European Law Institute
LocationSchottenring 16, Top 175, 1010 Vienna, Austria
EstablishedJune 2011
PresidentPascal Pichonnaz
Vice presidentsAnne Birgitte Gammeljord and Sir Geoffrey Vos
Membersaround 1,600 individual members and over 140 Institutional Observers
Websitewww.europeanlawinstitute.eu

The European Law Institute (ELI) is an independent, non-profit organisation established in June 2011 to initiate, conduct, and facilitate research, make recommendations and provide practical guidance in the field of European legal development. The idea for ELI was inspired by the activities of the American Law Institute (ALI), founded in 1923 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ELI was established to serve a similar purpose within the European legal context, focusing on the improvement of European legal development in a global context. ELI plays a pivotal role in enhancing European legal integration and its influence extends beyond Europe's borders.

Its Members include judges, academics, legal practitioners, government officials as well as policy and decision makers. Together, they form a unique European legal community from over 60 different countries in Europe and beyond. ELI’s work has influenced the European legislature as well as laws at national and international level, therefore impacting the lives of millions of natural and legal entities in Europe and beyond.

Pascal Pichonnaz, Professor for Swiss contract law, Roman law, as well as European consumer law and comparative contract law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Fribourg, is the current elected as President of ELI. He took office in September 2021, succeeding Christiane Wendehorst, Professor of civil law at the University of Vienna, who served as ELI President for two consecutive terms, from 2017–2021.

History and Founding of the Institute

In Europe, the idea to found a European Law Institute had been discussed for more than a decade. Two main initiatives were launched: in October 2008, a group of scholars from leading European law schools and research institutes convened in Brussels to discuss the project. Follow-up meetings took place in Prague, Amsterdam, Stockholm and Frankfurt. In March 2010, the Association for a European Law Institute (ELIA) was founded, which served to initiate and coordinate a Europe-wide debate. By 2011, the ELIA had around 250 members, academics from more than 100 European law faculties as well as judges, many of them from Member States' supreme courts, and legal professionals. An independent initiative towards the foundation of a European Law Institute was taken by the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies of the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence. Four colleagues from the EUI launched a conference in April 2010, inviting many leading figures from European institutions and networks to discuss the idea.

Due to a great deal of overlap between the ELIA and the EUI initiatives, they came to be seen as possibly competing, prompting an inquiry into whether the two initiatives can be brought together and whether common guidelines can be developed for the establishment of a European Law Institute. A meeting in that regard was held on the premises of the Hamburg Max Planck Institute on 22 and 23 June 2010. Following the Hamburg meeting, a joint project group was formed by the ELIA and EUI initiatives and further networks and stakeholder organisations. A first meeting of this joint project group and of observers from the European Commission was held in Vienna on 23 and 24 November 2010 on the premises of the Austrian Supreme Court.

The resulting Vienna Memorandum provided a roadmap for the establishment of the European Law Institute. Following an agreement between 52 founding members made in Athens on 16 April 2011, the ELI was recognised as an International Non-Profit Association (AISBL/IVZW/IVoG) under Belgian law by Royal Decree of 1 June 2011 and presented to the public in Paris on the same day.

On 31 May 2011, former Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the European Union Sir Francis Jacobs was elected as the first President of the ELI.

Structure

The highest body of the Institute is the Membership which elects from among its Fellows the main governing body: the Council.[1] The Council is made up of 56 elected individuals representing different legal traditions, professions and disciplines. In addition to the elected Council members, the ELI President, the two Vice-Presidents and the Treasurer become ex-officio members of the Council from the moment they take office. Further, up to 10 ex-officio members from selected institutions can be offered ex-officio seats on the Council.

The Council delegates many of its tasks and powers to its standing committees which deal with matters such as membership and fundraising. It elects from amongst its members an Executive Committee,[2] the Association's administrative body.

There is a Senate[3] in place to provide advice. It appoints from among its members an Arbitral Tribunal,[4] tasked with settling any disputes within the organisation. Reinhard Zimmermann serves as the Speaker of the ELI Senate.

The ELI Secretariat, hosted by the University of Vienna and headed by Secretary General Vanessa Wilcox, supports the competent bodies of the Institute.

