This intimidating patrician with a tall stature and scathing verb, his colleagues of all ages simply called
“Robert”
when they spoke of him.
But when they met him, they made themselves very small.
Today, only Henri Leclerc is revered enough to be referred to by his first name alone: he is the last pope of the French bar since the death of the man who was six years his senior.
Robert Badinter dominated the fray because he had abolished the death penalty, which ensures him a special place in posterity.
Georges Kiejman, who died last year, had comparable talent and culture, he was also a member of a government.
Henri Leclerc is also a committed humanist whose dimension extends beyond the dress.
But “Robert” was elsewhere because in addition to pleading, he made the law.
We must rewatch his speech of September 17, 1981 to imagine what his major pleadings at the assizes could have been - none were filmed.
“I have the honor, on behalf of the government…
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