Professor Nanda was involved with the American Branch for decades, including roles as a member of the Executive Committee, the Vice-President, David Dudley Field Patron, a recipient of the 2023 Charles Siegal Distinguished Service Award, and as an Honorary Vice President until his passing. He was also the co-editor of the International Practitioner’s Notebook, an American Branch publication previously published quarterly.

Professor Nanda earned his B.A. and M.A. from Punjab University, India, his LL.B and LL.M from Delhi University, India, an LL.M from Northwestern University, Chicago, and has been awarded two honorary doctorates from Soka University, Japan, and Bundelkhand University, India. Professor Nanda has taught international law at over a dozen schools globally, including the University of Oxford, California Western School of Law, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and Trinity College, Dublin. His professorial home was Strum College of Law, University of Denver, where he founded the International Legal Studies Program in 1972 and was the Director of the eponymous Ved Nanda Center for International and Comparative Law. His final title at the University of Denver was as a Distinguished University Professor and Thompson G. Marsh Professor of Law, where he received several faculty awards, acted as a Faculty Adviser to the Denver University Law Review and the Denver Law Forum, and since 1991, regularly wrote an international affairs column for The Denver Post.

Professor Nanda authored or co-authored 24 books and over 225 chapters and law review articles in international and comparative law, and received more than 50 awards over his career. Some of his many publications include International Environmental Law & Policy for the 21^st Century (Brill Publishers, 2012 with George W. Pring) and Law in the War on International Terrorism (2005, Transnational Publishers). In 2018, he received the Padma Bhusan award, the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, for his work in the field of literature and education. He previously served as the President of the World Jurist Association, Director of the American Society of Comparative Law, and President of the World Association of Law Professors, and held a variety of advisory roles. With several awards established thanks to the work of Professor Nanda, his remarkable legacy will live on.

From our President, Michael P. Scharf: “Over thirty years, I spent many wonderful times with Ved and his wife Katherine, in Denver, Cleveland, DC, New York, and abroad. Ved was a warm, humorous, and supportive friend and colleague as well as a mentor and an inspiration to a generation of international law professors and practitioners, including Brenda Hollis who went on to be the Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the International Prosecutor of the Cambodia genocide tribunal.  Ved was an acclaimed scholar, human rights advocate, and institutional builder — culminating in the establishment of the International Law Center at Denver University that bears his name.  The ABILA was one of his favorite organizations, and we were happy that his lifetime contributions and leadership were honored last fall when Ved received the ABILA’s Charles Siegel Service Award.”