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"International Court of the
Environment Foundation"
FOR THE SUSTAINABILITY OF LIFE ON EARTH
What is ICEF?
ICEF (International Court of the Environment
Foundation) is an internationally recognized NGO and was officially
registered in Rome as a non profit foundation on 22 May
1992.
What is ICEF's
objective?
To promote the establishment of an
International Court of the Environment as a new, specialized and
permanent institution on a global level based on the following
principles:
Where is ICEF's
headquarters?
Rome (ITALY)
Who is ICEF's Director?
Judge Amedeo Postiglione
Judge of the Italian Supreme Court
Environmental law expert and
author.
What have been some of ICEF's recent
initiatives?
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International Conference "For Promoting More
Effective International Law on the Environment and an
International Court on the Environment within the United Nations",
held at the Accademia dei Lincei in Rome from 21 to 24 April 1989
with the scientific support of the Centre for Electronic
Documentation of the Supreme Court.
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International Conference on "A Proposal for
an International Court of the Environment within the United
Nations", organized by ICEF, the Supreme Court and an Italian
historical city, Florence, held in Florence from 10 to 12 May
1991.
-
International Conference on "The Planet
Earth: An Unregulated Global Village" held on Capital Hill, in
Rome on 5 March 1992 in the presence of Ambassadors from 50
countries.
-
Official participation as an NGO at the UNCED
Conference in Rio de Janeiro from 1 to 12 June
1992.
-
International Conference "Environment and
Culture, the common heritage of humankind", 5-10 June 1997,
Paestum - Italy.
What are ICEF's principal publications (in
English)
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Policy Statement "The Global Village Without
Regulations: Ethical, Economical, Social and Legal Motivations for
an Inter national Court of the Environment", Amedeo Postiglione,
Florence, Giunti Editore, 1994, 2nd. ed.
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International Report "The Global
Environmental Crisis: The Need for an International Court of the
Environment", Amedeo Postiglione, Florence, Giunti Editore,
1996.
Where is ICEF
represented?
National and Regional Organizing Committees
supporting the institution of an International Court of the
Environment work in close contact with ICEF in Rome. They promote
the Foundation's aims and assist in its public awareness campaign.
They organize conferences and seminars where international
environmental issues are debated and innovative global solutions
sought.
Currently, there is a growing network of
Organizing Committees present in the following countries: Austria,
Bulgaria, Hungary, Bielorussia, Ucraine, Lettonia, Slovenia,
Repubblica Ceca, Seycelles, Macedonia, Chile, Israel, Armenia,
Korea, Uzbekistan, Italy, South Africa, Maldive, Trinidad and
Tobago, San Salvador, Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Canada, Columbia,
Costa Rica, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Japan, Luxemburg, Malta,
Mexico, Portugal, San Marino, United Kingdom and the United States.
A World Court:
The Institutional Framework for the
resolution of global environmental
disputes
The idea of creating an International Court of
the Environment began as early as 1988. A Committee was set up in
Rome as a private initiative to examine the subject. At that time it
was not certain whether the court would be based simply on moral
sanctions, whether it would be set up as a permanent institution or
whether it should be a combination of the two.
The Committee organised an international
conference in Rome from 21 to 24 April 1989 attended by experts from
30 countries. The organization of the Committee received substantial
support from Judge Amedeo Postiglione, a Judge of the Italian
Supreme Court, who has since remained one of the foremost advocates
of the establishment of an international environmental court. The
conference ended with the call for the creation of a fundamental
right to a healthy environment, an international agency and an
international court at UN level. By then it had been agreed that the
court should be a permanent institution along the lines of the
European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to which both
individuals and organizations would have access and which would
ensure that the new right to a healthy environment was upheld and
that international agreements on the environment and international
law in general in this regard were observed.
The idea of setting up an international
environmental court subsequently received support from the then EC
Environment Commissioner, Ripa di Meana, from various Italian
government ministers and a from a number of members of the European
Parliament.
A second conference in Florence in May 1991
resulted in a much more thorough debate of the whole question of an
environmental court. It was then that basic outlines of the court's
rules of procedure were determined; they were more or less a
combination of the ICJ Statute and the rules of procedure of the
European Court of Human Rights.
After the Florence Conference two motions of
resolutions were tabled in the European Parliament in 1991 and 1992
calling for a Community initiative on the subject.
