ELFA AGM and Conference 

Wednesday 25th. 

Place: Sala Noble, Edifici del Rellotge: Recinte de l’Escola Industrial.  c/Urgell, 187, Barcelona

19:00 Opening reception – Welcome drink

Welcome Address. Excma. Mrs. Mercè Conesa i Pagès. President of Diputació de Barcelona and Mayor of Sant Cugat del Vallès

Thursday 26th

Place: Autonomous University of Barcelona, Casa Convalescència Building, c/ 171 Sant Antoni M Claret.

09:00-09:30 Registration

09:30-10:15 Institutional welcome

Sr. Josep Ros. Vice-Rector of Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Excma. Mrs. Mercè Conesa i Pagès. President of Diputació de Barcelona and Mayor of Sant Cugat del Vallès

Ilma. Esther Zapater Duque. Dean of Law Faculty, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Ilm. Sr. Stefaan Hermans; EU Commission, DG Education, Youth, Sport and Culture

10:15-10:45 Plenary session – Conference: Legal argument in legal education

Moderator: Prof. Marek Grzybowski

First speaker: Prof. Manuel Atienza (Universidad de Alicante)

10:45-11:15 Coffee Break

11:15-11:45 Plenary session – Conference: Legal argument in legal education

Moderator: Prof. Marek Grzybowski

First speaker: Prof. Sun Xiao Xia. (Fudan University)

11:45-12:15 Plenary session – Debate

12:15-12:45 Plenary session – ELFA Award 2017: Announcement, and Winners Speech.

The awards will be delivered by Mr. Ferran Tarradellas, Director of the EU Commission Office in Barcelona

13:15-14:45 Lunch

15:00-16:30 Parallel sessions on teaching law:

Panel 1. Double majors or major + master degree?

Chair: Prof. Věra Kalvodová

Professor Julian Lonbay (Birmingham Law School)

Mrs. Marta Isern (CCBE)

Professor Esther Zapater (Dean, Faculty of Law UAB)

Student (alumni) of a double degree (to be confirmed)

Panel 2. Transnational Education (Le juriste européen/ Le juriste global).

Chair: Prof. Veronica Ruiz Abou-Nigm

Prof. Sylvaine Poillot Peruzzetto (Cour de Cassation – Université de Toulouse)

Prof. Toni Jaeger-Fine (Fordham University Law School)

Mr. Jan Willem de Haan (De Haan & Mulder, Barcelona /Amsterdam)

Prof. Paul James Cardwell (University of Strathclyde)

16:30-16:50 Coffee Break

17:00-18:30 Parallel sessions on Research:

Panel 3. International research agreements. Effects of Brexit on research.

Chair: Prof. Andreas R. Ziegler

Prof. Sjef Van Erp (Vice-President ELI. Secretary General International Association of Legal Science. Maastricht University)

Prof. Armand Sánchez (Vicerector of Research, UAB)

Prof. Nigel Duncan (The City Law School, London)

Panel 4. Multidisciplinary research (jurists and non jurists).

Chair: Prof. Louis Lemkow Zetterling

Prof. Jennifer S. Bard (Penn State University, USA)

Mr. Stefaan Hermans (European Commission)

Prof. Isabel Pont Castejón (UAB)

Prof. Harm Schepel (University of Kent)

Prof. Kasey McCall-Smith (University of Edinburgh)

21:00 Conference Dinner

Salon Imperial. The Imperial Barcelona. Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes 670 (Palace Hotel building)

Friday 27th

Place: Barcelona Bar Association: c/ de Mallorca, 283, Barcelona.

9:00-9:15 Welcome Address. Excma. Mª Eugènia Gay Rosell (President, Barcelona Bar Association)

9:15-10:30 Plenary session – Round table on Joint teaching and international legal education

Moderator: Prof. Veronica Ruiz Abou-Nigm

Representatives of International Law School associations:

• European Law Faculties Association (ELFA): Prof. Andreas R. Ziegler
• Association of American Law Schools (AALS): Prof. Leo P. Martinez
• Southeastern Association of Law Schools (SEALS): Prof. Russell L. Weaver
• Asociación de Facultades, Escuelas e Institutos de Derecho de América Latina (AFEIDAL): Prof. Máximo Carvajal
• China Association of Legal Education: Prof. Han Dayuan
• Australian Law School Deans Association: Prof. William McNeil

10:30-11:00 Coffee break

11:00-13:00 ELFA General Assembly

13:15-14:45 Lunch time / Closing drink

Every year, in the course of the ELFA General Assembly, the President of the Association presents her/his report, in order to present and submit to the approval of the ELFA members the activity of the Board during last year (art. 28.4 of the ELFA articles of incorporation). This activity embraces different tasks of which the Board has to inform all members of the General Assembly.

In compliance with this requirement, I am pleased to submit to the further debate and to the approval by the ELFA General Assembly the ELFA annual President’s report regarding to the activities conducted during my Presidency April 2017-April 2018.

