The European Law Institute (ELI) has officially published its Principles and Guidance for Enforcement Against Digital Assets, following formal approval by the ELI Council in March 2025 and by the ELI Membership in May 2025.
This groundbreaking statement offers a comprehensive framework to support courts, lawmakers, enforcement agents, regulators and international bodies in addressing the challenges of enforcing rights against digital assets.
The ELI principles was drafted by Prof Dr Teresa Rodríguez de las Heras Ballell, professor at Carlos III University, Madrid, Spain and Mr Jos Uitdehaag, first vice-president of UIHJ and with earlier contributions by Prof Dr Sjef van Erp (Co-Reporter until September 2022 and member of the UIHJ Scientific Council). The output builds on the ELI Principles on the Use of Digital Assets, published in 2022.
Structured into ten principles and their accompanying guidance, these ELI principles provides both high-level direction and practical tools to adapt legal procedures, improve enforcement mechanisms, and clarify the property status and legal treatment of digital assets at both national and cross-border levels.
The statement reflects the extensive collaborative work. Valuable input was also provided by members of the Advisory Committee, the Members Consultative Committee (MCC), Observers, and various ELI bodies, including the ELI Council and ELI Membership, the ELI Scientific Director, Prof Dr Christiane Wendehorst, as well as contributions from external experts and the support of the ELI Secretariat. This collaborative effort exemplifies ELI’s inclusive, interdisciplinary and transparent approach to legal reform.
To mark the launch of the principles, ELI organised for all interested stakeholders a webinar on 18 June 2025. This webinar was attended by over 80 participants and introduced and explored the key aspects of the publication. The webinar was moderated by Pietro Sirena, ELI treasurer and dean and professor at the university of Bocconi, Italy. Besides the two co-reporters, following panelists participated: Anna Veneziano, Deputy Secretary General of Unidroit; Hideki Kanda (Emeritus Professor, university of Tokyo; and Marek Dubovec, Director of Law Reform Programs at the International Law Institute and professor at the university of Arizona.
The report is available on the website of the ELI: Click here
