International Council of Environmental Law

The International Council of Environmental Law (ICEL) is a world-wide association of experts in international environmental law, founded in 1969. It describes itself as the world's first and oldest organization of eminent lawyers dedicated to the field of environmental law, and it is not a consultancy, a bar association, or a law firm, but a global network of volunteer experts that exists to advance the environmental rule of law. ICEL was accredited by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 1973 and maintains General Consultative Status as an observer, and it is also accredited to the UN Environment Programme, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Migratory Species, and other international organizations. It is an active member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and maintains representatives in Bonn, Geneva, Nairobi, New York, and Vienna.

ICEL was created in 1969 in New Delhi by Wolfgang Burhenne, Germany, and Nagendra Singh, President of the International Court of Justice, following the call of the IUCN General Assembly at its meeting in India in 1969. The initial Governors were Wolfgang Burhenne (Germany), Homer Angelo (USA), Cyrille de Klemme (France), Nagendra Singh (India), Baba Dioum (Senegal) and Charles van der Elst (Belgium). In 2019 ICEL celebrated its 50th anniversary, at which point it was described as facing a transformation to adapt to today's social and environmental challenges. ICEL was accredited by the UN Economic and Social Council, ECOSOC, in 1973, and maintains General Consultative Status as observer. It has most recently engaged in negotiations for the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and is involved in ongoing negotiations mandated by the UN Environment Assembly on a new international legally-binding instrument on plastic pollution, the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime on a new international legally-binding protocol on crimes that affect the environment, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) on an annex to the Pandemic Agreement.

A well-established global network of experienced, dedicated, volunteer experts that exists to advance the environmental rule of law.

1. 1ICEL – ICELicelinternational.org
2. 2History of ICEL – ICELicelinternational.org
3. 3About – ICELicelinternational.org
4. 4International Council of Environmental Lawwikidata.org