Composition of ELF Network
ELF, which receives an operating grant from the European Union (EU) as from 1st January 2022, is a network composed of 38 members, of which 34 are national and local bars, two are Bars’ training schools and two are EU-wide organisation of bars (ELF and the CCBE), representing a total of 19 EU Member States.
Activities of the network
ELF’s activities are carried out through the implementation of projects which can be divided into two blocks: a) EU projects and b) external projects (outside the EU and, therefore, out of the scope of the operating grant).
The EU projects are divided into three areas of activities:
Training activities: ELF organises training of lawyers in various areas of EU law, including an exchange of lawyers (where lawyers from EU Member States are sent to law firms in other Member States), and training courses on fundamental rights (e.g. procedural rights, data protection, immigration and asylum), and other areas of EU law such as EU civil law, anti-money laundering/counter terrorist financing (AML/CTF), etc. The ELF has been acting as a sort of lawyers’ counterpart to the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN), in line with Recommendation 14 of the EC’s Study on the state of play of lawyers’ training in EU Law. By contributing to training lawyers in EU law, ELF helps lawyers to be appropriately trained on the application of EU law at national level and to increase their cross-border network capacities, while guaranteeing that citizens are better represented to make full use of their rights within the EU.
e-justice activities: ELF is the coordinator of the EU-funded Artificial Intelligence for Lawyers project (2020-2022), which aims to develop a guide on the use of AI by lawyers and law firms in the EU. ELF has also participated in various e-justice projects since its establishment in 2014, including the European Training Platform and Find-A-Lawyer (FAL) 2 and 3, Me-CODEX, Me-CODEX 2, and Evidence 2e-CODEX.
Research in various areas of EU Law: ELF is active in research activities on EU substantive law topics that have a positive impact on access to justice. Considerable work has been undertaken in the field of the rights of persons suspected or accused of crime, on the correct and consistent implementation at national level of the European Arrest Warrant, and on Anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing.
Co-funded by the European Union
Austria: Österreichischer Rechtsanwaltskammertag (Austrian Bar)
Belgium:
CCBE (based in Brussels, the organisation representing bars from 45 countries from the European Union, the European Economic Area, and wider Europe)
Ordre des barreaux francophones et Germanophone (French and German speaking Bar)
Orde van Vlaamse Balies (Flemish Bar)
Bulgaria: Висшият адвокатски съвет (Bulgarian Bar)
Cyprus: Παγκύπριος Δικηγορικός Σύλλογος (Cyprus Bar Association)
Czech Republic: Ceská Advokátní Komora (Czech Bar)
Estonia: Eesti Advokatuur (Estonian Bar)
Finland: Suomen Asianajajaliitto (Finnish Bar)
France:
Conseil National des Barreaux (French National Bar)
Conférence des Bâtonniers (Conference of Presidents of French Bars)
Ecole des Avocats de Martinique
Barreau de Guadeloupe Saint-Martin & Saint-Barthélemy
Barreau de Saint-Denis de la Reuniòn
Barreau de Saint-Pierre de la Reuniòn
Germany:
Bundesrechtsanwaltskammer (German Federal Bar)
Deutscher Anwaltverein e.V. (German Bar Association)
Greece:
Δικηγορικός Σύλλογος Αθηνών (Athens Bar)
Ολομέλεια Δικηγορικών Συλλόγων Ελλάδας (Plenary of the Greek Bar Associations)
Hungary: Budapesti Ügyvédi Kamara (Budapest Bar Association)
Ireland: Law Society of Ireland
Italy:
Consiglio Nazionale Forense (Italian National Bar)
Ordine degli Avvocati di Firenze
Ordine degli Avvocati di Venezia
Ordine degli Avvocati di Siena
Luxembourg: Ordre des Avocats du Barreau de Luxembourg
Poland: Krajowa Izba Radców Prawnych (The National Bar of Attorneys-at-Law)
Romania: Uniunea Naţională a Barourilor din România (Romanian National Bar)
Slovakia: Slovenská Advokátska Komora (Slovakian Bar)
Slovenia: Odvetniška Zbornica Slovenije (Slovenian Bar)
Spain:
Consejo General de la Abogacía Española (Spanish Bar)
Consell d’Il·lustres Col·legis d’Advocats de Catalunya
Co-funded by the European Union