Registration Information
Register for the ECBA Autumn Conference 2026
A detailed programme will be sent to all members in the coming month.
Conference details
The upcoming ECBA Autumn Conference 2026 will take place on 2 and 3 October 2026 in the vibrant city of Tirana, Albania. The main event will be hosted at the Tirana International Hotel and Congress Center.
Our gathering begins on Friday evening with a welcome reception at Vila 31 – Art Explora. Once the residence of former dictator Enver Hoxha and his family, this space — now managed by an art foundation — serves as a poignant backdrop for a gathering dedicated to justice and fundamental freedoms.
We are incredibly honoured to announce our Keynote Speaker for this autumn: Professor Margaret Satterthwaite, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers. An esteemed international human rights scholar, practitioner, and Professor of Law at New York University School of Law, Professor Satterthwaite will set the tone for the conference with her keynote address. In addition, she will directly lead one of our afternoon breakout sessions, offering practitioners an extraordinary opportunity to engage in a direct exchange on the global challenges facing the legal profession.
To conclude the conference on Saturday evening, we will gather for dinner at the spectacular Gzona Restaurant, nestled within the stone walls of the historic Tirana Castle—a setting where rich history meets modern Albanian cuisine.
Programme Overview
Friday 2 October 2026
WELCOME RECEPTION
19:00-21:30
Venue: Vila 31 – Art Explora
Saturday 3 October 2026
CONFERENCE
Venue: International Hotel and Congress Center
9:00-9:30
Welcome coffee and registrations
9:30
Welcome words
Vânia Costa Ramos, Chair of the ECBA, Portugal
10:00
Human Rights Award 2026
Alexis Anagnostakis, HR Officer and Nasrin Sotoudeh, defence lawyer, Iran
10:15
Keynote speech
Professor Margaret Satterthwaite, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers by the Human Rights Council in October 2022.
Read Prof. Margaret Satterthwaite’s biography
10:30
Panel 1 – Anti-Money Laundering in Emerging Markets
Chair: Adrian Sandru, ECBA Advisory Board, Romania
As emerging markets continue to grow, so do the challenges of tackling money laundering while safeguarding fundamental rights. Bringing together criminal defence lawyers and other practitioners from across different jurisdictions, this panel will explore how AML enforcement is evolving, the practical challenges arising in cross-border cases, and the role of lawyers in an increasingly complex regulatory landscape.
11:45
Coffee Break
12:15
Panel 2 – Justice Reforms and the path to EU Accession: Past, Present & Future
Chair: Vlad Hrle, ECBA Advisory Board, Serbia
The enlargement of the European Union has never been a purely political or economic exercise. At its heart, accession to the EU can demand a fundamental transformation of a candidate country’s legal architecture: its courts, its prosecutors, its prisons, its judges, and the procedural safeguards it affords to those who come before its institutions. Justice reform has evolved from being a peripheral consideration in early enlargement rounds to becoming the very cornerstone of the modern accession process. We invite speakers from various countries to reflect on their own country’s accession journey and the lessons for us all today.
13:30
Group Photo & Lunch Break
14:30
Breakout sessions
1 – Effective Criminal Defence: Best Practices, Future Challenges, and Protecting Its Place in the Rule of Law
Vania Costa Ramos, ECBA Chair, with Prof. Margaret Satterthwaite
A candid, practitioner-led exchange on the road ahead for the defence bar — from digital surveillance and AI, to resourcing pressures and the erosion of procedural safeguards. Bring your own experiences to the table and help shape the Special Rapporteur’s ongoing work with a genuine voice from criminal defence practitioners.
2 – Business Crime – TBC
3 – Extradition – assurances: guaranteeing dignity or empty promises?
Moderator: Stefan Hyman, ECBA Advisory Board
Interventions: Constança Soares, defence lawyer, Portugal and Sören Schomburg, ECBA Advisory Board, Germany
Over the last ten years, there have been a proliferation of assurances to facilitate surrender within the EU and extradition outside. We focus on “reading” these assurances: the good, the bad and the ugly, and work towards the ECBA’s launch of its assurances database in late 2026.
16:00
Conference closing
19:30
Dinner (optional)
Venue: Gzona restaurant (Tirana Castle)
Sunday 4 October 2026
WALKING TOUR
9:45
Tirana historical walking tour
Meeting at International Hotel and Congress Center
About two hours to feel a city still shrugging off its ghosts — grand Ottoman squares giving way to socialist concrete, then softening into the espresso hum of Blloku, a neighborhood once forbidden to the very people who now fill its terraces. Tirana doesn’t explain itself; it layers, contradicts, and moves on. This walk simply follows the seams. (10:00-12:30 approximately).
We look forward to welcoming you to Tirana for what promises to be an unforgettable and highly engaging conference!