Honorary doctorates from the Faculty of Law
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Ursula Cassani Bossy (2023)
- who, throughout her professional career, has rendered outstanding services to the dogmatic analysis, penetration and further development of Swiss and international white-collar criminal law;
- who, through her work as a full professor of criminal law at the University of Geneva, has developed and established white-collar criminal law as an independent field of teaching and research;
- who, through her work as a visiting scholar at various foreign research institutions, has made a significant contribution to lending weight to the voice of Swiss jurisprudence abroad.
Dr. Philip Grant, LL.M. (2022)
- who has campaigned tirelessly and with great commitment for many years against impunity for the commission of international crimes;
- who has pioneered the enforcement of international criminal law by founding the non-governmental organization TRIAL International, which aims to bring to justice those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, sexual violence, torture and enforced disappearances;
- which has pursued numerous legal avenues to achieve justice and reparations for victims of international crimes.
Rosemary Kayess, Australian human rights lawyer (2021)
- who pioneered the understanding of the rights of persons with disabilities as human rights and significantly advanced their theoretical penetration;
- who was instrumental in shaping the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;
- who, together with international organizations, governments and civil society, works tirelessly for the implementation of the rights of persons with disabilities in everyday life and thus contributes to the recognition of persons with disabilities as equal members of society.
Prof. Bryan A. Stevenson, Founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative (2019)
- who has fought tirelessly and with great commitment against racially motivated discrimination in the US criminal justice system for decades;
- who, through influential publications, has contributed to these abuses becoming an issue that is also recognized and discussed by the public;
- who, as a professor, is helping to sensitize future generations of lawyers to the issue.
lic. iur. Thomas Stadelmann, Federal Judge (2018)
- who has worked tirelessly for years to promote judicial independence, the separation of powers and access to justice in European countries where the rule of law is under threat;
- who critically analyzes the situation of the judiciary in Turkey and courageously stands up for persecuted and imprisoned judges, public prosecutors and their families;
- who also reflects on questions of judicial organization and judicial constitutional law from an academic perspective and, as a member of the Board of Directors of the Swiss Judicial Academy, advocates sound theory-based and interdisciplinary training for judges.
lic. iur. Lukas Bühlmann, Director of the Swiss Association for National Planning (2017)
- which dedicates itself with great commitment to the current challenges of spatial development in Switzerland;
- who, as a bridge builder between research, teaching and practice, between different scientific disciplines and between the various levels of government, pursues innovative solutions for sustainable urban development;
- who actively contributes to the promotion of young talent through his commitment to sound education and training in the field of spatial planning.
lic. iur. Elisabeth Freivogel, LL.M. (Harvard), lawyer, mediator SAV (2016)
- who, as a pioneer, not only tirelessly campaigned for equal rights for women, but also enforced equal rights;
- who, as a committed and fearless advocate, set standards in the field of equal pay, had a decisive influence on legal developments and fought for fairer wages for numerous women;
- who has sensitized and mobilized broad circles for the concerns of equal opportunities through her work in teaching, science and on equality policy committees.
Prof. Dr. iur. Thomas Geiser, advocate and notary (2015)
- who, as an academic and judge, has significantly shaped Swiss labor and family law and contributed to its further development;
- who, through his wide-ranging work and influence, has sustainably strengthened the dialog between academia and practice;
- who has worked tirelessly to make current legal issues accessible to a broad public.
Dr. Peter Maurer, Swiss diplomat, President of the ICRC (2014)
- who made a significant contribution to firmly anchoring human rights and peace policy in Switzerland's foreign policy;
- who knew how to give Switzerland a voice within the United Nations that was heard and taken seriously;
- who strengthened the rights of those in need of protection worldwide through his commitment to the creation of the UN Human Rights Council.
Prof. Dr. iur. Walter Kälin (2013)
- who has dedicated his academic life to fundamental and human rights, especially of refugees and internally displaced persons;
- who has laid new dogmatic foundations for public procedural law in Switzerland;
- who brings science and practice in the field of human rights into a close relationship with each other and contributes to the realization of human rights for those in need of protection in central organs of the UN.
