The European Law Students' Association

History

ELSA (The European Law Students' Association) is an international, independent, non-political, non-profit-making organisation run by and for students. It is comprised of students and recent graduates who are interested in law and have demonstrated commitment to international issues.

ELSA was founded by students from Austria, Hungary, Poland and West Germany on 4 May 1981. ELSA is today the world's largest independent law students association and it is represented in more than 200 law faculties in 36 countries across Europe with membership in excess of 30 000 students and young lawyers.

ELSA has through its activities and commitment within the international community gained a special status with several international institutions.

ELSA has gained consultative status with several United Nations bodies; in 1997 ELSA obtained Special Consultative Status with UN ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social Council) and Consultative Status with UNCITRAL (UN Commission on International Trade Law), in 1994 ELSA was granted Consultative Status in Category C in UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation). Furthermore, in 2000 ELSA was granted Consultative Status (recently called Participatory Status) with the Council of Europe. In addition, ELSA has a co-operation agreement with UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees). In October 2005 ELSA has obtained Observer Status with WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization).

Objectives

The idea behind ELSA is to enable all students to have access to the same information, lectures, seminars, social events, international opportunities and exposure to different legal cultures. The UK has a very strong tradition of student law societies based at individual universities and law schools. ELSA is not intended to replace these societies as it is an association and membership is not restricted to students from any one particular institution. ELSA strives for a co-operative and collaborative relationship with law societies and in this regard, has chosen to adopt an ALSA model.

ELSA Network

ELSA is a unique and growing network of close to 30 000 young people from more than 200 universities in 35 countries across Europe. ELSA currently has members and observers in: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and Ukraine.

Actvities

ELSA's activities fall into three Key Areas:

S&C - Seminars and Conferences
*lectures
*panel discussions
*seminars and conferences (both local and international)
*law schools
*study visits
*institutional Visits

AA - Academic Activities
*"Lawyers at Work" (L@W) Events
*Study Abroad Programme
*Legal Research Group
*Essay Competitions
*Moot Courts
*ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law

STEP - Student Trainee Exchange Programme
*international traineeships programme for law students

Publications

ELSA publishes:
* [http://www.elsa.org/publications/studyguides.asp The ELSA Guide to Legal Studies in Europe] (ELSA GLSE).
* [http://www.elsa.org/publications/papers.asp The ELSA Selected Papers on European Law] (ELSA SPEL).

External links

* [http://www.elsa.org ELSA International]
* [http://www.elsamootcourt.org ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law]

* [http://www.elsa-germany.org ELSA Germany]
* [http://www.elsathens.org ELSA Greece]
* [http://www.elsa.org.pl ELSA Poland]
* [http://www.elsathenetherlands.nl ELSA The Netherlands]
* [http://www.elsasweden.org ELSA Sweden]
* [http://www.elsa-switzerland.org ELSA Switzerland]
* [http://www.elsabelgium.org ELSA Belgium]
* [http://www.elsa.sk ELSA Slovakia]
* [http://www.elsa.ro ELSA Romania]