Twenty-fifth session of the Academy of European Law was held under the roof of European Public Law Organization between 26 August-15 September 2019 in Greece. Our Faculty PhD students, Gizem Gültekin Várkonyi and Jarmo Gombos participated in the Academy. The two weeks of intensive courses were offered both in the EPLO premises in Plaka-Athens, and in Legraina-Sounio and were followed by the EPLO’s traditional conference entitled European Group of Public Law.
First session of the Academy was held by Professor Elaine Mak from Utrecht University, Netherlands. During the lectures, the students received comprehensive academic and theoretical information about the elements of the judicial culture and look for answers to the question of “Can and should a shared judicial culture develop between national legal systems in Europe?” In the framework of this part of the Academy, the students analyzed and presented their national legal judiciaries from the ethical, legal, and institutional dimensions in different sessions.
Second session of the Academy was held by Professor Rui Lanceiro from Lisbon University, Portugal. The content of the course consisted the administrative implementation of the EU law by the Member States, more specifically, implementation of the EU law both by the EU institutions and the Member States. In frame of this lecture, Academy students gained deeper knowledge about the different types of administrative implementations and legal basis of the EU administrative law, principles, role of the national administrations implementing the EU law and the course was enriched with several related case law reviewed by the students as well.
Every session of the Academy was completed with the obligatory students’ essays. Students were given an extra day to review and submit their essays. After the completion of the Academy’s lectures sessions, the students participated in a lecture organized by the EPLO with a guest lecturer. This year’s guest lecture was Professor Eser Karakaş who delivered his lecture on the rule of law from an economist perspective in which he conceptualized the term as a good and then explained it in frame of demand and supply.
After a very intensive and successful Academy, the students prepared for participating in the traditional European Group on Public Law Annual Reunion in which more than 200 professionals participated from several legal disciplines to discuss about achievements of national, European and International law since the birth of the EPLO and the EPLO’s contribution to these legal fields. The Reunion is considered as a great opportunity for networking and our students tried to make the greatest gain of it. Besides the main sessions dedicated for the 30th anniversary on the birth of the EPLO, several parallel workshops focusing on the different field of the EU public law were organized. At the end of the sessions, Ms. Gültekin Várkonyi was awarded with the LLM in European Public Law degree as part of the EPLO’s IILLM Program organized under the Academy.
According to the reports of our PhD students, the Academy of Public Law also provided useful experience in their own research. Mr. Jarmo Gombos – for example – had the opportunity to consult with Krzysztof Wojtyczek, a Polish judge at the European Court of Human Rights and with Sime Jozipovic, professor of a Croatian university. Moreover, Professor Elaine Mak has committed to assisting him in the preparation of a comparative thesis on judicial independence, as he continues his studies at the following year Public Law Academy and he is attending the second, final phase of IILLM course.
The event was closed with a unique event organized by the EPLO at the Roman Agora in Athens, in participation of the President of Hellenic Republic Mr. Prokopis Pavlopoulos, Minister of Justice of Hellenic Republic, Mayor of Athens and Mayor of Attika Region. A remarkable moment should be noted here: The President of the EPLO introduced our student and the Hungarian delegation to Mr. President of Greece who also delivered his regards to Professor Trócsányi.
