María Jesús Montoro

María Jesús Montoro is Professor Emerita of Administrative Law at the University of Barcelona and one of the leading figures in environmental and public law at both national and European level. She earned her PhD in Law from the UB (1983) and has built an academic and research career marked by innovation and by the integration of environmental and humanistic perspectives into the study of law. She was the first woman to hold a chair in Administrative Law in Spain, paving the way for women's presence in a field that had long been predominantly male.

She has maintained close collaboration with the Rovira i Virgili University, particularly with the Centre for Environmental Law Studies of Tarragona (CEDAT), as well as with the Department of Public Law and other research groups at the institution. Her contributions on legislative drafting, state liability, civil service and administrative justice have had a decisive impact on the development of contemporary public law, with a special focus on ecological and social challenges.

Montoro has been recognised for her ability to connect law with major societal changes and for maintaining ongoing professional development throughout her career. Her work combines a solid classical foundation with an open, cosmopolitan outlook, shaped by research stays at European universities and by an ongoing dialogue with key thinkers and foundational texts in the discipline. This background has earned her significant institutional and academic recognition, culminating in her appointment as Doctor Honoris Causa by the URV, which highlighted the rigour, commitment and humanistic sensitivity that characterise her scholarly and teaching work.