The ELI Decennial Celebration

The Decennial Celebration was opened by Christiane Wendehorst (ELI President), and Reinhard Zimmermann (Speaker of the ELI Senate), who reflected on the making of ELI from its humble beginnings with 52 Founding Members to its current ever growing Membership of over 1.600 Individual and Institutional Members. Lance Liebman (former Director of the American Law Institute (ALI)), reminisced about guiding ELI to its establishment and the good working relationship of the ALI and ELI ever since. Please read more about the introduction and welcoming addresses here.

After the opening, attendees heard from Věra Jourová (Vice-President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency), who emphasised the importance of the rule of law, shared values, and fundamental rights in democracies. You can read more about the keynote speech here.

The following first panel discussion focused on current challenges – from the digital revolution to climate change to political polarisation – for institutions and civil society. Koen Lenaerts (President of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)), Robert Spano (President of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)), Didier Reynders (European Commissioner for Justice), Adrián Vázquez Lázara (Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI)), and Margarete von Galen (President of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE)) each presented their point of view and discussed questions from the attendees in a Q&A session. You can read more about the panel discussion on ‘Facing the Current Challenges in Europe – the Role of the Institutions and Civil Society’ here.

The second panel was a platform to discuss ELI’s history and ideas for strengthening ELI’s position and increasing its activities. This panel welcomed some of the faces and stakeholders behind ELI, including Heinz W Engl (Rector, University of Vienna), Bénédicte Fauvarque-Cosson (Judge, French Council of State, Conseil d’Etat), Irmgard Griss (Professor of the University of Graz; former President of the Austrian Supreme Court, 2007–2011), Anna Joubin-Bret (Secretary, United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)), and Ádám Tóth (President, Council of the Notariats of the European Union (CNUE)), and allowed attendees to hear from them on establishing ELI, goals achieved, and potential future endeavors as well as to engage in discussions in a subsequent Q&A session. Please find more detailed information on the panel discussion on ‘Faces and Stakeholders behind ELI – Looking Ahead’ here.

ELI would like to thank all speakers and attendees for joining this Decennial Celebration. Gratitude is also due to the supporters of the ELI Decennial Celebration: The University of Vienna, the Commission Representation in Austria, the European Union, and the European Union Youth Orchestra. Lastly, ELI would like to express its thanks to all the Members who were and are working towards ELI’s success.

The recording of the event is available below.

Please click here to access the Brochure

ELI at 10: Decennial Webinars Series

On the occasion of ELI’s 10th anniversary, a series of webinars takes place to showcase some completed ELI projects. The webinars will offer an opportunity to discuss recent developments in relevant areas and the impact of ELI projects on the legal landscape of late.

Participants of the ELI Decennial Celebration were:

The Decennial Celebration was supported by:

City of Vienna

The Vienna City Council sponsors certain public events in a bid to promote cultural diversity. ELI’s Decennial Celebration is one such sponsored event.

Commission Representation in Austria

The Representation, based in Vienna, is the European Commission's local office in Austria. The Representation explains how EU policies affect the lives of people in Austria, provides EU-related information to the government and other authorities and stakeholders in Austria, and keeps the media informed about developments at EU level. We also report to the European Commission in Brussels on significant political, economic and social developments in Austria. For more information, please consult the website here.

European Union

Following the specific call for proposals aiming at establishing four-year framework partnership agreements with EU-level networks for 2018–2021 and Operating Grants for the respective years, ELI was selected for co-financing by the European Union. 

European Union Youth Orchestra

The European Union Youth Orchestra is one of the world’s pre-eminent symphony orchestras. Founded in 1976, its members are appointed every year through a rigorous selection held in all EU Member States, open to young EU citizens aged 16-26. The Orchestra has worked with many of the world’s greatest musicians including Founding Music Director Claudio Abbado, succeeding Music Directors Vladimir Ashkenazy and Bernard Haitink, and current Chief Conductor Vasily Petrenko. The EUYO is a European Union Cultural Ambassador, and has performed in most of the world’s major concert halls and festivals, appearing in many hundreds of venues across five continents. Amongst numerous awards the EUYO won the recent ‘European Cultural Brand of the Year 2020’. EUYO and ELI share the common vision to foster the pan-European perspective and advance European integration.

University of Vienna

Founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 the University of Vienna is one of the oldest universities in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich history, the University of Vienna has developed into one of the largest universities in Europe, and also one of the most renowned. An extended Framework Partnership Agreement will see ELI receive further funding from 2019–2023.