The Strasbourg Court has issued a Press Release today explaining that, with effect from 1 Nov 2015, the Court’s new President will be Judge Guido Raimondi (Italy, pictured). He was elected by a secret ballot of the Court. Further details of this, and in respect of President-elect Raimondi can be found here.
With the Court sometimes criticised as being too academic and less attentive to the needs of government/ the State (a criticism that has never been backed by solid evidence, as far as I am aware) it is interesting to observe that, according to Judge Raimondi’s c.v., he started off life as an academic but then played significant roles on behalf of government. That is, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the mid–to-late 1980s, after which he was, for a decade, Co-Agent for the Italian Government before the European Court and Commission of Human Rights, after which he gained experience as a Member of various Council of Europe Steering Committees and Committees of Experts.
He has been a member of the Court since 2010 (and, obviously, now sits in an individual and impartial capacity).
Further details on previous Presidents of the Court (including the current president, Dean Spielmann (Luxembourg)) may be found here.
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