The International Legal Consortium (ILC) is a team of lawyers who provide technical assistance on tobacco control legislation and litigation to governments and civil society organizations around the world to promote strong, evidence-based tobacco control policies founded on the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).
Technical Assistance
Legislation: drafting and analysis
The ILC works with government officials and civil society organizations to develop and draft tobacco control legislation using the WHO FCTC and its implementing guidelines as the basis. The ILC assists by:
- Drafting tobacco control laws;
- Reviewing tobacco control laws, regulations or decrees;
- Providing evidence to support tobacco control policy development;
- Ensuring that tobacco control laws can withstand legal challenges; and
- Informing government and civil society on tobacco industry tactics to delay and weaken policy change.
The ILC always seeks to work within the legal context and legislative framework of the countries in which advice and assistance are given.
Litigation: defend against industry challenges and initiate actions to further tobacco control policy
The tobacco companies have a global litigation strategy and use similar legal arguments across different jurisdictions. With our in-depth knowledge of and experience with tobacco control litigation, the ILC can provide information about the legal significance of international consensus on tobacco control established by the WHO FCTC and judgments on tobacco control measures from around the world. We provide assistance to:
- Governments with their defense against legal challenges to tobacco control policies and laws;
- Governments interested in cost recovery suits against the tobacco companies;
- Civil society organizations to intervene in legal challenges to tobacco control laws; and
- Civil society organizations that are bringing cases to advance or enforce tobacco control laws.
The ILC also supports low- and-middle-income countries that have been sued by tobacco companies through the administration of the Anti-Tobacco Trade Litigation Fund.
Resources
The ILC is continually developing legal resources to assist governments and civil society with drafting, adopting and defending strong and effective tobacco control laws. Our resources include:
- Tobacco Control Laws: A database designed for advocates, researchers, legal professionals, and others to access information about and analysis of tobacco control legislation and litigation from around the world.
- Major Litigation Victories: A list of major court cases from around the world where public health has prevailed.
- Pending Litigation: Learn where the tobacco industry is currently engaged in legal challenges around the world.
- Legislation Template: Provides for the comprehensive regulation of tobacco and nicotine products and devices.
- Essential Elements Series: Summaries of four sets of WHO FCTC implementation guidelines that highlight key legislative elements to assist in drafting effective laws.
- Plain Packaging Toolkit: A practical guide to plain packaging policy development, evidence gathering, and legislative drafting.
- Right to Health Policy Hub: A repository of human rights documents from international human rights treaty bodies and UN mechanisms that support the advancement of public health policies related to tobacco control and food and nutrition.
- Emerging Tobacco and Nicotine Products: Explore legal/policy guidance and other resources for the following product categories -
Capacity Strengthening
The ILC delivers legal seminars for government officials and civil society representatives on best practice law and policy development in nearly all areas of tobacco control, the evidence base for different policies, drafting legislation, implementation and enforcement. Since its inception in 2007, the ILC has held nearly 50 multi-day legal seminars or trainings with lawyers or advocates from around the world in and many different languages. Also included in our capacity strengthening activities are:
- Legal Fellowship Programs: The ILC has convened three hybrid fellowship programs between 2021 and 2024 for practicing lawyers from around the world.
- Lawyers’ Forum: The ILC has established secure web-based forums for lawyers involved in tobacco control from government, civil society and private practice, to allow the exchange of information, discussions, and queries. The forums operate in English, Spanish, and French.
Advocacy in International Law
The ILC works to advance the implementation of the WHO FCTC through NGO Observer participation in the governing body of the treaty, the Conference of the Parties, and other international bodies. In addition, the ILC is an active participant in the Global Alliance for Tobacco Control (GATC), a global network of civil society organizations working to accelerate progress on implementation of the WHO FCTC.