French jurist Jean-Paul Costa, who notably served as President of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) from 2007 to 2011, died on Thursday April 27 at the age of 81, it was reported. learned on Friday.
Born in Tunis in 1941, considered one of the best specialists in French and international law, he joined the Council of State upon leaving the National School of Administration (ENA) in 1966, before becoming director in the cabinet of the Minister of National Education Alain Savary, from 1981 to 1984, then professor of law in Orléans and at the Sorbonne, where he taught civil liberties.
Judge at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) from 1998, he then presided over this Strasbourg institution between 2007 and 2011. The Court "is a bulwark against reason of State", he assured during an interview with Agence France-Presse in 2011, praising the work carried out by the 700 members of this unique tribunal. "Those who had the chance and the honor to know him and to work with him will keep the memory of an exceptional man, of great humanity, of a brilliant judge", welcomed the ECHR.
Jean-Paul Costa had also chaired the René Cassin Foundation (formerly International Institute for Human Rights), between 2012 and 2021. He had been honorary president since 2021. "A great humanist, President Jean-Paul Costa has had a strong impact on our fine institution with his benevolence and his investment in the cause of human rights," the foundation wrote in a press release.
The Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti, paid tribute to him, hailing a "tireless defender of fundamental rights". "His presidency will have marked the European Court of Human Rights," he added.
