The Ambassador Lecture Series: ‘Current Challenges to International Justice’ by His Excellency François Alabrune, Ambassador of France

We are pleased to invite you to the next lecture in The Ambassador Lecture Series, entitled ‘Current Challenges to International Justice’.

This special session will be delivered by His Excellency François Alabrune, Ambassador of France to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Seats are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Ambassador Lecture Series is convened by Dr Fabián Raimondo under the auspices of the Maastricht Centre for Human Rights, with support from ELSA Maastricht.

For enquiries: fabian.raimondo@maastrichtuniversity.nl

About the Speaker

François Alabrune is a French lawyer and diplomat, born on 12 January 1962 in Halifax, Canada.

He holds a Bachelor of Laws (University of Limoges, 1982) and also studied at the Paris Institute of Political Studies (1982–1984) and the École nationale d’administration (1986–1988).

He began his diplomatic career in 1988, joining the Legal Affairs Directorate of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs as a legal adviser. In 1997, he joined the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations in New York, also as a legal adviser, before serving as Deputy Director of Legal Affairs at the Ministry from 2001 to 2004.

He subsequently served as French Consul General in Quebec (2004–2009) and as France’s Permanent Representative to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (2009–2013). From 2014 to 2022, he was Director of Legal Affairs at the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

During his career, he has been involved in the negotiation of several international treaties, notably the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court, and has participated in numerous legal proceedings as agent or co-agent for France before the International Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights, arbitral tribunals, and the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Since October 2022, François Alabrune has served as France’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. He is also France’s Permanent Representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and to international legal institutions in The Hague. He is currently a candidate, supported by France, for election as a judge of the International Court of Justice for the term 2027–2036.