Doctorates Honoris Causa are conferred upon individuals whose scientific, humanitarian, or social achievements are of outstanding distinction. Recipients are publicly recognized for their contributions and have significantly advanced the disciplines relevant to the degree awarded.
On 17 October 2025, the Aula Magna of the Department of Law hosted the Ceremony for the conferral of the Honorary PhD in “Legal Sciences” to Professor Fernando Gascón Inchausti, Professor of Procedural Law at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
The ceremony was attended by the Rector, Professor Giovanna Spatari; the Director of the Department of Law, Professor Alessio Lo Giudice; the Coordinator of the PhD Programme, Professor Giuseppina Panebianco; and the Director General, Dr Pietro Nuccio.
Professor Gascón Inchausti, Director of the Doctoral School at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, delivered a Lectio Doctoralis on the topic “The Principle of Procedural Legality as a Guarantee of Legal Certainty.”
The Laudatio was entrusted to Professor Stefano Ruggeri, Full Professor of Criminal Procedural Law.
“A leading figure in the international scientific community,” Professor Ruggeri emphasised, “Professor Gascón Inchausti - author of over 260 publications including monographs and edited volumes - receives the Honorary PhD in Legal Sciences in recognition of his innovative research and his unwavering commitment to the advancement of legal knowledge, with particular focus on procedural law, both criminal and civil, as well as on the general theory of procedure. Among the most significant achievements of his career are the numerous research projects funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología, the Ministerio de Educación y Cultura, and the European Commission. These projects have yielded results of considerable practical impact, contributing significantly to social and economic progress not only in Spain, but also within the broader European Union”.
On 4 April 2024, the Aula Magna of the Rectorate hosted the ceremony for the conferral of the Honorary PhD in Legal Sciences to Professor David Joseph Attard, a judge and internationally renowned scholar with an extensive body of work in the field of international maritime law.
The ceremony was attended by the Rector, Professor Giovanna Spatari; the Director of the Department of Law, Professor Alessio Lo Giudice; the Coordinator of the PhD Programme in Legal Sciences, Professor Concetta Parrinello; and the Director General, Lawyer Francesco Bonanno.
Professor Attard delivered a Lectio Doctoralis entitled “Enhancing the Effectiveness of International Maritime Law”.
The Laudatio was entrusted to Professor Francesca Pellegrino, Full Professor of Navigation Law, who outlined the key milestones of Professor Attard’s distinguished career.
A judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) - an independent judicial body established by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea - Professor Attard served for thirty years as Director of the International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI) at the University of Malta, where he currently holds the prestigious position of Chancellor.
He has been a Visiting Professor at leading European universities, including Sorbonne–Paris and Oxford, and has participated as Maltese delegate in numerous UN Working Groups and Conferences on marine pollution. Over the course of his career, he has received numerous awards and honours, including the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 2010 and the International Maritime Prize in 2022.
The conferral of the Honorary PhD in Legal Sciences to Professor Attard is rooted in the shared recognition of “the extraordinary significance of his contributions - also in his capacity as Judge - to the development of the Law of the Sea”.
Eng. Sciacchitano was elected President of ICAO, the UN body that brings together the civil aviation authorities of 193 States, for the three-year term 2020–2022. For the first time since 1944, the year ICAO was established, a European was chosen for the presidential position. Sciacchitano, who during his career served for about ten years as Deputy Director General of ENAC, was appointed with the support of the European Civil Aviation Conference, a pan-European organization composed of 44 member States.