Summer Academies
The Summer Academies are a core component of the European Law School. They are each organised in turn by one of the partner universities and are characterised by their own approach and academic focus.
The Summer Academies are multilingual, multinational, with teachers from different disciplines. Students of the European Law School are expected to attend two to three of these schools. These are intended to encourage a study of law that is not only incomparably broader in terms of the legal systems studied than the classical study - genuinely European - but also makes it possible to experience law in the context of society and intellectual history as a whole. The topics are always designed in such a way that law is placed in the context of these contexts. These are therefore not purely social or cultural studies courses. Since these schools take place across all years, they contribute not least to the formation of a comprehensive network among the students - a European legal profession.
Summer School 2023 in London on the topic of "European Sovereignty"
This year's European Law School Summer School took place at Dickson Poon School of Law, King's College London in London from September 4-7, 2023, bringing together students and faculty members from all partner universities. The term "European sovereignty" is multifaceted, ranging from "strategic autonomy", "digital sovereignty", "technological sovereignty" to the legal meaning "autonomy of EU law". This shows the complexity of the concept, which can be seen both as a sign that the European Union has reached (or is striving to reach) full sovereign maturity, and as an indication of a rather worrying inward trend of building walls against the rest of the world. Such tensions, as well as the definition of European sovereignty from a legal perspective, were the focus of this summer school at the European Law School in London. The academic program was complemented by a rich social program, including a London Legal Walk and a Farewell Reception with breathtaking views on the 8th floor terrace of the Bush House Building.
Summer School 2022 in Athens on "Digitalisation and Institutions"
This year's Summer School of the European Law School took place from 5 to 9 September at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in Athens. Thus, after the previous years plagued by Corona, a total of 60 students from Berlin, Paris, London, Rome and Madrid were able to exchange ideas for a week.
The academic focus was on digitalisation and its legal impact on institutions. Professors from many different universities gave lectures on digitalisation in the context of public law (influence of fundamental rights and administration), as well as private law (liability, consumer protection and company law). In addition to the first-class lectures, the students also had the opportunity to actively participate in workshops on the topic of "Artificial Intelligence" and the increasing digitalisation of the judiciary
The programme was rounded off by cultural exploration of Athens. Among other things, there was a guided tour of the Acropolis, a visit to the associated museum and a tour of the National Gallery.
The Summer School ended with the "Farewell Party", where the uniqueness of the ELS with its association of eight capital city universities was once again made clear to all students and teachers.
Programme
Summer Academy 2021 in Berlin on the topic of "Markets, Governance and European Law in the Algorithmic Era"
The Summer Academy 2021 of the ELS Network was held in Berlin from 11 to 16 July despite all the uncertainties. For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, over 60 students and professors from our partner universities met in person. The event was only possible thanks to a strict hygiene concept and the rental of the Leibniz Hall of the Brandenburg Academy of Sciences. The Summer Academy was organised in cooperation with the Research Training Group Dynamic Integration Order (DynamInt) and dealt with the topic "Markets, Governance and European Law in the Algorithmic Era". Prof. Sofia Ranchordas (University of Groningen), Prof. Przemyslaw Palka (Jagiellonian University of Krakow) and Killian Gross (European Commission) were among the speakers, while Prof. Thierry Bonneau (Université Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas) and Prof. Evi Paparseniou (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens) spoke from the HELS partner universities.
Summer Academy 2018 in Rome on the topic of "Europe, Protection Area of Individual Rights, Private Autonomy, Fundamental Rights and Freedom"
This year's Summer School took place at the Sapienza University in Rome from 10 to 15 September 2018.
Over four days, the law faculty dealt with the important role of the European Union for law and business.
Summer Academy 2017 in London on the topic of "Banking Union: A Practical and Theoretical Perspective"
This year's Summer School of the European Law School took place in London from 4-8 September. This time, the exciting topic was "Banking Union: A Practical and Theoretical Perspective". Lectures by various academics and practitioners, e.g. from the Bank of England, shed light on the topic from different angles and provided room for discussion.
