NEWS
Claudio Grossman Honored with
Prestigious Nelson Mandela Award Family, friends and advocates gathered to celebrate his lifelong dedication to human rights and justice.
BY KEITH PIERCE
AUWCL is proud to announce that Dean Emeritus Claudio Grossman has been honored with the Nelson Mandela Award by the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) International Human Rights Section (IHRS). This highest distinction in international human rights recognizes individuals whose extraordinary achievements have profoundly impacted the global pursuit of justice.
The award was presented during a special ceremony at the AALS annual meeting on January 9. The event included remarks from Eduardo Bertoni, director of AUWCL’s Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, who highlighted Professor Grossman’s exceptional contributions to advancing human rights and international law.
“Professor Grossman’s life and career are a testament to resilience, vision and unwavering commitment to the principles of justice and human dignity,” Bertoni said. “As a co-founder of the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, his leadership has helped make AUWCL a global hub for human rights advocacy, education and research.”
The ceremony also featured personal remarks from Nienke Grossman, the daughter of Professor Grossman, who is currently a professor of law and co-director of the Center for International and Comparative Law at the University of Baltimore School of Law. She introduced her father and shared heartfelt reflections on his profound influence on her personal and professional life.
“ Our duty to humanity requires resilience, pragmatism, and the creation of space for others to continue the fight for justice and dignity.”
14 THE ADVOCATE SUMMER/FALL 2025
“I’ve grown up in awe of my father, though at times it has felt like we were sharing him with the entire world,” she said. “Now a law professor myself, short of having a clone or an identical twin that I don’t know about, I just cannot imagine how he does everything he does.”
In his acceptance speech, Professor Grossman expressed deep gratitude to the selection committee and reflected on the collective nature of his accomplishments, emphasizing the impact of his mentors, family and life experiences.
“This award is not just for me but for the collective ‘me and my circumstances,’” he said, invoking Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset. “It includes my
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