OUR MANDATE
The European Legal Support Center (ELSC) is the first and only independent organisation defending and empowering the Palestine solidarity movement across Europe through legal means. We provide free legal advice and assistance to associations, human rights NGOs, groups and individuals advocating for Palestine in mainland Europe and Britain.
legal advice
The ELSC intervenes to end arbitrary restrictions and criminalisation of advocacy. It also develops legal tools and engages in strategic litigation, investigative research, monitoring and advocacy efforts, to ensure access to legal assistance, expose repression, and dismantle the systems of complicity that sustain Israel’s settler colonial project.
The ELSC was established in January 2019 as a joint initiative of European jurists, the Palestinian civil society network PNGO and the Dutch NGO The Rights Forum. In 2024, the ELSC became a registered charity (stichting) in the Netherlands, licensed to operate for the public benefit, including through litigation in Dutch courts. In 2024, we also opened new offices in Berlin and London.
How we work
▾ LEGAL DEPARTMENT:
We have five work teams across Europe who provide legal support and advice to those face repression for standing in solidarity with Palestine. We coordinate with a growing network of lawyers across Europe to ensure everyone in the movement has access to the best possible legal advice, representation or referral. Through legal strategies, litigation, investigative research, and advocacy efforts, we also aim to dismantle the structures that shield corporations, financial entities, and political institutions from accountability for their role in enabling genocide, settlement expansion, and ethnic cleansing in occupied Palestine.
▾ ADVOCACY AND COMMUNICATIONS:
Our Advocacy and Communication Department ensures that the movement is not left alone resisting repression and fighting impunity, and that the systematic silencing and criminalisation of solidarity voices is not left under the rug. We run public campaigns, engage in coalition work, and amplify our legal cases, research and monitoring efforts, and Know Your Rights resources on social media, in the mainstream media and at community events.
▾ OPERATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT:
Our Operations and Development Department ensures that the ELSC meets our strategic goals. Our Development Team works to ensure that we have financial sustainability and can continue to scale in order to meet the needs of the movement. Our Operations Team is focused on organisational structures and processes from financial management, cyber security and human resources.
Guided by ELSC’s mission and values, we are committed to working with honesty, respect, and a strong sense of responsibility and accountability, including respect for human rights, non-discrimination, anti-racism and social justice. Our Code of Conduct and Complaints Procedure, revised in 2025 and endorsed by all ELSC staff, serve as an organisational roadmap for ethical behaviour and accountability, helping us build trust and create positive impact through safe and inclusive practices with everyone we work, support and collaborate with.
Our Board & Team
OUR GOVERNANCE & BOARD
The European Legal Support Center (ELSC) is a registered charity (stichting) in the Netherlands, our head-office is in Amsterdam and we also have offices in Berlin and London. The ELSC is an independent organisation of movement lawyers defending and empowering the Palestine Solidarity Movement in Europe through legal means. Established in 2019 by the Palestinian civil society network PNGO, the ELSC has provided legal assistance in over 600 cases in seven different jurisdictions.
The ELSC Board
Mary Nazzal-Batayneh
Dr. Mazen Masri