The programme also included an "Alternative London Walking Tour", a guided tour of the Royal Court of Justice and an afternoon of exciting lectures and discussions on the topic of Brexit, to which our partner law firms Linklaters and Noerr invited participants.
Weitere Fotos der Akademie finden Sie hier.
Summer Academy 2016 in Amsterdam on the topic of "Privatrecht und Demokratie"
This year, the Summer Academy took place in Amsterdam for the first time and was hosted by the partner university there. Thematically, the teaching programme focused on the topic of "Private Law and Democracy" with all its aspects and benefited from the connection to the "Centre for the Study of European Contract Law" at the University of Amsterdam. The professional programme was rounded off by a varied social programme ranging from a visit to the Foam photography museum to a joint concert and a boat trip on the Amstel.
Summer Academy 2015 in Berlin on the topic of "Comparison in the Historical and Legal Sciences"
The Summer Academy of the European Law School was hosted by Humboldt University in 2015 and took place in Berlin and at Schloss Blankensee. A fruitful cooperation between the Doctoral College and the European Law School Network was established: To kick off the Summer Academy, the doctoral students organised a two-day conference on the topic "Diversity and/or Unity in Europe? Renewable Energies in the EU Internal Market". On the one hand, students and alumni of the European Law School presented the legal situation in Germany and France, on the other hand, some of the young academics of the law school presented their research results and finally, experts in the field of renewable energies participated, for example Thomas Schulz from our partner law firm Linklaters LLP and Dr. Martin Geipel from our partner law firm Noerr LLP.
The Summer Academy of the European Law School was dedicated to the topic of comparison in the historical sciences and in legal studies. The varied programme included cultural events - such as a visit to the city of Potsdam and the palace grounds around Sanssouci and a theatre visit to the Schaubühne - as well as lectures and museum visits, which approached the topic from a wide variety of perspectives. For the students (especially from our partner universities, who are hardly used to so much commitment from the law firms), the practical workshops at the partner law firms CMS Hasche Sigle with Dr Gerd Leutner and Dr Tobias Teicke and Linklaters LLP with Dr Kai Pritzsche and Matthew Devey were a highlight. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all participants once again.
Summer Academy 2014 in Florence on the topic of "The Hermeneutics"
In 2014, the Summer Academy of the European Law School was hosted by the University of Paris-Panthéon-Assas and took place from 1 to 6 September at its Florence branch - the gorgeous "Villa Finaly". The theme of "Hermeneutics" was the common thread running through the Academy. Considerations from a European and comparative law perspective were made and elaborated in lectures and workshops.
In addition, the students were invited by Prof. Joseph H.H. Weiler, President of the European University Institute, to participate in his Masterclass at the EUI. The academic part of the Summer Academy ended a few days later with an equally witty lecture by Prof. François Ost (Brussels) on "L'interprétation dans le droit et la littérature". But the host city was not neglected either: in addition to various museum visits, the guided tour on the history of art and architecture by Professor Stefan Grundmann was certainly a highlight.
Summer Academy 2013 in Rome on the topic of "Efficiency and Justice (Machiavelli)"
The 2013 European Law School Summer Academy was hosted by La Sapienza University in Rome and took place from 30 August to 7 September.
The theme of Efficiency and Justice (Machiavelli) was the common thread of the Academy. Reflections were made on this from both a scientific and a practical perspective and elaborated within the framework of lectures and workshops. But the host city was not neglected either, and a guided tour on the history of art and architecture with Professor Stefan Grundmann opened the round. We look back on a stimulating and eventful week of lively exchange with students from all four universities for the first time.
Resoconto in Italian
Summer Academy 2012 in London on the topic of "The Concept of Citizenship in Europe"
The Summer Academy 2012 took place in London, in the newly renovated Somerset House of King's College London and had the theme "the Concept of Citizenship in Europe". With hindsight, the Summer Academy can only be considered a great success. Once again, a large number of students from all three partner universities took part in the Summer Academy.
