Our History
The European Law Students Association was founded in Vienna in 1981 by Austrian, German, Hungarian and Polish students.
It immediately affirmed its European identity, in particular by sending legal books collected in the faculties in the West.
Very quickly, its programs won over law students and young lawyers from all over Europe. ELSA is now the largest law student association in the world.
In the early 1990s, the ELSA International association settled in Brussels, mainly to get closer to the Community institutions and very swiftly obtained their support.
In addition to this, we have worked with major international firms. Then, the recognition of the work carried out allowed ELSA International to benefit from the status of Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), which is concretely reflected in its status as an observer member of ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social Council) and CNUDI (United Nations Commission on International Law).
Thanks to this recognition from the institutions attached to the UN, ELSA members were able to attend the conferences to prepare the statutes of the International Criminal Court and participate in the discussions (some of their proposals were relayed by plenipotentiaries).
Finally, ELSA International has been granted the status of observer member of the Council of Europe.
With a current presence in 43 countries across Europe, ELSA has nearly 50,000 members, students and young lawyers, in almost 220 local groups.
Its international office in Brussels is composed of approximately fifteen law students and young lawyers who spend one year running the association. Like all the other actors in the association, they are volunteers.
Two international general assemblies and two meetings of the Presidents are the highlights of the year.
The organization of the international association is represented in each country where a national office is the executive of a national association whose members are the local associations (present in each Faculty of Law).
ELSA, at its different levels, organizes various academic and professional events.
This provides ELSA members with many opportunities to increase their skills, particularly in the legal field, and also to interact with each other.
In addition, ELSA offers its members the opportunity to participate in work experience programs as well as in the writing of articles.
Lastly, working within the ELSA network allows members to actively prepare for their professional lives through international experience.
About us
The European Law Students’ Association (ELSA), created in 1981, is an international, independent, non-political and non-profit organization run by and for student who aims at providing its members a platform to develop their existing skills and acquire new ones. It also interacts with fellow students and experienced practitioners from different states and legal systems. Therefore, ELSA-activities comprise a large variety of academic and professional events that are organized to fulfill the stated vision of ELSA.
Today, ELSA, the largest law student association in the world, is present in over 350 faculties among 44 countries and counts over 50.000 students and law practitioners.
ELSA Louvain-la-Neuve is one of the local groups of ELSA Belgium and is made up of 6 departments: Marketing, Seminars & Conferences (S&C), Academic Activities (AA), Study Visits, STEP (Student Traineeship Exchange Program), Law Schools and a new one created this year : Moot Court Competitions (MCC). Within these departments, each active member has an important role in the achievement of every single event created by each department and are, thus, truly implicated in the daily life of the association.
ELSA Louvain-la-Neuve is also aware of some environmental issues, such as plastic. Therefore we made a commitment to remove single-use plastic and, more generally, reduce waste production at our events.