Successful participation of the Basel team at the international ECHR Moot Court in Strasbourg

The team selected by the Chair of European Law, International Law and Human Rights at the University of Basel took part in the renowned Concours René Cassin in Strasbourg from March 24 to 28, 2026 and impressed with a strong overall performance right through to the final round. The team was made up of Beyza Sahin (Accompagnatrice), Kasimir Heer (Conseiller juridique), Robin Schlettwein (Plaideur), Louise Im Hof (Plaideuse) and Joana Mösch as coach. The team was able to impress with its appeal, written in French, on a challenging case from the field of European fundamental and human rights protection with references to international law. Through precise legal argumentation and linguistic aplomb, the team qualified for the final round of this prestigious competition, which took place in the impressive premises of the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg, among numerous European universities. The Chair would like to congratulate the team on this outstanding achievement and would like to thank everyone involved for their commitment and success in representing the Faculty of Law of the University of Basel at international level.

Special thanks go to the PRO IURE alumni network for its generous support.

EUCOR seminar on European fundamental rights protection

23. EUCOR seminar on the European protection of fundamental rights "Human rights in times of war"

On March 20 and 21, 2026, the 23rd EUCOR Seminar on European Fundamental Rights Protection on the topic of "Human Rights in Times of War" took place at the University of Strasbourg and on March 27 and 28, 2026 in Freiburg im Breisgau (Black Forest). The seminar was led by the organizers Prof. Linxin He (University of Strasbourg), Prof. Dr. Matthias Jestaedt (University of Freiburg im Breisgau) and Prof. Dr. Andreas Müller (University of Basel).
The seminar focused on lectures and discussions on current issues of human rights in armed conflicts. In view of the highly topical nature of the subject, the students had the opportunity to engage in-depth with current court decisions and current conflict situations and contribute their knowledge. The personal and international dialog between the participants from the three universities was particularly enriching.

Excursion as part of the lecture "European Constitutional Law"

Visit to the European Court of Human Rights

On 25 March 2026, the Chair of European Law, International Law and Human Rights under the direction of Prof. Dr. Andreas Müller visited the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg. The morning was marked by the participation in the hearing in the case Kavala v. Türkiye (No. 2) (complaint no. 2170/24). The Turkish cultural promoter and human rights activist Osman Kavala has been in prison since 2017. Despite an ECtHR judgment from 2019 ordering his immediate release, Kavala remains in detention. This hearing concerned Turkey's continued failure to implement previous judgments and highlighted both the importance of the ECtHR and the challenges of enforcing its judgments.
A particular highlight was the discussion with Swiss ECtHR Judge Andreas Zünd and Slovenian ECtHR Judge Vasilka Sancin.

19.-20.11.2025 ¦ Seminar on constitutional jurisdiction in Geneva

Seminar "Constitutional jurisdiction"

Vanessa Rüegger and Andreas Müller held a seminar on constitutional jurisdiction at the Villa Boninchi - the seminar house of the Université de Genève. It was dedicated to selected theoretical and practical questions of constitutional jurisdiction. The seminar took the work of Hans Kelsen, who is regarded as a pioneer of constitutional jurisdiction and architect of the Austrian constitution, as a starting point to discuss the functions and challenges of constitutional courts.
The students from the Université de Genève and the University of Basel each presented their written work in short papers. Following the respective presentations, questions were answered and lively discussions were held. Thanks to the excellent organization of the Geneva colleagues and the beautiful seminar house, everyone felt very comfortable.

6. May 2025 ¦ Bern

Excursion to the Delegation of the European Union

On May 6. 2025, the Delegation of the European Union for Switzerland in Bern gave us an insight behind the scenes of their diplomatic work. After an introduction by EU Ambassador Petros Mavromichalis, the students were able to address questions to the ambassador and learn more about the work on the new bilateral agreements, European security policy and the relationship between Switzerland and the EU in the current security situation in a pending discussion.

30. May 2024: Inaugural lecture by Prof. Dr. Andreas Müller

"Of birthdays, courts and headwinds: Switzerland in the international human rights system"

On 30 May 2024, Prof. Dr. Andreas Müller gave his inaugural lecture in the museums' great hall. Under the title "Of birthdays, courts and headwinds: Switzerland in the international human rights system", he offered the numerous guests an insight into the international protection of human rights and focused in particular on the currently controversial Climate Senior judgment of the European Court of Human Rights.

"The world of tomorrow"

European Book Prize winner Robert Menasse discusses his new essay on Europe in Basel

On May 16, 2024, the Austrian author Robert Menasse, who has made a name for himself in recent years with his European novels "Die Hauptstadt" and "Die Erweiterung", visited the University of Basel. At the invitation of the Chair of European Law, International Law and Human Rights in cooperation with the Institute for European Global Studies and the Literaturhaus Basel, Robert Menasse discussed with Prof. Dr. Andreas Müller and Dr. Christoph Spenlé the essay "Die Welt von Morgen. A sovereign-democratic Europe and its enemies", recently published by Suhrkamp. The great hall, which was well attended by 150 participants, showed a lively interest in the vision of overcoming nationalism in a future democratic Europe, its contradictions and borders - and what all this means for Switzerland.