The event runs until Saturday at the city’s International Congress Centre.
Described by organizers as the “Olympic Games for lawyers,” FIDE brings together top European legal minds to debate the European Union's response to crises, the development of the digital single market, and energy security in the context of climate transformation.
The opening session featured a high-profile debate on the role of courts in democratic societies—an issue that Polish co-organizers say resonates far beyond the country’s borders.
Among the guests are the president of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), a delegation of some 30 EU judges, European Commissioner for Justice Michael McGrath; Poland's Justice Minister Adam Bodnar and European Affairs Minister Adam Szłapka; the president of Germany’s Constitutional Court, Stephan Harbarth; the former president of Italy’s Constitutional Court, Silvana Sciarra; and noted legal scholar Prof. Joseph Weiler.
The congress will conclude with a public conversation between Prof. Maciej Szpunar and historian and writer Anne Applebaum.
Szpunar, who serves as both the president of the Polish Association for European Law and the First Advocate General at the CJEU, emphasized the academic importance of the event.
"This is a unique moment for Poland’s legal community, and especially for younger scholars," he said at a press briefing.
On Wednesday, a preliminary seminar for young scholars—Young FIDE—was held at the University of Silesia’s Faculty of Law and Administration.
The seminar allowed selected PhD candidates to present their EU law research projects before top experts.
Topics ranged from crisis management to digital regulation and energy security.
The most promising contributions will be rewarded with scholarships to a European law summer school in Luxembourg.
The seminar was opened by a keynote from former British Advocate General at the CJEU, Prof. Eleanor Sharpston.
The University of Silesia, one of the event’s co-organizers alongside the Polish Association for European Law and the City of Katowice, sees the congress as a recognition of its growing role in European academic life.
“Our university has become a home for high-level international events, not just as an organizational partner but as a serious contributor to the intellectual conversation,” said Rector Prof. Ryszard Koziołek.
The city's Deputy Mayor Waldemar Bojarun highlighted the event’s significance for Katowice itself.
“This is not only a promotional opportunity,” he said. “It reflects the city’s transformation into a scientific hub. Last year we held the title of European City of Science, but what matters more is our continued investment in knowledge as the industry of the future.”
More at fide-europe.org.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP