Robert Badinter enters the Panthéon

On Thursday 9 October 2025, Robert Badinter, former Minister of Justice and architect of the abolition of the death penalty, was inducted into the Panthéon. The date holds profound symbolic significance: forty-four years to the day after the adoption of the law of 9 October 1981 abolishing capital punishment in France.

A man of justice and conviction

A lawyer, professor of law and statesman, Robert Badinter (1928-2024) left an enduring mark on French legal history that brought an end to the death penalty, in the name of human dignity. Throughout his career, he championed a deeply humanist vision of law and a conception of justice rooted in the protection of fundamental freedoms.

A ceremony of dignity and simplicity

The commemorative ceremony, presided over by Emmanuel Macron, took place rue Soufflot, Paris, in the presence of the Badinter family, numerous public figures and citizens who had come to honour the memory of this man of law. In accordance with the wishes of his wife, Élisabeth Badinter, his body rests at the Bagneux cemetery in Paris, while a cenotaph has been installed in the Panthéon containing four symbolic objects: his lawyer’s gown and three books representing his life’s work.

An enduring source of inspiration for jurists

At the Faculté de Droit of the Université Catholique de Lille, the name of Robert Badinter holds a special place. The 2023-2024 graduating class bore his name, and in 2024 an amphitheatre dedicated to him was inaugurated on our Issy-les-Moulineaux campus. These tributes reflect the lasting gratitude of our academic community towards a man whose life and convictions continue to inspire jurists today.