CORAL GABLES, Fla. (February 10, 2020) – International and humanitarian law expert Claudio M. Grossman will present the lecture, “The Obligation to Negotiate Access to the Pacific Ocean: The Decision of the International Court of Justice in the case between Bolivia and Chile,” at the University of Miami School of Law on Monday, February 24, 2020.
Grossman will discuss the ICJ’s rejection of Bolivia’s claim that its neighbor country, Chile, was compelled to enter into negotiations. The Chilean lawyer, who argued before the ICJ at The Hague on behalf of Chile in 2018, will analyze the ICJ’s decision, its relevance in the relationship of Bolivia with Chile, its significance for international law and international relations, as well as the strategies pursued by Chile to achieve a favorable result.
“Claudio Grossman’s career as a leader in legal education international and comparative law and human rights is unparalleled,” says Bernard Oxman, Miami Law’s Richard A. Hausler Professor of Law. “It is a great honor to have the opportunity to welcome this man of extraordinary grace to the Miami campus. Students, faculty, and practitioners are fortunate indeed to have the chance to attend his lecture and to meet him in person.”
The American University Washington College of Law professor of law, dean emeritus, and the Raymond Geraldson Scholar for International and Humanitarian Law was elected to the International Law Commission in November 2016 for a five-year term, where he had long served as member and chairperson – for four terms – of the United Nations Committee against Torture. In 2013, Grossman was elected chair of the UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies for a one-year term.
Grossman was also a member – and twice chair – of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, where he was the first Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women, as well as its Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Populations, and its Observer of the AMIA Trial. He presided or participated in crucial cases involving the transition to democracy and expansion of the rule of law in the Western hemisphere, including freedom of expression, amnesty laws, separation of powers, and vulnerable groups.
The lecture will take place in room E352 at the law school on the Coral Gables campus from 6:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. and is part of the Keith C. Wold ’17 LL.M. Distinguished Lecture in Maritime & International Law. A reception will follow. The event is free and open to the public with registration.
