Name
Prof. Paolo Bernasconi
Professional address
Bernasconi Martinelli Alippi & Partners
P.O. Box 5271
Via Lucchini 1
6901 Lugano
Switzerland
Tel. +4191 910 06 06
Fax +4191 910 06 00
P.O. Box 5271
Via Lucchini 1
6901 Lugano
Switzerland
Tel. +4191 910 06 06
Fax +4191 910 06 00
Date of birth
25.04.1943
Nationality
Swiss
Mother tongue
Italian
Other
German, French and English
Education and professional experience
1962 - 1966
Law studies and bachelor at the Universities of Bern and Fribourg
1966 - 1968
Attorney-at-law and notary trainee
1968
Admission to the Ticino Bar and as a Notary Public
1969 - 1985
State Attorney of the South District of Switzerland (Lugano and Chiasso)
Consultant to the Council of Europe, Strasbourg (1982, 1995, 1999), to the OCSE in Paris (1996) and to the UE in Bruxelles (2001)
1984 - 2004
Lecturer on Penal Business Law at the University of St. Gallen (professor since 1999)
1986 - 2001
Lecturer on Penal Business Law at the University of Zurich
As from 1986
Attorney-at-law and Notary Public with the Law Firm Bernasconi Martinelli Alippi & Partners (formerly Peter, Bernasconi & Partners, formerly Sganzini Bernasconi Peter & Gaggini) in Lugano (Switzerland)
1986
Member of Federal Consulting Committees for the revision of the Swiss Penal Code concerning the Anti-Money Laundering penal rules
1987 - 1989
Guest Professor on International Tax Law at the University of Genova (Italy)
1996 - 2002
Guest Professor on International Tax Law at the University of Bocconi/Milan (Italy)
As from 1990
Professor at the Centre for Banking Studies (Centro di Studi Bancari) in Lugano-Vezia
1990, 1992
Consultant to the Division of the United Nations Branch on Crime Prevention and Control, Vienna
1991
Member of the Federal Consulting Committee for the Anti-Money Laundering penal rules as well as for the Guidelines on Money Laundering of the Swiss Banking Supervisory Authority, for the Federal Law on Stock Exchange, for the Federal Law on International Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters
Lecturer for the Master of Business Law (MBL) Program at the Universities of Zurich (1997 - 2008) and Geneva (1999 - 2005)
1998 - 2009
Professor at the Executive Master in Tax Law of the Professional High School of Svizzera Italiana (SUPSI), Lugano
2001
Vice-President of the Permanent Advisory Council of the Swiss Federal Authority against Money Laundering
January 2002
Appointed as an expert ad personam within the Steering Committee of the European Conference on the Fight against Financial Crime
2005 - 2008
Professor on Penal Business Law at the Insubria University of Como (Italy)
As from 2006
Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee of the Swiss Association of Asset Managers (SAAM), Zurich
As from July 2008
Appointed by the Swiss Bankers Association as Member of the Supervisory board concerning the Agreement on the Swiss banks’ code of conduct with regard to the exercise of due diligence (CDB 08)
Appointed as a special investigator or as a permanent judicial expert or as a scientific counsel by several international organisations and governments, by the Swiss Federal Ministry of Treasure and by several Swiss cantonal authorities.
