About us
Mission Statement and overview of the EAHL
The Mission Statement of the EAHL is as follows:
The European Association of Health Law aims to strengthen the health and human rights interface throughout Europe, and to serve as an indispensable source of advice and guidance for the future of health law and policies in Europe.
The guiding principle of the EAHL is the achievement of academic excellence and the improvement of health law practice.
Its overarching purpose is to bring together health lawyers from around the Council of Europe to discuss and collaborate on issues of importance in the development of health law and policies.
Major objectives
The principal objectives of the Association are:
- To actively promote health law research, teaching and practice throughout Europe;
- To encourage and facilitate co-operation in these areas among health lawyers throughout Europe;
- To encourage and support the development of health law in European and international relations;
- To pro-actively engage in discussion on topical issues of health law and to assess and respond to new and emerging challenges for health law;
- To promote a greater awareness and understanding of health law nationally and in the European context.
Instruments
The Association will achieve its objectives by:
- Providing opportunities and fora for discussions, academic and practical exchanges, expert communications and public engagement on contemporary issues in health law;
- Encouraging EAHL-sponsored research networks in specific fields of health law;
- Organising and supporting conferences, workshops, symposia and training courses;
- Facilitating events and networks to encourage young scholars in their work;
- Issuing opinions and giving advice on matters of common European interest;
- Promoting quality publications for a wide range of audiences with an interest in health law and health law-related issues;
- Advancing teaching and training in these areas;
- Providing a Health Law Coordination Function (i.e., with respect to publications, research, teaching programmes and courses, contacts and databases; perhaps best achieved via a web-based database).
History and Foundation of the Association
Initial steps towards establishing a European Association of Health law were made during the 16th World Congress for Medical Law, held in Toulouse, 7-11 August 2006 and detailed in the European Journal of Heath Law.i An Advisory Board was created at that time to take forward the plans for a European Association.ii
Initial pump-priming funding was provided for a Founding Conference through SCRIPT, the law and technology research centre at the University of Edinburgh which is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
The Founding Conference of the Association took place on 10th and 11th April 2008 in the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It was attended by over 100 delegates from 23 countries.
A second conference was held at the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh, Scotland. It was attended by over 120 delegates from 25 countries and built upon the success of the preceding conference. Further details can be found here.
Management of the Association
Association management is a responsibility of the Board of Directors. The Board shall consist of no less than 6 and no more than 15 natural persons and shall have no more than one member from anyone European country. The General Assembly shall elect and appoint all members of the Board on recommendation by the Board. Board members are elected for a period of four years. Current members of the Board are: Graeme Laurie (GB), Henriette Roscam-Abbing (NL), Anne-Marie Duguet (FR), Nils Hoppe (DE), Herman Nys (BE), Lukas Prudil (CZ), Janne Rothmar-Herrmann (DK), Solvita Olsena (LV), Vugar Mammadov (AZ).
The Board shall appoint a President, one or more vice-Presidents, a Secretary and a Treasurer from its midst. They form the Executive Committee of the Association. Current members of Executive Committee are: President - Graeme Laurie; Vice-President - Henriette Roscam-Abbing; Treasurer - Herman Nys; Secretary - Anne-Marie Duguet.
The Board may appoint an Executive Director. The Executive Director is not a member of the Board. In keeping with the directions of the Board and under responsibility of the Board, the Executive Director shall manage the day-to-day affairs of the Association; prepare the meetings of the Board and General Assembly; implement Board resolutions. Since December 2012 Executive Director is Anita Kehre.
The organisational structure of the Association and its Constitution was approved at the conference 2008 and can be found here.
Please click here to view a PDF copy of the EAHL Organisational Structure.
Please click here to view a PDF copy of the EAHL Constitution.
Identifying unmet needs in the European health law context
It was universally agreed, for example, that there would be considerable value in a central database to identify members, their interests and affiliations, to highlight health law centres across Europe, to raise awareness of publications and on-going projects, and to share teaching resources and other materials. This database will be used towards multiple ends, including facilitating connections between members, establishing and maintaining networks, capacity building, creating knowledge repositories, for example, of laws, law reform measures and research projects, and as a means to learn from and consolidate experiences across Europe.
To view our database information please click here
Network support
The EAHL is committed to encouraging EAHL-sponsored networks. To this end, members involved in an EAHL-sponsored network will receive specific support from the EAHL for their network. This will include:
- Identification and contact of potential collaborating partners
- Assistance in the formalisation of the network
- Assistance in the construction of an appropriate model for the network
- Establishment of EAHL-supported interest groups to bring interested parties together for further discussion and collaboration on subjects of mutual interest
- Advice and support in making funding applications and seeking sponsorship.
Working Groups
Three Working Groups were established at the Founding Conference, to drive the work and the contributions of the Association forward and to maximise its impact across a range of possible fields. Each group will report on its activities at the bi-annual conference. The three Working Groups are:
Working Group 1: Research and Networks
Working Group 2: Teaching and Training
Working Group 3: Institutions
Further information on working groups can be found here
European Journal of Health Law
As a measure of support for the Association and its members, new members of the Association will benefit from a 56% reduction in subscriptions to the European Journal of Health Law.
Return to European Association of Health Law Website
i H Roscam Abbing, ‘Founding a European Association for Health Law: the Rationale’ (2006) 13 European Journal of Health Law 203-207.
ii Members of the Advisory Board are: Guilherme de Oliveria (PT), Ondrej Dostal (CZ), Sjef Gevers (NL), Elisabeth Rynning (SE), Maria Sokalska (PL), Asim Sheikh (IE), Andre Den Exter (NL), Andre Pereira (PT), Alexander Schuster (IT). Expectation Guidelines for Advisory Board