Paris-Panthéon-Assas University

French university in Paris From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Paris-Panthéon-Assas Universitymap

Paris-Panthéon-Assas University (French: Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas, IPA: [ynivɛʁsite paʁi pɑ̃teɔ̃ asas]), commonly known as Panthéon-Assas or Paris 2 (French: Paris II [paʁi ]) or under the brand name Panthéon-Assas University Paris,[1] is a university in Paris, often described as the top law school of France.[2] It is considered the direct inheritor of the Faculty of Law of Paris[3] the second-oldest faculty of Law in the world, founded in the 12th century.[4]

Quick Facts Former names, Type ...
Paris-Pantheon-Assas University
Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas
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Former names
1990–2021: Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas
1971–1990: Université de droit, d’économie et de sciences sociales de Paris
1950s–1970: Faculté de droit et d’économie de Paris
1802–1950s: Faculté de droit de Paris
1679–1793: Faculté de droit civil et canonique
12th Century–1679: Consultissima decretorum
TypePublic
Established1971 as Panthéon-Assas
12th Century–1971: Faculty of Law of Paris
AffiliationChancellery of the Universities of Paris
4EU+ Alliance
Budget€91 million (2013)
ChancellorBernard Beignier (Chancellor of the universities of Paris)
PresidentStéphane Braconnier
Academic staff
2,060
Administrative staff
356
Students23,000
Location
Paris
,
France
CampusUrban, Latin Quarter
Colours
  Red and white
Websiteassas-universite.fr
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Following the 1970 split of the University of Paris, often referred to as the 'Sorbonne,' in the aftermath of the May 68 events, law professors faced decisions regarding the future of their Faculty. 88 out of 108 law professors elected to sustain the legacy of the Faculty of Law of Paris by establishing a new university dedicated to the study of law.[5] The university is housed within the same two buildings that previously accommodated the Faculty of Law of Paris.[3][6]

Panthéon-Assas, now an independent university, continues to offer the law courses associated with Sorbonne University, having declined to officially integrate as one of its faculties.[7][8]

The majority of the 19 centres of Panthéon-Assas are located in the Latin Quarter university campus, with the main buildings on Place du Panthéon (Panthéon Centre) and Rue d'Assas (Assas Centre), hence its current name. The university is composed of five departments specializing in law, political science, economics, journalism and media studies, and public and private management, and it hosts 24 research centres and five specialized doctoral schools. Every year, the university enrolls approximately 18,000 students, including more than 3,000 international students.

History

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Façade of the main building, Place du Panthéon.
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Close-up view of the main entrance to the Centre Panthéon.

The University of Paris, commonly referred to as the 'Sorbonne,' was founded in the middle of the 12th century and officially ceased to exist on 31 December 1970, following the student protests of 1968. Following the University of Paris split, the majority of law professors, 88 out of 108, opted to maintain the essence of the Faculty of Law of Paris by reestablishing it as a new university.[5] In pursuit of this ambition, they founded along with professors of economics the 'University of law, economics and social sciences of Paris' (Université de droit, d'économie et de sciences sociales de Paris), and kept in it the same buildings with the same research centers.[9][10] Panthéon-Assas is considered today as direct inheritor of the Faculty of Law of Paris.[3][11][12][13][14][15]

The official name of the university was changed to 'Paris II Panthéon-Assas University' in 1990. The name Panthéon-Assas is a reference to the main addresses of the pre-1968 Faculty of Law of Paris, which are now part of the university; namely, the buildings on Place du Panthéon and Rue d'Assas.[16] The university is also referred to as 'Assas' or 'Paris II,' 'Sorbonne-Assas' and 'Sorbonne Law School'.[17][18][19][20]

After the creation of a new Sorbonne University, to which Panthéon-Assas provides law courses in joint degrees, Sorbonne University wanted to integrate Panthéon-Assas as a faculty of law but Panthéon-Assas preferred to remain an independent university within the Sorbonne system.[21]

In 2022, its official name became Paris-Panthéon-Assas University.[22]

