Manuel José Cepeda

Manuel José Cepeda Espinosa is a distinguished jurist who served as a judge on Colombia’s Constitutional Court from 2001 to 2009 and as President of the Constitutional Court in 2005. He is a member of the Working Group of Justice for the Colombian Peace Process. He is also a counselor for the Government of Colombia in the international dispute between Colombia and Nicaragua before the International Court of Justice.  Currently, Cepeda is president of the International Association of Constitutional Law, a forum for the study, understanding, and development of constitutional law worldwide. He played an important public role as presidential adviser during the administrations of Presidents César Gaviria and Virgilio Barco. Between 1995 and 1996, Cepeda served as Ambassador of Colombia to the Swiss Confederation and from 1993 to 1995 as Ambassador at the Permanent Mission of Colombia to the UNESCO.  Cepeda holds a B.A. in Social Sciences from Georgetown University and a degree in Law from the Universidad de los Andes; he completed his Master in Law at Harvard University.