Department of Legal Studies

One of the most important developments or events in the unit’s history:

• Consistently high academic achievements of our students and their successful professional careers, furthering the promotion and protection of human rights and the rule of law.
• The Individual v. the State conference series that lasted for over a decade.
• The external review of the Department.
• Close cooperation with Open Society Institute: Open Society Justice Initiative Fellows Program; Myanmar Program.
• CEU is a registered course provider for the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators for the Introduction Module and for Module 2.

The most important development in 2014-15:

• Significant increase in the number of applications as compared to previous years.
• High level of student satisfaction (see the results of the Exit Survey).
• The Undergraduate Conference at the end of August - as a means of encouraging new, promising applicants - that hopefully will create a tradition.
• Teaching students from the China-EU exchange program, which added to the diversity of our class rooms.
• International Symposium co-organized with the China-EU School of Law (25th of September) on the Reform of Secured Transactions Laws.

Other important developments in 2014-15:

• Continued cooperation with the China-EU School of Law.
• Even closer cooperation with Hungarian HR NGOs and the Hungarian academic community (cooperation with the Institute of Legal Science of the Hungarian Academy; Prof. Tibor Varady and Prof. Karoly Bard external members of the Doctoral Committee of the Law Faculty of ELTE).
• Close cooperation with Vera and Donald Blinken Open Society Archives - participating in designing the new Specialization in Documentary and Forensic Evidentiary Practices in the Archives.

Engagement with external entities in 2014-15:

• Successful completion of the first undergraduate conference: “Fresh From Law School: The Voices of a New Generation” (2015).
• Continued cooperation with the China-EU School of Law.
• Participating in the development of the new archival specialization with OSA, new partnership agreements.
• Myanmar Program with OSI.

Faculty distinctions in 2014-15:

• Prof. Charlotte Steinorth’s invitation to act as expert commentator at the 2015 Research Forum organized by the European Society of International Law.
• The inaugural CEU 2015 Distinguished Teaching Award was presented to Prof. Tibor Tajti.
• Judge Andras Sajo’s election as Vice-President of the European Court of Human Rights.
• Prof. Karoly Bard’s invitation to speak at the conference organized in honor of Professor Mirjan Damaska one of the most influential scholars in comparative law (May 2015 Dubrovnik).

Major events in 2014-15:

• External review of the Department.
• EU awarded a support to CEU Legal Studies International Business Law as one of the members of the Cross-Border Insolvency and Security Rights Project (lead by Leeds).
• The Undergraduate Conference at the end of August, as a means of encouraging new, promising applicants.
• “Freedom from fear in a diverse society” conference organized in cooperation with Human RightS Initiative as a satellite event of the Council of Europe's World Forum for Democracy held in Strasbourg.