The Ethics in Common Committee is composed of 10 to 15 French or foreign personalities, all  being external to the four organisations. The president and vice-president are chosen by the CEOs of the four organisations, after consultation with the Boards of Directors. The members are selected by the four organisations intuitu personae, on the basis of their skills and their demonstrated interest in ethical issues. The composition of the Committee responds to the objective of forming a cross-disciplinary group, bringing together complementary expertise and insight and ensuring gender parity. The term of office for members is set at four years, and is renewable only once. A secretariat is run by all four organisations.

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Patrick du JARDIN, President of the Committee.

Professor and Head of Laboratory at the University of Liège, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech Faculty. Member of the INRA-Cirad-(Ifremer) Ethics Advisory Committee from 2009 to 2016 and Vice-Chairman of the GMO Expert Panel of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) from 2012 to 2015.

Engineer degree in Agronomy, PhD in agronomic sciences and biological engineering, plant physiology and nutrition specialist.

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Valérie MASSON-DELMOTTE, vice-president of the Committee.

CEA senior scientist at the "Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement" of Université Paris Saclay. Co-Chair of the Working Group I - Physical Science Basis - of the IPCC (2015-2023). Member of the French national climate change committee (2018-2024). Member of the French national ethics consultative committee. 

Ingineer degree of Ecole Centrale Paris, doctor in energetics and physics of fluids.

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Madeleine AKRICH

Director of research at the Paris École des Mines (Sociology of Innovation Centre); engineer from the Paris École des Mines. Doctor in socio-economics of innovation.

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Catherine BOYEN

Director of research at the CNRS; Director of the Biological Station in Roscoff (Research and Teaching Centre for Marine Biology and Ecology). Doctor in plant biology.

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Bernard  BRET

Geographer, specializing in Latin America and more particularly Brazil. Former professor at the University of Lyon III.

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Denis COUVET

President of the Foundation for Research on Biodiversity; Professor at the French National Museum of Natural History; Associate Professor at the University of Lausanne and  Sciences-Po Paris. Agricultural engineer, doctor in evolutionary sciences and ecology.

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Mark HUNYADI

Professor of social and political philosophy at the Catholic University of Louvain; associate professor at the Paris Institut des Mines-Télécom and at the EHESS; member of the Orange Ethics Committee; member of the Steering Committee and of the Steering Committee of the Forum Vies Mobiles. Doctor of Philosophy.

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Paula MARTINHO DA SILVA

Lawyer specializing in intellectual property and life sciences. Member of the International Bioethics Committee (UNESCO), member of the Ethics Committee of the Champalimaud Foundation and of the University Hospital of Lisbon Centre.

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Marie-Geneviève PINSART

Philosopher, professor at the Free University of Brussels, research center for applied ethics; member of the IRD's Consultative Committee on Ethics for Research in Partnership (CCERP).

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Pere PUIGDOMENECH

Research professor at the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) at the Institute of Molecular Biology in Barcelona. Doctor of Biological Sciences, specialising in the molecular biology of plants.

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Youba SOKONA

Vice-Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); Member of the African Academy of Sciences; Coordinator of the African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC).
Professor, specialising in water, energy, environment and sustainable development.

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Ricardo SERRÃO SANTOS

Biologist, Professor at the University of the Azores. Permanent member of the Portuguese Academy of Sciences and Emeritus member of the Portuguese Academy of the Navy. Former pro-rector at the University of the Azores, and President of IMAR (Interuniversity Institute of Marine Research) in Portugal. Former Member of the European Parliament and Minister for the Sea.

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The secretariat

INRAE: Claire LURIN
CIRAD: Estelle JALIGOT
Ifremer: Marianne ALUNNO-BRUSCIA
IRD: Ghislaine THIRION

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Former members 

Michel BADRÉ (Vice-president from 2016 to 2021, President from 2021 to 2024), Bernadette BENSAUDE-VINCENT (Vice-president from 2021 to 2024), Axel KAHN (President from 2016 to 2021), Louis SCHWEITZER (President from 2007 to 2015), Jean-François THERY (President of COMEPRA from 1998 to 2007), Fifi BENABOUD, Gilles BŒUF, Céline BOUDET, Jean-Louis BRESSON, Marcel BURSZTYN, Claude CHÉREAU, Paul CLAVIER, Soraya DUBOC, Mireille DOSSO, Patrick dU JARDIN Françoise GAILL, Stéphanie LACOUR, Catherine LARRÈRE, Sandra LAUGIER, Lyne LÉTOURNEAU, Joséphine OUEDRAOGO-GUISSOU, Jeanne-Marie PARLY, Gérard PASCAL, Louis-Etienne PIGEON, Lazare POAMÉ, Michel SAUQUET, Hervé THÉRY, Laurent THÉVENOT, Gérard TOULOUSE, Dominique VERMERSCH, Heinz WISMANN