Ivo Grabovac was born in Split, 1934, he graduated from the Faculty of Law, Zagreb University, in 1960, earned an LL. M. degree 1965, and an LL.D. degree in 1967. He is a specialist for Maritime Law and Transport Law. From 1955 to 1961 he worked as a Clerk at the Harbourmaster's Office in Split, and then at the Faculty of Law, Split University, from its founding in 1961. He became Full Professor in 1976 and served as the dean of the Faculty of law in Split from 1978 to 1980 and from 1994 to 1996. He was the founder of the Postgraduate studies of maritime law and law of the sea of the Faculty in Split (1979) and the Headmaster of that study for several times. He is an Associate Member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts and a Titulary Member of the Comité Maritime International. He authored 36 books, which include monographs, textbooks, commentaries, and encyclopaedias, and about 1000 scientific and professional articles in various journals and scientific papers in Croatia and abroad. As a recognised professional in his field, he has received several awards (5 lifetime achievement awards), inter alia the National Lifetime Achievement
Award for Science (2006).