Current activity

Mr. Schneider practices law in Geneva, with emphasis on international arbitration and contracts (construction, government contracts, foreign investments, agency/distributorships, technology transfers, electronic commerce) under various laws, incl. Swiss, comparative, private and public international law. Acted as counsel and arbitrator in many international cases, including ICC, ICSID, LCIA, EDF, UNICTRAL, UNECE, UNCC, WTO and ad hoc arbitrations.

Professional focus

Areas of law

My career

  • Studied Law and History at the Universities of Munich, Bonn and Geneva
  • 1962: AIESEC trainee with the Shell Company, Sierra Leone (West Africa)
  • 1965-1968: studied at Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva (Comprehensive doctoral exam)
  • Admitted to the Bar in Munich, Germany and authorized to practice as a foreign lawyer in Geneva
  • 1970-1994: an Associate and Counsel with Lalive Budin and Partners
  • 1978-1987: In-house Counsel to UNEFICO and Swiss Bank Corporation Consultants Group
  • Various academic assignments at the Geneva Law School and the Graduate Institute of International Studies and was Director of Studies at the Center for Studies and Research in International Law and International Relations at the Hague Academy of International Law (1987, Transnational Arbitration and State Contracts)

Arbitration experience

Member of Executive Board of ASA, Leader of Forum on Arbitration and New Fields of the ICC Commission on International Arbitration, Chairman of Committee T7 (Construction Disputes) of IBA/SBL. Member of UNCITRAL Expert Groups (Guide for Industrial Works Contracts, 1983-1985 and Arbitral Practice, 1993-1995) and several Working Parties of the ICC Commission on International Arbitration (Arbitration and Construction, 1980-1983; Arbitral Referee Procedure, 1980-1989 and the Revision of the ICC Arbitration Rules 1995-1997). Member of WIPO Arbitration and Consultative Commission (1994- ), of Scientific Council, Swiss and International Construction Law Institute (1996- ), and ABA.

Publications

  • Numerous publications on arbitration, international contracts (construction etc.), public international law (international organizations, UNCC), i.a.: The New Swiss Law on International Arbitration (with P.M. Patocchi), 55 Arbitration 268 (1989)
  • Multi Fora Disputes (Arb. Int'l, 1990)
  • Witnesses in International Arbitration, (ASA Bull. 1992)
  • Technical Experts in International Arbitration, (ASA Bull. 1993)
  • Mastering the Interfaces - Construction Contract Drafting for Dispute Avoidance (Int'l Constr. L. Rev., 1993)
  • International Organizations and Private Persons: The Case for a Direct Application of International Law in Etudes de Droit International en l'honneur de Pierre Lalive, 1993
  • Lean Arbitration: Cost Control and Efficiency Through Progressive Identification of Issues and Separate Pricing of Arbitration Services, Arb. Int'l, 1994
  • Major Construction Cases in The Reform of Commercial Arbitration Procedures, London, 1994
  • Commentary on Art. 182 (arbitration procedure), English version, 2000
  • 184 (evidence) of the Swiss Act on Private International Law, in Honsell, Vogt, Schnyder: Das Internationale Privatrecht, 1996 (Basler Komm.), Eng. ed. 2000
  • Streitbeilegung auf dem Information Highway, in Hilty (ed.): Information Highway, 1996
  • Combining Arbitration and Conciliation - Report at the Seoul Conference of the ICCA, October 1996
  • Dispute Resolution in International Electronic Commerce (with Christopher Kuner), Journal of Int'l Arbitration, vol. 14 N° 3, 1997
  • How Fair and Efficient is the United Nations Compensation Commission System? A Model to Emulate?, Journal of Int'l Arbitration, vol. 15 N° 1, 1998
  • Towards More Cost-Effective Arbitration, IBA - Arbitration and ADR, vol. 3 N° 1, 1998, with David Lord Hacking

Languages

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  • German
  • English
  • French (fluent)
  • Spanish
  • Italian
  • Arabic (basic knowledge)

Memberships

Further informations

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