ELSA Law Schools
What is an ELSA Law School?
ELSA Law Schools are a Flagship Project of ELSA. An ELSA Law School is an international event, comprising of academic, cultural, and social programmes, organised by a Local or a National Group of ELSA, which has to follow the requirements regulated in the International Council Meeting Decision Book.
Said requirements can be found below:
Requirements of ELSA Law Schools
Aiming to be annual
An ELSA Law School shall aim to be organised annually, hence needs to be sustainable.
Open for everyone and conducted in English
Since an ELSA Law School is an international event, it shall be open for everyone including ELSA members, ELSA Alumni, non-ELSA members, and non-law students. Additionally, all activities shall be conducted only in English.
Lasting for a minimum of seven days
The 7 days are calculated excluding the day of arrival but including the day of departure. Therefore, if participants are to arrive on Sunday, they should leave the following Sunday. at a minimum. There are no restrictions in regards to having a longer ELSA Law School.
Comprising of an academic, cultural and social programme
Firstly, the fundamental part of an ELSA Law School is an academic programme and it shall last at least 20 hours. If the duration of an ELSA Law School exceeds 7 days, the academic programme shall be prolonged by 4 hours per extra day. It is also important to highlight that one of the aims of ELSA Law Schools is to bring people from different countries together. In order to provide a culturally engaging atmosphere cultural and social programme also shall be organised.
Based on these points, the cultural, social and academic programmes shall be planned organically in order to be mutually beneficial to each other and constitute a full experience for each participant.
Organised in close co-operation with an academic or institutional partner
In order to supervise and ensure the quality of the academic programme, an ELSA Law School shall be organised in close co-operation with an academic or an institutional partner. The academic or institutional partner shall be a law faculty, public institution, law firm or any other legal entity which is entitled to provide educational, professional legal services, or otherwise associated professionals in a particular field of law. These will help the Organising Committee to properly and efficiently structure the academic programme, secure the best possible speakers for the chosen topic and be updated in regards to the relevant fields of law.
ELSA Law Schools Cycles
There are two ELSA Law School Cycles during the term: the Winter ELSA Law Schools Cycle and the Summer ELSA Law Schools Cycle. Each of these cycles is governed by an ELSA Law School Calendar that sets out the deadlines and the specific tasks for which the Organising Committees are responsible.
Winter Cycle refers to ELSA Law Schools that take place between the second week of December and the third week of March.
Summer Cycle refers to ELSA Law Schools that take place between the first week of July and the third week of September.
Each Cycle is divided into 7 periods:
Specification: the initial phase of organising the project consisting of defining the basic elements such as intended topic, destination, and preliminary date for the ELSA Law School. You can do this by filling the Specification Form.
Preparation: the key time when the implementation of all requirements is ensured. The Organising Committee works closely with ELSA International on appropriate training, ELSA Law School Portal, unified promotion and much more.
Application: period for future participants to apply for selected ELSA Law Schools.
Selection: the phase when Organising Committees choose successful applications and send requests for payments.
Additional application: an additional opportunity to attract participants in a situation where during the first application period it was not possible to meet the prescribed limit of spots.
Event
Evaluation: the phase after the project consisting of collecting feedback from participants and detailed analysis of the organisational aspects.
Responsibilities of ELSA International
According to the ICM Decision Book, ELSA International is responsible for the overall coordination of the respective cycles. It's based on setting specific dates for each period, providing individual coaching, training and promotional materials as well as an IT system for applications. These duties refer also to organising ELSA Law School Training Weekends for members of Organising Committees, and to assure quality control of the respective events.
Moreover, in case of non-compliance with the rules and established standards, ELSA International may intervene and apply sanctions, including even the removal of a project from the cycle.
More information
ELSA Law Schools Handbook: with detailed descriptions of all aspects of the project and its organisation.
ELSA Law Schools Terms & Conditions: to have a look at participants' perspective.