Kutse

The European Law Institute AISBL/IVZW | Reg No 0837 276 779 Rue Ducale 1 Hertogstraat – KVAB Bruxelles 1000 – BELGIUM

Presidency

Schottenring 16/175 | 1010 Vienna | Austria [email protected]

www.europeanlawinstitute.eu P +43-1-4277-221-01

F +43-1-4277-9221

Vienna, 14 April 2025

Dear Chief Justice Kõve We write in our capacity as the Presidency of the European Law Institute (ELI) to explore the prospects of a meeting with you, at your earliest convenience, with the aim of discuss potential avenues for collaboration, and examining how our respective institutions might further contribute to the enhancement of the law. We are also pleased to invite you to ELI’s Annual Conference in Vienna, taking place from 22–24 September 2025. The draft agenda is available here. This year, the conference will focus on the critical issues surrounding the environment and fundamental rights. Building on the success of ELI’s previous conference in Dublin, we are excited to host another distinguished event. Speakers on that occasion included Marko Bošnjak (President of the European Court of Human Rights), Michael O’Flaherty (Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe), Rossa Fanning (Attorney General of Ireland), Donal O'Donnell (Chief Justice of Ireland), Diane P Wood (Director of the American Law Institute (ALI)) and several EU representatives. The conference also welcomed over 20 ambassadors. By way of background, ELI is an independent non-profit organisation established to initiate, conduct and facilitate research, make recommendations and provide practical guidance in the field of European legal development. Its very considerable intellectual resources are focused on the law not as it is, but as it should be. Among the hallmarks of ELI projects, which span all branches of the law, is the involvement of diverse legal vocations and European traditions within project teams, as well as the fact that it is open to ELI’s entire membership of over 1,700 natural persons and 160 institutions and external experts to shape project outcomes. Among ELI’s Institutional Members are the European Parliament, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT), several supreme courts in Europe, law firms, faculties and professional associations, including the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), the Council of the Notariats of the European Union (CNUE), the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ) and the Network of the Presidents of the Supreme Judicial Courts of the European Union. Since its foundation, the Institute has also established close working relations with ALI and the US Uniform Law Commission and the Uniform Law Commission of Canada. Among ELI’s Individual Members are the Presidents of the CJEU and the European Court of Human Rights as well as the Lady Chief Justice, Head of the Judiciary of E&W and President of the Courts of E&W.

The European Law Institute AISBL/IVZW | Reg No 0837 276 779 Rue Ducale 1 Hertogstraat – KVAB Bruxelles 1000 – BELGIUM

The Institute's Individual Members represent a diverse spectrum of the legal community, including members of the bar, judiciary, academia, and other legal professions. Our membership includes our current and some former Chief Justices of England and Wales. Headquartered in Vienna, ELI is supported by the University of Vienna, the City of Vienna, and the European Commission. We are delighted to announce that we have already confirmed a distinguished group of speakers for the 2025 conference, including the current and former Presidency of the European Court of Human Rights, the Director of the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency, the President of WWF International, the Presidents of the Austrian, Swiss, and Lithuanian Supreme Courts as well as the Chief Justice of Ireland, the Austrian Miniter of Justice, the President of the Austrian Bar Association and the President of the Austrian Chamber of Civil Law Notaries. European Commission representatives, several ambassadors and representatives from the City of Vienna have also confirmed availability. We kindly request your response within a week. Should you accept, the ELI Secretariat will reach out with further details and logistical arrangements. We look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely Pascal Pichonnaz Anne Birgitte Gammeljord Sir Geoffrey Vos ELI President First ELI Vice-President Second ELI Vice-President Professor, Fribourg Lawyer, Danish Supreme Court Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice of E&W

The European Law Institute AISBL/IVZW | Reg No 0837 276 779 Rue Ducale 1 Hertogstraat – KVAB Bruxelles 1000 – BELGIUM

Full list of the Supreme Judicial Courts that are Members of the ELI

• The Court of Cassation of Belgium (Hof van Cassatie) • The Court of Cassation of France (Cour de Cassation) • Curia of Hungary (Kúria) • The Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland (Bundesgericht, Tribunal fédéral, Tribunale federale,

Tribunal federal) • The High Court of Cassation and Justice of Romania (Înalta Curte de Casație și Justiție) • The Supreme Court of Albania (Gjykata e Lartë) • The Supreme Court of Cassation Bulgaria (Върховен касационен съд) • The Supreme Court of Croatia (Vrhovni sud Republike Hrvatske) • The Supreme Court of the Czech Republic (Nejvyšší soud České republiky) • The Supreme Court of Italy (Corte di Cassazione) • The Supreme Court of Justice of Austria (Oberster Gerichtshof) • The Supreme Court of Justice of Portugal (Supremo Tribunal de Justiça) • The Supreme Court of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublikos Aukščiausiasis Teismas) • The Supreme Court of Luxembourg (Cour supérieure de Justice) • The Supreme Court of the Netherlands (Hoge Raad der Nederlanden) • The Supreme Court of Singapore • The Supreme Court of Spain (Tribunal Supremo de España) • The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom