Claudio Grossman
- Nationality
- Chile
- Year of election
- 2019
- Year of titular member
- 2023
Function(s)
- Professor and Dean Emeritus, American University Washington College of Law
- Special Rapporteur on Immunity of State Officials from Foreign Criminal Jurisdiction, United Nations International Law Commission
- President, Inter-American Institute of Human Rights
- Member, L’Institut de Droit International
- Member, Independent International Panel on Arbitrary Arrest and Detention
Area(s) of Expertise
- International/Comparative Law
- International Human Rights/Humanitarian Law
- International Organizations
Biography
Claudio Grossman is Professor of Law, Dean Emeritus, and the Raymond Geraldson Scholar for International and Humanitarian Law at American University Washington College of Law (WCL). He is a renowned authority in the field of international law. Throughout his career, Grossman has worked tirelessly to promote legal education, human rights, and the rule of law in a variety of leadership capacities in both international and domestic organizations and has published widely on such issues.
He was elected by the General Assembly of the UN as a member of the International Law Commission (ILC) for 5 years (2017-2021) and re-elected for an additional period until 2027. In 2019 he was elected chair of the ILC’s Drafting Committee and since 2023, he has served as Special Rapporteur on Immunity of State Officials from Foreign Criminal Jurisdiction and member of the ILC study group on Sea Level Rise. Presently, he serves as president of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights (term ending 2027) and has also served as president and member of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. He was also elected to the Commission for the Control of Interpol’s Files, from 2005 to 2011. In 2024, Grossman was appointed by the Government of Canada to the Independent International Panel on Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations.
Grossman was elected to the L’Institut de Droit International (Institute of International Law) in 2019, becoming a full member in 2023, and was appointed to its 12th Commission on Epidemics and International Law. In 2023, he was a member and vice-president of the Technical Committee on Admissibility for Chile’s constitutional development. Grossman served as both member and chairperson of the UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) and was elected chair of the UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies for a one-year term (2013-2014). In May 2009, he was named to the judging panel for the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award by the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights, and in May 2010 he was appointed to the Center’s Board of Directors.
Grossman’s extensive litigation experience includes litigation before the International Court of Justice. He served as the Agent of Chile in a case brought by Bolivia (2013-2018) concerning the obligation to negotiate sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean. Previously, he was an Advocate representing Chile in a case brought by Peru (2008-2014) concerning maritime delimitation. On behalf of international and non-governmental organizations, Grossman has also chaired or participated in missions to observe elections in Nepal, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Romania, Surinam, and the Middle East. Grossman has written extensively on human rights, international organizations, and legal obligations.
Grossman’s contributions to international law have earned him distinctions around the world. In 2020, he received the Goler T. Butcher Medal awarded by the American Society of International Law, as a “distinguished person for outstanding contributions to the development or effective realization of international human rights.” In 2025, he will receive the Nelson Mandela Award from the Association of American Law Schools, which recognizes “individuals whose extraordinary accomplishments have left an enduring mark on the global pursuit of justice.” He has also received a number of honorary doctoral degrees, from institutions such as the University of Valparaiso in Chile, the Universidad de San Martin de Porres in Peru, and the University of Fairleigh Dickinson in the US.
Selected publications
- Protecting Human Rights in the Americas: The Continuous Role of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, in THE IMPACT OF THE INTER-AMERICAN HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEM: TRANSFORMATIONS ON THE GROUND (Armin von Bogdandy, Flàvia Piovesan, Eduardo F. Mac-Gregor & Mariela M. Antoniazzi (eds.), Oxford University Press, 2024)
- The Obligation to Negotiate under International Law & Chile’s Strategy, in CASE-LAW AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW: CONTRIBUTIONS BY INTERNATIONAL COURTS AND TRIBUNALS (Patricia G. Teles & Manuel A. Ribeiro, Brill Nijhoff, 2023)
- Remedies for Gross Breaches of International Law, with Particular Attention to Transatlantic Chattel Slavery, in REPARATIONS UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW FOR ENSLAVEMENT OF AFRICAN PERSONS IN THE AMERICAS AND THE CARIBBEAN: PROCEEDINGS OF THE SYMPOSIUM MAY 20-21, 2021 (Justine N. Stefanelli & Erin Lovall (eds.), American Society of International Law & University of the West Indies, 2022)
- Developments at the United Nations International Law Commission on Sea-Level Rise, 39 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY INTERNATIONAL LAW REVIEW 709 (2024)
- The Invasion of Ukraine: A Gross Violation of International Law, 25 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY HUMAN RIGHTS BRIEF 74 (2022)
- Epidemics & International Law: The Need for International Regulation, 29 UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AND COMPARATIVE LAW REVIEW 206 (2022)