Administration

Panthéon-Assas is governed by an administration council, a scientific council, and a council for studies and university life. Members of these boards serve two-year terms. The president of Panthéon-Assas is elected by members of the administration council, for a four-year tenure;[23] he or she presides over this council. The president is assisted by two vice-presidents and several professors elected within their respective academic departments. Members of the administration council choose the faculty representatives who make up the scientific council.[24]

The university inherited the academic departments from the Faculty of Law of Paris.[25] It currently houses five of them: one for private law and criminal sciences, one for public law and political science, one for Roman law and legal history, one for economics and management, and one for journalism and communication.[a]

Campuses

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Inside the south wing of the Panthéon Centre facing the Jardin du Luxembourg.
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Panthéon Centre in winter.

The university has 18 campuses in Paris, 1 in the town of Melun, and other campuses abroad.

Panthéon Centre

In 1753, Louis XV decided that a new building would be constructed for the Faculty of Law of Paris. Jacques-Germain Soufflot, alumnus of the Faculty who had become the architect of the King designed and supervised the construction. It took place from 1771 to 1773 and the new building opened in 1774.[26]

Nowadays, the administration offices and postgraduate studies (masters' and doctoral studies) are located in it.[27] It is situated at 12 Place du Panthéon. It is registered among the national heritage sites of France.[28]

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Entrance to the Assas Centre.
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Entrance at night.

Assas Centre

History under the Faculty of Law of Paris

The largest campus of Panthéon-Assas is located on Rue d'Assas and receives second-year to four-year law students. It was designed by Charles Lemaresquier, Alain le Normand, and François Carpentier[29] to accommodate the growing number of students at the University of Paris.[30] It was built between 1959 and 1963 on the former grounds of Société Marinoni.[29][31] At the time of its inauguration, its main lecture theatre was the largest in France, with 1,700 seats.[32]

Renovation and expansion in the 21st century

Centre Assas building, which was going under renovation between 2007 and 2017, has been completely redesigned and now hosts a modern learning center, created by the architect Alain Sarfati.[33][34]

Cultural events

The Assas building has been hosting concerts of classical music for decades. Herbert von Karajan, Leonard Bernstein, Georg Solti, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Martha Argerich, Gundula Janowitz, Christa Ludwig, Alfred Brendel, Arthur Rubinstein, Seiji Ozawa, Carlo Maria Giulini, or Samson François, among others, have performed in it.[35] The 28th edition of the International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs was held in it in 2017.[36]

The scene at the Cairo airport from OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies was filmed in its entrance hall.[37]

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Campus on Rue de Vaugirard.

Vaugirard Centre

The campus on Rue de Vaugirard provides for first-year students. It is located in the chapel wing of the former Jesuit College of the Immaculate Conception, where Charles de Gaulle was a pupil;[38] the chapel itself, dating from the 18th century, was transformed into a lecture hall in the 1980s.[39] The structure is a national heritage site.[40]

Sainte Barbe Centre

The Center of Roman Law and Legal History of Panthéon-Assas, hosting its research centers in legal history, is situated inside the Collège Sainte-Barbe, former school founded in 1460. The school was founded by Pierre Antoine Victor de Lanneau, teacher of religious studies, as a college of the University of Paris. Ignace de Loyola, Gustave Eiffel, Alfred Dreyfus among others were students there.

Melun Campus

The campus in the town of Melun hosts local first-year students. It is located in the old town of Melun, on Saint-Étienne Island, among Roman and Gothic remains. The Institute of Law and Economics of Pantheon-Assas University is located there. An extension is currently under construction.[41]

Abroad

Panthéon-Assas also has campuses in Singapore, Mauritius, and Dubai.[42][43]

Others

The campus on Rue Charcot receives third-year and master students in economics.

Research

Research centres

The university inherited the research centers from the Faculty of Law of Paris.[25] Originally, the Faculty was not organized around research centers and professors were pursuing their research as part of Faculty in general. Hence, only newly emerging fields of research would have newly created institutes, whereas traditional subjects such as Roman law and legal history, private law in general and public law in general, would not necessarily have ones.

