The European Law Students' Association, or ELSA, is a non-political, non-profit, independent organization of law students and young lawyers.
ELSA was founded in Vienna in 1981 by students from Austria, (West) Germany, Hungary, and Poland. Today, it comprises of about 25,000 members at 220 universities in 39 countries, making it the world's largest organization of law students.
ELSA has consultative status with several internationally governing bodies:
- Consultative status with the Council of Europe (2000)
- Special Consultative Status with UN ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social Council) (1997)
- Consultative Status with UNCITRAL (UN Commission on International Trade Law) (1997)
- Consultative Status in Category C in UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) (1994)
- Cooperation agreement with UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees)
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