Having studied and taught law in Germany, I was appointed as full time Professor for Civil Law and as Director of the Civil Law Institute at the University of Bern in 1977, teaching mainly Contracts and Property, Commercial and Banking Law. In addition, I was Director of the Institute of Banking Law (since 1993) and Head of the Private Law Department (since 2001).

I have taught and given courses or seminars at the Universities of Munich, Göttingen (Germany), Geneva, Basel and Lucerne (Switzerland) and at the School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley where I was also a visiting scholar in 1991/92. I have given invited lectures at numerous universities and institutions.

I am member of several academic and professional organizations and associations. I have been – for example – on the Executive Board of the Zivilrechtslehrervereinigung (Association of the Civil Law professors of the German speaking countries) since 1993 and on the Advisory Board of the Bankrechtliche Vereinigung (Association of Banking lawyers of Germany, Austria and Switzerland) since 1997.

I am member of:

• ASA (Association Suisse de l’Arbitrage)
• list of Arbitrators of the Commission Suisse d’Arbitrage de la Chambre de Commerce Internationale
• the DIS (Deutsch Institution für Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit)
• the LCIA (London Court of International Arbitration)
• the SWISS NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF ARBITRATION

Further, I am the Swiss delegate at UNCITRAL for the project “Security Interests” dealing with international financial transactions.

I have published about 100 articles and written and edited over 30 books including the leading commentaries on the Swiss Code of Obligations (the “Basler Kommentar”) and on the German Civil Code (“Staudinger”) as well as numerous books on banking law.

I have served on domestic and international arbitral tribunals as sole arbitrator, chairman or co-arbitrator in numerous cases especially dealing with transnational contracts, commercial and banking law and as expert witness on Swiss and German Law.

Further, I have worked as consultant on commercial and telecommunication law and was, in that capacity, involved in major mergers and privatizations of state owned industry.