13 September 2021, President Pichonnaz was received by the Vice-President of the Conseil d’État, Bruno Lasserre, head of the highest administrative Court in France. Vice-President Lasserre is also a member of the ELI Senate and ELI’s Arbitral Tribunal. Climate justice, a prospective topic under ELI’s third pillar of projects ‘Sustainable Life and Society’ was discussed extensively, especially in light of a recent decision of the Conseil d’État on the fulfilment of the French government’s 2030 targets under the Paris Agreement.

On the same day President Pichonnaz informed several conseillers at the Cour de Cassation in Paris about ELI and its various activities. Among other projects, he outlined of the ELI Principles for the Covid-19 Pandemic, and emphasised the ELI-Mount Scopus European Standards of Judicial Independence as an important instrument for the fostering of the rule of law, a priority for ELI which has embarked on five projects under that pillar of its projects portfolio. These are:

• Admissibility of E-Evidence in Criminal Proceedings in the EU
• ELI-Mount Scopus European Standards of Judicial Independence
• Freedom of Expression as a Common Constitutional Tradition in Europe 
• Fundamental Constitutional Principles
• The Concept and the Role of Courts in Family and Succession Matters

On the occasion, President Pichonnaz discussed the prospects of judges of the Cour de Cassation's active involvement in various ELI projects. The Cour de Cassation is one of 15 Supreme Courts across Europe and beyond that count as ELI’s Members.