Mr. Gianviti was the Director of the Legal Department from January 1986 and General Counsel since 1987, until his retirement from the IMF in December 2004.

He studied at the Sorbonne, the Paris School of Law and New York University School of Law. He obtained a licence ès lettres in 1959, a licence en droit in 1960, a diplôme d'études supérieures de droit pénal et science criminelle in 1961, a diplôme d'études supérieures de droit privé in 1962, and a doctorat d'Etat en droit in 1967. He was lauréat de la Faculté de droit de Paris and lauréat du concours général des Facultés de droit.

From 1967 to 1969, Mr. Gianviti was Lecturer in Law, first at the Nancy School of Law, and subsequently at the Caen School of Law. In 1968, he was admitted to the Paris Bar. In 1969, he obtained the agrégation de droit privé et science criminelle of French universities and was appointed Professor of Law at the University of Besançon. From 1970 through 1974, he was seconded to the IMF Legal Department, as Counsellor, and later, Senior Counsellor.

In 1974, Mr. Gianviti became Professor of Law at the University of Paris XII. He was Dean of the School of Law from 1979 through 1985.

He is a member of the Monetary Committee of the International Law Association. He has received decorations as a Chevalier des Palmes Académiques (France) and a Chevalier dans l'Ordre National du Mérite (France).