University of Basel

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Teaching

The Faculty of Law at the University of Basel has a focal area of teaching in life sciences law. In the master's studies, lectures and courses are combined within the framework of a specialization (specialization in life sciences law), which provide students with specific yet broad training in life sciences law. This includes the following courses, organized by subject area. Please note, that all courses are held in German language.

Courses in the spring semester 2025

  • Ethics and law in biomedicine
    • Lecturer:Prof. Dr. iur. Bijan Fateh-Moghadam (assessor)
    • Short description: The lecture "Ethics and Law of Biomedicine" follows on from my lecture "Medical Criminal Law"; however, both lectures can be attended independently of each other and in any order. It deals with the criminal law aspects of biomedicine, which are mainly regulated in ancillary criminal law. The lecture focuses on reproductive medicine, human research, in vivo and in vitro embryo protection under criminal law, pre-implantation diagnostics, gene therapy including so-called genome surgery on the embryo (genome editing). The analysis of medical law includes the associated bioethical discussion, with a particular focus on the distinction between ethics, morality and law.
    • Lecture dates: in the spring semester 2025 (VVZ)

    Courses in the fall semester 2024

    • Medical criminal law
      • Lecturer: Prof. Dr. iur. Bijan Fateh-Moghadam
      • Short description: The lecture Medical Criminal Law deals with those problems of the general and special part of criminal law that are of particular practical relevance to medical and medical-scientific activity (medical and life sciences criminal law). The medical-ethical and legal-philosophical foundations of medical law are also included, with a particular focus on the distinction between ethics, morality and law.
        The focus of this lecture is on classical medical criminal law, which examines the criminal law risks of medical activity in the individual doctor-patient relationship. In particular, the following fields of criminal law are examined in depth in the lecture: Bodily injury and homicide offenses, objective attribution and negligence (medical malpractice), consent and presumed consent. The thematic focal areas of the lecture are medical interventions on minors, the criminal law risks of euthanasia and transplantation medicine.
        The criminal law aspects of biomedicine in the narrower sense, which are mainly regulated in ancillary criminal law, are the subject of the separate lecture "Ethics and Law of Biomedicine", which is offered regularly in the spring semester. The criminal law aspects of genetic and reproductive medicine, the criminal law protection of embryos in vivo and in vitro, pre-implantation diagnostics and the new possibilities of genome surgery on embryos (genome editing) are therefore largely excluded from the lecture on medical criminal law or only presented in outline.
        Lecture dates: in the fall semester 2024 (VVZ)
    • Philosophy of Law
      • Lecturer: Prof. Dr. iur. Bijan Fateh-Moghadam
      • Short description: The philosophy of law lecture deals on the one hand with the question of how the concept of law is to be defined (legal theory): How does law differ from other social norms and institutions? On the other hand, the philosophy of law deals with the question of whether there are substantive criteria for the correctness of law and how these can be determined (legal ethics). The relationship between law and justice or law and morality is the leading question in the historical presentation of the development of the philosophy of law from antiquity to the present day. In addition, some systematic questions of legal philosophy are examined on the basis of current legal policy discussions, such as human dignity and the prohibition of torture) and the justification, validity and enforcement of human rights (philosophy of human rights).
        Lecture dates: in the fall semester 2024 (VVZ)

      Courses in the spring semester 2025

      • Copyright and design law
        • Lecturer: Prof. Dr. iur. Alfred Früh
        • Short description: The lecture conveys the basic principles of intellectual property law and then concentrates in particular on the presentation of copyright and design law. Further focal areas of the lecture are the enforcement of intellectual property claims and the exploitation of intellectual property rights, in particular through license agreements. Finally, questions of licensing antitrust law will be dealt with.
        • Lecture dates: each spring semester (VVZ)
      • Liability law
        • Lecturer: Prof. Dr. iur. Peter Loser, adjunct professors
        • Brief description: The lecture imparts knowledge of non-contractual liability law. The focus is on new developments and cross-references to life sciences law
        • Lecture dates: each spring semester (VVZ)
      • Private medical law
        • Lecturer: Dr.iur. Bianka Dörr Bühlmann LL.M
        • Short description: The lecture "Private Medical Law" deals with various aspects of the treatment relationship between doctor or hospital and patient in a practical way. The most important subjects are the assignment of legal problems to the applicable area of law, the rights and obligations in the treatment relationship, the treatment of children and adolescents as well as patients with capacity and incapacity. However, questions relating to the beginning and end of life, the right to self-determination and treatment decisions at the end of life are also dealt with in depth. The lecture "Private Medical Law" is interdisciplinary, but with a clear focus on private law issues. The discussion and solution of practical cases is part of each teaching unit.
        • Lecture dates: each spring semester (VVZ)

       

      Courses in the fall semester 2024

      • Introduction to life sciences law
        • Lecturer: Prof. Dr. iur. Alfred Früh
        • Short description: The lecture introduces the law of life sciences.
          In the first part of the lecture, the basics of life sciences law are taught from the perspective of the basic subjects (biomedical ethics; relationship between ethics and law as well as technology and law in the life sciences), public law (e.g. therapeutic products and licensing law), as well as from the perspective of private law (intellectual property law; data (protection) law; competition and distribution law).
          In the second part of the lecture, students complete a course certificate in life sciences law, which consists of a written and an oral element.
          Lecture dates: in the fall semester (VVZ)
        • Patent and trademark law
          • Lecturer: Prof. Dr. iur. Alfred Früh
          • Short description: The lecture conveys the basic principles of the protection of inventions in the field of life sciences through patent law. It also deals with the identification of goods and services with trademarks. Another focal area is the enforcement of intellectual property rights and their exploitation, e.g. by means of license agreements.
          • Lecture dates: each fall semester (VVZ)
        • Private insurance law incl. supervisory law
          • Lecturer: Prof. Dr. iur. Pascal Grolimund, adjunct professor
          • Brief description: Fundamentals of insurance law incl. supervisory law
            General insurance contract law (conclusion, rights and obligations of the parties, claims, recourse, etc.)
            Special insurance contracts (using examples such as household contents insurance, liability insurance, legal expenses insurance, life insurance, daily sickness benefits insurance, etc.)
            Special procedural features
            Lecture dates: in the fall semester 2024 (VVZ)

