The 2015 Annual Conference and General Assembly

The ELI 2015 Annual Conference and General Assembly took place this year between 2–4 September in the elegant setting of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, located in Vienna’s historic first district. ELI was delighted to welcome many esteemed guests to Vienna.

The Annual Conference and General Assembly was well-received and provided a forum for lively discussions on law, policy and the role ELI can play in improving European law.

On Wednesday, 2 September, the Conference began with the Opening Ceremony and Reception, where Harriet Lansing, then immediate past President of the US Uniform Law Commission (ULC) and former Senior Judge on the Minnesota Court of Appeals, gave a keynote lecture. In her informative and inspiring speech, Judge Lansing said that the ULC has begun to observe commonalities in the processes, projects and ultimate goals of ELI and the ULC.

The panoramic view from the top floor of the Law Faculty Building provided the perfect setting for open and friendly discussions between the approximately 200 Members of ELI that attended the Opening Ceremony.

Thursday, 3 September marked the second day which started with the General Assembly, where elections for 30 seats on the Council of ELI took place. 

Following the General Assembly, the ELI Annual Conference began with welcoming addresses from Michael Alram, Vice-President of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Wolfgang Brandsetter, Austrian Minister of Justice, and Diana Wallis, then ELI’s President. Wolfagang Brandsetter stated that ELI has achieved such a standing in the legal policy debate that it is really being listened to and its scientific voice is being heard.

A number of highly topical panel sessions were held on the first day of the Conference, focusing on diverse fields of law, such as Sales Law in the Digital Single Market, EU Administrative Law, European Rules of Civil Procedure and the Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets.

Friday, 4 September was the last day of the ELI Annual Conference. Věra Jourová, the EU Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality gave an inspiring keynote lecture, noting that ELI has provided invaluable advice to the Commission in the past and expressing an interest in several ELI projects that are either on-going or in initial stages.

During the day, panel sessions were held on the following topics: Empowering European Families: Towards more Party Autonomy in European Family and Succession Law, Rescue of Business in Insolvency Law and the Rule of Law and Migration.

The ELI would like to encourage its members to follow these interesting projects and urges everyone who wants to actively participate to sign up to a Members Consultative Committee (MCC) to contribute.