade law society and many of the achievement are accomplished

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The EMC2 is the largest project of ELSA, and it is also one of the most prestigious international moot courts in the world. Being the only international moot court competition on WTO law, students learn about the dispute settlemet system of the World Trade Organization.

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thanks to the great support and constant commitment by the WTO. The support was this year shown by letting the EMC2 have the current Director General of the WTO, as the “Patron” of the competition. The ELSA team was happy to meet the top 20 teams in Geneva, the Final Oral Round had participating teams from India, Taiwan, The Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Lesotho, South Africa, Colombia, Guatemala, USA and Canada. Throughout the written and the oral stages of the competition, ELSA is honoured to have different World Trade Law experts acting as panellists.

The two final teams competed in the headquarters of the WTO, this year both of them represented Indian universities. The winner was the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, India.

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LSA International would like to thank all sponsors that have been supporting the organisation of the 13th edition of the EMC2. We extend our thanks to our Global Sponsors: Van Bael & Bellis, Sidley Austin, King & Spalding, Steptoe & Johnson, IELPO and the World Trade Institute for making this competition happening.

Round: International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, Akin Gump, Society of International Economic Law, Advisory Centre on WTO Law and LALIVE.

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LSA gather students from different legal systems, cultures and societies. We believe in the importance of cultural diversity, we are not only making an impact in the legal society, by gathering law students from all over the world we are creating a platform for students and future lawyers to share experiences which could never be exchanged if it wouldn’t be for ELSA.

We would also like to thank the Graduate Institute, Geneva for hosting the Final Oral Round in their venues. Moreover, we would like to thank our sponsors for the African Regional Round who made it possible for us to organize the second African Regional

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We believe in the importance of cultural diversity, ... we are creating a platform for students and future lawyers to share experiences which could never be exchanged if it wouldn’t for ELSA.

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Tanja Sheikhi

Vice Presidenf for Moot Court Competitions ELSA International 14/15

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CBL International

CBL International A successful co-operation

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t CBL International we specialise in providing individual tailor-made university courses, summer schools, and executive conferences for international students, graduates, and professionals in emerging and advanced markets. Continued success and growth over the past few years has in our expansion in numerous prominent locations throughout the world. During the short-term programmes, we organise company visits to national and international law firms, institutions, and companies in the various prominent location they take place in. Our corporate day include visits to important locations regarded as centres for business and law, and during the company visits and presentations delegates are encouraged to network, in order to increase contacts and gain an understanding of law in an international setting.

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multitude of ELSA students have participated in our programmes in Dubai, Cambridge, Oxford, and in a number of cities across China, including Beijing, Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Tianjin. These intermediateto-intensive academic programmes are designed and tailored for students seeking academic enrichment abroad, whilst enrolled on a course specifically correlated to legal topics in connection to the location offered in. For example, China programmes have a strong emphasis on the legal systems in a region recognised in the international community for its diversity. Our goal is to provide study abroad programmes which incorporate academic immersion, industry insight, and cultural immersion for participants.

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he importance of our co-operation with ELSA provides us with access to a large and diverse group of students in Europe, with an openness and interest to study law abroad for a short period of time. Previous CBL International delegates with ELSA memberships have been found to have a global mind-set with an international perspective, as well as the abilities of understanding and meeting the challenges set by the ever increasing global workplace and economy. Our collaboration with ELSA provides us with the exceptional opportunity to have access to a large and diverse number of members, who meet the criteria for our programmes, as they are interested in gaining an insight into foreign legal systems and practices.

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s an academic provider, we recognise ELSA for assisting its members in becoming skilled professionals as well as providing them with access to discovering different opportunities, especially in terms of gaining comprehension about international law firms. We strive to work with different co-operations and institutions to broaden our horizons, and aim to continue our successful cooperation.

Jola Markaj

Academic Programmes and Partnership Manager CBL International

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DLA Piper

Opening the doors to the legal profession

"Break into Law" Career insight seminar at DLA Piper, Paris

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n 19 June 2015, DLA Piper France hosted a group of 25 law students, at varying stages of their study, for a Career Insight Seminar in our Paris office. This seminar provided students with practical insight into the legal profession and gave students an opportunity to meet and interact with lawyers working in a leading global law firm. The seminar consisted of both practical workshops focused on CV writing and interview skills, in both French and English, and interactive presentations by experienced lawyers on topics including legal writing, legal research and negotiation skills.

Throughout the seminar, students also had the opportunity to meet and hear from our lawyers and partners from areas including intellectual property, litigation and arbitration, project finance, banking, corporate and the pro bono practice.

With a mixture of practical workshops, interactive presentations and the chance to meet and talk to senior professionals working in the law, the students gained valuable insight into the legal profession and the many pathways and career opportunities available.

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t was great to see the motivation and energy from the students and the lawyers throughout the event, which made for an interactive and fun learning environment. Students were able to actively engage with the content of the presentations and freely explored and discussed career options and possibilities with our lawyers. Our lawyers were

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also excited to be able to help build on the students practical legal skills and provide tips for their future colleagues.

Feedback on the seminar from the students was very positive with 100 of the students commenting that they found it very helpful and insightful.

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This seminar provided students with practical insight into the legal profession and gave students an opportunity to meet and interact with lawyers working in a leading global law firm.

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ne of the participants Margaux Frisque commented that "I wanted to give you a big thank you, for organizing this day and allowing us to break into and really get into the day-to-day practice of a law firm such as DLA Piper. Many stories, many amazing people, many new perspectives, I think we have learned more than we expected, and we are most grateful. As Jeremy Bentham said "the power of the lawyer is in the uncertainty of the law", I think within a day we have ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

“

It was great to see the motivation and energy from the students and the lawyers throughout the event, which made for an interactive and fun learning environment. seen that if the law is sometimes unclear or equivocal, hard work, great team spirit, passion, determination and team work, makes jurisprudence, makes the difference and makes a match point."

to think about their future careers and have the confidence to explore and follow their career aspirations.

It was a pleasure to host this group of student in our Paris office and we look forward to providing future Career Insight Seminars in partnership with ELSA in our other offices throughout Europe in the near future.

Ozgur Kahale

Pro Bono Counsel, Europe DLA Piper

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y providing students with a chance to learn about the legal profession, develop employability skills and engage with our lawyers and hear their stories, within a legal workplace environment, we hope to have inspired them

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European Youth Foundation

The European Youth Foundation From a donor to a partner

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he European Youth Foundation is a structure of the Council of Europe (not to be confused with the European Union!). Its aim is to support the work of non-governmental youth organisations throughout the territory of the 50 signatories to the European Cultural Convention. Its offices can be found in the European Youth Centre in Strasbourg, France.

