Czech Environmental Law Society is an association predominatly of lawyers but also of other professionals who share an interest in understanding and development of environmental law.
The Society was established by the Preparatory Committee in summer 2000 as a citizen association. Its establishment was initiated by a group of lawyers of various professional orientation. A Constituent Assembly of the Society that approved the Statute and elected bodies and functionaries took place on 6 March 2001 in the presidium of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague.
The main goal of the Czech Environmental Law Society is to promote knowledge, development and dissemination of the environmental law.
The Society will actively contribute not only to creation of new legislation but also to realization of education and information activities aiming at increasing public awareness in the field of the environmental law.
The Society intends to be a forum for considerations and discussions, to be a mediator of research, study, education and teaching.
The Society will also be active in a field of international and Community environmental law, particularly by establishing and maintaining a variety of bilateral and multilateral contacts in the abroad. A co-operation with the European Association of Environmental Law and with the International Center of Comparative Environmental Law was launched. Entering into close cooperation with other associations and institutions of a similar orientation from all over the world is under preparation.
The Society is also a collective member of the Czech Construction Law Society.
The Society is going to support gifted students and young lawyers interested in the environmental law and connected issues, except other by advertising a contest for the best written student work in this field in 2002.
Members of the Czech Environmental Law Society are both active and contibuting members. The Society associates not only physical but also legal persons. By 1 July 2001 the Society had 54 physical persons and 1 legal person as its members.
The supreme body of the Society is the General Assembly of Members that is held minimum once a year.
In the mean time the Society is managed by the Board consisting of nine members. The Board is elected by the General Assembly for the period of three years.
A supervision of the Society is carried out by Auditing Commision consisting of three members.
To reach its goals, i. e. to improve knowledge of the environmental law and its enforcement, the Czech Environmental Law Society is going to focus its activities particularly on:
- organizing of colloquy, lectures and conferences, both on national and international levels, as well as organizing of seminars of various issues of environmental law; one of the main events of the Society will be Czech Environmental Law Days (the first ones will take place on 15-16 November 2001in the bulding of the Presidium of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague);
- establishing of working groups (with a participation of external experts) dealing with current legislation and future amendments;
- promoting and implementing scientific, research, educational and teaching projects (for example for public administration authorities);
- participating in organization of activities within the framework of lawyers and interested public education;
- establishing Information and Documentation Center of Environmental Law;
- publishing a journal Czech Environmental Law (twice to four times per year), Czech Environmental Law Yearbook in English and other publicatios, for example proceedings from Society´s conferences or so called "green series" of annotated acts.
The journal Czech Environmental Law will be the first specialized journal concerned with environmental law in the Czech Republic. Through the journal the Society will provide updated and detailed information on a current development of research, legislation and jurisdiction in the environmental law, as well as on new publication, Society´s activities that are under preparation and on other news in this field. The journal will be opened to all authors who are interested in the environmental law, both Czech and foreign.