October 14, 2014

Center for Animal Law Studies Welcomes First Visiting International Scholar Dr. Gieri Bolliger

Dr. Bolliger is an attorney and the executive director of Europe’s only NGO focused on the legal aspects of animal welfare - Stiftung für das Tier im Recht (Foundation for the Animal in the Law - TIR) in Zurich, Switzerland.

Lewis & Clark Law School and the Center for Animal Law Studies (CALS) welcomes Dr. Gieri Bolliger as the first animal law Visiting International Scholar for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Dr. Bolliger is an attorney and the executive director of Europe’s only NGO focused on the legal aspects of animal welfare - Stiftung für das Tier im Recht (Foundation for the Animal in the Law - TIR) in Zurich, Switzerland. He also served as a member and animal welfare representative for ten years on the Committee for Animal Experiments of the Canton of Zurich. Dr. Bolliger graduated from the University of Zurich Law School in 1994 and went on to complete a doctoral thesis on European animal welfare law earning his PhD in 2000. Most recently, Dr. Bolliger graduated from Lewis & Clark with his LLM in Animal Law.

Since 2005, he has held a teaching position in animal law at the University of Zurich Law School. Dr. Bolliger has also taught Comparative International Animal Law at Lewis & Clark Law School and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. As an editor, author and co-author, he has published twelve books, numerous studies and more than 100 articles on Swiss and international animal law.

During his time at Lewis & Clark Law School, Dr. Bolliger will work on campus with animal law faculty and students to complete a legal treatise providing an overview of Swiss animal law in English. Switzerland is often viewed as a model for other countries for their treatment of animals, and this English overview will provide a vital explanatory text regarding Swiss animal law.  Dr. Bolliger will also use the time and access to Boley Law Library and faculty towards the completion of his habilitation (the highest academic qualification in Europe requiring a professorial thesis based on independent scholarship). His research will focus on Criminal Animal Law with special attention on international comparative aspects.

CALS is working toward strengthening the relationship with Dr. Bolliger’s organization in Switzerland and will host TIR’s team of animal lawyers at the 22nd Animal Law Conference this October. Also, TIR will continue to provide opportunities for animal law LLM graduates interested in working on European animal law issues.