Established in 1972, the EYF has a budget of approximately 3 million euros per year and supports roughly one activity per working day. In 2013, the Foundation went through a restructuration which also changed the way it approaches its relationship and work with youth NGOs based on two-way communication and mutual respect. In addition to providing financial support, the EYF is also available to offer guidance and pedagogical support.

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ifferent types of projects can be supported, ranging from very small pilot activities responding to challenges young people face at local level, to international activities gathering participants from a large number of countries. All these projects contribute to the work of the Council of Europe’s youth sector (see priorities defined for 2016-2017 on the EYF website), based on a participant-centred and non-formal learning approach.

took a while to reconcile the approaches of law students and non-formal learning, which would not appear to be obvious. But thanks to persistent two-way communication and a better understanding of the needs and expectations of both parties, ELSA has been integrating a more non-formal approach in its activities. The activity linked to the No Hate Speech Movement in 2013 produced an interesting report on the legal aspects related to online hate speech in several countries which will be shared on the EYF website to be consulted by other youth NGOs. A member of the EYF staff visited ELSA’s activity in Croatia in November 2014 on freedom of expression, which provided a good opportunity to have more in-depth discussions and consolidate the partnership.

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LSA is also attentive to involving other sectors of the Council of Europe in its work, and will be organising its next EYF-supported project in Strasbourg in autumn 2015, focusing on the European Social Charter. We look forward to following this activity and disseminating the results!

For more information: http://eyf.coe.int

The article is written by the European Youth Foundation.

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LSA has been registered with the EYF for some years, and has just been awarded its fourth grant for an international activity (to take place in 2016). It has to be said that it

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ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

ELSA and Grants

European Union and ELSA Entering to the Erasmus+ program

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hrough all of its years in existence, ELSA’s greatest asset and key to success has been countless hours of voluntary work by hundreds upon hundreds of officers on all levels of the Association. Value of these tireless contributions can not be measured in money or appreciated too highly.

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hat being said, ELSA, like any other organization, needs sufficient funds to conduct its activities and cover its administrative expenses. As a non-profit association, our projects are planned to be mostly self-sufficient, meaning that the income required to undertake them is generated by project specific sponsorships, grants, participation fees and other similar sources of income. ELSA is a highly recognized brand in Europe and many of our activities enjoy excellent reputation for academic quality. Fortunately, this success has meant that it is relatively easy to find willing collaborators for academic projects dealing with timely legal topics.

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nfortunately fundraising for operational costs is not as simple task. While projects offer concrete and visible sponsorship opportunities, general costs require a constant stream of funding for mostly invisible, but essential and demanding back-office work. This need has been answered by co-operation with our highly valued partners, whose generous support has made it possible for ELSA to keep working on academic and educational projects without seeking profits.

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his year ELSA was for the first time selected for funding in the Erasmus+ program of the European Union. This operational grant of 35.000 EUR made it possible for us not only to keep our organization running, but also opened ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

“

This year ELSA was for the first time selected for funding in the Erasmus+ program of the European Union.

new chances for development and tackling needs which had previously not been prioritized. We see this as a great opportunity to update our organization and make the work in the international level more efficient through new tools and technical solutions.

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ut receiving this grant is not only about our organization finding extra operational income during the European financial crisis. It also marks a new phase of co-operation between ELSA and the European Union which, despite their different nature and geographical coverage, share a common vision of peaceful and united Europe through the rule of law and recognition of universal human rights. In this way, ELSA is proud to work together with the European Union by contributing to the education of the next generations and development of the international legal community.

Lauri Vaihemaki

Treasurer ELSA International 14/15

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An Association in 43 countries

The ELSA Network The ELSA network – what it’s all about

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hen I present ELSA I always talk about our early days in 1981 when Europe was divided between the West and the East and what defined you was which side of the wall you happened to live on. It was in this political landscape ELSA as an idea was born and in which our association grew. The desire to break down the barriers that the Cold War had created is one that still lives on today, although in a different form.

Since our humble beginnings in 1981 ELSA has grown immensely and it is with pride we today boast 43 National Groups totalling 40 000 individual members. This road has been long and the current state of our network builds on the hard work of generations of ELSA members.

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ne of the great achievements of our term is the expansion to 3 new countries. Armenia, The Russian Federation and The Republic of Moldova have all joined our Network this year making our association stretch from the most Northern point in Norway, to Malta and Cyprus in the South, from Portugal and Ireland in the west to Russia and Azerbaijan in the east.

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celand is the only major country on the European continent which currently does not have an ELSA group. But as I am writing this article the new International Board of 2015/2016 are having a Skype meeting in the room next door with a group of Icelandic students who want to create an ELSA group and join the company of our network. It is these moments that make you smile, when progress is taking place right in front of your eyes.

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“

Since our humble beginnings in 1981 ELSA has grown immensely and it is with pride we today boast 43 National Groups totalling 40 000 individual members.

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ne of the important tasks of the International Board is to provide support for every National Group to develop and grow. That means regular communication, but also travelling in person and attend national meetings.

This year the International Board has travelled to 25 of our National Groups - visiting members from all levels or our association. Countless kilometres have been travelled using flights, trains, rental cars, boats and even ridesharing to make sure that we can meet our network in person.

ELSA’s worldwide presence is also starting to take shape. The amount of students being affected by our work is not only limited to Europe, but increasingly a global audience is enjoying ELSA’s activities.

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ur Vice President for Moot Court Competitions has travelled to the Philippines, South Africa and the USA for the Regional Rounds of the ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO law. Similarly, our traineeship programme STEP is gaining a global character by focusing on gaining non-European traineeships. This year ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

the Dominican Law Students’ Association (DLSA) arranged a traineeship in the Dominican Republic for STEP and after internal regulations changes we now allow their members to apply for traineeships through the STEP system.

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hen not travelling, we have been stationed at our base in Brussels – in our beloved ELSA House. At times this is a solitary exercise, but one policy our board agreed upon early during our term, dubbed the open house, made our presence in Brussels more exciting. This policy meant we would always do our very best to meet with ELSA groups or members visiting Brussels.

The impact of our open policy has been tremendous, with over 640 people visiting our ELSA House from 31 different ELSA local and national groups. It has not only been a source of inspiration for us, it has also contributed to motivate a new generation of ELSA members to take an active part in our association.

