ELI visits European Parliament

26.03.2012

The ELI was invited to present its organizational structure and goals to the Committee on Legal Affairs of the European Parliament on 26 March 2012.

The President of the ELI, Sir Francis Jacobs, opened the presentation and thanked the Committee for the invitation. Bénédicte Fauvarque-Cosson, the Vice-President of the Institute, gave a presentation on the history, the structure and the decision making processes of the ELI. Following a presentation on the ELI Senate by its Speaker Irmgard Griss, Christiane Wendehorst  showcased the Common European Sales Law (CESL) initiative as an exemplar for the projects carried out by the ELI. The final presentation on the Secretariat in Vienna and the projects initiated by the Council was given by Tobias Schulte in den Bäumen. The short presentations were followed by a number of questions from the members of the Committee.

The Committee welcomed the work carried out by the ELI and expressed its hope that the Institute  would enhance the legal culture in Europe. The ambition to cover all jurisdictions in Europe and to involve legal experts with diverse professional background was commended by the members of the Committee. The Committee also expressed its wish that ELI would make a contribution to the education of legal professionals in Europe.

The representatives of the ELI and the members of the Committee agreed to have regular meetings to update the Parliament on the work carried out by the Institute. The Committee is also looking forward to receive the ELI Statement on the CESL and to get an input from the ELI regarding the future research framework and its implementation in the field of legal research.