Law studies and bachelor at the Universities of Bern and Fribourg
1966 - 1968
Attorney-at-law and notary trainee
1968
Admission to the Ticino Bar and as a Notary Public
1969 - 1985
State Attorney of the South District of Switzerland (Lugano and Chiasso)
Consultant to the Council of Europe, Strasbourg (1982, 1995, 1999), to the OCSE in Paris (1996) and to the UE in Bruxelles (2001)
1984 - 2004
Lecturer on Penal Business Law at the University of St. Gallen (professor since 1999)
1986 - 2001
Lecturer on Penal Business Law at the University of Zurich
As from 1986
Attorney-at-law and Notary Public with the Law Firm Bernasconi Martinelli Alippi & Partners (formerly Peter, Bernasconi & Partners, formerly Sganzini Bernasconi Peter & Gaggini) in Lugano (Switzerland)
1986
Member of Federal Consulting Committees for the revision of the Swiss Penal Code concerning the Anti-Money Laundering penal rules
1987 - 1989
Guest Professor on International Tax Law at the University of Genova (Italy)
1996 - 2002
Guest Professor on International Tax Law at the University of Bocconi/Milan (Italy)
As from 1990
Professor at the Centre for Banking Studies (Centro di Studi Bancari) in Lugano-Vezia
1990, 1992
Consultant to the Division of the United Nations Branch on Crime Prevention and Control, Vienna
1991
Member of the Federal Consulting Committee for the Anti-Money Laundering penal rules as well as for the Guidelines on Money Laundering of the Swiss Banking Supervisory Authority, for the Federal Law on Stock Exchange, for the Federal Law on International Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters
Lecturer for the Master of Business Law (MBL) Program at the Universities of Zurich (1997 - 2008) and Geneva (1999 - 2005)
1998 - 2009
Professor at the Executive Master in Tax Law of the Professional High School of Svizzera Italiana (SUPSI), Lugano
2001
Vice-President of the Permanent Advisory Council of the Swiss Federal Authority against Money Laundering
January 2002
Appointed as an expert ad personam within the Steering Committee of the European Conference on the Fight against Financial Crime
2005 - 2008
Professor on Penal Business Law at the Insubria University of Como (Italy)
As from 2006
Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee of the Swiss Association of Asset Managers (SAAM), Zurich
As from July 2008
Appointed by the Swiss Bankers Association as Member of the Supervisory board concerning the Agreement on the Swiss banks’ code of conduct with regard to the exercise of due diligence (CDB 08)
Appointed as a special investigator or as a permanent judicial expert or as a scientific counsel by several international organisations and governments, by the Swiss Federal Ministry of Treasure and by several Swiss cantonal authorities.
Practice Areas
Directors and Officers Liability; Bankruptcy; Insolvency; Non-Profit Organisations; International Private Law; Professional Liability; Torts; Banking Law; Finance; Business Law; Commercial Law; Competition; Contracts; International Mutual Assistance in Fiscal, Criminal, Civil and Prudential Matters; Compliance and Risk Management; Due Diligence Countering Corruption and Money Laundering; Assets Tracing.
Miscellaneous
Co-editor of: Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Strafrecht, Zurich (Switzerland), Rivista trimestrale di diritto penale dell’Economia, Padova (Italy), Forum Poenale, Zurich (Switzerland).
Member of the Board of:
Swiss Association for International and European Penal Law, Zurich (Switzerland); Seminary on Banking Law, Centre for Banking Studies of the Ticino Bankers Association, Lugano (Switzerland); Transparency International, Berlin (Advisory Board); Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Aussenpolitik/SGA/ASPE, Lenzburg (Switzerland); Science et Cité Foundation, Bern (Switzerland); International Society of Social Defence, Paris; Institute of International Humanitarian Law, San Remo (Italy); Southern California Institute of Architecture (Europe) Foundation, Vico Morcote/TI (Switzerland); several international and Swiss humanitarian Non Profit Organisations.
Member of the Board of:
Swiss Association for International and European Penal Law, Zurich (Switzerland); Seminary on Banking Law, Centre for Banking Studies of the Ticino Bankers Association, Lugano (Switzerland); Transparency International, Berlin (Advisory Board); Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Aussenpolitik/SGA/ASPE, Lenzburg (Switzerland); Science et Cité Foundation, Bern (Switzerland); International Society of Social Defence, Paris; Institute of International Humanitarian Law, San Remo (Italy); Southern California Institute of Architecture (Europe) Foundation, Vico Morcote/TI (Switzerland); several international and Swiss humanitarian Non Profit Organisations.