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bviously we cannot be present everywhere, all the time. A novelty of this year has been that when we have not been able to travel we have sent video messages to national and local meetings taking place. These small messages have made a great impact enabling the international board to reach out further than our physical

ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

whereabouts.

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ll of this combined paints a picture of an active year. We have done our very best not to isolate ourselves in Brussels, but to take an active part in the association on all levels. It has been a tremendous experience and the impact has been visible. We can’t wait to see what the future will bring!

Armin Khoshnewiszadeh President ELSA International 14/15

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A year in numbers: The International Board consists of 4 boys and 4 girls, coming from 6 different countries.

More than 133 events in 33 countries are organised on the ELSA Day - 26th of November, 2014.

222 traineeships offers in both cycles of STEP. From 2302 applicants 267 got spots.

34 ELSA Law Schools in 21 countries were organised both in summer and winter!

1172 members applied for 65 opened delegations, 342 of them were appointed.

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80 teams participated at the EMC2 Regional Rounds from 5 continents. 20 teams were qualified for the final round in Geneva.

ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

2 grants from the European Youth Foundation and funding from Erasmus+ program of EU have been received.

The Network has been extended to 43 member countries!

Welcome Armenia, The Russian Federation and and The Republic of Moldova.

Legal Research Group on the European Social Charter: 28 participating countries, 300 participants and 1578 pages of legal research!

106 teams from 30 countries applied for EHRMCC, 16 teams from 12 countries were qualifed for the final round in Strasbourg.

ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

640 members from 31 different local and national groups visited the ELSA House in Brussels.

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State of the Network

State of the Network 43 countries in numbers

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hirty-four years in a row ELSA is striving for a just world in which there is a respect for human dignity and cultural diversity.

Thirty-four years ELSA has been sticking to the same vision and principles, however, that didn’t keep ELSA from rapidly developing and expanding within the European territory. Nowadays ELSA is represented in 43 countries and we still have a long way to go.

shows a potential need for improvement or change in a respective areas. The following article is devoted to present the results of the two latest SotN reports.

The SotN inquiries both had the same structure and were divided into sections: the key figures, the level of communication, the Strategic Goals development and the sections devoted the eight areas of activities in ELSA.

ight years ago the State of the Network inquiry was presented to the ELSA Network (hereafter the SotN) and was entitled to keep track on the development level of the Network as a whole. During the term 20142015 the SotN inquiry was distributed to the network twice, in October and April. On the basis of the data obtained from the inquiry, the SotN report, that reflects the key numbers of each area and the level of implementation of the Strategic Goals of ELSA, was compiled. The numbers and figures acknowledge the internal development that ELSA has realized and

Geographical spread and coverage

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At the moment of filling in the second SotN inquiry ELSA was represented in 42 countries. In total ELSA is presented in 330 faculties all over Europe covered by 249 local groups, and 4 countries that do not have local representation. Some of the local groups cover several universities, for instant ELSA Istanbul covers 17 law faculties all over the city. In the graph below you can see that the number of local groups has increased in comparison with the years of 2013-2014, when the 15th and the 16th SotN were conducted.

Figure 1 - Development of number of local groups and national groups without local representation in the ELSA Network

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ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

Figure 2 - Development of number of individual members, and active members, who are involved in local/national or international levels of the ELSA Network

Human Resources Each year, the number of individual members of ELSA is increasing. According to the internal surveys conducted in October and April, the amount of members has increased from 40741 to 43853, meaning that more than 3000 new members were obtained during half a year. Every 7th person in our organization is actively involved in all levels of ELSA: local, national and international.

The development of Human Resources in ELSA can be reviewed from both training and transition evaluations. It is shown that 283 trainings in total were conducted this year, by both National and International Trainers’ Pools, which is 10 % higher in comparison with survey conducted in spring 2014. Thirty-five countries out of thirty-six confirmed that they had a transition of knowledge from their predecessor to their successor that reflected the level of competence of the local and national officers.

porting the work of the International Board. The overall amount of Human Resources on the International level reached 46 people excluding the 8 members of the International Board.

The term 2014-2015 made a step forward towards ELSA’s goal to make a difference in the world by providing possibilities for our members to develop themselves, for spreading internationality, for promoting the social responsibility and for fostering mutual understanding. These factors are the catalysts of the internal and external development of our organization, as presented in the article above, and they make ELSA prosper through 34 years of its existence.

Operative development ELSA is developing through the hard work of the International Board that operates on a full-time basis and the ELSA International Team consisting of Directors, Assistants and Teams that operates on a part-time basis. This year the ELSA International Team consisted of 22 Directors and Assistants and 7 Teams, who were working in all the areas of ELSA and were sup-

ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

Alina Shchetinina

Secretart General ELSA International 14/15

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Kocks & Partners - STEP Partner

STEP trainee: The Julius Caesar of Modern Times* A true story about experiences and opportunities

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lea iacta est, said Julius Caesar, when he crossed the Rubicon and entered Italy. The die is cast. Although in a whole other context (and much more peaceful), this phrase also reflects very well the ELSA STEP-program: crossing a border can be a decisive step in someone’s career.

Just as it was many centuries ago for the ‘career’ of Julius Caesar.

Decisive in a way that the students are given an extraordinary possibility to not only see with their own eyes if becoming a lawyer is what they want, but also if they would prefer starting their career in their home country or abroad.

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t Kocks&Partners, our STEP-trainees are part of our team. We do not consider them as excuses for not walking to the coffee machine ourselves anymore in the morning or being the person in the smallest desk in the worst corner who only has to make copies all day long. We are proud on the fact that people who walk into our office cannot see the difference between a STEP-trainee or a senior associate. Except for the grey hairs maybe…

We believe it is our duty as hosting firm for STEP-trainees to give them maximum opportunities to show their potential and we believe this can only be achieved by considering them as ‘one of ours’ from day one.

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hen a new STEP-trainee arrives, we always tell him/her that our goal is that he/she knows by the end of the traineeship if he/she still wants to pursue a career as lawyer. Even when the answer would be negative, our goal is achieved as it means we gave an honest view on what it takes to start and grow as young lawyer. The worst case is in our opinion when the STEP-trainee at the end of the traineeship says to him/herself ‘now I still don’t know if I am made for a legal career…’.

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gain Julius Caesar was right when he said ‘Rerum omnium magister usus’.

Experience is the teacher of all things. Only through experiences like the STEP-program, one can learn. And it our duty as hosting law firm to give the trainees the most honest experience. We do not pretend our way is the only way or the best way, but we try to explain why we have chosen this way. (*) Of course, we do not expect a STEP-trainee trying to invade Belgium. And even if he or she does, remember what – once again – Julius Caesar said about the Belgians: ‘Omnium gallorum fortissimi Belgae sunt’.

