The ECLAN PhD seminar provides a friendly environment in which research students can gain experience in presenting their research, learn from each other’s research and develop contacts with other researchers in their field. It aims to gather together PhD candidates working in the field of EU criminal law and holding a degree in law, political science, or international studies. Candidates present a topic of their choice (e.g., their envisaged PhD topic, a chapter of their PhD, a recent paper, etc.) before a panel of outstanding professors of EU criminal law and members of ECLAN. They then receive comments, feedback and suggestions on their research. Finally, the floor is open for debate.
Since 2010, ECLAN has organised PhD seminars in different universities across the EU. So far, PhD seminars have taken place at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (2010), the University of Luxembourg (2011), the University of Bayonne (2013), the Queen Mary University (2014), the University of Copenhaguen (2015), the University of Vienna (2016), the University of Basel (2017), and lastly at the University of Luxembourg (2019).
The 10th edition of the ECLAN PhD seminar will take place in Vilnius on 6 (and 7 – if needed) October, 2022. The Seminar will be organised by the ECLAN and Vilnius University Faculty of Law.
This year’s Seminar is specifically dedicated to the EU criminal law’s influence on the national criminal justice systems, its content, tendencies, and perspective. There is no doubt that the EU criminal law is an emerging field, both influencing and being influenced by national criminal law systems. Although the competence of the EU institutions to harmonize national criminal law is limited, its scope is being expanded. Over the last decade, various legal instruments concerning both substantive and procedural criminal law have been adopted at the EU level. Thus, the 10th ECLAN PhD Seminar will represent an opportunity to reflect on the development of EU criminal law over the last decade and to discuss the challenges ahead.
The call for papers can be found here. Topics of relevance for this PhD Seminar include, inter alia, the rule of law, cross-border legal cooperation in criminal matters, mutual recognition instruments and institutional framework, issues related to EU substantive criminal law, the launch of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), recent trends in the case law of the Court of Justice, and rights of defendants and victims in criminal proceedings.
The deadline for submitting application is July 1st, 2022. Applications must be sent to the PhD Seminar Coordinator for communication Ms Ugne Markeviciute: ugne.markeviciute@tf.vu.lt
Some pictures and the programmes of the past editions are also available below.
Irene Wieczorek , PhD researcher, describes her experience of the PhD Seminar :
Participating to the ECLAN PhD seminars has meant to me much more than simply presenting my research and getting useful feedbacks. I felt I was progressively becoming part of a scientific community, of young and senior researchers sharing the same interest and passion for European Criminal Law. I created personal bonds and true friendships, which have stayed with me through out all my PhD, and have enriched me personally and intellectually. The debates did not stop at the presentations during the day, but continued throughout dinners and sightseeing moments. Every time it felt like a 2 days of non-stop intellectual interactions, which all the time resulted in true advancement for my research. I would recommend to anyone working in this field to join the ECLAN PhD seminar, as it is really a unique opportunity.