          Courses in the spring semester 2025

          • European law, specialization (European constitutional law)
            • Lecturer: Prof. Dr. iur. Andreas Müller
            • Short description: The lecture deals with the "constitution" of the European Union, although the EU is not mandated with a formal constitution and the trials for the creation of a "Treaty on the European Constitution" have failed. Nevertheless, all the classic constitutional questions arise in the Union's legal system: separation of powers, democracy, the federal state, fundamental rights, etc. However, the answers to these questions are specific to EU law. The lecture aims to familiarize students with these special features of European constitutional law, in particular by reading and analysing the relevant case law of the ECJ.
            • Lecture dates: in the spring semester 25 (VVZ)
          • Reproductive law without limits? The regulation of new technologies as a challenge for the law
            • Lecturers : Dr. iur. Matthias Till Bürgin; Dr. phil. et lic. iur. Daniel Kipfer
            • Short description: With the expansion of the scope of action, a variety of completely new questions arise. At the same time, the legislator is required to make decisions of great significance in rapid succession. With each new technological development, legislators are faced with the challenge of weighing up the opportunities and risks as well as individual and collective interests in order to base access to a new technology or a ban on it on justiciable criteria. This balancing of interests raises a number of specific questions that require in-depth reflection: What specific interests are to be weighed against each other? What weight should be given to the competing interests? What criteria are used for weighing up? What is the scope of reproductive autonomy? What is meant by the best interests of the child? How safe must a new reproductive technology be in terms of potential health risks in order to be admitted? What risks are socially acceptable?
            • Lecture dates: in the spring semester 2025 (VVZ)
          • Health Law
            • Lecturer: Prof. Dr.iur. Nils Schaks
            • Short description: This lecture is dedicated to the analysis and discussion of central aspects of the Swiss health care system, partly also with references to international law. The focus is on the structures and actors that characterize the Swiss healthcare system and their links to global and legal developments. A particular focal area is the concepts of health and disease. In particular, the concepts of Public Health and One Health will be examined and their practical relevance for the modern healthcare system will be highlighted. Another central subject of the lecture is the legal examination of the Epidemics Act. This will be examined, taking into account the pending partial revision, in its fundamentals as well as selectively. The lecture is intended to provide an insight into the legal challenges and developments in the area of national and international health legislation.
            • Lecture dates: in the spring semester 2025 (VVZ)

          Courses in the fall semester 2024

          • Current regulatory challenges for life sciences law - national, European and international perspectives
          • Therapeutic Products Law
            • Lecturer : Prof. Dr. iur. Nils Schaks
            • Short description: The lecture on therapeutic products law deals with the most important areas of pharmaceutical and medical device law with a focal area on pharmaceutical law.
              On the one hand, the lecture deals with the legal foundations of therapeutic products law, but also addresses the changes resulting from the revision of the Therapeutic Products Act as well as current legal issues and legal developments in Switzerland and the EU.
            • Lecture dates: in the fall semester 2024 (VVZ)
          • Introduction to Bioethics and Biolaw
            • Lecturer: Dr. Eva De Clerq
            • Short description: This seminar explores some of the most important and fascinating ethical issues that arise in medicine and health. Should we genetically engineer "better" humans? How much control should we have over the time and place of death? Does transgender youth have the right to obtain hormones without parental consent? How are disability rights and animals ethics connected? Students are invited to think critically and openly about these questions that intersect with issues of equality, diversity and inclusion. Lectures will be complemented with cases studies, video fragments, in-class debates and student presentations.
            • Seminar dates: in the fall semester 2024 (VVZ)
            • Competition and antitrust law
              • Lecturers: PD Dr.iur. Philippe Spitz LL.M. and Prof. Dr. iur. Philipp Zurkinden, adjunct professor
              • Short description: The lecture teaches the basics of competition and antitrust law, including civil and criminal law protection and administrative law provisions. Both areas of law restrict the scope of action of players in the life sciences in the interests of functioning and fair competition.
              • Lecture dates: each fall semester (VVZ)
            • WTO-Law
              • Lecturers: PD Dr.iur. Krista Nadakavukaren Schefer J.D.
              • Short description: This course focuses on the legal system of the World Trade Organization (WTO) as the basis of the international trade law system. We start with a short overview of the development of the legal principles lying at the heart of the multilateral trading system. Then we move on to looking at the institutional elements of the WTO itself. The general principles and the exceptions to WTO law are then explained and analyzed on the basis of the treaty texts and the relevant case law. The dispute settlement mechanism is also examined thoroughly.
              • Lecture dates: in the fall semester 2024 (VVZ)

              Digital content

              Some of the teaching content listed above is publicly accessible in digital form. The following links refer to dedicated playlists on the ZLSR YouTube channel.

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