David Diris, MA

Partner at Kocks & Partners, Brussels

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ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

STEP - Perspective of a Trainee

STEP anno 2015 Still opening Blinds and Curtains

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hen ELSA was created, it was meant to foster exchange and contacts between law students from both sides of the Iron Curtain and increase knowledge about each other that way. Today, we might not have a similar division in Europe anymore, but we still barely know about daily life in the countries of some of our ELSA friends.

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hen I moved to Ukraine, people asked me if this wasn’t dangerous. I said no.

Not because there is no war going on, but because Ukraine, in general, is not that different from The Netherlands as people might think. We share membership of the same European Convention of Human Rights and we both have a form of democracy and similar values. Furthermore, ELSA Kharkiv is absolutely wonderful and the Ukrainian cuisine is extremely tasty. What differs between our countries is the execution of our similar values and the concept of ‘respect’.

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hen I crossed the border to Ukraine, I did not only move from Western Europe to Eastern Europe, but I moved to a country where people are in need of more respect. From Russia, from the EU and from their own government. The people ask for respect for their identity, but that identity differs per person. At my work, during the day, the EU flag is waved occasionally as a reminder of the Maidan protests and my colleagues speak of the lack of respect from Russia for the Ukrainian national integrity and its position as a European country. In the evening, my Russian teacher speaks broken-hearted about the lack of respect from the government and half of Ukraine for the ties Ukraine has always had to Russia and the ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

long history they share. Neither my colleagues, nor my teacher want war and neither of them want Ukraine to fall apart. All of them love Ukraine and want to rebuild it, but they want to be respected as Europeans or want to see their fellow citizens show more respect and acknowledgment for the Ukrainian past being linked to Russia.

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ack home, in the Netherlands, the type of respect we demand is mainly related to the government respecting our votes and our privacy. We don’t need our identity to be protected, because – in spite of the many immigrants – our national identity is not threatened. I never knew how it felt if two neighbors love such opposite aspects of the same country.

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his is why I realized that, after more than 30 years, ELSA’s STEP program still serves the same purpose as it did at the time of its creation. During ELSA events, we might not see the difference between Ukrainians, Norwegians and Italians on the dance floor, but without STEP, the true image of Ukraine would have stayed behind a curtain of mass media reports, prejudice and ignorance. I therefore encourage all ELSA members to take a chance to travel to a whole new country.

Wherever you go, there will be an ELSA Group taking excellent care of you!

Loes van der Graaf

STEP trainee in Kharkiv, Ukraine

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Corporate Identity & Branding

Products as brands

One aim and one vision unified in one image

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LSA was established more than 30 years ago with one aim and one vision. Together with the events and projects that have been striving towards the same goal of creating a just world in which there is respect for human dignity and cultural diversity, they are meant to be the main elements of the Association throughout these years. But it takes more than only that for an association to be recognized and considered as a brand that reflects its core values: having a clear visual identity of its projects and the Association as a whole.

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y being impressed by the potential of a huge Network of 40.000 law students and young lawyers, ELSA definitely has a diverse and dynamic form, which should be unified as one image. Setting out from this point, my goal for the term as a Marketeer was simple: improving the corporate identity, which has been established many years ago, and working on our flagship projects as brands in order to improve the value and visibility of the ELSA brand and enable those projects to be recognized even more. We aimed to re-brand/ 34

establish the brands of STEP (Student Trainee Exchange Programme), Moot Courts (ELSA Moot Court Competition and Human Rights Moot Court Competition) and ELSA Law Schools and had a step-by-step strategy to realize these aims.

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ow did we come up with 3 main projects to re-brand/brand? Indeed there are many projects and numerous events that have been organized by ELSA, but it is important to choose the ones that have already been recognized and became a product of our Association. STEP, by being a special area of more than 30 years, offers great opportunities for international traineeships and cultural exchange, has already been a brand itself with its unique form. But it was a must for us to make sure that the internationality and professionalism of the project should be transmitted as clear as possible with its visual identity. Secondly, ELSA has organized the ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO law already for 13 years, which can be regarded as one of the biggest moot courts around the world. Next to the ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO, ELSA also ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

organizes the European Human Rights Moot Court Competition in co-operation with the Council of Europe already for 3 years, which is the only moot court in English on human rights in Europe. Setting out from these particular points, it is obvious that there is a room for improvement for both moot court competitions. Moreover, the ELSA Law Schools, which are organized by local and national groups in summer or winter, have been on the way to form a new brand with its great peak in the last years. Therefore, we wanted to form a new visual identity from the very beginning, in order to stabilize its image among our members and externals.

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verall, it was crucial for us to make these brands recognizable and, at the same time, supporting elements for the general brand of ELSA. I am sure that their visual identity will be stable as long as it satisfies the needs of the projects. Believing that our approach has been an important step towards professionalism, I hope the image of our Association will be maintained throughout the years.

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dentifying the elements of corporate identity and the values of ELSA was our starting point, which enabled us to define the framework while creating the product brands – so to say the projects we want to brand. After evaluating the common type of design, colors, fonts and visuals, which are the main elements of the corporate identity, it was not very difficult to come up with ideas on how to implement the general sense of corporate identity into product brands, since we aimed ELSA to be clearly perceived from its sub-brands. Working closely with my board members and the Graphic Design Team, I believe that we managed to implement and improve the visual identity of STEP, Moot Courts and ELSA Law Schools.

ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

Idil Buke Civelek

Vice President for Marketing ELSA International 14/15

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After 30 years of STEP

International Traineeships Provided by ELSA: 30 Years of Practice!

Why ELSA members opt for STEP and how ELSA reacts on the growing needs From the number of different activities ELSA offers, the Student Trainee Exchange Programme (STEP) is consistently one of the most popular: •

• •

38% of ELSA members have joined ELSA because of the possibility to obtain the international internship1; 55% of ELSA members are looking for the international internships in ELSA2; More than 2000 members of the ELSA Network (which is 5 percent of all the ELSA members all over Europe!) apply for the STEP traineeships annually.

1. In accordance with data collected during the FLYCATCHER Internet Research conducted among law students in Europe in 2012. The question was “Why did you join ELSA?“. The responders could pick up several answers.

2. In accordance with data collected during the FLYCATCHER Internet Research conducted among law students in Europe in 2012. The question was “What are you looking for in ELSA today?“ The responders could pick up several answers.

