Robert Badinter

French lawyer and politician, appointed by then-President Mitterand as Minister of Justice in 1981. He advocated strongly for the abolition of the death penalty. In March 1986 he was appointed to the highest court of France. Five years later in 1991, he joined the Arbitration Commission on matters related to Yugoslavia. He was elected President of the Commission.

He earned his bachelor's and law degree in 1947-1948 and earned his master of arts at Columbia University in 1949. He subsequently earned his doctorate of law at the Paris School of Law. From 1951 until 1981 he practised law at his own firm. In 1966 was appointed Professor of Law. One of his more famous cases was when he defended Patrick Henry who had been charged with the abduction and murder of a seven-year-old boy. Badinter convinced judge and jury to give Henry life imprisonment instead of the death sentence. He has taught at several universities including the Sorbonne. He retired from academia in 1994.

He died in Paris in the night of 8-9 February 2024 at the age of 95. One week before his death, he fell and broke one of his cerebral vertebrae.