Council

Council of the Institute

The structure and duties of the Council of the Institute are regulated by the Federal Law of 28th September 2018 on the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law (LISDC; RS425.1)

Art. 7
1 The Council is the supreme governing body of the institute.
2 It is composed of a maximum of 9 members, representing, notably, the fields of training and research, judicial authorities and the Federal Administration; one member represents the canton of the site of the institute.
3 The Federal Council appoints the members of the Council and designates the president.
4 The candidates to the Council must declare to the Federal Council their relevant professional interests.
5 The duration of the mandate is no more than four years. The Federal Council may renew a mandate twice. It can remove a member of the Council at any time for just cause.
6 The director of the institute attends meetings of the Council in a consultative capacity; other employees of the institute may also be called on to attend.

Art. 9
The Council has the following duties:
a. it oversees the implementation of the strategic objectives fixed by the Federal Council and reports back each year on their progress;
b. it plans and lays down in general terms the activities of the institute, and establishes the program of research and work;
c. it approves large-scale research projects submitted to it;
d. it takes all measures necessary to safeguard the interests of the institute and to foresee conflicts of interest;
e. it issues organisational rules;
f. it lays down rules on the acceptance of funds from third parties;
g. it establishes framework rules concerning the services provided;
h. it submits the annual report to the Federal Council for its approval, and proposes to it that it will take responsibility for it; the annual report accounts for the organisational and operational development of the institute and sets out any changes to the relevant interests of the members of the Council;
i. it decides on the appointment of the director, as well as the modification and termination of his or her contract; the appointment and termination are subject to approval of the Federal Council;
j. it decides, on the proposal of the director, on the appointment of other members of the management, as well as on the modification and termination of their contracts;
k. it establishes the acquisition policy of the library;
l. it oversees the institute’s management;
m. it ensures the implementation of appropriate systems of internal checks and risk management.

 

Members of the Institute 2024 - 2027
President : Prof. Franz Werro, Professor, University of Freiburg (until 31.03.2025)
Michel Heinzmann, Attorney, Professor of Private Law, University of Freiburg (from the 01.04.2025)

Dr. iur. Daniel Alder, Attorney, Zürich
Elena Balzardi, Vice Director, Swiss National Library
Prof. Dr. Eva Maria Belser, Professor of Public Law, University of Freiburg
Eric Cottier, lic. iur.
Prof. Dr. Cordula Lötscher, Attorney, Professor of Private Law, University of Basel
Prof. Dr. Pascal Mahon, retired Professor, University of Neuchâtel
Natascia Nussberger, MLaw, Attorney, Head of Legal, Federal Personnal Office
Dr. Konrad Sahlfeld, Special Advisor to the General Secretariat

The statistics and interests can be found of the Confederation webpage (German: Internetseite des Bundes).

 

SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL

In accordance with Article 10 of the ISDC Act, the Institute's Council established a Scientific Council in 2024 to support the management in scientific matters. It is composed of the following members:

  • Prof. Gary Bell, National University of Singapore, Singapore
  • Prof. Dr Mira Burri, Faculty of Law, University of Lucerne
  • Prof. Dr Michelle Cottier, Faculty of Law, University of Geneva
  • Prof. Dr Raphaela Cueni, Faculty of Law, University of St. Gallen
  • Prof. Dr Julia Eckert, Institute of Social Anthropology, University of Bern
  • Prof. Dr Florian Eichel, Institute of Private International Law and Procedure, University of Bern
  • Prof. Dr Marie-Claire Foblets, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle (Saale), Germany
  • Prof. Dr Mark Goodale, Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lausanne
  • Prof. Dr Andreas Heinemann, Faculty of Law, University of Zurich
  • Prof. Dr Fabienne Jault-Seseke, University Paris-Saclay, France
  • Prof. Dr Ramon Olivier Mabillard, LL.M., Faculty of Law, University of Fribourg
  • Prof. Dr Makane Moïse Mbengue, Faculty of Law, University of Geneva
  • Prof. Dr Daniel Möckli, Faculty of Law, University of Zurich
  • Prof. Dr Andreas Müller, Faculty of Law, University of Basel
  • Prof. Dr Yuko Nishitani, Kyoto University, Japan
  • Prof. Dr Dr. h.c. Anne Peters, LL.M., Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Heidelberg, Germany
  • Prof. Dr Anselmo Reyes, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
  • Prof. Dr Gregory Shaffer, Georgetown University Law Center, United States
  • Prof. Dr Anne van Aaken, Faculty of Law, University of Hamburg, Germany
  • Prof. Dr Andreas R. Ziegler, Faculty of Law, University of Lausanne
  • Prof. Dr Nesa Zimmermann, Faculty of Law, University of Neuchâtel