Emmanuel Tawil is a French lawyer and academic, associate professor at the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas. As a lawyer, he defended the families of the victims during the trial of the

Gdeim Izik protest camp The Gdeim Izik protest camp (also spelled Gdayam Izik) was a protest camp in Western Sahara, established on 9 October 2010 and lasting into November that year, with related incidents occurring in the aftermath of its dismantlement on 8 Novemb ...

Training

He holds two doctorates, one in

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

in 2003, one in

public law Public law is the part of law that governs relations and affairs between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that ...

in Aix-Marseille in 2006 and a degree in

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

in Friborg in 2010. He did his post-doctorate at the EPHE (École Pratique des Hautes Études – School for Advanced Studies). He is a lecturer in Paris II and qualified as a professor in February 2018. He teaches at the Catholic Institute of Lyon and the Catholic Institute of Paris where he directed the degree in law and political science. He has been a corresponding member of the

Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences The Pontifical Committee of Historical Sciences is a division of the Roman Curia established on 7 April 1954 by Pope Pius XII. Background Pope Pius XII created this committee on 7 April 1954 as the successor to the Commission of Cardinals for Histo ...

since 2014 and a member of the Council for Canonical Questions of the Conference of Bishops of France since 2012. He has participated in numerous symposiums especially in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

Professional activities

Lawyer

His legal activities led him to defend the families of the victims of the events of November 8, 2010 in

Laayoune Laayoune or El Aaiún (, Latn, ar, al-ʕuyūn , , ) is the largest city of the disputed territory of Western Sahara, with a population of 271,344 in 2023. The city is the ''de jure'' capital of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, though it ...

. On that occasion he asserted that Gdim Izik's trial "is not a political trial" and that he was perfectly in accordance with the rules of fair trial. He also criticizes the

Court of Justice of the European Union The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ( or "''CJUE''"; Latin: Curia) is the Judiciary, judicial branch of the European Union (EU). Seated in the Kirchberg, Luxembourg, Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, this EU ins ...

(CJEU) for acting as a means of putting pressure on

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. He opposes the prohibition of the veil at university and wishes the Alsace-Moselle regime cult to be preserved

Academic

As an academic, he specializes in

– in particular religious law and

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

– and has published several books on it. He is also interested in

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion. It is most commonly thought of as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened ...

, whose instrumentalization he deplores, and in the relations between The

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

and other States. He makes the "positive secularism" mentioned by

Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, his resignation on 28 Februar ...

one of the major contributions of his magisterium He explains that the churches' right of asylum was restricted by

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

before being abolished in 1539 by Francis I. If previously churches enjoyed genuine immunity from public powers, now the reference to "right of asylum" has disappeared from the code of Canon law, so it would be necessary to speak of reception in churches and not of asylum In 2014, he was appointed member of the Consultative Commission of Religions by the Minister of Social Affairs and Health. He is appointed alongside or

Sébastien Fath Sébastien Fath (born 1968 in Strasbourg) is a French professional historian and a Ph.D. at the Sorbonne University. Also trained in Sociology, he is the main French specialist in the study of Evangelical Protestantism. Author of sixteen books, ...

, among the "personalities chosen for their competence and known for their work, their activities, their knowledge of the social protection problems of ministers of religions and members of religious congregations and religious communities of various faiths and of questions relating to the legal status of religions and problems of religious sociology". Regarding paedophilia cases, Emmanuel Tawil considers that the sexual abuse scandal in the Archdiocese of Boston marked a turning point and that today the Church cooperates with the civil authorities and is not in a logic of secrecy or Omertà.

Publications

* ''Norme religieuse et droit français'', PU Aix-Marseille, 2005, 322 p. * ''Droit des cultes. Personnes, activités, biens et structures'', Juris Associations, 2005, 640 p. * ''Du gallicanisme administratif à la liberté religieuse'', Presses Universitaires d'Aix-Marseille, 2009, 250 p. * ''Laïcité de l'État & Liberté de l'Église'', Artège Editions, 2013, 160 p. * ''Justice et religion : La laïcité à l'épreuve des faits'',

Presses Universitaires de France Presses universitaires de France (PUF; ), founded in 1921 by Paul Angoulvent (1899–1976), is a French publishing house. Recent company history The financial and legal structure of the Presses Universitaires de France was completely restruc ...

, 2016, 248 p. * ''France & Saint-Siège. Accords diplomatiques en vigueur'', Cerf, 2017, 200 p. * ''Cultes et congrégations'',

Dalloz Dalloz is a French publisher that specializes in legal matters and is France's main legal publisher. It was founded by Désiré Dalloz and his brother Armand in 1845. Dalloz was acquired by Groupe de La Cite in 1989. CEP acquired almost complete ...

, 2019, 464 p.

Distinctions

Emmanuel Tawil is: * Knight of the National Order of Merit (France) * Commander of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem * Knight of the Order of St. Sylvester * Member of the Society of Men of Letters of France The

Academy of Moral and Political Sciences An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

awarded him the Gallet Prize in 2016 for his book "Justice et religion". Secularism in the test of facts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tawil, Emmanuel 21st-century French lawyers Academic staff of Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas University Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre Knights of the Order of St. Sylvester University of Strasbourg alumni Aix-Marseille University alumni University of Fribourg alumni French legal scholars 21st-century French jurists French expatriates in Switzerland Year of birth missing (living people) Living people