Mr. Gregorio Peces-Barba

Address by His Excellency. Mr. Gregorio Peces-Barba

Mr. Rector, Ladies and Gentlemen Doctors, authorities, students, ladies and gentlemen.
I warmly thank the award of the Medal of Honor of the University. They imagine that there is no award for high it more important to me than this that I just impose the Lord Chancellor. Thank you very much Rector. Thank you very much to the Governing Board and the Governing Council of the university. It certainly is rewarding and appreciated my work as Rector in almost eighteen years I have held the position. It is verdadque in that time has built structure, image and academic profile and researcher at the University queha placed the Carlos III of Madrid in a prominent place among the Spanish universities. It would, however, excess and absurdity if success is attributed to me exclusively. I've only been a "primus inter pares", a driver and a coordinator of many efforts, many initiatives and many decisions. It has been a work of many teachers, civil servants, hired and students and, of course, would not have been possible without the support of the governments of Leguizamon, Ruiz Gallardón and Aguirre. I could only attribute the coming of the professors of law yes I dealt exclusively. I think it was a successful management demonstrated by the prestige of our law firms, which are an expression of gratitude to our lawyers, professors and other teachers.

Throughout the rest of the activity had shared management with the members of the Management Committee, among which was for a while Professor Daniel Peña and President Lady of the Constitutional Court, Professor Maria Emilia Casas, also with Vice-Chancellors and Secretaries my general management teams with excellent deans and school directors, who saved at the initial stage were elected by their boards of faculty and school. They have also been responsible in the part that touches them different claustrales that have happened in the Senate in those years and members of the Social Councils with their presidents to head. Realization and development decisions also corresponded as I said teachers, employees and contractors, and acceptance and participation in the model of most students.

Ten teachers and researchers in Getafe buildings, four very large in Leganes, two in Colmer, three excellent libraries one at each campus three Colleges, one on each campus with a thousand squares of residents, the rectory in Getafe, and several buildings or parts for these services in the three campuses are the expression of a necessary infrastructure from scratch. Some buildings were rehabilitation of barracks and most new plant. In addition, two gymnasiums, Ignacio Pinedo in Getafe and Alfredo di'Stefano in Leganes, a large auditorium, Father Soler are all also work at the time. Paintings and sculptures by Rafael Canogar, Eduardo Arroyo, Jose Luis Pantoja Alonso, Mrs Gandarias, Manuel Parral, Julio Lopez Hernandez, Jose Abad, etc., are since then in the heritage of the University. Communication infrastructures are all that stage.
Finally the spirit of the Free Institution of Education and secular humanism have filled all those walls, which originally were only brick. The "homo homini res sacra" Seneca on our shield is the reply to "Homo homini lupus" Horace, taken in modernity by Hobbes, and marks the core beliefs that are our reason for being.

For my deepest convictions, respect for the law has been in all those years of rectorado a requirement of my behavior and the various bodies of the University.
Then the teaching and research excellence were an expression of our good facilities, our good media and our good manners. I am well aware that none of this would have been possible without the efforts of all, and all because they are the recipients of this medal, starting with the current Lord Chancellor.

I can not conclude without an affectionate memory of the professors of Philosophy of Law, my disciples and friends, led by professors, Eusebio Fernández, Rafael de Asis, Javier Ansuátegui and the oldest holder Angel Llamas. They belong to the "Scuola di Gregorio" as he called Bobbio and are the best scientific wealth can leave the community of jurists of this University.
Anyway we still "in faciendo" is a lot of space to fill and hard work for the Rector Peña and his new team that naturally wish every success. If I had to give some discretion in this regard I would say with words that Alejandro Manzoni in "I Promessi Sposi" (the couple) puts into the mouth of Spanish governor of Milan, directed his driver to take his chariot at a time of tumult and appearing in Castilian in the original edition "... ..Adelante Pedro, but with judgment."

Thank you.