Currently, among the research centers at Panthéon-Assas, there are:

Each research center usually has one or several Research or Professional Masters of Laws programs (LL.M.) attached to it.

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Reading room of the Cujas Library, Paris.

Libraries

The campuses at Rue d'Assas, Rue de Vaugirard, and Melun host the university libraries, which are open to all the students. The university's research centres, institutes and reading rooms host twenty-two more specialized libraries. The total seating area of the university's libraries spans over 3,500 m2, and the university's collections gather over three hundred thousand volumes together.

The new library at Centre Assas has been designed by the architect Alain Sarfati and has furniture designed by Philippe Starck.[51]

Professors and students also have free access to Cujas Library, which is the largest law library in Europe and to general research and study libraries in Paris, including the Sainte-Geneviève Library or the French National Library.[52]

Journals and publications

The university's publishing house, Éditions Panthéon-Assas, was established in 1998.[53]

Panthéon-Assas hosts several faculty-led publications in French: Jus Politicum (Political Law Journal) since 2008, the Revue de droit d'Assas (Assas Law Review) since 2010 and Droits fondamentaux (Human Rights Journal) since 2012. They are all available online.[54]

It also hosts a faculty-led publication in English, the Sorbonne-Assas Law Review, since 2012.[55]

Programs, schools and graduate schools

Programs

Undergraduate admissions

University–wide (law, economics, management, media...), the university has an acceptance rate of 20%.[56] 22.79% of students accepted by the university having received highest honors ("mention très bien") in high school during the 2019 session (second university in France, behind Paris 1 with 22.84%).[57]

In Law, within the Assas Law School, in 2021, the rate of "with honors" and "with highest honors" mentions among the admitted students was 95% (first among undergraduate programs in France).[58]

Graduate programs (Masters or LL.M.s)

The four historical Masters in Law or LL.M. of the Faculty of Law of Paris were the Masters in: 1° Roman Law and History of Law, 2° Private Law, 3° Public Law[59] and, starting 1964, 4°Criminal Law.[b] They are now rebranded as "Master 2" or "Parcours" (meaning a second-year "path", within a 2-year masters), under the following names:

  • LL.M. in History of Law, with the Institute of Legal History. Albert Rigaudière, member of the Académie des Inscriptions et des Belles Lettres, was its director.[60][48]
  • LL.M. in General Private Law, with the Civil Law Research Center. According to Le Nouvel Observateur, the LL.M. "considered as a star-degree of the faculty, long been the pet of headhunters, it trains the virtuosi of the law".[61] Pierre Raynaud was its director at the Faculty of Law of Paris before 1970 and at Panthéon-Assas afterwards.[62]
  • LL.M. in Specialized Public Law. It was once directed by Yves Gaudemet, member of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques.[63]
  • LL.M. in Criminal Law, with the Institute of Criminology and Criminal Law of Paris.

Originally exclusively linked to research studies and doctoral studies, the 5th-year LL.M. is now part of the joint Master's program and has become the norm in France for lawyers (including barristers). They have become quite selective and in competition with one another, among all the programs in France.[64] Many LL.M. programs have been created at Panthéon-Assas since the Decree of 16 April 1974 authorizing the creation of more specialized LL.M.s than the 4 original ones, most notably the LL.M. in International Law and LL.M. in Comparative Law.[65] Most of Panthéon-Assas' LL.M.s enjoy a similar strong reputation in France and Europe.

