Year of Call: 1985
Pierre-Olivier Sur has been working as a criminal lawyer for the last thirty years. He specialises in all areas of criminal law, with a particular emphasis on human rights, extradition, political and white-collar cases, and has extensive international experience. In 2014 and 2015, he was President of the Paris Bar, (“Bâtonnier de Paris”), whose members total some 30,000 lawyers.
Pierre-Olivier Sur acts for States, individuals and victim groups, both in France and abroad.
Temple Garden Chambers does not accept instructions on behalf of Associate Tenants.
International Defence
Pierre-Olivier Sur has been involved in several cases in Africa and the Middle East.
From 1998, he has been representing President Blaise Compaoré (Burkina Faso), in particular in the Zongo case.
In 2000, he defended President Alpha Condé (Guinea) when he was a political opponent.
In 2008 and 2009, he assisted President Hissène Habré before the ECOWAS Court of Justice.
Between 2008 and 2010, he was instructed as international counsel to a large group of victims in the first case before the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (Prosecutor v Kaing Guek Eav alias Duch).
From 2012 to 2014, he represented Suha Arafat in the criminal proceedings opened in France regarding the death of President Yasser Arafat.
From 2013 to 2015, he was in charge of the defence of the son of President Abdoulaye Wade (Senegal) before the Court in charge of recovering stolen assets (CREI) in Dakar.
From 2012, he has been defending, alongside Karim Khan QC, Gaddafi’s former Prime Minister Baghdadi Mahmoudi in proceedings in Libya (he visited his client and assisted with some hearings in Tripoli).
Pierre-Olivier Sur also has several French clients involved in international cases, such as Maude Versini in Mexico (international child abduction case against the former Governor of Mexico), Pascal Mazurier (French diplomat accused in India) and the ALP Society in the Dropped case (helicopter crash).
The mandate of President of the Paris Bar
During his mandate as President of the Paris Bar, he was also involved in different international criminal law cases, including the Al Faris case in Lebanon, where he defended the youngest Syrian refugee sentenced to death before the Court of Cassation, and obtained one of the first dissenting Opinions against the death penalty filed by Judge Ghada Aoun.
French practice
His clientele in Paris is well known and high profile. He has intervened in famous cases such as the Sang contaminé (the infected blood case), Affaire ELF, Erika (an environmental case), and the case of Bernard Tapie (a white-collar crime case).
Chambers Europe Guide, 2016 (Band 2) : “”A well-recognised and talented lawyer,” Pierre-Olivier Sur of Fischer, Tandeau de Marsac, Sur & Associés has a notable reputation in criminal litigation and white-collar crime.”
The Legal 500 2016 ranked the law firm in the “Other Recommended Firms” in the “dispute resolution: white-collar crime” category.
The Legal 500 EMEA 2015 ranked the law firm in the “dispute resolution : white-collar crime” category (tier 2).
The Legal 500 EMEA 2014 ranked the law firm in the “Other Recommended Firms” in the “dispute resolution : white-collar crime” category.
The Legal 500 EMEA 2013 ranked the law firm in the “dispute resolution : white-collar crime” category (tier 2).
Member of the Bar Council (2016 – 2018);
President of the Paris Bar (2014 –2015);
French representative at the Organisation of American States (OAS) in Rio (August 2015);
Lecturer in criminal law at bar school (2006 –2014);
Co-founder of the association “Je ne parlerai qu’en présence de mon avocat” (2009);
Administrator of the Guarantee Fund for victims of terrorist acts and other offences (“Fonds de garantie des victimes des infractions”) (2002-2013);
Member of the board of directors of the National Institute for Advanced Studies in Security and Justice(2008-2011);
Member of the Ethics Committee of the Paris Bar (2001-2009);
Member of the Bar Council (1998 – 2000);
Judicial observer for Aboud Zaïd’s trialin Le Caire (Egypt) (1996);
Lecturer in criminal law at Tours University (France) (1995 –1997);
Judicial observer for the trial of the French hostages held by the Serbian people in Sarajevo (Bosnia) (1994);
Contributor to Raymond Dapardon’s documentary “Flagrant délit” (1994);
Lecturer in general knowledge at IEJ (Legal Studies Institute) Paris, Lecturer at the Magistracy School (1993 –1995);
Secretary of the Paris Bar Society (Conference du stage) (1990);
Regular Member of the jury at the French Bar School.
Sciences Po (Paris Institute of Political Studies, 1987);
Year of Call (1985);
University Paris II (Panthéon Assas), Master’s degree in general private law (1984);
University Paris IV (Sorbonne), Degree in Arts (1983).
Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) and Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC)
French and English
Qualified Mediator
Criminal investigation was open in Burkina Faso against the General Dienderé and alleged putschist involved in the attempt of coup d’état in September 2015. Pierre-Olivier Sur is representing the former President of the Burkinabé Bar, Mahmadou Traoré, who was initially in pre-trial detention.
Pierre-Olivier Sur is one of the international counsel for Baghdadi Mahmoudi, the former Prime Minister of Libya during the Government of Colonel Gadaffi, who is charged with crimes against humanity and corruption in the courts of Libya, following extradition from Tunisia. He is representing the client alongside Karim Khan QC, Libyan and Tunisian lawyers.
Pierre-Olivier Sur is representing the interests of the French media society ALP in the helicopter crash that occurred in Argentina during the filming of the reality show Dropped, where renowned Olympic athletes died. Criminal investigations are open both in Argentina and in France.
Stéphane Frantz di Rippel was the French Director of the Novotel of Abidjan when he was kidnapped in the Ivory Coast and killed by militia in 2011, during clashes in the city between rival political factions at the time Alassane Ouattara became President. The criminal trial will proceed in November 2016 in Abidjan.
Since 2012, Pierre-Olivier has been representing the interests of the French National Agency for Medicines (ANSM) in the Mediator case, France’s largest public-health scandal in at least a decade. It concerns a diabetes drug causing cardiac valve damage. A criminal investigation has been opened. There are thousands of potential victims and the trial will proceed within the next two years.
Pierre-Olivier Sur represented the interests of Alexey Kuznetsov, former Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region, arrested in France after his extradition was requested by the Russian authorities. As a consequence, the assets of his wife were also frozen. Criminal proceedings were therefore opened in France.
18th October 2016
History of French lawyers.
Co-Author: Bernard Sur
Published: 2013
18th October 2016
Book reporting the “Khmer Rouge” trial.
Published: 2010
18th October 2016
Book on criminal trials.
Published: 2004
18th October 2016
Handbook on general criminal law.
Published: 1997
18th October 2016
We are delighted to welcome Pierre-Olivier Sur, a lawyer at the Paris Bar and Former President of the Paris Bar, to Chambers as an Associate Tenant.
Read more18th December 2015
Article (“Affiches parisiennes”) – Interview of Pierre-Olivier Sur. Overview of the functions of the President of the Paris Bar.
19th November 2015
Article published on a website (“L’Opinion”) – Interview of Pierre-Olivier Sur. In spite of the state of emergency declared in France after the terrorist attacks, public freedoms must remain intact.
20th October 2015
Article published on a website (“Europe1.fr”) – Interview of Pierre-Olivier Sur. The position of the Paris Bar during Pierre-Olivier Sur’s mandate, fighting for a revaluation of legal aid.
