François Bohnet

Professor François Bohnet is a distinguished academic and legal expert at the University of Neuchâtel's Faculty of Law, where he holds the Chair of Civil Procedure and Legal Profession Law. Born in Lausanne in 1972, he earned his law degree from the University of Neuchâtel in 1994, completed an LL.M at Harvard Law School (1999-2000), and obtained his doctorate in 1999. He has been teaching at his alma mater since 2000, progressing from lecturer to associate professor in 2003, and ultimately to full professor and chair holder in 2006.

Professor Bohnet's research focuses on civil procedure, access to justice, dispute resolution methods, legal profession regulation, and real estate law (particularly lease law and PPE). His scholarly output is extensive, with numerous books including the annotated Swiss Civil Procedure Code, multiple editions of 'Civil Procedure' and 'Legal Profession Law,' and co-authored works on lease law. His research projects have been funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, and he has supervised over a dozen doctoral students to completion, many earning Summa Cum Laude distinctions.

His recent scholarly work demonstrates continued prominence in Swiss legal academia, with numerous publications in 2021-2023 covering evolving aspects of civil procedure, legal profession ethics, and real estate law. His research shows particular attention to practical applications of procedural law, with several publications analyzing recent Federal Court decisions.

• Professor Walther Hug Prize (2015, 2017)
• Prix Paul rené Rossel (2012)
• FAA-preis (2012)

As an educator, Bohnet teaches civil procedure, legal profession law, and lease law. He has been instrumental in continuing legal education, organizing numerous conferences for practitioners. He serves as scientific editor of the Swiss Journal of Civil Procedure since 2005, was President of the Neuchâtel Bar Association (2020-2023), and has been deeply involved with the University of Neuchâtel's governance as Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Law (2009-2011) and member of the Dean's Office (2007-2011). He has created multiple educational websites including droitne.ch, bail.ch, and cpcaugmenté.ch, which features an AI tool for Swiss civil procedure.