Supporting ELI Project Teams

Apart from Project Reporters and other members of the Project Team, who are primarily responsible for conducting ELI projects, the ELI Council also appoints a group of Advisors (the Advisory Committee) for each project. Projects are normally supported by a Members Consultative Committee (MCC).

Advisory Committee

The Advisory Committee consists of a limited number of high-ranking experts, who are appointed by the ELI Council following consultation with the Project Reporters and the Executive Committee. Members of the Advisory Committee support the work of the Project Team and provide the Project Reporters with comments on work-in-progress and advice during the term of the project. Project Reporters will submit drafts to the Advisory Committee at least twice per year, ahead of the ELI Council meeting in February and September, and invite it for comments

Advisory Committee Members’ input is normally electronic. Nevertheless, physical meetings of the Advisory Committee may be held, eg on the occasion of the ELI Annual Conference, subject to finances.

In approving a project, the ELI Council must concurrently add to the Advisory Committee two or three drawn from the Council as Assessors, who will act in the capacity of peer reviewers and auditors of quality. Assessors should keep themselves informed on the project, closely monitor the quality of the work being carried out and supervise and contribute to the regular reports to the Council and Executive Committee on progress of the project. They should also provide a separate report on the project to focus discussion on approval of the draft and the other results produced.

Members Consultative Committees

ELI projects are normally supported by Members Consultative Committees (MCCs), established by the Executive Committee shortly after the commencement of a project. Project Reporters will submit drafts to the Members Consultative Committee at least twice per year, ahead of the ELI Council meeting in February and September, and invite it for comments. Any ELI Member who is interested in actively contributing to the development of a project is invited to join its MCC, irrespective of the Member's status as an Individual or Institutional Fellow or Observer. There is no limit to the number of Members who can participate, and MCC members need not be experts in the relevant field. MCC members come from various legal professions and specialise in different areas of law. It is exactly this diversity which enriches the debating potential of the MCC and makes its contribution so valuable.

MCC members’ input is normally electronic. Nevertheless, physical meetings may be held, eg on the occasion of the ELI Annual Conference, subject to finances.

Join an MCC today!

  • Contribute with your expertise
  • Provide a fresh perspective

Join a Members Consultative Committee

ELI Members can currently join Members Consultative Committees for the following projects:

  • Access to Digital Assets
  • ELI Principles on the Extra-Judicial Administration of Justice in Cross-Border Family and Succession Matters
  • ELI-Mount Scopus European Standards of Judicial Independence
  • Climate Justice – New Challenges for Law and Judges
  • Fundamental Constitutional Principles
  • Guiding Principles and Model Rules on Algorithmic Contracts
  • Third Party Funding of Litigation
  • Advance Choices for Future Disablement

If you are interested in joining any of the MCCs, please send an email to the ELI Secretariat. As mentioned above, MCC Members need not be experts in the relevant field.

FAQs

What is the difference between the Advisory Committee and the MCC?

The Advisory Committee consists of a limited number of high-ranking experts, who are appointed by the ELI Council after consultation with the Project Team. Strictly speaking, they need not be Members of ELI, even though they usually will be. The MCC, on the other hand, consists of all ELI Members who would like to contribute to an on-going ELI project or at least be kept in the loop. They must be Members, but they need not necessarily be experts in the field, and their number is not limited. It is usually, but not always, the case that members of the Advisory Committee work more closely with the Project Team than the MCC does.

 

What is the role of the MCC chair?

Depending on how many ELI Members are interested in participating, MCCs may be very large, and it may not be easy for MCC members to always act in a coordinated way. This is why there is a chairperson who speaks on behalf of the MCC and acts as a kind of link between the Project Team, the ELI Bodies, and the MCC members. The MCC chair will arrange the dates and locations of MCC meetings with the Project Reporters and discuss any issues with them. Furthermore, the chair will make sure that the MCC work is not being dominated in an unseemly manner by any particular interest groups. Towards the end of the project, the MCC chair is also tasked to evaluate it.

 

How is the MCC chair appointed?

ELI trusts that MCC members are capable of organising themselves and deciding how to appoint a chair. In the event of several competing candidates, elections would have to be held, which would have to follow generally accepted principles of democratic decision making.

 

Are recommendations made by the MCC binding on the Project Team?

No, they are not. It is within the discretion of the Project Team whether or not they will follow a particular recommendation. This follows from the very simple fact that there may, and often will be, contradicting recommendations, and that it is ultimately the Project Team who must take responsibility for what they have produced when it comes to approval by the official ELI Bodies.

 

Does every MCC member act as an individual, or is there a discussion and vote within the MCC, so that the MCC as a whole formulates a particular position?

Even though the establishment of MCCs is provided for in the ELI Statute, an MCC is not a formal body of ELI, and there are no strict rules on how MCCs works. As MCC recommendations are not binding, majority votes are not of the essence, and it is normally the weight of the individual argument that counts. However, where an overwhelming majority of the MCC takes a particular view they may informally initiate a vote in order to enhance the persuasive authority of the point they wish to make.

 

If I am a member of the MCC, is the Project Team obliged to reply to my comments and to take my suggestions into account?

It is an implicit obligation of any Project Reporter not to ignore any plausible and well-founded comments raised by an MCC member. Such comments may receive an immediate reply, but as there will often be an avalanche of comments, some of considerable length and many overlapping or contradicting each other, Project Teams must be granted the liberty to wait and produce more general replies to the MCC comments that have been made within a particular period.

 

How time-consuming is it for me to be a member of the MCC?

The amount of time you wish to invest in the MCC’s work is entirely up to you. Many MCC members will actively use this platform to formulate their views and try to influence the project results. Others may restrict themselves to reading materials submitted electronically by the Project Team and observing group discussions, thus following more closely the progress of the project than would be the case if they did not have access to MCC materials.

 

Do members of the MCC get reimbursed for their expenses?

Generally, they do not. ELI is unfortunately not in a position to cover any travel or other expenses MCC members may incur. Project Reporters are urged to take this into account and to offer cost-efficient ways for MCC members to participate in the project. This implies, inter alia, that they must make an effort to use electronic communication platforms, and that no conference fee or similar fee may be charged for the participation in physical MCC meetings.