LETTERS FROM THE PRESIDENT

Letter from the President of the U.A.E. – December 2013

Dear friends and members of the U.A.E.,

There was a friendly and constructively cooperative air at the 27th General Assembly of the European Lawyers’ Union, which took place in Prague a few days ago.

It was the first time that our association had organized a big event in the Czech Republic, which was a carefully considered choice as the host country. In addition to the fact that the beauty and charms of the Bohemian capital were bound to attract lots of participants,it was a way of continuing the development of the U.A.E. in Central Europe. This is a process that was started recently in Poland and Hungary, and it will move on to Austria and Romania in the near future.

Thanks to excellent organizational work by our Vice President Pierluigi Vasile and the superb hospitality of the Italian Embassy and the Italian Cultural Institute in Prague, there was a great deal of interest and the attendance figures were high for the General Assembly of our association and the preceding conference on international contracts, which featured speakers from Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and France.

The General Assembly was the latest in a long series of prominent events organized by our international lawyers’ association. A hugely successful congress was organized by Carlos Botelho Moniz in Lisbon in late June. It focused on the economic and financial crisis in Europe, which is unfortunately still a very topical matter. A highly scientific approach to the issue was taken in the talks, which will soon be published by Bruylant. During the event, honorary membership of the U.A.E. was given to three illustrious speakers: the former President of Portugal Jorge Sampaio, Judge José Luis da Cruz Vilaça of the European Court of Justice and the former European Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs António Vitorino.

Recently, the distinguished CCBE (Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe) elected Aldo Bulgarelli–another honorary member of our association–as its president. I would like to offer him the very warmest congratulations on behalf of the entire U.A.E.

The autumn saw local activity by delegations and commissions, with the Milan delegation under President Francesco Adavastro standing out in particular due to its impressive ongoing and highly efficient efforts. The 20th international conference also took place in the autumn. It was organized in Marseille by Gerard Abitbol, the Dean of the Honorary Presidents of the U.A.E., and covered a key juridical issue for all lawyers: the evolution of the laws on proof in Europe. The event was held during the French city’s year as the European Capital of Culture and it was a big success, thus demonstrating once again the importance of Marseille for the European Lawyers’ Union and the solidity of the U.A.E.’s presence in the city, thanks to Gerard Abitbol, Jacques Bonnaud and the entire supranational Mediterranean delegation (Provence, Alps, Côte d’Azur, Corsica and Liguria).

A significant contribution was also made by our association at the international conference on legal professions organized by the Berlin Bar Association at the celebrated Humboldt University in Berlin on 1 November.

The year is coming to an end and it will soon be time for the first event of 2014, which will take place in Milan on 22 January. Giovanni Bana, the President of the U.A.E. Criminal Law in the EU and Environment Commission, is organizing a prestigious conference on “Acquisition of evidence and defence guarantees in proceedings for offences against the financial interests of the European Union” in conjunction with the Milan Bar Association and OLAF (the European Anti-Fraud Office).

The lawyers of Europe are preparing to take on the professional and scientific challenges of 2014 with the right dose of energy and enthusiasm, and they will do so while acting in the interest of their clients at all times.

My dear friends of the U.A.E., I hope that you are all successful in your endeavours and I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

December 2013

Best regards,

Bruno Telchini
President of the U.A.E.