The framework for compliance with the principle of secularism in public institutions, enshrined in Law No. 2021-1109 of 24 August 2021 and Decree No. 2021-1802 of 23 December 2021, establishes the appointment of a secularism officer within these institutions. 

The Secularism Officer at Sorbonne University helps to ensure respect for universal and republican values at the university, which guarantee the rights and emancipation of individuals. Their mission is to coordinate, in close collaboration with the correspondents and representatives of the faculties and departments concerned, the implementation and enforcement of the principle of secularism, and to oversee this policy, which will be implemented in the various departments of the university, inter-faculty and faculty directorates, structures under the UFRs, internal schools, etc.

The Secularism Officer is responsible in particular for:

• Proposing the institution's policy on the application of the principle of secularism (participating in the drafting of internal regulations, possibly distributing a charter of secularism from the higher authority);
• Acting as a point of contact, in conjunction with the legal affairs department, for staff and users' requests concerning the application of the principle of secularism within the institution;
• Providing advice, in the context of mediation, in the event of conflicts involving all categories of staff and users;
• Promoting a culture of law and a better understanding of the principle of secularism (in terms of training, research, and technical and administrative services) among all categories of staff and all users of the public higher education and research service, and ensure the application of the Charter of Secularism and Republican Values in public higher education and research institutions;
• Establish monitoring mechanisms to anticipate and prevent conflicts by making institutional, scientific and educational resources available and drawing on the frequently asked questions on secularism compiled by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research;
• Prepare an annual activity report to be presented to the academic council. This annual report is sent to the ministerial secularism advisor, who drafts a summary that is forwarded to the Interministerial Committee on Secularism;
• Participate in the national network of secularism advisors.
• Work in collaboration with the legal affairs department, the institution's security and defence officer, and the ethics advisor.
• Participate in national events, particularly conferences and workshops co-hosted by the ministry, and promote the institution's actions in this context.
• Represent Sorbonne University to supervisory authorities and participate in the work of the national network of secularism advisors (MESR and France Universités).