On 2-4 September, the European Law Institute (ELI) organised alongside Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas and the Société de législation comparée), its annual conference under the High Patronage of Mr. Emmanuel Macron, president of the French Republic. UIHJ was represented by its first vice-president, Jos Uitdehaag.
Participants were welcomed in the Grand Amphitheater of the Sorbonne University, by Stéphane Braconnier (President, University Paris-Panthéon-Assas), François Molinié (President, French Society of Comparative Law, Société de législation comparée) and Teresa Rodríguez de las Heras Ballell (ELI President; Professor, Universidad Carlos III).
The inaugural session on 2 September featured high level French institutional leaders including Richard Ferrand (President of the French Constitutional Council), Marc Guillaume (Vice-President of the Council of State), and Christophe Soulard (First President of the Court of Cassation).
After this session, students from various French universities presented their selection of pieces of art and explained how the art embody or inspire the rule of law and/or the law. Some presentations were made with the cooperation of Presidents of Supreme courts.
The Ole Lando Memorial Lecture this year was done by Bénédicte Fauvarque-Cosson (General Administrator of the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts, Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (CNAM)) and Anna Veneziano (Deputy Secretary General, UNIDROIT; Professor, University of Teramo).
In the Forum on the Protection of Lawyers, chaired by Teresa Rodríguez de las Heras Ballell (ELI President; Professor, Universidad Carlos III) participated Marko Bošnjak (Judge, Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU); Former President, European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)), Roman Završek (President, Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE)), Christoph Henrichs (Chair, European Committee on Legal Co-Operation (CDCJ)) Julie Couturier (President, French National Bar Council, Conseil national des barreaux).
The first panel was dedicated to biometrics. ELI and the American Law Institute (ALI) are jointly running the Principles for the Governance of Biometrics project to create a unified transatlantic legal and ethical framework for biometric technologies. The panel was chaired by Cécile Sainte-Cluque (Notary, Superior Council of French Notaries, Conseil supérieur du notariat). Panelists: Gianclaudio Malgieri (Associate Professor of Law & Technology, Leiden University), Thierry Hoscheit (President, Superior Court of Justice and Constitutional Court of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg), Wojciech Wiewiórowski (European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS)) and Isabelle Moeller (Chief Executive, Biometrics Institute).
The opening Reception and ELI Young Lawyers Award was hosted by ELI as well as the French National Chamber of Justice Commissioners, represented by its president, Benoit Santoire, and Julie Couturier (President, French National Bar Council, Conseil national des barreaux).
On 3 and 4 September different panels were organised. I want to highlight some of these panels, relevant for the enforcement profession.
On 3 September, participants were welcomed in the premises of the Superior Council of Notaries of France.
The keynote addresses were delivered by Matthias Guyomar (President, European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)) and Donal O’Donnell (Chief Justice of Ireland; President of the Network of the Presidents of the Supreme Judicial Courts of the Member States of the European Union).
Interesting was the panel on judicial caseloads and institutional challenges. This panel was chaired by Savvas Papasavvas (Vice-President, General Court of the European Union). Panelists: Andreas Zünd (ELI Co-Reporter; Judge, European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)), Ingrid Derveaux (Secretary-General, European Judicial Training Network (EJTN)), José Igreja Matos (President, Consultative Council of European Judges, Council of Europe) and Christophe Bernasconi (Secretary General, Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH)).
On 4 September, the conference was organised at the University Paris-Panthéon-Assas | in Paris. Interesting was the panel on sanctions, enforcement and asset seizure: legal principles and challenges. This panel was chaired by Sir Geoffrey Vos (ELI Vice-President; Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice in England and Wales). Panelists were Philippa Webb (Professor, University of Oxford, Blavatnik School of Government; Co-Founder and Director, Oxford Institute of Technology and Justice), Róbert Spanó (Partner, Gibson Dunn; Former President, European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)), Danguolė Bublienė (President, Supreme Court of Lithuania), Agnès Carlier (Vice-President, French National Chamber of Justice Commissioners, Chambre nationale des commissaires de justice)