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n the modern world where it is feasible to approach the employer through internet on your own or to use services of HR agencies and many other intermediary organizations, our members still opt for traineeship programme coordinated by ELSA. Why is it so? I truly believe it is because of the personal approach of more than 200 local, national and international STEP officers that are working daily to develop our traineeship programme. For 30 years of the programme existence, STEP officers of all levels cooperate with each other in order to build and maintain reliable system of trainee exchange. We take care of both employers and applicants, focus on making the exchange as smooth as possible. Our devoted officers make sure that the trainee feels welcomed and they assist them with anything else trainees could need – from obtaining visas and necessary permissions to absolute social inclusion and cultural exchange during traineeship.

ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

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Hard efforts of all the officers in the ELSA Network, together with the new strategy adopted by ELSA International, helped us to increase the number of traineeships for 33% comparing to the previous year (twice more than planned)!

quantity of international traineeships of ELSA members fully. And this fact has defined one of the priorities of STEP for the year 2014/2015: increasing the number of STEP traineeships and expansion of STEP. Hard efforts of all the officers in the ELSA Network, together with the new strategy adopted by ELSA International, helped us to increase the number of traineeships for 33% comparing to the previous year (twice more than planned)!

This is a convincing evidence that the STEP ascension is gaining momentum and after 30 years of its functioning we are experiencing a renaissance of STEP.

This personal approach makes ELSA and STEP incomparable to other traineeship programmes.

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nnually ELSA provides around 2003 STEP traineeships. Comparing this to the numbers showing the actual need in traineeships (presented above), it is clear that at the moment we don’t meet the needs regarding the

Dariia Oliinyk

Vice President for STEP ELSA International 14/15

3. In 2015/2016 ELSA provided 222 STEP traineeships.

STEP in numbers 2014/2015:

222

Traineeships

2.302

Applications

ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

33%* Increase

5%*

* Increase in the number of traineeships and applications are compared to last year, the term 2013/2014.

Increase

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Globalisation in STEP

Globalization, Cultural Diversity, Tolerance and…

STEP!

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” Gustave Flaubert

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he Student Trainee Exchange Programme (STEP) forced its way into the lives of European law students in early 1984 when travelling abroad and even more – having an internship abroad – did not sound as casual as nowadays.

The possibility to get a traineeship abroad widened the youths’ knowledge of different legal systems, state policies, cultural traditions and mentality.

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s time passed by, the world changed significantly. The European Union made Europe move towards a more borderless continent, globalization started affecting even rural regions of Europe, internet connected people globally and lower travelling cost gave young people a sea of opportunities to gain international experience. As people are getting more aware of the peculiarities of different countries, it is hard to find a destination which seems to be exotic and new for us, communities are becoming more international.

But does this mean that the aim of STEP is reached?

Is it a sign that STEP doesn’t serve the vision of ELSA as actively as before? We are sure that it is way too early to relax. We can do more, we can do better, and we can go global!

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hecking the statistics from the past it is clear that STEP worked effectively mostly within the Western European countries. The ELSA members from Eastern Europe

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started to apply for STEP traineeships relatively recently. And very recently it became possible to go to STEP traineeships organised in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus region. Observing from above I must admit that the STEP expansion towards Eastern countries caused a change in people’s mind-set. It is fascinating how youth from the East and the West collaborate and learn from each other! Trainees from the East learn the legal mechanisms of the developed European states, their administration management and governmental standards and infrastructure. Visiting some of the Eastern counties serves as a reminder that democratic values in the developed

“

We started to dream about a global STEP programme that would unite trainees and employers from all over the world. To make this exchange possible the Council of ELSA adopted a historical change of our regulations that will allow a mutual exchange of traineeships and trainees between ELSA and other law students’ organizations.

ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

West have been obtained through the long struggle, or just the opposite – sometimes it helps to get rid of such stereotypes. This makes the visitors to reconsider the state of things in their own countries from a new perspective.

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LSA members are not only constrained to Europe, though. The European mind-set most ELSA members have also translates into an appreciation for a global perspective of law. This year we successfully continued the cooperation with our overseas STEP employers from abroad - Butzel Long (USA) and J. Sagar Associates (India). Additionally a new cooperation launched with the Dominical Law Students’ Association, which resulted in a STEP traineeship in the Dominican Republic. All these traineeships have proven to be immensely popular and successful which strengthens our commitment to a global strategy for STEP.

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ne of the measures to further this aim was to start negotiation with the Asian Law Students’ Association and the Dominican Law Students’ Association. We started to dream about a global STEP programme that would unite trainees and employers from all over the world.

To make this exchange possible the Council of ELSA adopted a historical change of our regulations that

ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

will allow a mutual exchange of traineeships and trainees between ELSA and other law students’ organizations. We look forward to see how this initiative will develop and if it will bring us closer to the core idea behind STEP: a world without borders for legal students and professionals.

STEP in 2014/2015 included opportunities in 36 countries!

Dariia Oliinyk

Vice President for STEP ELSA International 14/15

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The Visual Identity of STEP

A Fresh Glance at STEP Let's talk about branding!

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n the beginning of our term when we talked about STEP, we agreed that the visual identity of STEP does not correspond fully to the brand of this project, although it is regarded as one of the biggest brands of our Association.

STEP comes up with the global perspective, internationality and exchange as a brand, which should also be transmitted via its visual identity. This is how we got the STEP branding as one of the focus goals during our year.

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ut what exactly does "branding" mean?

Simply put, your brand is your promise to your clients (in our case – members). It tells them what they can expect from the project and services, and it differentiates your offering from your competitors'. Comparing branding and marketing (which are

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very often confused) we might say that your brand is “what you are”, and marketing is “what you do” to sell it. Branding is strategic. Marketing is tactical.

So our aim was to underline a unique nature and image of STEP as a project through marketing and available visual tools. And here is what we did: 1. We emphasized the global character of STEP by launching a functional world map as one of the search options for potential applicants.

2. We took a new approach about the testimonials: we ask the STEP trainees to make their stories more personal and practical. We also made them more visually appealing.

3. For the second cycle of the STEP countdown campaign we tried to avoid traditional references to the countries, their main sights, facts about them or stereotypes. Instead, the idea was to invoke to the inner nature of STEP, which is personal development, growth, selfactualization, self-transcendence and self-discovery.

The posters we used contained the close-up portraits of the International Board members and their quotes associated with STEP.

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4. We believe that there should be a common approach between the marketing materials we use to attract the potential applicants, since we are addressing 40.000 members from 43 different countries, including various target groups.

Therefore, we worked on more simple and clear images in order to improve the visual identity of STEP and reflect the brand in a more professional way.