The ELFA Board activities carried out in this period could be summarized in two big sections: Board meetings and agreements; and representational activities.

A. Board meetings and agreements

In this context, the Board has held three meetings: one in Lisbon, another in virtual form, and the third in Barcelona.

1. Meeting in Lisbon

One of the objectives of my presidency was to try to bring ELFA closer to their Associated Members and to introduce our Association to other eventual future members. In this sense the new Board decided to have their first meeting at the University of Lisbon in consideration for its long tradition attending ELFA conferences, and its commitment with the ELFA goals.

The meeting was held at the Faculty of Law of the Universidade de Lisboa on 26 and 27 June 2017. On the first day the Board discussed on eight important questions:

• To recover the European Journal of Legal Education. Professor Marek Grzybowsky has been the responsible for this activity, and after several debates with Professor Nigel Duncan and with the Assistant Professor Greta Bosch, the Board has decided to start this project. Even though several financial and technical aspects have still to be decided, the Board agreed that the new EJLE should work, in principle, in open access, and decided also to nominate an Editorial Board chaired by professor Grzybowsky, and composed by Professors Anne Klébes-Pélissier; Halûk Kabaalioglu; Jacek Petzel; Manuel Bermejo; and Laurence Gormley.

• To prepare a document for the future ELFA summer courses programme. Professor Andreas Ziegler has been elected the new responsible for this initiative, which has to be addressed to offer courses on EU or international and comparative law issues. The Board decided to require to the applicants some specific characteristics: Courses have to be offered by ELFA members; in these courses there must participate at least three ELFA member law schools; and ELFA will provide publicity and the “ELFA support label”.

• To prepare ELFA for an eventual future incorporation as a Lobby member in the EU. This is a big job and responsibility for which the Board has commissioned Dr. Begum Bulak Uygun.

• To prepare a new ELFA webpage in order to make more visible the Association and to be more transparent. The website has been finished in April 2018 and presented during the ELFA General Assembly.

• To promote the internationalization of our association. The responsible of this activity has been Professor Verónica Ruíz Abou-Nigm, and she has had different contacts and meetings with Ms. Diana Wallis, former president of ELI, and with Christiane Wendehorst, current president of this institution. Thanks to her efforts, ELFA and ELI have prepared a joint group to work together in a project on the European Jurist. From ELFA this group is led by Professor Ruíz, and from ELI the responsible is Professor Van Erp.

• ELFA Award. Professor Michele Graziadei, and Professor Laurence Gormley have been the responsible for the new edition of the ELFA Award. In this edition two thesis have been selected for the first award, and the Board decided to contribute 3000€ for each one. The awarded candidates have been Francisco Joel Reyes y Ráfales, from the University of Bonn, and Zane Rasnaca from the European University Institute of Florence.

• ELFA Conference Barcelona 2018. During the meeting the Board has debated and approved the main title of the conference (Legal Education: Knowledge and skills), and the program, and the members have suggested different names for the panels.

• Finally, the Board has also been informed by Professor Ziegler about the economic issues and about the budgetary aspects.

On our second day in Lisbon, the Board has had the opportunity to debate on Legal Education among different Portuguese Law School representatives, invited by the Universidade de Lisboa.

The Board wants to thank the Law School of the Universidade de Lisboa for its valuable contribution and its generous support in the organization of both meetings.

2. Virtual Meeting

The second Board meeting has been a virtual meeting, exchanging information and documents online. All the members have debated on seven different questions:

• The first point on the agenda has been the ELFA Conference, and in this point all members have informed about contents, speakers and organization. All the speakers contacted had accepted their contribution to the Conference.

• In this debate we have also included the organization of a previous conference among other international law schools associations. The Board has agreed to organize in Barcelona, on 24 April, previous to the ELFA Conference, a meeting with these other international law schools associations. We have invited Associations from Australia, Central and Latin America, China, USA and Europe (ELFA and ELI).

• The third point discussed has been the ELFA new website, and the Board, after having received different proposals, has chosen the one who has thought the best.

• The fourth point to discuss has been ELFA Award, and Professor Graziadei has informed about the number of applications, and the management of the members of the tribunal. In this point, the cooperation of professor Gormley has been also essential.

• In the fifth point, Professor Marek Grzybowsky has informed the members of the Board about their contacts and exchanging information with Professor Nigel Duncan, and he has provided information about possible costs of this project. The Board has considered that for this year we cannot assume these expenses, and we will postpone the start of the project.

• For the sixth point, Professor Ruiz has informed about her contacts with representatives of European Law Institute (ELI).

• Finally, Professor Ziegler has informed all Board Members about budgetary questions.

