Martin Kayser · Attorney-at-Law · former Judge
Administrative litigation – seen from the bench.
Martin Kayser supports law firms in proceedings before cantonal administrative courts, the Swiss Federal Administrative Court and the Swiss Supreme Court. If you want to know how your brief will be read by the court, ask someone who decided such cases for twelve years.
Get in touchServices
What publiclaw.ch offers your firm
Discreet, independent and at eye level: Martin Kayser works with your existing teams – and, if you wish, remains invisible to the outside.
Brief Review & Second Opinion
Appeals, submissions and other briefs are reviewed from a judicial perspective before filing: What persuades, what is missing, what hurts? You receive concrete, actionable suggestions.
Litigation Support
Strategy, choice of procedural avenues and a realistic assessment of risks and prospects in pending administrative proceedings – from interim rulings to the final decision.
Legal Opinions
Expert opinions on Swiss constitutional and administrative law for law firms, companies and public authorities – academically grounded, clear in structure, language and conclusion.
Advice
Reinforcement of your team by an independent specialist in Swiss administrative procedure – for a single question or throughout an entire mandate.
Academia & Practice
Judicial experience, academically grounded
Martin Kayser served as a judge at the Swiss Federal Administrative Court from 2016 to 2023, and before that at the Administrative Court of the Canton of Zurich. He co-authors the leading treatise on litigation before the Federal Administrative Court («Prozessieren vor dem Bundesverwaltungsgericht»), contributes to a leading commentary on the Federal Act on Administrative Procedure, and publishes regularly on judicial review and administrative procedure. He also teaches at Swiss universities, including constitutional and international law at the University of St. Gallen and administrative law at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW).
Practice Areas
Focus
- Administrative procedureFederal Act on Administrative Procedure and cantonal procedural law – core expertise
- Administrative litigationFederal Administrative Court, cantonal administrative courts, Federal Supreme Court
- Education, research and health lawUniversities, hospitals, medical professions, recognition of diplomas
- Regulatory lawLicences, concessions, state liability, public procurement
- Constitutional lawFundamental rights, political rights, federalism
- Energy lawProcedure and judicial protection in the context of decarbonisation
- ECHR and European lawTaking national cases to Strasbourg, Convention issues
Profile
Dr Martin Kayser, LL.M., Attorney-at-Law
Martin Kayser founded publiclaw.ch in 2007. As a judge at the Swiss Federal Administrative Court and the Administrative Court of the Canton of Zurich, he decided administrative cases for twelve years – experience he now makes available to law firms and their clients.
- since 2007 — Attorney-at-law, founder and owner of publiclaw.ch
- 2016–2023 — Judge, Swiss Federal Administrative Court
- 2012–2015 — Judge, Administrative Court of the Canton of Zurich (2010–2012 part-time)
- 2009–2012 — Counsel with a Zurich business law firm
- Education — Dr. iur. (University of Zurich), LL.M. in Public Law (University College London), admitted to the Zurich bar
- Teaching — Lecturer at Swiss universities; lecturer in constitutional and international law, University of St. Gallen
Publications
Selected publications
- Prozessieren vor dem Bundesverwaltungsgericht [Litigation before the Federal Administrative Court], 3rd ed., Basel 2022 (with André Moser, Michael Beusch and Lorenz Kneubühler)
- Commentary on Articles 45/46 and 65 of the Federal Act on Administrative Procedure, in: Auer/Müller/Schindler (eds.), VwVG Commentary, 2nd ed., Zurich 2019 (with Rahel Altmann and Lysandre Papadopoulos)
- Recht und Politik [Law and Politics: Courts, Political Decisions and Decarbonisation], ZBl 2025, pp. 519–543
- Wie Sie Verwaltungsgerichte überzeugen [How to Persuade Administrative Courts], in: Seitz/Straub/Weyeneth (eds.), Festschrift für Stephan Breitenmoser, Basel 2022, pp. 43–53
- Der Zugang zur Verwaltungsgerichtsbarkeit [Access to Judicial Review of Administrative Action], in: von Bogdandy/Huber/Marcusson (eds.), Ius Publicum Europaeum, vol. IX, Heidelberg 2021, pp. 251–337
- Rechtsschutz und Kontrolle [Judicial Protection and Control], in: von Bogdandy/Cassese/Huber (eds.), Ius Publicum Europaeum, vol. V, Heidelberg 2014, pp. 1047–1129
Contact
Get in touch
publiclaw.ch
Dr Martin Kayser, LL.M.
Attorney-at-Law
Schaffhauserstrasse 331
8050 Zurich, Switzerland