S

tarting from the beginning of our term, we have worked to improve the visual identity of STEP, together with the help of our officers, who did an amazing job to spread the word even more during both cycles. We aimed for fresh, creative and appealing visual identity of the project, in order to show the professionalism of our brand and we be

lieve that our approach succeeded as a step towards our goal, which will hopefully be followed by our successors.

Dariia Oliinyk

Vice President for STEP ELSA International 14/15

Idil Buke Civelek

Vice President for Marketing ELSA International 14/15

With the launch posts of both cycles on Facebook, we had a reach of more than 250.000. We are proud with the results of these countdowns, which resulted in %5 increase of applicants compared to last year.

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Delegations and World Forum for Democracy

A unique opportunity to experience international decision making

Broadening professional perspectives through participating in international sessions, meetings and conferences

H

aving been an active part in the process of establishing the International Criminal Court, ELSA has built a good reputation in the international community. That helped us gain consultative status within the United Nations Economic and Social Council and to be represented during the sessions of various international bodies in the United Nations and other international organizations such as the Council of Europe, World Intellectual Property Organization, International Trademark Association and many others.

E

LSA Delegations are an important part of closing the gap between theory and practice. ELSA members and alumni who

42

have a profound interest in the subject matter discussed at a particular session are appointed by the International Board to represent our Association. Sitting next to national representatives and delegates from other NGOs our members experience international decision making with first row seats.

A

s a student association that is devoted to human rights, cultural diversity and social responsibility, values we share with many international organizations, we feel honoured to be able to provide this unique chance to our members. They get an opportunity to observe how international regulations are made and policies created. For future lawyers this is an invaluable

ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

possibility to get a professional insight, to broaden their perspectives and to set their professional goals.

B

eing fully aware of the high interest and uniqueness of these opportunities, one of our focuses this year was to expand delegations, both quality and quantity-wise.

That resulted in an 85% increase of applications and a 44% increase in the number of available delegation possibilities. Moreover, we expanded our cooperation to a new UN body – the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. This new cooperation led to the several new possibilities for our members to be ELSA Delegates. One of them, the 13th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice took place in Doha, Qatar and was attended by 6 ELSA Delegates.

D

uring our term in office we have opened 65 different delegation possibilities and appointed 342 members to represent ELSA at various conferences and meetings all around the world. We are glad that more and more members every year recognize this as an opportunity to enrich their professional experience and to get familiar with intergovernmental organisations.

two years to the Word Forum for Democracy in Strasbourg. The World Forum for Democracy is an annual gathering of leaders, opinion-makers, civil society activists, representatives of business, academia, media and professional groups who come together to debate key challenges for democracies worldwide. With kind support of our Human Rights Partner, Council of Europe, ELSA members have a chance to voice their opinion about various topics, to represent the point of view of today’s law students and to discuss issues that concern young people. During this year’s Forum 11 members of ELSA, together with 4 members of the International Board participated, taking part in discussions and exchanging views on matters connected with the topic of the Forum which was “From participation to influence: can youth revitalise democracy?”. Being an active part of this annual gathering, helps us to foster our role among representatives of youth and NGOs and to represent the views of 40 000 law students.

I

n addition to sending our members to observe international decision-making bodies, we have already sent delegations for the past

Marko Dolenec

Vice President for Seminars and Conferences ELSA International 14/15

Delegations in numbers 2014/2015:

65

Delegations

1.172 Applications

ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

44%* Increase

85%*

* Increase in the number of delegations and ap-

plications are compared to last year, the term 2013/2014.

Increase

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List of ELSA Delegations

During the term 2014/2015, ELSA was present at the following sessions: U nited Nations Hu m an Ri gh t s Bodi es ( U N H R C ) - Co mmit t ee on th e Ri gh t s of Ch i l d, 68t h -69t h -7 0 t h Se s s io n

G e n e v a

- Third Annual Foru m on Bu si n e ss a n d Hu m a n R ig h t s

Geneva

- Univer sal Period i c Re vi e w ( U P R) , 21st -22n d S e s s io n

Geneva

- Co mmit t ee on th e E l i m i n a t i on of D i sc ri m i n a t i on a g a in s t Wo m e n ( C E DAW) , 6 0 t h - 6 1 s t Se s s io n

Geneva

- Co mmit t ee on E c on om i c , S oc i a l a n d Cu l t u ra l R ig h t s ( C E SC R ) , 5 4 t h - 5 6 t h Se s s io n

Geneva

- Human Rig ht s Com m i t t e e ( CCP R) of t h e U n i t e d N a t io n s , 1 1 3 t h - 1 1 4 t h Se s s io n

Geneva

- Co mmit t ee Again st Tort u re , 54t h -55t h S e ssi on

Geneva

- Co mmit t ee on th e E l i m i n a t i on of Ra c i a l D i sc ri m in a t io n , 8 6 t h - 8 7 t h Se s s io n

Geneva

- Unit ed Nat io ns Hu m a n Ri gh t Cou n c i l ( HRC) , 29 t h - 3 0 t h Se s s io n

Geneva

U nited Nations Econ om i c an d Soci al C ou n ci l ( U N EC O S O C ) - Co mmission for S oc i a l D e ve l opm e n t ( CS oc D ) , 5 3 rd Se s s io n

N e w Yo r k

- Co mmission o n S t a t u s of Wom e n , 59t h S e ssi o n

N e w Yo r k

- Co mmission o n t h e P opu l a t i on a n d D e ve l opm e n t , 4 8 t h Se s s io n

N e w Yo r k

- Unit ed Nat io ns P e rm a n e n t F oru m on In di ge n ous I s s u e s , 1 4 t h Se s s io n

N e w Yo r k

U nited Nations Off i ce on D r u gs an d C r i m es - Special Segment on t h e U n i t e d Na t i on s G e n e r a l As s e m b ly Sp e c ia l Se s s io n (UNGASS) on t he w orl d dru g probl e m ( 2016)

V ie n na

- 58 t h Annual Sessi on of t h e Com m i ssi on on Na rc o t ic Dr u g s

V ie n na

- 13 t h UN Cong re ss on Cri m e P re ve n t i on a n d C r im in a l J u s t ic e

Do h a

- Co mmission o n Cri m e P re ve n t i on a n d Cri m i n a l J u s t ic e , 2 4 t h Se s s io n

V ie n na

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ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

U nited Nations Com m i s s i on on In ter n ati on al Tra d e L a w ( U N C I T R AL) - Wor king Group I: M i c ro, S m a l l a n d M e di u m -si z e d e n t e r p r is e s , 2 4 t h Se s s io n