Prof. Dr. iur. Constance Grewe (2012)
- who through her work and her life became a mediator between German, French and Swiss legal culture in research and teaching;
- who, as co-founder of a genuinely European constitutional law scholarship based on comparative law, did pioneering work in transnational law;
- who, as a judge at the Constitutional Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which is composed of international judges, is committed to the rule of law and the protection of human rights in Eastern Europe.
Dr. iur. Judith Stamm (2011)
- who, as a lawyer in the police service and at the Youth Advocate's Office, has always stood up for humanity in criminal proceedings - both for the victims, for whom she established an understanding practice of questioning after sexual and violent crimes, and for juvenile offenders, for whom punishment should also serve as an opportunity,
- who paved the way for gender equality with her generation after the introduction of women's suffrage,
- who has shown with her life that positive changes in society can be achieved through knowledge of the law, courage and perseverance.
lic. phil. Heidi Tagliavini, Ambassador (2010)
- who, as Head of Division in the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, was committed in an exemplary manner to the national and international realization of human rights and the alleviation of human suffering;
- who, as an internationally recognized diplomat on special missions of the OSCE, UN and EU, rendered outstanding services to peacekeeping and conflict resolution in the Caucasus and who was always concerned to enforce respect for international law as the basis of any understanding;
- who earned the great respect of the conflict parties in the Caucasus with her mediation skills, courage, commitment and sense of duty, as well as her perfect command of the Russian language, and whose hard work gave a face to the internationally sought-after mediating role of neutral Switzerland.
Prof. Dr. Claude Witz (2009)
- who has rendered outstanding services to comparative European private law as a researcher at the universities of Lyon, Strasbourg and Saarbrücken;
- who is committed to awakening young people's curiosity for other legal systems and supporting them in their academic endeavors, and
- who, as the authoritative representative of his country, has contributed to the uniform development and application of international sales law.
Prof. Dr. iur. Gerd Brudermüller (2008)
- who, as a scholar and practitioner, has had a lasting influence on family law,
- who has rendered outstanding services to the further development and implementation of questions of legal philosophy and legal ethics
- and who, as a result, has always succeeded in bringing the law back to its ethical foundations and developing it further on this basis for the benefit of mankind.
Dr. phil. Biol. Raimund Rodewald (2008)
- who, as Managing Director of the Swiss Landscape Conservation Foundation since 1992, has persistently and often against strong opposition advocated the conservation of Switzerland's valuable landscapes and effective spatial planning;
- who also works scientifically on the subject of landscape protection, in particular with regard to the aesthetic evaluation of landscapes and sustainable landscape development;
- who, as a natural scientist, has successfully conducted numerous legal proceedings against the threat of disfigurement and banalization of the landscape;
- who is a strong advocate for the preservation of the right of appeal of environmental associations vis-à-vis the public and politicians.
Prof. Dr. iur. Pierre Moor (2007)
- who, as an academic teacher and researcher, penetrated general Swiss administrative law from the ground up, presented it in an impressive overall view and contributed to its further development;
- who was keen to incorporate the issues and approaches of foreign legal systems, in particular French law, into his work and make them fruitful for Swiss law;
- who has made significant contributions to the development and correct implementation of spatial planning law in Switzerland.
Prof. Dr. iur. Christoph Leuenberger, LL.M. (2006)
- who for decades rendered outstanding services to the development of Swiss civil procedural law as a judge in practice, as a teacher in the classroom, as a scholar in research and as a federal expert in the standardization of the law,
- who, as chairman of the relevant foundation for many years, immensely promoted the training and further education of Swiss judges,
- and who has thus made a significant contribution to the development of Swiss law through his entire work combining theory and practice.
Prof. Dr. iur. Berhard Schnyder (2005)
- who for decades, as a scientist, teacher and federal expert, promoted and shaped the development of Swiss family law to an immense extent,
- who fought for the recognition and preservation of humanity and special protective measures for the weak and needy,
- and who thus made a significant contribution to ethics, humanity and justice in a pluralistic society.
lic. phil. Anni Lanz (2004)
- which, as an active member of several non-governmental organizations, observes and attempts to influence Swiss human rights policy in an international context;
- which consistently combines reflection on human rights with lobbying for the improvement of the law and with concrete help for affected people (especially in women's and migration issues as well as in their intersection);
- which, as a representative of civil society, contributes to the effectiveness of internationally guaranteed human rights in Switzerland.