International programs

Panthéon-Assas offers international integrated undergraduate programs (Bachelor-Double maîtrise) with universities such as Oxford University, University College London, King's College London, University College Dublin. It offers international integrated postgraduate programs (LL.M.-Master 2) with some universities such as, on top of the latter ones, Boston University, Humboldt University of Berlin, Ludwig Maximilians University, Sapienza University of Rome, University of Padua.[66]

Yale Law School and Panthéon-Assas (Assas Law School) signed in June 2011 an Agreement for Collaborative Activities to create an environment for long-term joint research, exchange. and programming activities.[67] They organize, together with the ESSEC Business School, a summer school in law and economics, the Yale-Paris II-Essec Summer School.[68][69]

It created in 2011 the Sorbonne-Assas International Law School which have campuses in Paris, Singapore, Mauritius and Dubai.[42][43]

Assas has cooperation agreements with 315 partner universities, including 113 Erasmus+ partners.[70]

Joint academic programs

Panthéon-Assas offers several joint undergraduate and graduate programs with the Sorbonne University. It has also joint programs with other French universities and institutions such as INSEAD (Sorbonne University Alliance), Dauphine, PSL University, Mines Paris, PSL University, Sciences Po Paris, ESSEC Business School, CY Cergy Paris University or HEC Paris.

Online programs

In 2013, the university set up an e-learning platform, called Agor@ssas.[71] It created that year a distance-learning undergraduate degree in law, the first and unique one in France. It is taught by professors from Panthéon-Assas and leads to exactly the same degree offerings the same rights.[72] In addition, "e-students" have access to "e-tutors" to help them with pedagogical and administrative questions.[73]

Preparatory schools

In July 2012, Panthéon-Assas became the first university in France to open preparatory school for the bar school entrance examination,[74] which were until this point the monopoly of private preparatory schools.[75] These courses were offered for a cheap price, and for free for students from low-income families (10% of the students of the preparatory school). This led private preparatory schools to plead unfair competition and the french courts ordered Panthéon-Assas to close the school.[76] Today, the Bar preparation school is known as the IEJ-Institut d'Études Judiciaires "Pierre Reynaud".[77]

Assas' Melun campus has been selected in 2021 by the French Government to host three preparatory schools "Prépa Talents".[78]

Schools

Collège de droit and École de droit

On top of its core curriculum, Panthéon-Assas developed a number of internal "university diplomas" delivered to its top students. In particular, the Collège de droit (3-year undergraduate diploma) and the École de droit (2-year graduate diploma), largely talked about in the press, which consider these programs as constituting a "prestigious" "way of excellence" for "top-level lawyers".[79][80][81]

Institut français de presse

The Institut français de presse (in English: French Press Institute), is the unit of Training and Research in Media, Communication and Journalism since 1970. Founded in 1937 in the Faculty of Law of Paris, the Institut des Sciences de la Presse (Press Sciences Institute) became the Institut français de presse in 1951. The department is the oldest and one of the finest French schools in the field of communication and journalism studies, in particular with Sorbonne University's CELSA in Neuilly.

Other

  • Institut de préparation à l'administration générale de Paris;
  • Institut d'études judiciaires Pierre Raynaud;
  • Maison des sciences de gestion.

Graduate and affiliated schools

Centre de Formation des Journalistes

The Centre de formation des journalistes (in English: CFJ Graduate School of Journalism) is the Journalism Graduate school (Grande école) of the university, located in the heart of the 12th arrondissement. The graduate school is a member of the Conférence des Grandes écoles and recognized by the profession of journalists. The CFJ has trained a large number of great journalists (Bernard Pivot, David Pujadas, Florence Aubenas, Pierre Lescure ...), and attracts each year nearly a thousand candidates for around fifty places.

École Française d'Électronique et d'Informatique

The École française d'électronique et d'informatique (EFREI, in English: French School of Electronics and Computer Science) is the engineering school of Training and Research in Computer Science and Management, located in Villejuif, Greater Paris.

Institut Supérieur d’Interprétation et de Traduction

The Institut supérieur d’interprétation et de traduction (ISIT, in English: Higher Institute of Interpretation and Translation) is the Graduate school of Training and Research in Intercultural Management and Communication, located in the Centre Assas campus, in the 6th arrondissement.

École W

The W School of Journalism and Communication (in French: École W) is the college that primarily offers a multidisciplinary undergraduate programme in Media, Journalism, Communication, Marketing, Storytelling and Design, founded by the Centre de Formation des Journalistes de Paris in 2016. Located in the 12th arrondissement with the CFJ, the college also offers graduate programmes in Design, Marketing and Communication and has prestigious partnerships with EMLyon Business School, EDHEC Business School, Catholic University of Lille and the École de design Nantes Atlantique, Nantes University.

