معرفی
Prof. Dr. iur. Margot Michel is a Professor at the University of Zurich's Faculty of Law, where she holds the Chair of Private Law, Comparative Law, Animal Welfare Law and Legal Philosophy. She is actively engaged in research and teaching across multiple legal domains including family law, medical law, and animal law.
Her research interests span Family Law and Family Procedural Law, Medical Law, Personal Law, Disability Law, and particularly Animal Law where she has made significant contributions. Michel is pioneering work in the legal recognition of animals, exploring how legal frameworks can move beyond treating animals as mere property. Her habilitation thesis "Legal Community with Animals. A Search for Clues" (2024) represents a major contribution to this field.
Michel's publication record shows a clear evolution from traditional family and medical law toward increasingly innovative work at the intersection of law and animal studies. Her recent publications demonstrate a sophisticated integration of legal theory, practical application, and ethical considerations, particularly in how legal systems can better accommodate non-human entities. She has been instrumental in establishing animal law as a legitimate academic discipline in Switzerland.
She serves as co-editor of the Journal of Animal Law, Ethics and One Health (LEOH) since 2023 and is a member of the editorial board of FamPra.ch - Praxis des Familienrechts since 2022. Michel has organized and participated in numerous conferences including the "Animals in Switzerland, Japan and Beyond" symposium at the University of Zurich in March 2024.
- Co-editor, Journal of Animal Law, Ethics and One Health (LEOH) since 2023
- Member of editorial board, FamPra.ch - Praxis des Familienrechts since 2022
- Co-founder and leader, Center for Animal Law and Ethics (CALE)
- Participant in NRP 79 – Animals, Research and Society
Michel leads the Center for Animal Law and Ethics (CALE) at the University of Zurich, which serves as a hub for interdisciplinary research connecting legal scholars with veterinarians, philosophers, and scientists. Through CALE, she has organized numerous workshops on the 3Rs principle (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement) in animal research and has been instrumental in developing university policies to accelerate animal replacement in research settings.
