University of Basel. Photo: Gulliveig, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_University_Basel.jpg)
University of Zurich. Photo: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Z%C3%BCrich_Switzerland-University-of-Zurich-Main-Building-01.jpg)
University of Basel. Photo: Gulliveig, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_University_Basel.jpg)
University of Zurich. Photo: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Z%C3%BCrich_Switzerland-University-of-Zurich-Main-Building-01.jpg)
Pascal P. Simonius was born in 1929 in Basel, Switzerland. Basel lies on the Rhine in northern Switzerland, near the borders of France and Germany, and was admitted into the Swiss Confederation in 1501. The city's university, the first in Switzerland, was founded in 1460 by Pope Pius II.
Simonius spoke German, French, Italian and English.
Simonius received a doctorate in law, Dr. jur., from the University of Basel in 1955. Founded on 4 April 1460 after Pope Pius II issued its foundation bull in 1459, the university is Switzerland's oldest university. Its original four faculties included jurisprudence, the field in which Simonius later practised and taught.
The university's early history included serious crises, among them a drop in enrolment after Basel joined the Swiss Confederation in 1501. Such periods shaped the institution in which Simonius later held academic posts.
Simonius was admitted to the Basel bar in 1959 and became a notary public in Basel in 1960. From 1959 Simonius practised as an attorney in Basel and Zurich.
Simonius was a partner in the Basel firm Hartmann, Simonius, Wiemken, Spoendlin. The present-day firm Simonius & Partner traces its origins to a law and notary's office founded in Basel in 1916 by Dr. Fritz Hagemann, and to earlier practices including those of Dr. Flüge, Prof. Simonius and E. Wiemken. In October 2000 Simonius & Partner merged with Holliger Pfrommer & Partner.
Simonius was a lecturer at the University of Basel in 1969. Simonius then served as professor of civil and commercial law there from 1975 to 1999 and is now professor emeritus.
International arbitration formed a substantial part of Simonius's later activity. Simonius has acted as chairman, sole arbitrator, party-appointed arbitrator or counsel in numerous international arbitrations concerning contract construction and cancellation, collaboration agreements, joint ventures and problems involving state enterprises.
Simonius is a member of the Swiss Arbitration Association, a non-profit association of practitioners and academics engaged in domestic and international arbitration, founded in 1974. The association offers members conferences, practice seminars, exchange of know-how and networking. Its quarterly ASA Bulletin has been one of the leading journals in international arbitration since the 1980s.
