John Scanlon AO Elected As Executive President of the International Council of Environmental Law

Madrid, October 4: John E. Scanlon AO has been unanimously elected as the new Executive President of the International Council of Environmental Law (ICEL) by its Governing Board. Amongst other roles, he is currently also Chair of the Global Initiative to End Wildlife Crime, CEO of the Elephant Protection Initiative Foundation, and former Secretary General of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

In warmly welcoming Mr. Scanlon as incoming Executive President, ICEL Chancellor and Chief Justice of the National High Court of Brazil, Antonio H. Benjamin said “John brings a unique blend of experience to ICEL, from the courtroom, to river basin management, to global negotiations. He’s been an attorney in legal practice, a political advisor, a chief executive in government, and served in senior roles in the UN”. Chief Justice Benjamin added that “John has been highly influential in the world of environmental law and policy, including through his tireless efforts as Secretary-General of CITES, Director of the IUCN Law Centre, and Principal Policy Advisor with UNEP, as well as through his current leadership of the Global Initiative to End Wildlife Crime.”

“John brings boundless energy and creativity to this role and we could not have hoped for a better qualified leader of ICEL at this critical time for our planet and its people” said Justice Benjamin.

In extending her congratulations to Mr. Scanlon, Professor Christina Voigt, Chair of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law said

“IUCN WCEL warmly welcomes John as newly elected Executive President of ICEL. His wealth of experience will ensure ICEL’s important role in this critical time for environmental law.”

“I’m honoured to be elected as Executive President of ICEL. I’ll be walking in the footsteps of giants in international environmental law, its visionary founder Dr Wolfgang Burhenne, and his worthy successor Professor Nicholas Robinson. I look forward to further advancing the environmental rule of law with our Governing Board, our members, and our partners, at this critically important time” said John E Scanlon AO.

Mr. Scanlon takes up the position from Prof. Nicholas Robinson, who served as the Executive President of ICEL for the past six years. Prof. Robinson was honored for his contributions to ICEL, and the progress of environmental law, in an award ceremony on October 2^nd at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M).

On October 2^nd and October 4^th, Mr. Scanlon appeared at the ICEL/UC3M Symposiums on “Significant developments in International and Comparative Environmental Law” and “Sustainability and international advocacy” in Madrid. He presented on ‘Wildlife crime and other crimes that affect the environment’, which is a particular passion of his. Both events were recorded and can be accessed here and here.

The Symposiums were jointly organized by ICEL and UC3M in the framework of the PaxNatura Research Projects, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, and in partnership with the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law (IUCN-WCEL), the Global Judicial Institute on the Environment (GJIE), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Founded by one of the early pioneers of international environmental law, Dr Wolfgang Burhenne in 1969, ICEL is the world´s first and oldest organization dedicated to the field of international environmental law. It is a world-wide association of senior environmental law experts, who play a role in the progressive development of international and comparative environmental law and promote the environmental rule of law at international, regional and national levels.

The ICEL International Secretariat is based at the University Carlos III in Madrid, Spain.

For any inquiries, please contact Prof. Montserrat Abad Castelos, Vice-Chancellor of ICEL and Co-Director of ICEL Secretariat, mabad@der-pu.uc3m.es; or Ana Motamayor, Policy Advisor at the Global Initiative to End Wildlife Crime, ana@endwildlifecrime.org.