From 12 December 2019 to 14 December 2019 the ELPIS Network Meeting was organized by the Faculty of Law of the Leibniz Universität Hannover. The meeting was concluded by a conference, which was devoted to the topic of innovative teaching in European legal education. On the first day, network Member Universities discussed organizational issues of their Master programme “European legal practice” (for more info, visit, please, http://elpis.fd.ulisboa.pt/ , https://www.jura.uni-hannover.de/de/erasmus/ ). Mr. Thomas Hermann, Mayor of Hanover and Prof. Dr. Christina von Haaren, Vice president for International Affairs of the Leibniz Universität Hannover addressed the participants with their welcoming words, underlining the importance of international cooperation in the field of higher education.
In the framework of the meeting, new Universities (from the USA, Austria, Turkey, Serbia, Ukraine) were admitted to the ELPIS network, as full or associated members, all of them having thorough expertise in the field of legal studies and a particular interest in international cooperation and exchange.
In the framework of ELPIS, two pillars of cooperation have existed so far: ELPIS I (the network itself) and ELPIS II (the Master programme administered by the participating Universities). It was decided to establish a new pillar of cooperation – ELPIS III – that will frame the scientific and research collaboration of the Universities. This will enable a closer scientific collaboration between leading legal scholars in different fields of law who are teaching at the Member Universities.
On 14 December 2019, the third day of the meeting, the conference “Innovative Teaching in European Legal Education” took place. It was opened by the Dean of the Faculty of Law of the Leibniz Universität Hannover, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Bernd H. Oppermann, LL.M., Prof. h.c. and the Dean of Studies of the same Faculty Prof. Dr. Claas Friedrich Germelmann, LL.M., who addressed the participants with their welcoming speeches, underlining the important place that innovative teaching methods have at the Member Universities. The Conference comprised five panels of discussion:
Panel 1. Modern teaching methods in European legal education. Moving towards a European Education Area?
Moderator: Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Vasco Pereira da Silva, University of Lisbon, Participants: Prof. Dr. Francisco Balaguer Callejon, University of Granada Dr. Christophe Bouyssi, Leibniz University Hannover
Panel 2. Diversity and uniformity: Finding a common ground. The question of curricula
Moderator: Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Bernd H. Oppermann, LL.M., Prof. h.c., Leibniz University Hannover, Participants: Prof. Dr. Andreas Schwartze, University of Innsbruck, Dr. Volker Domeyer, Leibniz University Hannover
Panel 3. The students experience: Needs and desiderata of innovative teaching in law “Wording the needs of innovative teaching in law”
Moderator: Dr. Dimitrios Parashu, MLE, Leibniz University Hannover, Participants: Ms. Kersi Kurti, Hannover/Elbasan, Mr. Kire Jovanov, Hannover/Skopje, Mr. Valerio Carresi, Hannover/Rome
Panel 4. “Gamification” of European legal education? Methods and approaches
Moderator: Prof. Dr. Marine Toullier, University of Rouen, Participants: Prof. Dr. Regina Valutyte, Mykolas Romeris University of Vilnius, Prof. Dr. Dovilė Gailiūtė - Janušonė, Mykolas Romeris University of Vilnius, Prof. Dr. Dr. Arndt Künnecke, Federal University of Applied Administrative Sciences
Panel 5. Perspectives of European legal education
Moderator: Prof. Dr. Claas Friedrich Germelmann, LL.M., Participants: Prof. Dr. Maria Meng-Papantoni, Panteion University of Athens Prof. Dr. Patrick R. Hugg, Loyola University of New Orleans
The Dean of Studies of the Faculty of Law, Leibniz Universität Hannover Prof. Dr. Claas Friedrich Germelmann addressed the participants with some concluding remarks. As he underlined, the Conference revealed the importance of diverse teaching methods and their application in the field of higher education, the importance of the links between academic contents and teaching methods. At the same time the conference stressed the pressing need for safeguarding the core values of the society in the modern age and the contribution that the higher legal education may have towards the achievement of this goal. In the context of internationalization of higher education, it is multilingualism and shared cultures that take decisive roles. In this sense, it seems obvious that, given its international nature, ELPIS may have an important contribution towards Europeanisation and internationalization of the higher legal education. Besides that, important questions concerning the institutional framework of higher legal education were discussed during the Conference, such as the issues of establishment and accreditation of international study programmes. Finally, in the framework of the conference, the participants exchanged their views with regard to the new challenges, such as those connected with the freedom of expression and respect for rule of law in the era of modern technologies, the use of artificial intelligence in the field of law and legal education, and the future perspectives of the higher legal education. The Dean of Studies expressed his gratitude to the international guests for visiting the city of Hannover and participating in this event organized by the Faculty of Law of the Leibniz Universität Hannover.
For more information on the ELPIS network visit, please, http://elpis.fd.ulisboa.pt/ , https://www.jura.uni-hannover.de/de/erasmus/
