Prof. Dr. iur. Dr. h.c. Helmut Heiss University Zurich

Helmut Heiss has been a full professor of private law, comparative law and conflict of laws at the University of Zurich since 2007. Previously, he held chairs in Germany (Greifswald and Mannheim) and had been an associate professor in Austria (Innsbruck). In 2019, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Liechtenstein.

Helmut Heiss was admitted to the bar by OLG Munich and has practiced in Zurich since 2011. He also works as an arbitrator, legal trustee of two German insurance companies and a private expert. The main areas in which he works are Swiss, German, Austrian, Liechtenstein, international and European insurance and reinsurance law, general contract law, conflict of laws and international procedural law as well as Liechtenstein company, foundation and trust law.

Helmut Heiss heads the global project group on the “Principles of Reinsurance Contract Law (PRICL)”. A first set of these Principles including Comments and Illustrations was published in 2019. 

Helmut Heiss led the European project group on the “Principles of European Insurance Contract Law (PEICL)”. As Chairman of this group, he was a member of the Expert Group on European Insurance Contract Law of the European Commission, an expert at the European Economic and Social Committee twice and was consulted as an expert on the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs.

Helmut Heiss is coordinator of the Insurance Law Special Interest Group at the European Law Institute in Vienna.

Helmut Heiss is a board member of the Swiss Society for Liability and Insurance Law (SGHVR) and member of the Organizing Committee of the Swiss Chapter of the Association Internationale de Droit des Assurances (AIDA Swiss Chapter). He was consulted as an expert by the Committee for Economic Affairs and Taxation of the National Council (WAK-N) on the partial revision of the Insurance Contract Act (VVG).

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