At the plenary session of 13 February 1992 the
European Parliament adopted a resolution stating the EC should
attend the UNCED Conference in Rio in 1992. The issue of an
environmental court was to be discussed at the Earth Summit
(paragraph 14 of the resolution called for the setting up of an
international environmental court with world-wide jurisdiction,
either at the International Court of Justice in the Hague or at the
United Nations offices in New York).
His was taken into account in the Rio
Declaration only in so far the 27 Principles agreed at the Summit
stressed the need for effective environmental legislation, including
liability law (Principles 11 and 13) and called for more public
participation. Members of the public should in the future also be
able to institute court proceedings in this area. In fact Principle
10 clearly states:
"States shall facilitate and encourage
public awareness and participation by making information widely
available. Effective access to judicial and administrative
proceedings, including redress and remedy shall be available."
It was also decided to promote the work of the
UN International Law Commission on defining environmental crimes
within the framework of the Draft Code of Crimes Against the Peace
and Security of Mankind.
Moreover, in 1992, the original Committee
became ICEF (International Court of the Environment Foundation), a
non-profit NGO, in order to be accredited at the United Nations and
to be present with a delegation at the Rio Earth Summit.
The position of the European Community on the
possibility of establishing an International Court of the
Environment was illustrated in the document n. IV/WIP/93/03/152.
With a view to assessing the results for the
environment of "after Rio", ICEF organised another conference that
took place in Venice from 2 to 5 June 1994. The conference, entitled
"Towards the World Governing of the Environment", looked at the
preconditions for establishing an international environmental court,
its chances of success and the obstacles in its way.
The conference was divided into five separate
Forums which debated the contributions of politics and economics to
the environment in the coming millennium; that of the law; the
social contribution; that of the cultural world and finally that of
religion, ethics and science. These Forums have, since the end of
the Conference, continued their work. The Proceedings of Legal Forum
of the Conference have recently been published.
The final conclusions reached at the Conference
and expressed in the "Venice Declaration" were that, given the
worsening of the global environmental crisis, national governments
should be invited to officially support the project for an
International Court of the Environment and International
Environmental Agency; that the Italian government should be invited
to set up a Permanent Committee, representing all continents whose
task it would be to study existing means and identify immediate
steps to be taken for ensuring international control and
adjudication of global environmental problems and draft a Protocol
for the establishment of an International Court of the Environment.
It is without doubt that these objectives will
continue to be pursued both by ICEF in Rome through its
participation in future UN Summits and other international and
national conferences, seminars and meetings but, above all, through
the work of its national Organizing Committees.
ICEF's interests cover the
following sectors:
JURIDICAL -
INSTITUTIONAL.
Promotion of international environmental
rights.
Adaptation of existing institutions or creation
of new bodies (administrative and juridical) concerned with the
environment at international level.
SCIENTIFIC-TECHNOLOGICAL
A specific Forum has been set up, and a Task
Force with FAO, concerning desertification in the mediterranean
bacin and the Sahel countries. It is preparing as contribution for
the forthcoming World Food Summit in FAO, Rome in November 1996, in
consultation with the italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
JURIDICAL - ENVIRONMENTAL
COMMUNICATIONS
ICEF collaborates with the European Union by
means of the ENLEX data bank in the countries of the Community. This
requires Constant updating of data, in accordance with community
regulations. ICEF collaborates with the juridical - environmental
data bank of CED Corte Suprema di Cassazione. It is also preparing a
data bank on international environmental agreements, by sector.
ENVIRONMENTAL REMOTE SENSING
ICEF collaborates with ALENIA, TELESPAZIO, and
University of NAPLES in the development of Technological
Applications of remote sensing and environmental control at
international level.
ETHICAL - PHILOSOPHICAL -
RELIGIOUS
ICEF has a Forum for ethical - philosophical -
religious aspect of the environment, in collaboration
with eminent experts of various religious
faiths and humanistic philosophical disciplines.
SOCIAL
A committee, mainly of representatives
of women's organizations, which promotes initiatives in developing
countries.
CULTURAL
ICEF collaborates with UNESCO - ITALIA on
initiatives for the protection of italian and world cultural
heritage.
ECONOMICS
ICEF has a special Forum forstrengthening
sustainable development work. This includes practical initiatives
such as projects and scholarships for deserving young people, both
in Italy and abroad.
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