Completed ELI Projects
The ELI is pleased to report the completion of the following Projects which aim to stimulate the development of EU law, legal policy and practice.
Admissibility of E-Evidence in Criminal Proceedings in the EU
The Project Team developed a Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and the Council on Mutual Admissibility of Evidence and Electronic Evidence in Criminal Proceedings, which provides guidance on future EU legislative action in the field. It aims at harmonising approaches in EU Member States and, through it, enhancing the principle of mutual recognition in criminal matters and the protection of human rights of suspects and accused.
ELI Report on Ecocide
ELI Report on Ecocide aims at contributing to inter-institutional negotiations in the EU. It provides an innovative definition of the crime of ecocide in peacetime. To facilitate legislative procedures, it also includes a Model Directive that is closely based on the EU’s Proposal for a Directive on the protection of the environment through criminal law and a Model Decision, which can be used by EU institutions in the context of developing rules to protect environment through criminal law.
Guidance on Company Capital and Financial Accounting for Corporate Sustainability
The ELI Guidance proposes a set of Recommendations on company capital and financial accounting for corporate sustainability aimed at: (i) providing a frame of reference and analysis to understand corporate sustainability in the context of business and law; (ii) pointing to specific issues which need to be addressed by European and national lawmakers and regulators; and (iii) establishing a set of company law instruments which set out possible solutions to cope with these issues.
ELI Principles on Blockchain Technology, Smart Contracts and Consumer Protection
Both technologies (Blockchains and Smart Contracts) are profoundly changing many areas of private law transactions. Whether the current system of private law can readily cope with these novel forms of ‘self-executing’ agreements, or whether new solutions are required, are fundamental questions.
ELI Draft of a Revised Product Liability Directive
The ELI PLD Draft aims at proposing solutions that will make the 1985 PLD fit for the digital age. It builds on earlier ELI output on the subject, and was drafted in full acknowledgment of plans by the European Commission to amend the 1985 PLD. It aims at providing a comprehensive, coherent and consistent model that can also serve as a point of reference for a future debate on a revision of the 1985 PLD at EU level.
Freedom of Expression as a Common Constitutional Tradition in Europe
The ELI Report summarises the current laws in EU Member States on freedom of expression. It draws from national reports submitted by experts from key jurisdictions. It is intended as a practical tool (checklist) to assist practitioners, judges and public officials in identifying commonalities and differences in the legal approaches to the main issues relating to the freedom of expression.
ELI Principles on the Use of Digital Assets as Security
The ELI Principles, which were produced as part of the ELI Project on Access to Digital Assets, seek to provide guidance to private parties, whether natural or legal, contemplating the use of digital assets as security.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Public Administration – Developing Impact Assessments and Public Participation for Digital Democracy
The Project Team sought to lay down Model Rules to supplement European legislation on AI in the specific context of public administration that would not hinder innovation but would provide solid safeguards to improve citizens’ confidence in the use of the technology in this field. They do so by promoting the use of impact assessments.
Business and Human Rights: Access to Justice and Effective Remedies (with input from FRA)
This ELI project, conducted with input from FRA, aimed at identifying a range of possible regulatory and/or soft-law options, at Member State level, at EU level and for non-Member States, intended to increase access to remedies in the EU and Member and non-Member States and to ensure compliance with human rights by business enterprises.
Principles for a Data Economy: Data Transactions and Data Rights (with the ALI)
This ALI-ELI project produced a set of transnational Principles that can facilitate the drafting of model agreements or provisions to be used on a voluntary basis by parties in the data economy. They can also be used as a source for inspiration and guidance for courts and legislators worldwide.
For a European Approach to R&D Tax Incentive(s)
The aim of the project was to ensure certainty as to what constitutes R&D for the EU's Common Corporate Tax Base (CCTB), since the CCTB provides a definition of R&D tax incentives, but does not explain which expenses will qualify for a reduction.
Model European Rules of Civil Procedure (with UNIDROIT)
This project was a cooperative venture of ELI and UNIDROIT. It builded upon an instrument produced jointly by the ALI and UNIDROIT, Principles of Transnational Civil Procedure, and aimed at the regional development of those Principles.
Protection of Adults in International Situations
The project aimed at encouraging the European Union to consider both external action and the enactment of legislation in the field of protection of adults.
Model Rules on Online Platforms
The project aimed to develop model rules on online platforms that set out a balance between conflicting policy options, and demonstrate what potential regulation at EU or national level could look like.
Empowering European Families: Towards More Party Autonomy in European Family and Succession Law
This project aimed at reducing obstacles faced by international families in Europe and at facilitating free movement of citizens by developing an ELI Instrument with an information sheet and three toolkits for legal experts advising married couples, registered partners and couples in informal relationships. In particular, the project looked into rules on applicable law, jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement in family law as well as at succession law. It also seeks to promote the use of family mediation in this field.
The Principled Relationship of Formal and Informal Justice through the Courts and Alternative Dispute Resolution (with the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary, ENCJ)
The ELI-ENCJ Statement tackled the question of how courts and judges should act in considering or referring cases to ADR. It collected European best practices and provided recommendations as to the best European models that can be developed and applied for coherent access to dispute resolution processes in respect of different types of disputes, and towards which Member States may wish to progress.
Rescue of Business in Insolvency Law
Since the global financial crisis, insolvency law has been at the forefront of law reform initiatives in Europe and elsewhere. The Project Team designed (elements of) a legal framework consisting of over 100 recommendations that seek to ensure the further development of coherent and functional rules for business rescue in Europe.
Detention of Asylum Seekers and Irregular Migrants and the Rule of Law: Checklists and European Standards
The Project Team produced a comprehensive list of European standards for the judicial control or adjudication on detention of asylum seekers and irregular migrants with a view to enhancing the implementation of existing EU law in national practices and to facilitating more harmonised approaches in EU Member States.
Prevention and Settlement of Conflicts of Exercise of Jurisdiction in Criminal Law
As cross-border crime grows, international and transnational criminal justice is often confronted with situations where various Member States have legitimate jurisdiction over the same case. Having anaylsed the field and identified legislative gaps, The Project Team went on to draft three legislative models for preventing and solving conflicts of jurisdiction in criminal matters in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ).
From CESL to the Digital Single Market
The ELI Statement on the European Commission's Proposed Directive on the Supply of Digital Content to Consumers [COM (2015) 634 final] focused on the proposal of the so-called ‘Digital Content Directive’ (DCD). The Project Team considered that despite the Directive offering important clarity and protection to consumers, room for improvement still existed, therefore it proposed a number of changes to the Directive.
Collective Redress and Competition Damages Claims
The project assessed the Commission's Recommendation on common principles for injunctive and compensatory collective redress mechanisms in EU Member States concerning violations of rights granted under Union law, identified its implications and suggested practical improvements, in the form of recommendations, for the purpose of a coherent implementation. The output entailed an assessment of the Commission proposal for a Directive on certain rules governing actions for damages under national law for infringements of the competition law provisions of EU Member States.
Proposal for a Common European Sales Law
The ELI Team critically examined the European Commission's Proposal for a Regulation establishing a Common European Sales Law (CESL), making a number of practical recommendations designed to facilitate the achievement of its underlying policy objectives. The Team’s initial output was complemented by two subsequent supplements addressing further developments at EU level.
Case Overload at the European Court of Human Rights
The Statement aimed at proposing practical steps to help the Court settle the backlog while at the same time maintaining the high quality of work. It provided recommendations for unmeritorious applications, repetitive applications and otherwise meritorious applications as well as a general recommendation on the Court’s (further) actions regarding the overload.