N e w Yo r k

- Wor king Group I: M i c ro, S m a l l a n d M e di u m -si z e d En t e r p r is e s , 2 5 t h Se s s io n

V ie n na

- Wor king Group II: A rbi t ra t i on a n d Con c i l i a t i on , 6 3 rd Se s s io n

V ie n na

- Wor king Group III: O n l i n e D i spu t e Re sol u t i on , 3 2 n d Se s s io n

V ie n na

- Wor king Group IV: E l e c t ron i c Com m e rc e , 51st Se s s io n

N e w Yo r k

- Wor king Group V: In sol ve n c y L a w, 46t h S e ssi o n

V ie n na

- Wor king Group V : In sol ve n c y L a w, 47t h S e ssi o n

N e w Yo r k

- Wor king Group V I: S e c u ri t y In t e re st s, 26t h -28th Se s s io n

V ie n na

- Wor king Group V I: S e c u ri t y In t e re st s, 27t h S e s s io n

N e w Yo r k

- 48 t h Co mmission S e ssi on on Tra de L a w

V ie n na

Wor l d Intellectu al Proper ty O rgan i z at i on ( W I P O ) - St anding Comm i t t e e O n Copyri gh t a n d Re l a t e d R ig h t s ( SC C R ) , 2 9 - 3 0 t h Se s s io n

Geneva

- Co mmit t ee on De ve l opm e n t a n d In t e l l e c t u a l P ro p e r t y ( C DI P) , 1 5 t h Se s s io n , 1 6 t h Se s s io n

Geneva

- Pat ent Co oper a t i on Tre a t y ( P CT) Work i n g G rou p , 8 t h Se s s io n , G e n e v a - Diplomat ic Conf e re n c e f or t h e A dopt i on of a N e w Ac t o f t h e L is b o n Ag re e m e n t fo r t he Prot ect io n of A ppe l l a t i on s of O ri gi n a n d t h e ir I n t e r n a t io n a l R e g is t r a t io n

Geneva

- St anding Comm i t t e e on t h e L a w of P a t e n t s ( S C P) , 2 2 n d Se s s io n

Geneva

C ounci l of Europe ( C oE ) - 3rd Wor ld For um f or D e m oc ra c y

St r a s b o ur g

Inter nati onal Tr adem ar k A s s oci at i on ( IN TA ) - Co nference “ Wh e n Tra de m a rk s O ve rl a p w i t h Ot h e r I P R ig h t s ”

M u n ic h

E rasmus Obser vator y on H eal t h L aw - Co nference “ E- he a l t h : G ra n d Ch a l l e n ge s a n d L e g a l C o n c e r n s ”

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R o t t erd am

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3rd edition of the ELSA Day

Acting for the good of society

3rd edition of ELSA Day put social responsibility on the agenda

T

he term “social responsibility” has during the past few years become very popular in the vocabulary of corporations, politicians and the media. To ELSAnians, the concept is nothing new. Our commitment has been an integrated part of our association since the early days and this is reflected in the large variety of activities we carry out.

E

ven though our impact might not always be as direct and visible, we believe that, for example, our moot court competitions, traineeship programme and legal research bear fruits in the long run. We develop thousands of students who in the future will act for the good of society due to a background in an association where human dignity and cultural diversity are core elements. After some internal discussion, we decided however that also the short-term impact should be emphasised and this took place on the 26th of November 2014 – during the 3rd edition of the ELSA Day.

T

he purpose of the Day is to bring our Network of 40.000 members together under the umbrella of human rights. On this day we are “All different, all together” and the specific focus this time was “social responsibility” - we wanted the organised human right events to have a positive impact on society. In total, 133 initiatives, for example human libraries, charities, debates and free legal aid, were registered in 33 different countries.

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“

We develop thousands of students who in the future will act for the good of society due to a background in an association where human dignity and cultural diversity are core elements.

T

o illustrate the reach of our action day, we can highlight some specific events. ELSA Łódź (Poland) organised an Academy of Social Empathy where students could learn about their obligation to help in emergencies and a first aid course was provided. In ELSA MORE (Italy), a moot prison cell was created so that students could understand how it really feels like being imprisoned. Further, a human rights poetry slam took place in Mannheim, together with a panel discussion on refugees and asylum seekers in Germany. ELSA Brno put focus on access to justice when high school students were invited to learn about their rights and duties in the Czech legal system. Also, the Brno group invited to a seminar on the right to education of disabled people and the students were encouraged to meet the University rector and give their opinion about how the education system could improve. Last example is from Baku. The Azerbaijani ELSA members built a bridge between law and creativity, in order to “uni-

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“

The values we foster in ELSA can indeed create great future lawyers and policy makers. The 3rd edition of the ELSA Day gives at the same time a clear example of how we can contribute to society while still being students. in a way that was different from what they were used to.

I

n order to encourage social responsibility, academic quality, impact on society, creativity and visibility, the ELSA Day Competition was announced to reward the best event of ELSA Day. There were of course many strong candidates and the winner this year was ELSA Timișoara from Romania. The group initiated a charity event where basic assets were collected and donated to an orphanage. Besides, a large number of students visited the children with the aim of stressing the im-

ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

portance of, and their right to, education. The event was hopefully inspirational and a concrete impact on their local community was achieved. The ELSA Day prize was handed over by ELSA International at the International Council Meeting in Cluj-Napoca and our entire Network applauded the winners.

T

he values we foster in ELSA can indeed create great future lawyers and policy makers. The 3rd edition of the ELSA Day gives at the same time a clear example of how we can contribute to society while still being students. We now know that our commitment to social responsibility can be put into practice even before graduation!

Olav Vogt Engeland

Vice President for Academic Activities ELSA International 14/15

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Catolica Global School of Law

Contribution from a different angle

Evaluation of a successful cooperation and its development

I

have a pleasure to contribute for the third time to the ELSA Annual Report. This time it is different, while previously I have been writing as a President of International Board, now I am pleased to report the great cooperation between Católica Global School of Law and ELSA International as a student of the former.

I

had the extraordinary opportunity to take part in one of the world greatest LL.M.s. From the Autumn 2014 till the Summer 2015. I have been a student of the Law in a European and Global Context LL.M. programme at the Católica, awarder with the full scholarship that is provided through the agreement between ELSA and the Global School of Law. This yearly scholarship, which is provided exclusively to the ELSA members, represents the great bonds and the cooperation between students association and the University. Mutual benefits, of providing visibility of the Masters programmes to students’ members of the association from the one side and granting a full scholarship to one candidate annually on the other, together with a great trust provide for the solid basis of a fruitful cooperation. As a former student of the Católica’s programme, I can confess that there are not many better chances to truly experience the benefits of a membership in ELSA, than apply and partake in this extraordinary course in Lisbon.

