EIN saddened by the loss of Jean-Paul Costa

In the course of a distinguished legal career, Jean-Paul Costa was appointed as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights in 1998. He served as the Court’s President between 2007 and his retirement from the Court in 2011.

After stepping down from his role at the Court, Mr Costa remained active in the human rights field. In particular, he became President of the René-Cassin Foundation, a human rights organisation based next to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. It was in this capacity that his work crossed paths with EIN. In 2017 Mr Costa was instrumental in arranging for EIN to occupy an office space in the building of the René-Cassin Foundation. EIN had just been created: it was short of funding and had no base. The establishment of the EIN office in a key location, for an affordable rent, was therefore hugely beneficial for us a young network. EIN was extremely grateful to Mr Costa for this gesture, as well as his warm support over the following years.

Jean-Paul Costa died on Thursday 27 April, aged 81. EIN is saddened by the loss of a tireless defender of human rights.

You can read more about the life of Jean-Paul Costa and his contribution to the protection of human rights across Europe here.