Remarks of Daniel Magraw of CIEL’s Intenational Environmental Law Award to Edith Brown Weiss, 14 April 2008
I am honored to present Edith Brown Weiss with the Center for International Environmental Law’s International Environmental Law Award.
Edith has more accomplishments and accolades than time permits me to recount. I will only mention a few highlights that demonstrate the breadth and depth of her impact and leadership. She has made outstanding contributions to the field of international law in each of the following areas:
- Scholarship – Edith is the leading scholar in two areas central to international environmental law: intergenerational equity and compliance with multilateral environmental agreements.
- Teaching – Edith is a well-known teacher of international environmental law, as well as other international law topics, at Georgetown University Law Center and through myriad lectures at other institutions and events.
- Government service – Edith established and directed the Office of International Environmental Law at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where she and her staff worked tirelessly on the development and implementation of international environmental law, and she also served on the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.
- Intergovernmental organizations – Edith chaired the World Bank inspection Panel for four years and has advised other intergovernmental organizations on environmental issues, including the United Nations Environment Programme and the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation.
- Civil society – Edith has served as a Trustee of the Center for International Environmental Law and has been President of the American Society of International Law.
- Mentorship – Edith has mentored countless students and others interested in international environmental law.
Edith has thus had important impacts on the development of international environmental law in virtually every way imaginable.
Throughout her career, Edith Brown Weiss has acted with the highest professionalism, a firm belief in the just rule of law, a strong commitment to transparency and public participation, and an unshakable dedication to the planet and humanity. It is truly a pleasure to award her the Center for International Environmental Law’s International Environmental Law Award.
The award reads as follows:
The Center for International Environmental Law presents the award for distinguished and outstanding contributions to the development of International Environmental Law to Edith Brown Weiss in recognition of her extraordinary accomplishments as a scholar, teacher, practitioner, and visionary in the area of international environmental law.