Reputation and rankings

Reputation

Assas has reputation of "excellence" in Law[3][82][83][84] and has been called by Le Monde des grandes écoles a "symbol of Made in France excellence".[85]

The French Research and Higher Education Evaluation Agency stated in 2013: "Paris II University presents itself as a university of excellence. This claim is not abusive. The university occupies – in Paris, in France, in the European Union and, more broadly, in the international scientific community – a prominent place. The university's reputation and notoriety has not been usurped. They are based on teaching and research activities as well as publications whose quality is recognized and celebrated in academia. And this beyond frontiers."[86]

Rankings

Law

Panthéon-Assas University is often described as the "top law school in France".[87][88][89][18][90][91] It is ranked first of France in law in the French Eduniversal rankings,[92] Le Figaro ranking[93] and Thotis ranking.[94] It is the only French university and one of the two French higher education institution to make it into the GreenMetrics ranking.[95]

Le Figaro Étudiant has published, for the first time in 2023, a ranking of the top 30 universities in France. The ranking takes into account several criteria, including the high school graduation results of admitted students, the number of applicants for undergraduate programs through Parcoursup, post-graduation salaries, the number of defended theses, the number of doctors who passed the private law aggregation exam, and the university's ranking in the Shanghai ranking.

Paris-Panthéon-Assas University has secured the first position in the ranking and stands out from other universities. According to the ranking, students graduating from the university receive a monthly salary of €3,000 upon completing their master's degree. Furthermore, a larger number of students have defended their theses between 2020 and 2022 (a total of 175), and more students from the university have obtained qualifications to become lecturers in 2022.

Most of the students admitted at the French National School for the Judiciary come from Panthéon-Assas,[96] more than 40% in 2011 (candidates who graduated from Panthéon-Assas and then passed the entrance exam elsewhere are not included in that number).[97]

Assas graduates have the highest salary of all French law schools.[98][99]

Economics and business

Assas undergraduate program in economics ranked fifth in 2020 by Eduniversal.

Assas was in 2011 the second best-ranked university in France (behind Paris-Dauphine University) for its master's degrees in business fields.[100] In 2016, it was first of France in international business, also first in decisional computing and second in finance and banking.

Journalism

Assas's CFJ diploma in journalism ranked third in France in 2022 by Le Figaro.[101]

Political Science

According to the Thotis ranking of political science bachelor's degrees in 2025, the Assas bachelor's degree in political science is considered the second best in France, along with that of Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne. [102]

Notable people from this faculty

This section is about notable faculty from Panthéon-Assas University (since 1971). The dates are the dates of professorship at the Faculty of Law of Paris and at University of Paris-Panthéon Assas.

Law reformers

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Jean Foyer, writer of the Constitution of the Fifth Republic and Minister of Justice of Charles de Gaulle.

Among the professors of Panthéon-Assas who reformed French or foreign laws, there are:

Members of the Institut de France

The Institut de France is a learned society which was created as such in 1795 and maintained close links with Napoléon Bonaparte. It regroups 5 Académies, by subject (Science, Arts and the 3 other listed below).

  • Suzanne Bastid, faculty of Panthéon-Assas and first woman professor of law of France, has been the first female member of the Institut de France.[114]

Among its members or former members, there are:

Judiciary

Among faculties that had prominent positions in the Judiciary, there are:

Presidents of university

To this day, Panthéon-Assas has been governed by ten presidents. The founding president, Berthold Goldman, a jurist, was succeeded by Jacques Robert, former member of the Constitutional Council of France, who was followed by Jean Boulouis, a private law jurist. Next came another private law jurist, Georges Durry, followed by Philippe Ardant, former president of the Constitutional Court of the Principality of Andorra and former president of the Arab World Institute. Panthéon-Assas was then presided by Bernard Teyssié, a specialist in social law, who was succeeded by Jacqueline Dutheil de la Rochère, a public international law scholar. She was followed by Louis Vogel, a private law jurist.[117] He implemented numerous innovations, the aim of which has been to adapt the education given at the university to the needs of the 21st century.[118][119] He was elected head of the Presidents of Universities of France Society in 2010.[120] Guillaume Leyte, a legal historian, was elected president of the university on 20 June 2012,[121] and reelected in 2016. On 30 November 2020, Stéphane Braconnier, a public law professor, was elected as the new president of the university,[122] succeeding Guillaume Leyte.

