Maître Guillaume Loonis Quélen
Lawyer at the Paris Bar, Doctor of Law
Me Dr. Guillaume LOONIS QUÉLEN
Attorney-at-Law, Paris
EU/EFTA List, Geneva
Paris Bar Association, France
Since 2022, Maître Dr Guillaume Loonis Quélen has been admitted to the Paris Bar. Founded in 1340, the Paris Bar Association is one of the French bar associations represented at the national level by the Conseil national des barreaux (CNB), the institution that speaks for the legal profession as a whole.
Geneva Bar Association, Switzerland
Since 2023, he has also been registered on the EU/EFTA List of the Geneva judiciary and is a member of the Geneva Bar Association (ODAGE). As such, he is affiliated with the Swiss Bar Federation (FSA), the umbrella organization of the legal profession in Switzerland.
Maître Dr. Guillaume Loonis Quélen practises as an attorney at the Paris Bar, registered on the EU/EFTA roll of lawyers in Geneva. He practises primarily in maritime law, space law, and civil and commercial law in matters involving France and Switzerland. Over time, he has also built working relationships with numerous professionals in relevant sectors, both in Europe and internationally. This allows him, when appropriate, to draw on their expertise whenever the client’s interests or the specifics of a case so require.
Professional Background
From 2003 to 2006, Maître Dr. Guillaume Loonis Quélen served as a United Nations “Associate Expert”, under the Associate Experts Programme, assigned to the International Labour Organization (ILO). Selected by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Transport, following a competitive examination organised by the International Labour Office, he contributed to the drafting of the Maritime Labour Convention (2006) and the Work in Fishing Convention (2007).
Within the International Labour Standards Department, he also contributed to the supervision of the application of maritime conventions, developing a solid command of maritime law and international labour law.
He later worked as an independent consultant, notably collaborating with the Directorate-General for Energy and Transport (DG TREN) of the European Commission. These assignments provided him with precise knowledge of research funding mechanisms and allowed him to integrate these European dimensions into his legal practice.
Academic Background
Maître Dr Guillaume Loonis Quélen’s academic focus centres on maritime law and space law, two cross-cutting fields at the intersection of international, European, and domestic legal systems.
PhD in Law
Maître Dr. Guillaume Loonis Quélen’s PhD, entitled “Piracy and Armed Guards”, examines the intersection of various branches of public and private law. Defended in 2019, this research pursues a socially relevant objective through a technical and interdisciplinary approach. It focuses on the attractiveness of French law in light of contractual practices related to arms control and the globalisation of economic interests. The thesis provides quantitative data on maritime piracy and practical insights into private maritime security operations. It details the relevant international legal and institutional frameworks, compares the respective statuses of pirates and armed guards, and likens the regulated profession of the latter to that of seafarers. Finally, it sets out the minimum conditions necessary for work on board ships. This research has been presented at various forums organised by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), NATO’s Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre (NMIOTC), the French National Assembly, the Strategic Research Institute of the French Military Academy (IRSEM), and the European Association of Lawyers (AEA), among others. Field visits to the Port of Galle in Sri Lanka, the International Maritime Bureau in Malaysia, the ILO, the IMO, and others also contributed to the study. His publications and talks are presented in the Research section.
Maritime, International, European and Space Law
Maître Dr. Guillaume Loonis Quélen obtained his Certificate of Aptitude for the Attorney-at-Law Profession (CAPA) in 2021 from the Paris Law School (EFB). His legal training was further enriched by an academic experience at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), where he studied law applicable to space debris, health and safety of space participants, intellectual property, and export controls.
He also holds a Master’s degree (Master II) in Maritime Law, during which he wrote a thesis on shipwrecks hazardous to navigation. His conclusions contributed to improved marking of the wreck of the Tricolor, which sank in 2002 in the Strait of Dover, one of the busiest maritime passages in the world.
In 2000, he was selected to attend the European Centre for Space Law (ECSL) Summer Course on space law and policy, held in Cologne. The course focused on the commercialisation of the International Space Station and the legal frameworks governing space activities.
During his Master I in European Law and Bachelor’s degree in International Law at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, he deepened his understanding of inter-State relations and global legal issues. His academic work included analysing the influence of the European Convention on Human Rights on the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
With experience in maritime law, space law, European law and international law, Loonis Quélen Law Office provides legal support tailored to the needs of each client. The Office is also actively involved in legal training, sharing its practical perspective on contemporary issues in these four fields.
Professional associations and working groups
Alongside his practice as a lawyer, Guillaume Loonis Quélen takes part, in a personal and voluntary capacity, in the work of several professional associations and international working groups.
Maritime
- French Maritime Law Association (AFDM): Chair of the Permanent Commission on Energy since 2022.
- Comité Maritime International (CMI): on behalf of the AFDM, he contributes to the nuclear sub-group of the international working group on decarbonisation and to the international working group on Cybercrime in Shipping.
- Propeller Club of Geneva: member since 2020 and member of the committee.
- Universal Marine and Maritime Union (UMMU): Founding President since December 2006.
Nuclear and maritime interface
- International Nuclear Law Association (INLA): member since 2026 of Working Group 2, on liability, and Working Group 7, on transport.
- NEUMAR: founding member of this association devoted to civil maritime nuclear matters.
Space
- International Institute of Space Law (IISL): member since 2025, he takes part in the working group on Next Steps in Space Traffic Management.
- Space and Global Health Network (SGH Network): member of this network dedicated to the use of space technologies for global health.
Lawyers’ professional associations
- National Association of Lawyers and Trainee Lawyers holding a Doctorate in Law (ANAD): member since 2020. The association brings together lawyers and trainee lawyers who hold a doctorate in law or are doctoral candidates, and publishes the Revue juridique de l’ANAD.
- Association for the Promotion of Lawyers Practising Abroad (APPEAL-E): member since 2025. The association promotes the practice of lawyers admitted in France who practise abroad and runs their network.