T

his very year which I have spent in Portugal was remarkable yet for another reason. I witness the expansion of the cooperation between ELSA and Católica. I did sit at the meeting between the Dean of the Global School of Law Luís Barreto Xavier, Marketing and Communica

48

“

This yearly scholarship, which is provided exclusively to the ELSA members, represents the great bonds and the cooperation between students association and the University.

tions Manager Vera Nobre Leitão, two Catolica’s Professors Matej Accetto and Gonçalo de Almeida Ribeiro and Vice President for Academic Activities of ELSA International Olav Vogt Engeland. I have participated in the discussion which lead to the partnership agreement regarding the ELSA Law Review. I could not be happier. The development of the existing cooperation with ELSA’s Partners was once my job, thus seeing the next generations of ELSA’s officers carrying this responsibility so well and in the best direction, makes me extremely glad. I believe that the combination of the Catolica’s great academic quality and the efforts of ELSA’s students will result in an exceptional Law Journal. I already cannot wait to read the first issue of it.

Bartosz Balewski

President of ELSA International 2012/2013

ANNUAL REPORT | 2014/2015

ELSA

SUMMER LAW SCHOOLS www.elsa.org/page/law-schools

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK Media Law - Legal Issues of the 21st Century CRACOW, POLAND International Tax Law MANNHEIM/FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY Banking & Finance POZNAN, POLAND Fashion + New Media, Intellectual Property LISBON, PORTUGAL Terrorism and Organised Crime PORTO, PORTUGAL Law and Business BRAGA, PORTUGAL Intellectual Property and Information Society

POIANA BRASOV, ROMANIA Energy Law ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS International Transport and Maritime Law BRATISLAVA AND VIENNA, SLOVAKIA AND AUSTRIA European Business Law School BRNO, CZECH REPUBLIC IT Law IZMIR, TURKEY International Trade Law ATHENS, GREECE Maritime Law and Mediation SARAJEVO, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA Media Law and Role of Media in Armed Conflicts

ZADAR, CROATIA Human Rights and Globalization

TRIESTE, ITALY Media Law, Implications of Modern Technology

POIANA BRASOV, ROMANIA Banking and Finance Law

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN Contract Law

ISTANBUL, TURKEY Mergers & Acquisitions ODESA, UKRAINE Maritime Law “Dispute Resolution” TURKU, FINLAND Corporate Social Responsibility GENEVA, SWITZERLAND Arbitration DUBLIN, IRELAND Corporate and Finance Law VIENNA, AUSTRIA Dispute Resolution DRESDEN, GERMANY Intellectual Property - a(n) (un)justified Monopoly

OLOMOUC, CZECH REPUBLIC Medical Law THESSALONIKI, GREECE Medical Law & Bioethics ANKARA, TURKEY Energy Law AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS Information Law SALERNO, ITALY International and European Environmental Law PISA, ITALY Cyber & Law: Computer Forensics and Digital Business Security MSIDA, MALTA Maritime Law

BARCELONA, SPAIN Investment Law

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Human Resources in ELSA

Human resources development Leading innovation: The Human Resources Strategy

O

ne of the biggest struggles nowadays for any NGO is to have enough welltrained human resources that will be able to execute the work of the organization so they can reach their common goals and visions. ELSA, as the biggest law students’ association in Europe, was not an exception. An outdated Human Resources Strategy (here and after HRS) made it impossible to create the pool of resources we were searching for. However, the challenge to make a difference in ELSA was accepted.

The main focus of my year was to make a research among the other NGOs in order to see what is actually missing in our human resources management and to write a brand-new Human Resources Strategy. I started my research when I had a meeting with representatives of Brussels based NGOs. One HRS caught my eye. Starting from that point, I called for the help of the national officers responsible for human resources and the work began, with a new spin. We needed two months to draft a new HRS and it was unanimously approved at the Council Meeting in ClujNapoca.

W

hat is special about our HRS? First of all, we made a totally new approach on how to distinguish the human resources of ELSA. A cycle based strategy, that covers each and every stage starting from recruiting people and ending with retaining our Alumni, gave us a possibility to look into the needs of different categories and to come up with ways of motivating and training our pool of human resources and to preserve the

50

knowledge and experiences within the organization.

T

he HRS is based on the key factors that keep our members and prospective members motivated to participate in our activities and to become officers on local, national and international levels. The main motivation for them is the possibility to develop themselves personally and professionally through participation in our events. Trainings play the most important role in the learning process of each and every member, on all the levels of ELSA, and give the possibility to put the theoretical knowledge in practice.

The training system in ELSA was developed 15 years ago, when the International Trainers’ Pool was established. From there our members and officers can not only develop their soft skills, but become trainers themselves.

“

The Human Resources Strategy is based on the key factors that keep our members and prospective members motivated to participate in our activities and to become officers on local, national and international levels.

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E

very second year the event created to bring new trainers to our trainers' pool takes place in different places in Europe.

We call this event Train the Trainers’ Week and this year it took place in Thessaloniki, Greece from the 22nd to the 28th of June. 10 participants from Sweden, Finland, Ukraine, Turkey, Austria, Germany and the United Kingdom developed their

“

That is why ELSA is there, for its members to master skills for their legal professions, to assure intercultural exchange, to create the atmosphere for learning by doing, and last but not least, to find their true vocation.

leadership and presentation skills, learned tactics on leading a team, mastered active listening and public speaking. The entire week was led by ELSAs’ experienced trainers: Giovanni Jaerisch, Class Seestädt and Judit Osika. As the result of the week all 10 participants are recognized as professional trainers and are eligible to deliver trainings inside and outside of ELSA on various topics in the soft skills area.

H

uman Resources are the main sources for development of any organization.

As soon as the organization takes good care of the pool of their human resources, prosperous results can be achieved. That is why ELSA is there, for its members to master skills for their legal professions, to assure intercultural exchange, to create the atmosphere for learning by doing, and last but not least, to find their true vocation.

Alina Shchetinina

Secretart General ELSA International 14/15

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ELSA International 239 Boulevard Général Jacques B-1050 Brussels, Belgium

Website: www.elsa.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/elsa.org Twitter: www.twitter.com/elsainfo

Phone: +32 2 646 26 26 Fax: + 32 2 646 29 23 E-mail: elsa@elsa.org

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