Full professor
Faculty of Law
Christian Bovet completed his studies at the Faculty of Law of the University of Friborg (license uriusque iuris). He then completed his legal internship in Geneva and obtained his lawyer’s license there. Under the direction of Pierre Tercier, he wrote a doctoral thesis entitled The legal nature of loan syndicates and the obligations of managing and managing banks: Aspects of obligation law, banking law and cartel lawdefended in 1990. While writing his thesis, he spent a scientific stay at the Faculty of Law of Columbia University, New York, where he obtained an LL.M (1988), before working more ‘a year in this city like foreign associate within the international law firm Debevoise & Plimpton. Subsequently, he practiced at the bar for several years as an associate lawyer in a Geneva business firm.
In 1998, Christian Bovet was appointed full professor in the Department of Administrative and Tax Law (now the Department of Public Law).
Throughout his career as a professor, public economic law is at the heart of his teaching and research activities. He focuses in particular on European and Swiss competition law, telecommunications and internet law as well as the supervision of banks, institutions and financial markets.
The scope of Christian Bovet’s publications reflects this great diversity of interests. Among these, it is worth mentioning the co-publication of the French-speaking commentary on competition law (2 editions, 2002 and 2013), the co-edition of French-speaking commentary on the law on money laundering (2022), the edition of the volume of Swiss federal administrative law dedicated to the supervision of financial markets (2016), the regular publication of the proceedings of the Banking and Financial Law Day and annual columns devoted to developments in Swiss competition law.
Christian Bovet also contributes significantly to developing the training offering within the Faculty of Law. Every year since 1998, with Luc Thévenoz, he has organized the Banking and Financial Law Day. In 2003, he was one of the founders of the Center for Banking and Financial Law and also one of the designers and creators of the Certificate of Continuing Training in Compliance in Financial Services. He is also the originator of CAS Digital Finance Law.
Christian Bovet also assumes many positions and responsibilities outside the academic world, in his favorite fields. He thus actively participates in the implementation of the new competition law in the legal profession, in particular chairing the commission for this of the Swiss Federation of Lawyers (FSA) “Lawyers and nLCart” (1996-1997), responsible for preparing and coordinating the adaptation to the 1995 Cartel Act of all the cantonal statutes and regulations governing this profession. From 2005 to 2011, he was vice-president of the Swiss regulator of the telecommunications market, the Federal Communications Commission (ComCom). In 2009-2011, he co-led the working group responsible for revising the cartel law. He is also a member of the editorial board of the journal Competitionsthe examination commission for lawyers of the canton of Geneva, the committee of the Academic Society of Geneva, the founding board of the Swiss Banking Ombudsman, among others. Finally, for several years, he chaired the council of the Walther Hug Foundation which awards, each year, prizes to the authors of the best doctoral theses defended in Switzerland and, periodically, a prize to a professor in recognition of the excellence of his academic work. .
Christian Bovet became dean of the Faculty of Law from 2007 to 2012, during which he decisively led several projects, in particular the collaboration with Harvard and Renmin universities as well as the creation of the School of Lawyering.
Both scientifically and through his management of academic structures, Christian Bovet has significantly contributed to the national and international influence of the University of Geneva. He retires in August 2024 and becomes honorary professor
