Dr Jurg Kunzle > Peter & Kim > Geneva, Switzerland > Lawyer Profile

Dr Jurg Kunzle

Position

Jürg Künzle is an of counsel with Peter & Kim and an independent attorney-at-law in private practice specializing in contract negotiation and dispute resolution in relation to construction and industrial projects in Switzerland and abroad. He was involved in a great number of contracts and disputes concerning large and complex projects, including hydropower plants, dams, office buildings, industrial manufacturing and processing facilities, road and subway tunnels, site remediation works, etc. He negotiated contracts under civil and common law systems, based on various customized and standard industry contract conditions (e.g., FIDIC, NEC, SIA, AIA, VOB or ORGALIME). He contributed to the resolution of disputes in domestic and international adjudication board, arbitration and state court proceedings. He was a speaker at the 2015 Swiss Tunnel Congress in Lucerne and the 2019 Rapid Excavation and Tunneling Conference in Chicago, USA.

Dr. Künzle has been with Losinger Marazzi (a Bouygues subsidiary) and the engineering and consultancy firm EBP in Zurich before joining Marti, a renowned group of contracting companies headquartered in Bern. He was a vice director of Marti Holding, a member of the board of directors of Marti Tunnel and a member of the executive committee of the Marti Implenia heavy civil & underground consortium for the 900 MW Nant de Drance pumped storage project in Switzerland. He holds a Ph.D. degree in construction contract law from the University of Geneva Faculty of Law and graduated from the University of Fribourg and the Haute Ecole d’ingéniérie et d’architecture de Fribourg.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

• Commercial Contracts
• Corporate Law
• Joint Ventures / Consortia
• Arbitration / Litigation
• International Sales / Construction

INDUSTRY SECTORS

• Automotive & Heavy Industry
• Construction & Engineering
• Gas
• Mining & Metals
• Oil
• Pharmaceutical & Biotech

REPRESENTATIVE CASES

• Negotiation of a multimillion CHF prime contract, contract updates and dispute settlement agreements between owner NDD SA and the Marti Implenia consortium (contractor) concerning the execution of civil and underground works in relation to the 900 MW Nant de Drance pumped storage project in Switzerland (representing the contractor).
• Negotiation of two separate FIDIC contracts under Swiss law for the execution of shaft construction works and an extensive cementitious injection works between the local subsidiary of an Iranian corporation (prime contractor) and a Swiss contracting company (subcontractor) in relation to the Uma Oya multipurpose development project in Sri Lanka (representing the subcontractor).
• Settlement of a dispute arising from a customized contract under Indian law between an Indian corporation (prime contractor) and the Indian subsidiary of a Swiss contracting company (subcontractor) concerning the execution of tunnel excavation works in relation to the Mangdechhu hydropower project in Bhutan (representing the subcontractor).
• Coordination of an ICC arbitration case involving an Icelandic design-build contractor (claimant) and an international engineering and consultancy company (respondent) in relation to a FIDIC contract under Icelandic law concerning the Harpa concert hall and conference center in Reykjavik, Iceland (on the part of the claimant).
• Negotiation of a series of customized design-bid-build and design-build contracts between a US corporation (general contractor) and a Swiss contracting company (subcontractor) in relation to a pharmaceutical plant in Switzerland (representing the subcontractor).
• Negotiation of a multimillion CHF contract under French law between a pharmaceutical corporation (owner) and a Swiss/German consortium (contractor) in relation to an industrial site remediation project in France (representing the contractor).
• Negotiation of a contract under US law (New York) for the execution of shaft construction works between the local subsidiaries of a European corporation (prime contractor) and a Swiss contracting company (subcontractor) in relation to a multimillion hydropower project in Chile (representing the subcontractor).
• Negotiation of a contract under US law (Connecticut) for the design, manufacturing, delivery and installation supervision of a belt conveyor system between a US consortium (prime contractor) and a Swiss mechanical company (subcontractor) in relation to the South Hartford combined sewer and overflow tunnel project in Hartford, Connecticut, USA (representing the subcontractor).
• Negotiation of a subcontract under Chilean law for the execution of raise boring works between the local subsidiary of an Italian corporation and a Swiss contracting company in relation to an extension project in the Chuquicamata copper mine in Chile (representing subcontractor); contract language: Spanish.
• Negotiation of a subcontract under US law (Maryland) for the execution of tunnel waterproofing works between a US consortium (prime contractor) and the US subsidiary of a Swiss company (subcontractor) in relation to the Purple Line subway project in Bethesda, Maryland, USA (representing subcontractor).
• Negotiation of a subcontract under Canadian law (Ontario) for the execution of tunnel waterproofing works between an international consortium (prime contractor) and the Canadian subsidiary of a Swiss company (subcontractor) in relation to the Eglinton subway project in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (representing the subcontractor).

 

Career

• Marti Holding AG, Marti Tunnel AG (2011-2019)
• EBP AG (2009-2011)
• Losinger Marazzi AG (2007-2009)

Languages

German, English, French

Memberships

• Swiss Bar Association (SAV)
• Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA)
• Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects (SIA)
• Swiss Tunneling Society (FGU)
• Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME)

Education

• University of Geneva Faculty of Law (Dr. iur.)
• University of Fribourg (lic. iur.)
• Haute Ecole d’ingéniérie et d’architecture de Fribourg (Dipl. Arch.)