Walter Boente

Prof. Dr. iur. Walter Boente is an Assistant Professor with tenure track in Private Law at the University of Zurich's Faculty of Law. His primary research focuses on the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB), comparative law, and specialized areas including family law, succession law, legal capacity, and disability rights. He leads the Chair of Boente, supervising research assistants like Yann Conti and Barbara Borkowski, and teaches courses such as Güter- und Erbrecht vertieft and Nachlassplanung.

Education: Studied law at the Universities of Osnabrück (1995–1998) and Konstanz (1998–2000), earning first and second state examinations in law from Baden-Württemberg (2000) and Bavaria (2003). Completed his doctoral thesis Coexistence and Unity in Civil Law at Basel in 2011, followed by a habilitation procedure at Fribourg in 2017.

Research emphasizes legal systems' coherence, disability rights implementation, and cross-jurisdictional comparisons. His publications include Der Erwachsenenschutz, Art. 360-387 ZGB (2015) and Familienrecht in a nutshell (2017). He frequently presents at international conferences, addressing topics like adult guardianship reforms and legal capacity safeguards.

Teaches advanced courses on family and succession law, co-organizes workshops like the International Journal of Mental Health and Capacity Law seminar in 2017, and advises on projects such as the Netzwerk für Disability Studies. His work bridges civil law theory with practical applications in vulnerable populations' legal protections.