June 2011 – Strasbourg
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has elected a new judge to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of France. André Potocki, elected with an absolute majority of votes cast, will begin a term of office of nine years on 4 November 2011. He will succeed Judge Jean-Paul Costa, who is currently serving as president of the Court. Judge Potoki holds a law degree from the University of Paris II and is a graduate of the Institute of Legal Studies, Bordeaux. He has been on the bench since 1976, most recently as Judge at the Commercial Section of the French Court of Cassation. From 2006-2007 he was a member of the Jurisdiction Court, which is responsible for ruling on conflicts of jurisdictions between administrative and judicial courts.
Judge Potocki has been associate professor at the University of Paris X and visiting scholar at the Law School of the Columbia University (New York). He has served in many administrative capacities concerning law and justice and judicial reform, including for four years as vice-chair of the Council of Europe’s Commission for Efficiency of Justice. A native speaker of French, Judge Potocki reports his use of spoken and written English as “good.”