Freedom of Expression and the European Court of Human Rights

McGill's Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism invites you to a presentation by Jean-Paul Costa, President of the European Court of Human Rights.

About the speaker

Jean-Paul Costa studied at Sciences Po in Paris, graduating with an undergraduate diploma in 1961, Master of Laws in 1962 and Diploma of Superior Studies in Public Law in 1964. He then studied from 1964 to 1966 at the École nationale d'administration.

In 1966, he was appointed Auditeur in the Council of State, a body of the French national government that provides the executive branch with legal advice and acts as the administrative court of last resort. From 1968 to 1973, he lectured at Sciences Po, and from 1981 to 1984 was Director of the Office of the Minister of National Education, Alain Savary.

From 1985 to 1986, he led the French delegation negotiating construction of the Channel Tunnel, and from 1985 to 1989 taught at the International Institute of Public Administration. He was then appointed Visiting Professor at the University of Orléans (1989-1998) and the Sorbonne (1992-1998).

In 1998, Jean-Paul Costa was appointed the judge in respect of France at the newly-permanent European Court of Human Rights. In 2000, he rose to become a Section President and in 2001, he was named Vice-President of the Court. In 2007, he then succeeded Swiss Luzius Wildhaber as President of the Court and was re-elected to this post in 2009. Jean-Paul Costa is the second Frenchman to occupy this position, the first was René Cassin.