THE TARGETS AND ACTIVITIES OF EWLA EWLA is registered in Belgium as an international non governmental non profit association (Association internationale sans but lucratif). It is a federation of national women lawyers associations from amongst the European Union countries and those of EFTA countries. Members of EWLA are also individual women lawyers and academics from these countries. EWLA pursues the co-operation of European women lawyers, in order to combine their specific expertise in monitoring law and politics seen from the angle of fundamental rights, and in particular gender equality. It aims to act on the European level as a pressure-group to promote the effective guarantee of fundamental rights, including gender equality, by means of law, as for instance by giving expert opinions to and by lobbying EU and national institutions, by proposing and even outlining drafts for EC/EU primary and secondary legislation, by bringing test cases to the European Courts, by informing and empowering women to claim their rights, by campaigning etc.
Target groups are women in all legal professions and women lawyers’ organizations whose major concern is to enhance fundamental rights and promote gender equality by means of law, as well as the European public at large.
EWLA has given numerous statements and resolutions on various topics including the European Constitution, the Charter and the Agency of Fundamental Rights of the EU, the Period of Reflection on the future of the EU, the drafting or amending of EU directives, gender violence, trafficking, reproductive rights, immigration etc. EWLA also participates in public hearings at EU and national level.
EWLA has working groups which deal with various issues, such as gender equality, legal education, education on equal rights, business law, criminal law, family law, the Future of Europe, health law and reproductive rights, gender violence, trafficking, judicial cooperation and cross-border litigation.
All activities of EWLA are performed by the board members and other members of EWLA on a voluntary basis
Daphne Project on Gender Violence - cooperation of EWLA-members in the framework of the Daphne initiative of the European Union