By 1991, ELSA had almost 30 members and observers. The council meetings already had between 100 and 200 participants from some 15 countries, and the number of STEP trainees per year had increased to around 100. The number of seminars was rising steadily and the year 1990 gave a real boost with 27 seminars in 14 countries within one year. Contacts had been established with ILSA and other international student organisations and two annual international meetings did not suffice anymore. Since 1990, two extra presidents meetings per year are held.

On October 12th, 1992, ELSAs philosophy statement was adopted in Brussels. The vision “A just world in which there is respect for human dignity and cultural diversity” has played a major role in all of ELSAs’ activities ever since.

By 1995, the amount of STEP trainees had increased to some 400 and the number of seminars to about 35 each year. The council meetings had continued to grow in size, now there were around 250 representatives from over 30 countries. New activities were also included: Moot courts, especially the Philip C. Jessup, started to play an important role. ELSA intensified its co-operation with the United Nations and the European Union, the Human Rights Programme and the International Focus Programme were started. In 1994, the first edition of the Guide to Legal Studies in Europe was published, after a pilot version in 1992/93. Further to that, contacts with law students associations on other continents were established, e.g. through a visit to Japan and the organisation of a law school in Arusha, Tanzania.