History

The Ved Nanda Center for International & Comparative Law was established in 2006, thanks to the vision and generosity of Douglas Scrivner and other donors, to create a lasting, institutional tribute to Ved Nanda and his 40 years at the DU College of Law, and to do so in a manner that captures Ved's contributions in scholarship, teaching, writing, and relationships. In addition to serving the needs of the current College of Law and University constituents, it would be a center of life-long learning in international and comparative law, a magnet for alumni, academics, practitioners, and other friends of the College of Law and the University, and a vehicle for interdisciplinary collaboration with other constituent parts of the University and perhaps other institutions as well. Its scope would be complementary and supplemental to the International Legal Studies program and the Denver Journal of International Law & Policy. Its subject matter focus would include both public and private international law, and would emphasize the intersection of the two and real-life issues rather than theory.

Professor Ved P. Nanda taught at the University of Denver from 1966-2023. He was a Distinguished University Professor and Thompson G. Marsh Professor of Law at the University of Denver, where he founded the International Legal Studies Program in 1972. He was the Director of the Ved Nanda Center for International & Comparative Law. Professor Nanda held many leadership positions in the global international law community, including the World Jurist Association, American Society of International Law, International Law Association, American Law Institute, and the American Bar Association's Human Rights Center and Section of International Law. He served as U.S. delegate to the World Federation of the United Nations Associations in Geneva and on the governing council of the United Nations Association of the USA. He was an officer and board member in several international and national NGOs. He was the Chair of the Uberoi Foundation for Religious Studies. In January 2019 he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Hindu American University.

He received numerous national and international awards, authored, or co-authored 25 books and over 225 chapters and law review articles in international and comparative law, wrote a column for The Denver Post, and was a regular commentator in both electronic and print media. In March 2018, President Ram Nath Kovind presented Professor Nanda with the Padma Bhushan, one of the highest civilian awards given by the Government of India. And in Apri of that year, the American Bar Association International Law Section conferred on him the Louis B. Sohn Award, for "distinguished, longstanding contributions to the field of public international law."