Membership

ELI Membership is subject to approval by the ELI Council and must be supported by at least two existing ELI Fellows acting as referees or, exceptionally, on the invitation of the ELI Council. The Institute has two categories of members:

• Fellows, who may either be Individual or Institutional; or

• Observers, who may either be Individual or Institutional


Individual Fellows must be natural persons and must actively engage, by their professional, vocational or scholarly activities, in European legal development. They must undertake to speak, vote and participate in activities carried out within the framework of the Association on the basis of their own personal and professional convictions without regard to the interests of particular stakeholders.

Individual Observers must be reputable natural persons who take an active interest in European legal development.

Institutional Fellows and Observers must be legal entities representing organisations, institutions or networks, which are actively involved in European legal development. An institution is free to opt to be a Fellow (with voting rights) or an Observer (without voting rights). In its quest for better law-making, ELI integrates the achievements of the various legal vocations and jurisdictions. Its 1,600 Individual Members[5] are judges, legal academics, practitioners, government officials, as well as policy and decision-makers.


Among its 145 Institutional Members[6] are:

EU Institutions and International Organisations

• The European Parliament • The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) • The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) • The International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) • The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) • The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)

Supreme and Constitutional Courts

Professional Associations

• The Association of European Administrative Judges (AEAJ) • The Bar European Group (BEG) • The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (Conseil des Barreaux Européens, CCBE) • The Council of the Notariats of the European Union (CNUE) • The European Centre for Dispute Resolution (ECRS) • The European Circuit of the Bar • The European Land Registry Association (ELRA) • The European Network of Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ) • The European Union of Judges in Commercial Matters (UEMC, EUJC) • The European Women Lawyers Association (EWLA) • The International Union of Judicial Officers (Union Internationale des Huissiers de Justice, UIHJ) • The Network of the Presidents of the Supreme Judicial Courts of the European Union • The General Council of the Bar of England and Wales (The Bar Council) • The Law Society of England and Wales • Swiss Lawyers' Association (Schweizerischer Juristenverein, SJV)

Law Firms

Academic and other Bodies

ELI's Mission and Activities

By its endeavours, ELI seeks to contribute to the formation of a more vigorous European legal community, integrating the achievements of the various legal cultures, endorsing the value of comparative knowledge, and taking a genuinely pan-European perspective. As such, its work covers all branches of the law: substantive and procedural; private and public.

In accordance with Article 3 of its Statute, ELI’s core aims are to:

Evaluate and stimulate the development of EU law, legal policy, and practice, and in particular make proposals for the further development of the acquis and for the enhancement of EU law implementation by the Member States.

Identify and analyse legal developments in areas within the competence of Member States which are relevant at the EU level.

Study EU approaches regarding international law and enhance the role EU law could play globally, for instance in drafting international instruments or model rules.

Conduct and facilitate pan-European research, in particular to draft, evaluate or improve principles and rules which are common to the European legal systems.

Provide a forum, for discussion and cooperation, of jurists irrespective of their vocation or occupation, inter alia academics, judges, lawyers and other legal professionals, who take an active interest in European legal development and together represent a broad range of legal traditions.


To accomplish its tasks, ELI operates on its own initiative. It is also, however, available for consultation by institutions involved in the development of law on a European, international or national level.

Projects and Similar Initiatives

Projects carried out under the auspices of the ELI must be at the service of the European citizen by improving the law or facilitating its application; aim at results that potentially have immediate practical impact; be effectuated through collaboration between jurists from academia and from legal practice; and take a genuinely pan-European perspective as well as consider the achievements of the various legal cultures. An overview on current and upcoming projects can be found on the ELI’s webpage.

ELI projects fall in four broad categories:

• Draft legislative proposals;

• Model laws, model rules, policies, statements of principles;

• Checklists, other practical guidance; and

• Position papers.


ELI also embarks on other shorter-term initiatives.

The ELI’s reports are available for free download.

ELI's Impact

The works produced by ELI have had a significant influence on the European legislature and have also affected laws at both national and international levels. This influence has extended its reach to impact the lives of millions of natural and legal entities in Europe and beyond.

ELI Hubs and SIGs (Special Interest Groups)

ELI Hubs and SIGs are independent satellite groups that serve as a two-way communication channel between the ELI and its members. They were established for members to facilitate discussion, share and monitor legal developments, and stimulate project proposals. Whereas Hubs are country specific groups, and thus allow ELI members to meet closer to home and communicate in their native language, SIGs are topic specific. ELI currently has 14 Hubs, and 11 SIGs.

References

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