Paolo Solano awarded the 2026 John E. Read Medal
Updated: 5 hours ago
The Canadian Council on International Law (CCIL) was honoured to present the 2026 Read Medal Award to Mr. Paolo Solano at its 55th Annual Conference which was held on October 29-30, 2026 in Ottawa.
The John E. Read Medal is awarded by the CCIL to commemorate the life and work of John Erskine Read, O.C., Q.C., a distinguished Canadian lawyer and the only Canadian judge elected to the International Court of Justice. The Read Medal is awarded to Canadians (including permanent residents of Canada), who have made a distinguished contribution in fostering the development, better understanding, or application of international law.
Paolo Solano Tovar is a senior international lawyer with more than 25 years of experience at the interface of international trade and environmental law, including nearly two decades at the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) in Montréal. The CEC is a treaty-based intergovernmental institution established by Canada, Mexico, and the United States under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) and continued under Chapter 24 of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) and the Environmental Cooperation Agreement. Since 2006, he has served in the CEC's Office of Legal Affairs, first as Legal Officer in the Submissions on Enforcement Matters (SEM) Unit and, since 2020, as Director of Legal Affairs of SEM. SEM is a treaty-based accountability mechanism established under Articles 14-15 of the NAAEC and continued under Articles 24.27–24.28 of CUSMA. The public and NGOs can make submissions to SEM asserting that a Party has failed to effectively enforce its environmental law. Each submission moves through a structured process: Secretariat review, government response, and, where warranted, a factual record. This process directly links public participation to enforcement and accountability.
Mr. Solano has made a distinguished contribution to international law and organizations in three main ways: through his sustained stewardship of SEM, through the interpretation and application of international law, and as a result of his diffusion and awareness-raising of international environmental law.
CCIL President Charles-Emmanuel Côté, Committee Chair Valerie Oosterveld, Recipient Paolo Solano CCIL President Charles-Emmanuel Côté, Committee Chair Valerie Oosterveld, Recipient Paolo Solano
CCIL 2026 Awards Presentation, October 29, 2026
Left to right: CCIL President Charles-Emmanuel Côté, Committee Chair Valerie Oosterveld, Recipient Paolo Solano