Jean-Claude Colliard

Président de l'Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne

Professor Jean-Claude Colliard is an internationally-recognized specialist in the rule of law, a former professor at Paris I, whose distinguished career in public service and academia spans four decades - most notably as head of the office of former French President François Mitterrand throughout his first term - when the political balance of French politics between left and right was utterly changed. He was an official delegate of France for the Venice Commission, the body of the Council of Europe which deals with constitutional law.

He served for almost a decade as a member of the Constitutional Council of France. He was chief of staff to French National Assembly President Laurent Fabius. In academia, he distinguished himself at the Politiques de Paris, as professor in the Institute of Public Administration of Nantes, dean of the Faculty of Law and Political Science at Nantes and professor and head of the Political Science department at Paris I. He holds a doctorate of law and degrees from the Faculty of Law of Paris and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris. His publications include numerous articles and books including The Independent Republicans and The Contemporary Parliamentary Systems.