The concept of the academy to cover both science and practice and to impart knowledge as well as to stimulate discussions was a complete success. Despite the very heterogeneous structure of the participants - or precisely because of this - lively discussions took place both in the lectures and in the seminars, which often continued beyond the individual events. The mixture of prominent and established academics such as Sir Francis Jacobs, Koen Lenaerts, Piet Eeckhout and Alexander Türk, as well as young academics and doctoral students, provided the students with a multifaceted and in-depth insight into the subject. The topic was not only examined from its positive legal side, but also from its philosophical, legal-theoretical and general European legal side. In addition to the legal-theoretical aspects, the focus was on the rich case law of the ECJ on this topic, which was critically examined and explained from both an academic and a practical perspective by the former Advocate General Sir Francis Jacobs and the judge at the ECJ Koen Lenaerts. Another side of the practice, namely that of the law firms, was illuminated in the second part of the Summer Academy.
Summer Academy 2011 at Kröchlendorff Castle near Berlin on the topic of "Governance in Law, Social Theory and Literature"
The fourth Summer Academy took place from 9 September to 16 September 2011 at Schloss Kröchlendorff near Berlin. This year's topic was "Governance in Law, Social Theory and Literature".
This year's Summer School was again characterised by the diversity of perspectives from which the speakers from the fields of law, sociology and philosophy, together with the international students, examined the meaning of "governance". In addition to economic and legal texts by authors such as Nobel Prize winners Elinor Ostrom and Oliver E. Williamson, as well as John Rawls and Michel Foucault, the discussion of governance was also based on literary texts, namely Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice" and the Berlin play "Death of a Trainee" by René Pollesch. The students also rehearsed and performed scenes from the latter play. The idea was that a concept of "governance", if it is a socially driving overall view of social phenomena and decision-making situations, must be verifiable across all forms of expression - all the way to philosophy and literature. In Pollesch's work in particular, the concept of everyone - including interns and employees - as "entrepreneurs of themselves" was almost palpable. We were particularly pleased about the large number of students from Paris and also London, who greatly enriched the discussions. This contributed intensively to the cohesion and group dynamics beyond national borders.
Summer Academy 2010 in Paris also on the topic of "Europe et Énergie/ Europe and Energy".
The Summer Academy 2010 took place again in Paris at the University Panthéon Assas Paris. As in 2009, the theme of the Summer Academy was "Europe et Énergie/Europe and Energy". In accordance with the programme of the Summer Academy, the students listened to lectures by scientists and practitioners on topics such as alternative/classical energies or nuclear energy in the mornings. In the afternoon, seminars were held in which the students had to give their own presentations, which were then discussed.
Summer Academy 2009 in Paris on the topic "Europe et énergie/Europe and Energy
The second Summer Academy took place in Paris in 2009 and had the theme "L'Europe et l'énergie". It lasted ten days and brought together practice and science, very different areas of law and also law and other disciplines ... up to technical-scientific ones. Lectures of various kinds were combined with some panel discussions, but above all with students' own work. And this time, for the first time, students from all three countries met in considerable numbers.
Summer Academy 2008 in Berlin on the topics "Max Weber - from legal dogmatics and history to the sociology of law" and "Negotiation in the 18th century civil drama and in today's legal reality".
The first Summer Academy of the European Law School took place from 7 September to 13 September 2008 - and it can be said that it was a complete success - French and German students, teachers and partners were enthusiastic.
The Summer Academy was held under the two main headings: "Max Weber - from legal dogmatics and history to the sociology of law" and "Negotiation in the Civil Drama of the 18th Century and in Today's Legal Reality".
Under the first heading, the focus was on a personality who was educated in the legal sciences but then reached far beyond them. Max Weber is probably the last universal scholar in the field of societies to philosophy. He is considered the founder of sociology, especially the sociology of law, and at the same time the founder of the thesis that the specific religious-ethical character of certain countries is of central importance for the economic orientation and development of capitalism.
Under the second heading, the plays "Minna von Barnhelm" and "Der zerbrochene Krug" were discussed first from a literary-philosophical perspective and then from the perspective of a mediator.
French and German students, from all years of the "European:r Jurist:in" course, took part.