Human rights: Síofra O’Leary to chair Strasbourg Court

The first female president of the European Court of Human Rights was elected today. Another glass ceiling was broken, and Síofra O’Leary, an Irish judge, will chair this supreme body, of which she was already the Vice-President. She will succeed Icelandic judge Robert Spano, taking up office on 1 November this year and remaining in office until 1 July 2024 in accordance with the rules of the institution. Born in Dublin in 1968, O’Leary has a remarkable CV. After graduating in civil law at University College Dublin, she completed a four-year PhD programme at the European University Institute in Florence. Her academic career, which began in 1994, took her to several European fora. In 1996, she arrived at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg where she began her international activity. Since 2 July 2015, she has been serving as a judge at the Strasbourg Court. There, she was first appointed Head of Unit and then Vice-President last January.
Marco Calvarese