Florence Benoît-Rohmer

Florence Benoît-Rohmer (born 20 September 1952) is a French jurist, specializing in European Law and Human Rights, and currently a Professor of Public Law at the University of Strasbourg.

Benoît-Rohmer was born in Strasbourg and was educated at the Lycée Internationale des Pontonniers, before attending Robert Schuman University, where she gained a Master's Degree in Public Law, as well as DEA (diplôme d'études approfondies) post-graduate diplomas in Public Law and Community Law, before obtaining her Doctorate.

She began her academic career as lecturer in 1984, after serving as assistant and after defending a PhD thesis on State in Public Law. She was the Dean of the Faculty of Law at Robert Schuman University from 2000 to 2003, and President of the Robert Schuman University (Strasbourg III) from July 2003 to December 2008 until the union of the three universities in Strasbourg. She has received the laurea Honoris Causa from the University of St. Clement of Ohrid, Bulgaria, and the Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University, Romania.

Between 2009 and 2015 she was also the Secretary General of the European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation that brings together 41 European universities, specialized in human rights and democratisation, supported by the European Union. She is also responsible for the Master in Human Rights at the University of Strasbourg.

In 2010 Benoît-Rohmer created two interdisciplinary summer programmes: the Venice Academy of Human Rights opened to academics, PhD students and practitioners, and the Venice School of Human Rights for postgraduate students from all academic backgrounds.

Her academic interest is focused on mechanism for the preservation of human rights both within the European Union and the Council of Europe, especially the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Social Charter. She has published several about the Council of Europe and written numerous articles about the reform of the European Court of Human Rights (which she considers unsatisfactory) and the jurisprudence of the latter.

She is also keen in the development of the protection of human rights within the European Union, including through the proclamation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and adherence of the Union to the European Convention on human rights, writing a regular column on human rights in the European Union to the quarterly Journal of European Law.

She underlines the need to promote regional mechanisms of Human Rights protection stressing, at the same time, the necessity to foster cooperation among them in order to guaranty the principle of universality of Human Rights.

She has also worked on minority issues and has written a book entitled, Minorities, what rights?, published by the Editions du Conseil de l'Europe (Council of Europe Press).

She is an expert on the European Union and the Council of Europe, and currently a member of the Scientific Committee of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, after being the Chairperson.

Benoit-Rohmer had written numerous articles, mainly targeting the issues of European Law, Human Rights and public freedom. She has published books about constitutional law, human rights, and the law of the Council of Europe.

She is also the President of the French NGO Plaider les droits de l'homme (PLDH), active in the field of human rights.

• The minority question in Europe : towards a coherent system of protection for national minorities. Strasbourg: Editions du Conseil de l’Europe. 1996. ISBN 978-92-871-2932-1. 
• The Rebirth of Democracy, twelve Constitutions of Central and Eastern Europe. Strasbourg: Editions du Conseil de l’Europe. 1996. 
• Les Minorités quels droits? : étude de la convention-cadre pour la protection des minorités nationales [What Rights for Minorities? : A study of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities]. Strasbourg: Editions du Conseil de l’Europe. 1999. ISBN 978-92-871-4029-6. 
• Council of Europe Law - Towards a pan-European legal area. Strasbourg: Editions du Conseil de l’Europe. 2005. ISBN 978-92-871-5594-8.  (with Heinrich Klebes)
• The European Parliament as a champion of European values. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. 2008. ISBN 978-92-823-2484-4.