3. Meeting in Barcelona

The Third meeting of the Board has taken place in Barcelona, in February, at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. The main object of this meeting has been to debate and to finish all the details of the two April meetings in Barcelona: the first one with the International Law Schools Associations, and the ELFA Conference and AGM. All of the members have informed about their different responsibilities in the organization of the meeting, and an important debate on invoice payments by ELFA members has taken place. From the ELFA Administration a payments analysis has been made, and the Board has concluded that a large number of associated members have not paid their invoices during the past 2-3 years. The Board has decided to apply the ELFA rules for these cases, according to which membership ends when a members fails to pay the membership fee for two consecutive years.

B. Representational activities

From the representation point of view, the ELFA Board members have attended different meetings and have participated in several congresses and seminars:

• Participation in the SEALS Annual Conference in Boca Raton, in August 2017. ELFA has been represented by Professors Andreas Ziegler and José Ma. De Dios.

• First meeting in Edinburgh between ELI and ELFA, in September 2017. ELI was represented by its President Ms. Diana Wallis, and ELFA by its Vice President Professor Verónica Ruíz Abou-Nigm.

• Members of two Committees for the Evaluation Law Programs in Georgia, invited by the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement (NCEQE). Professor Ziegler has been member of one of these Committees in November 2017, and Professors Anne Klebes-Péllissier and José María de Dios of another Committee in December 2017. After this experience, ELFA and NCEQE have signed a cooperation agreement on 27 April 2018 in Barcelona. NCEQE was represented by its Director, Ms. Tamar Sanikidze, and ELFA by its President, José María de Dios. Vid. Annex I as regards the text of the Agreement.

• Meeting between ELI and ELFA in Vienna. In February 2018 three members of the Board (Verónica Ruíz Abou-Nigm, Andreas Ziegler and José María de Dios) have attended a meeting at the ELI headquarters. During this meeting both institutions have decided to cooperate in a future project on European jurist.

• Visit to Odessa University, Law School. In March 2018 José María de Dios has been invited by the Dean of the National University Odessa Law Academy A. Neugodnikov to visit the University and the Law School and to talk on international cooperation with different university members. He has had also the opportunity to present ELFA to other Law Schools.

• Meeting among different International Law Schools Association held at the Autonomous University of Barcelona on 24 April. In this meeting all the attendants agreed to cooperate under the working group named Global Legal Education Associations Consortium (GLEAC). The programme of the Conference and the list of the attendants are in the Annex II of this report.

C. New ELFA Members MAY 2017 – MAY 2018

1. KOSOVO
   1. University of Business and Technology Kosovo, Faculty of Law
2. UNITED STATES
   1. Fordham University School of Law
3. TURKEY
   1. Atilim University, Faculty of Law
   2. Izmir University of Economics, Law Faculty
4. PORTUGAL
   1. Universidade do Minho, Escola de Direit
5. IRELAND
   1. University College Dublin, Sutherland School of Law
6. RUSSIA
   1. Voronezh State University, Law Faculty
7. GEORGIA
8. University of Georgia, Law School

Cooperation Agreement ELFA – NCEQE

Meeting of the Law Schools Associations  (GLEAC)

 

Programme Meeting  24^th APRIL 2018

 

LIST OF ATTENDANTS:

• AFEIDAL (Asociación de Facultades, Escuelas e Institutos de Derecho de América Latina)
  • Máximo Carvajal

• SEALS (Southeastern Association of Law Schools)
  • Russell Weaver
  • Richard Meyer

• China Association of Legal Education
  • Han Dayuan
  • Han Liyu

• Council of Australian Law Deans
  • William Mc. Neil

• ELI (European Law Institute)
  • Erp Van Sjef

• ELFA (European Law Faculties Association)
  • Josep Ma. De Dios Marcer
  • Marek Grzybowski
  • Verónica Ruíz Abou-Nigm
  • Milagros Orozco Hermoso

INVITED PEOPLE

• Sun Xiaoxia (Fudan University)
• Toni Jaeger Fine (Fordham University)
• Blanca Vilà (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, and former ELFA president)

PROGRAMME

10:00. Welcome remarks

Màrius Martínez, Vice-rector of international affairs of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Esther Zapater, Dean of the Law Faculty of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

10:20 Presentation of the Session

Josep Ma. De Dios, ELFA President

10:30 Presentation rounds of the participants and of their represented associations (10 minutes for each representative)

11:30 Coffee Break

12:00 Presentation and debate about possible future institutional cooperation

Possible participation in the respective Congresses

Possible cooperation between all of the associations for training in common new jurist generations: A common academic curricula for training a global jurist?

Possible cooperation between all of the associations for organizing common courses in legal long life education for students and professionals: short spring or summer joint courses in specific subjects organized with bar associations?

Possibility to organize common activities to facilitate contacts and agreements between the members of each association: Possible model agreement?

For the future: Would it be convenient to think to create a committee to organize future common activities?

13:30 Lunch.

15:15 Resuming of the morning session

17:00 End of the session

 

 

 

Elfa Resolution 2018

ELFA Financial Report