Development of asynchronous training materials
In addition to implementing training programmes itself, ERA continues to develop standard training materials, self-standing e-learning courses, e-presentation and other resources that can be reused by national training actors.
E-tools and case studies on EU (civil and criminal) justice instruments for court staff
Training modules on behalf of the European Commission’s DG Environment
In the framework contracts with the European Commission’s DG Environment, ERA has created a series of training materials aimed at the judiciary since 2013. The comprehensive, standard-setting training materials promote interrogative and participatory learning methods and are easily reusable. The entire training packages are accessible online by any party or institution interested in organising future training in these areas of law. In 2024, ERA developed three new sets of training modules. Following the material initiated in 2023, the first package, on “EU Wildlife Trafficking, Deforestation and Illegal Logging, and Combatting Associated Crime”, the module in English was updated, and two tailor-made modules were developed for Spain and Italy in the respective languages. On “EU Nature Protection Legislation”, one general module was created in English and two tailor-made modules were developed for Romania and Spain in the respective languages. The third package, on “Access to Justice in Environmental Matters”, on general module was created in English.
E-Presentations
E-Presentations – film recordings of ERA events combined with embedded background documentation and a self-assessment quiz – prolong the life of ERA’s live programmes in online format. In 2024, 104 new e-presentations were produced, bringing the total catalogue to 1,006. For each e-presentation, a basic version is available for free on ERA’s YouTube Channel and a premium version with added functionality, including the possibility to obtain a certificate to meet continuing professional development (CPD) obligations, is available on the ERA website for a modest fee.
ERA produced a further 48 e-presentations in the framework of EU-funded projects on environmental law, anti-discrimination law and gender equality, #Digitalisation and #AI, as well as European criminal law for Defense Lawyers. In addition to English, some of these e-presentations were produced in Italian, Spanish and Polish.
E-Courses
In 2024, ERA created three new basic e-learning courses on social security law, public procurement and disability law, which are now available for free on the ERA website.
With co-funding from
the EU, ERA also produced:
In addition to the distance-learning resources available on its own website, ERA also regularly develops tailor-made e-learning solutions for the EU institutions and other clients. ERA continued to complete a service contract with the European Parliament on developing bilingual e-learning modules designed for lawyer-linguists. In 2024, three course were created. The first, entitled “EU sanctions” was designed in English and French. The course was designed in English and Italian, and aimed to provide participants with an overview and introduction to the legal and regulatory framework of restrictive measures (sanctions) in the European Union and how they are applied throughout the world.
The other e-learning course entitled “ The Common Agricultural Policy” was designed in English and Italian. The course provides a comprehensive legal exploration of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and its evolution. The third course entitled “European Asylum and Immigration Law” was designed in English and Romanian, and aimed to provide participants with a comprehensive legal exploration of the foundations of international and EU asylum and immigration law.
A new e-learning course on “EU criminal law for defence training” provides a guide through the fundamental characteristics of EU criminal law and aims to provide insight into what EU criminal law entails and what it does not entail.
A new e-learning course on “EU criminal law for defence training” provides a guide through the fundamental characteristics of EU criminal law and aims to provide insight into what EU criminal law entails and what it does not entail.
On environmental law – Six new courses in five different language versions, which are publicly available on the websites of both ERA and DG Environment.
Thanks to its investment in e-learning in previous years, ERA is well-placed to respond to the rising demand for online training solutions in the post-pandemic landscape.