From climate change to the deep sea: reflecting on a milestone year in international environmental law, and implications for private practice

Els Reynaers is a Partner at M.V. Kini & Co. where she heads the firm’s Environment practice; and is specialized in environmental law and nuclear law. She has law degrees from the Free University of Brussels, Belgium (magna cum laude), and the University of Delhi, India. She completed an LL.M. degree at the University of Georgia, U.S.A, which included a thesis on the regulation of transboundary movement of hazardous wastes. Before moving to India, she worked as a lawyer on environment and energy-related issues at Allen & Overy, Brussels and at Giordano & Associates, Chicago, USA. Prior to obtaining her Indian law degree Els headed the Centre for Global Agreements, Legislation and Trade at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi. She worked closely with the Government of India on its WTO trade and environment negotiations. Els published a monograph on the status of the precautionary principle and regularly writes articles on topical issues in the environmental and nuclear energy field. Her latest co-authored publication is: “Compensation for Environmental Damage: Progressively Casting a Wider Net, but What's the Catch?”, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, 2021, Volume 54, No. 3 (October, 2021), and forthcoming: India’s Progressive Environmental Case Law: A Worthy Roadmap for Global Climate Change Litigation, Georgetown Journal of International Law, Volume 54, issue 3 (Winter of 2023). Els serves as the General Secretary of the Nuclear Law Association of India, which she helped co-found, was the President (2015-2016) and current Vice-President (2022-2024) of the International Nuclear Law Association. She’s a board member of the Supervisory Board of the International School of Nuclear Law, France (2022-2024). She’s regularly recognized as a leading environmental lawyer in India by the international peer-reviewed “Who’s Who Legal: Environment” edition (including in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022), was the Senior Vice Chair of the IBA’s Environment, Health and Safety Law Committee (2017-2018), its current Sustainability Initiatives Officer (2023-2024), and an active member of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law (2021-2025). She’s the President of the dynamic Rotary Club of Mumbai SOBO (2022-2023) which is focused on addressing education, health, women empowerment and environmental community service projects. She has four rescue cats and is passionate about all types of sports.

Dr Alexandra R. Harrington is a Visiting Scholar at the McGill University Faculty of Law and Chair of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law Agreement on Plastic Pollution Task Force. She is a legal delegate for the IUCN at the Global Plastics Treaty, where she also advises and represents several West African countries, as well as for the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, SAICM and the Global Framework on Chemicals, Minamata Convention on Mercury, the OEWG process for the creation of a Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution Prevention, and various UNEP consultations relating to all forms of pollution. Dr Harrington is one of 25 Appointed Experts for the UNEP/WHO Expert Group on updating the State of the Science Report on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) and an Appointed Member of International Academy of Astronautics Study Group to Investigate a Transdisciplinary Approach to Protect the Dark and Quiet Sky from Satellite Constellation Interference. She has held two Fulbright terms in Canada at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, focusing on global governance issues, including the 2018 - 2019 Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Global Governance. She is the Director of Studies for the International Law Association of Colombia and sits on the editorial boards of multiple academic publications. Dr Harrington is the author several books, including International Organizations and the Law (1st edition 2018, 2nd edition 2023), International Law and Global Governance: Treaty Regimes and Sustainable Development Goals Interpretation, Just Transitions and the Future of Law and Regulation, and The Future of Peace: Incorporation of Intergenerational Equity and Justice in Peace Treaties and Reconciliation Agreements. She routinely advises international organizations and governments on legal issues relating to climate change, governance issues, environmental law, sustainable development and international human rights law. She holds a Doctorate of Civil Law (McGill University Faculty of Law), in addition to a JD, LL.M. and BA degrees in Politics and History.

I am a highly qualified legal and compliance professional with over 20 years of international experience in corporate law, sanctions compliance, maritime contracts, and legal risk management. I currently serve as a Senior Lawyer at EMVE Trading DMCC (UAE), where I provide full legal support under English law for commercial transactions, charterparty disputes, shipbuilding contracts, and compliance matters. My portfolio includes legal supervision of a ship construction project in Malaysia and a software development initiative for dispatching mine operations in the UAE. From 2014 to 2022, I served as Head of Legal and Compliance Officer at Container Terminal Saint Petersburg (CTSP), a strategic port asset within Port One Group. I led a legal team, ensured regulatory compliance, managed shareholder and financing documentation, and oversaw contract risk in large-scale port operations. I also maintained legal oversight of relations with contractors, financial institutions, and public authorities. Earlier in my career, I worked as Deputy Head of Legal at Transport Assets Management LLC, the Moscow-based corporate center of Port One Group. I was responsible for legal support to group companies based in Cyprus, Malta, BVI, and the Netherlands, covering M&A transactions, international leasing, and shipbuilding agreements. I hold LL.M. degrees from Brigham Young University (USA) and the University of Hamburg (Germany), both magna cum laude, and a JD from the Higher School of Economics (Russia). I am CIPP/US certified, a member of the International Bar Association, and an arbitrator at the RSPP Arbitration Center. I regularly contribute to legal publications in the fields of transport law, digital logistics, and regulatory compliance.