Other

  • Suzanne Bastid (1947–1977), the first woman professor of law of France, first woman to be a member of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques, secretary General of the Institute of International Law (Nobel peace prize 1904) and judge at the International Court of Justice.
  • Henri Mazeaud (1939–1971), twin brother of Léon Mazeaud, resistant to Nazi Germany and deported to Buchenwald, honorary professor at Panthéon-Assas.[123][124]
  • Henri Batiffol, professor of private international law and professor at the Institute of International Law.
  • Yves Lequette, professor of private law and private international law and professor at the Institute of International Law.
  • Joe Verhoeven, former the general secretary of the Institute of International Law and honorary President of the Institute of Higher International Studies.
  • Olivier Beaud, professor of public law.
  • Gérard Cornu, author of the Dictionnaire de linguistique juridique.
  • David Naccache, forensic expert at the International Criminal Court and member of the Computer Science Laboratory of the École normale supérieure.

Politics

Faculty members who have held prominent political positions include:

Notable alumni

This section is about notable alumni from Panthéon-Assas University (since 1971). To see a list of notable alumni of the Faculty of Law of Paris (before 1970), see that article.

Politics

France

Among alumni of Paris II who had significant role in politics in France, there are:

Outside of France

Judiciary and Law

Notable alumni lawyers and judges

Among alumni of Paris II who had significant role in the judiciary and in Law, there are:

Media

Among alumni of Paris-Panthéon-Assas who had significant role in the media, there are:

Journalists
Heads of media

Business

Other

See also

Notes

  1. The Savary bill of 1984 aimed at centering universities on "education and research units" (French: unités de formation et de recherche) which match academic departments— offering both undergraduate and graduate programs—to research centres. Panthéon-Assas comprises six of these units: one for first cycle and basic legal qualification in law and political science, one for second and third cycles in law and political science, one for economics and management, one for private and public management, the French Press Institute, and the Institute of Judicial Studies.
  2. The origin of this degree lies in the "doctorate courses" that existed in legal studies in France until they were replaced in 1925 by the Diplôme d'études supérieures en France [fr] ("DES"). The Decree of the 2 May 1925 created in each faculty of Law 4 DES: DES in Legal History Roman Law, DES in Private Law, DES in public Law and DES in Politics and Economics. It required students to obtain two of them undergraduate studies to be able to begin a doctorate (PhD). In 1964, the undergraduate studies took 4 years (4-year licence, and eventually 3-year licence and a one-year maîtrise) and only one DES was necessary to begin a doctorate. 2 additional DES are created in each faculty: DES in Criminal Law and Politics and Economics are separated in two DES. The Decree of the 16 April 1974 replaced the DES with the Diplôme d'études approfondies [fr] ("DEA") for research and afterwards the Diplôme d'études supérieures spécialisées ("DESS") for professional orientation. Additional LL.M. (DESS or DEA) are created. In 2005, with the Bologna Process, these two degrees are replaced with a second year of Master ("Master 2") degree with a selection of students among the general pool of students in France after the first year of Master ("Master 1", following the 3-year licence). "Master 2" programs are sometimes divided between the Master 2 Research (inheritors of the DEA programs) and the Master 2 Professional (inheritors of the DESS). In 2021, Paris II followed new government rules to select students after the 3-year licence to do a two-year masters' degree with specific "parcours" ("paths") in second year (corresponding to the LL.M.). The masters' degree is mandatory to pursue a PhD degree.

References

Sources

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