Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court
The Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court is a contest where a fictional commercial dispute is heard by an arbitral tribunal. It represents the largest international legal competition with over 390 participating universities.
After the final oral rounds in Vienna had to be cancelled due to the COVID 19 pandemic, this year's competition was conducted virtually. In the 27th edition of the Vis Moot Court, the team from the University of St.Gallen was able to advance to the round of the best 16 teams out of 240 participating universities. This is not only the best performance among the Swiss teams, but also a new record for the University of St.Gallen.
The Law School congratulates the team on this achievement despite the unusual conditions.

Inaugural lecture Prof. Dr. Stefan G. Schmid
Topic: «Constitutio semper reformanda»: permanente Verfassungsrevision als wahre Zauberformel der Schweiz?
When: Tuesday, 3 March 2020, 6:15 p.m.
Where: Library building, room 09-011

Honorary Professor Dr. Julia Hänni
Dr. Julia Hänni, Federal Judge, was appointed adjunct professor for Philosophy of Law by the Senate of the University of St.Gallen.

Honorary Professor Dr. Raoul Stocker
Dr. Raoul Stocker was appointed adjunct professor for Philosophy of Law by the Senate of the University of St.Gallen.

Adjunct Professor Dr. Thomas Werlen
Dr. Thomas Werlen, attorney at law,  was appointed adjunct professor for Financial and Capital Market Law by the Senate of the University of St.Gallen.

Honorary doctorate in law for Prof. Dr. Andreas Kley
The University of St.Gallen thus honours a personality who has a distinguished record with his research work on political rights in the Confederation and the cantons, as well as on the history of public law, and whose independent voice inspires people to engage in a critical reflection of government and law.

International Workshop: The International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion in Chagos
On 11 and 12 April 2019 Thomas Burri (LS-HSG) und Jamie Trinidad, University of Cambridge, organize a workshop at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, University of Cambridge. Here is a summary of the workshop.

Conference on Autonomous Systems
On 2-3 May 2019 Thomas Burri (University of St. Gallen), Markus Christen and Markus Kneer (both at University of Zurich) organize a conference on Ethical and Legal Aspects of Autonomous Security Systems.

Chagos Workshop
The video from the workshop on the Chagos advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice with comments by some of the participants is now available here.

Workshop on the topic “The International Court of Justice and Chagos”
On 19 and 20 October 2018, an international workshop on the topic “The International Court of Justice and Chagos” was organized by Prof. Dr. Thomas Burri and Dr. Peter Sand at the University of St. Gallen. Researchers in law from the universities of Cambridge, Lancaster, Ljubljana, London (Queen Mary), Luxembourg, Milano (Bicocca), Munich (LMU), Newcastle (Northumbria), Oxford, Rotterdam, Tarragona, and Trier were invited along with practitioners and observers to discuss the UN General Assembly’s pending request for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the status of the Chagos archipelago in the Indian Ocean. The output from the workshop will be available as soon as possible, likely in the form of a brief video with statements by some of the participating scholars and a series of blog posts.

Video: Should robots and artificial intelligence become legal persons?
Prof. Thomas Burri organised a MIL mid-term event on 19 April 2018, a debate with Prof. Shawn Bayern and Dr. Andrew Walton on the topic «Should robots and artificial intelligence become persons?» A video is available here.

Double degree programme
The Law School is pleased to announce the launch of a double degree programme in partnership with the renowned Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Boston. Much like the HSG, The Fletcher School takes an interdisciplinary approach to education and has an international focus.

Students in the DD programme will earn a LL.M from The Fletcher School and a master's degree from HSG (MLaw, MLE or MIL). For HSG students, the DD takes two years (three semesters at HSG and one semester at Fletcher).
This unique programme gives master's-level students the opportunity to study in two different legal systems. They benefit from access to two outstanding programmes and the chance to examine matters of international law from both US and Swiss perspectives.

New law journal "ex ante"
Assistants at the Law School published the first edition of the journal "ex ante" in July 2016. This journal for young legal academics in Switzerland is successor to the "Schriftenreihe der Assistierenden der Universität St.Gallen", which celebrated its ten-year anniversary in 2015. "ex ante" is a platform for young legal academics to publish their research findings, ideas and interests. The journal will carry on the traditions of the original series of publications. The first edition of "ex ante" focuses on various legal issues relating to energy. More information about the original series and the journal is available here