Attorney

Date of birth:

August 24, 1958

Nationality:

Swiss and French

Education

• 1989
  Doctorate on animal-welfare law and fundamental rights - magna cum laude
  Zurich University, Switzerland
• 1986
  Admission to the Bar of Zurich
• 1983 Law degree - magna cum laude
  Zurich University, Switzerland

Experience

Present

Partner at the law firm Krepper Knecht Partner (www.swisscounsels.ch) in Zurich.
 

May 2010 to 2004 Sole practitioner
Antoine F. Goetschel, Zurich
     
Practice areas include inheritance law, trusts and endowments, as well as unfair competition, victim protection and neighbour law. I also advise and represent clients during court proceedings.

Present to November 2007

Animal-welfare lawyer Canton Zurich
 

First position of its kind worldwide, representing the interests of animals in criminal cases as a public official. Unfettered access to investigations and court proceedings from start to finish and may exercise rights of appeal.

2007 to 1995 Director

Foundation for the Animal in the Law, Zurich
 

Established and shaped the foundation (www.animallaw.ch), which has the largest public library of texts on animal welfare law and animal ethics in the German-speaking world (over 10,000) and an electronic database of all criminal cases involving animal welfare in Switzerland (currently over 6,000 decisions). The organisation also offers expert advice on animal-welfare law and is a competence centre in this field.

2004-1994  Partner

Law firm Goetschel & Raess, Zurich

Specialising in legal implications of human-animal relationships, inter alia.

Present to 1984

Specialist in human-animal-relationship in Swiss and international law and in inheritance law and different fields of public and private law and with media.

Selected publications:

Books

2010

• Pending
  “The Animals Advocate”, Fischerverlage, Frankfurt a.M.
• "Animal in the Law and Animal Well-Being in Europe", in Mark Bekoff: "Ency­clopaedia of Animal Rights and Animal Welfare" (2nd edition), Green­wood, Westport Ct, USA

2009

• "Human Animal Relationship in the Law”, in: Carola Otterstedt / Michael Rosenberger (ed.), Gefährten – Konkurrenten – Verwandte, Vandenhoek & Ruprecht, 2009

2008

• "The Animal in the Law Transparent" (560 pages), Schulthess, Zurich

2005

• "Sexual Relations with Animals (Zoophilia): An Unrecognized Problem in Animal Welfare Legislation", Purdue, West Lafayette, Indiana

2003

• "The Animal in the Law - 99 Aspects of Human-Animal Relationship"
  Orell Füssli, Zurich

2002

• "The Dignity of Animals"
  Harald Fischer, Erlangen
• “Legal Commentary on the German Animal-Welfare Act”
  Kohlhammer, Stuttgart

2001

• "Our Dog"
  Beobachter, Zurich

1993

• "Law and Animal Welfare"
  Haupt, Berne

1989

• "Animal Welfare and Fundamental Rights"
  Haupt, Berne

1986

• Legal commentary on Swiss Animal Welfare Act
  Haupt, Berne

Miscellaneous

More than 50 scientific contributions, essays and legal opinions on Swiss cantonal and national, German, Austrian, European and international animal-welfare legislation.

Recent speaker engagements: 

 
2010

• Zurich Law School – “Law on Veterinarians”
• McGill University, Montreal – “Political and Legal Animal-Welfare, Role and Instruments”
• International Media work on “The Lawyer for Animals” (CNN, NYT, WSJ etc.)

2006

• German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina - “Challenges to the veterinary profession from the animal in law”
• Heidelberg University - “The animal in law and the regulatory postulate”

2005

• Cambridge University - “Animals in European Laws - legal aspects of human-animal bonds”

I have also addressed the following organisations:

• German Judges Academy
• The German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
• European Biomedical Research Association
• Federation of Europ. Laboratory Animal Science Associations
• Swiss Veterinary Association
• German Association of Practising Veterinarians

Memberships: 

• Foundation for the Animal in the Law, board member
• International Association of Human Animal Interaction Organisations IAHAIO, legal committee
• Swiss Bar Association
• Zurich Bar Association

Recent prizes:

2005

• Margaret and Francis Fleitmann Prize
   
  For “tireless and outstanding commitment to contemporary animal-welfare legislation, especially for pioneer work for the animal in the law”.
   
  Prize of CHF 50,000.

Languages:

German and French (bilingual), English (good, written and spoken).
 

Office

Our office will be happy to take your calls from Monday to Friday, from 08.30 to 11.45 and from 13.30 to 16.45.
 

Contact details

Office address:

Krepper Knecht Partner

Dr. iur. Antoine F. Goetschel
Attorney-at-Law
Sophienstrasse 2

P.O. Box 1517
CH-8032 Zurich - Switzerland

Please do not send us any confidential information by e-mail. We assume that persons who correspond with us using e-mail accept that we will reply by e-mail.