The International Council of Environmental Law (ICEL) was founded in 1969 in New Delhi as a public interest organisation with the aims of promoting the exchange of information on the legal, administrative and policy aspects of environmental conservation and sustainable development, to support new initiatives in this field, and to encourage advice and assistance through its network.

ICEL supports legal studies in the field of trade and the environment and gratefully acknowledges the assistance by the Karl-Schmitz-Scholl Foundation (KSSF) and its sister foundations, the Elizabeth Haub Foundations for Environmental Law and Policy in the US and Canada.