Manuel Jose Cepeda Espinosa

Manuel Jose Cepeda Espinosa, born January 6, 1963, in Bogota, is a Colombian legal scholar who served as a presidential counselor during the constitutional reform process that produced Colombia's 1991 constitution. He was elected by the Senate to the Constitutional Court in 2001, served until 2009 and as the court's president in 2005 and 2006, and wrote influential rulings on the rights of displaced persons, access to healthcare, and limits on presidential reelection. He later represented Colombia as co-agent before the International Court of Justice in its disputes with Nicaragua from 2013 to 2022, contributed to the legal framework discussions during the peace negotiations with the FARC, and served as president of the International Association of Constitutional Law from 2014 to 2018.