Navanethem Pillay
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Navanethem Pillay is a South African judge who serves on the International Criminal Court since 2003. She was born in 1941 to South Africa's Tamil minority. [1]
She was the first woman to start a law practice in Natal Province in 1967. She acted as defence attorney for many anti-apartheid activists and trade unionists, including her own husband. In 1973, she brought a successful application against the officer commanding Robben Island Prison which enabled political prisoners – including Nelson Mandela – to have access to lawyers. [2]
Pillay studied at Harvard University, earning a Master of Law degree in 1982, and Doctor of Juridical Science in 1988. In 1992 she co-founded the organization Equality Now which campaigns internationally on women's rights. In 1995, Pillay became the first black woman to be appointed as a High Court judge in South Africa.
As a judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda she led the landmark decisions defining rape as an institutionalized weapon of war and a crime of genocide. In 2003 she received the inaugural Gruber Prize for Women’s Rights.
[edit] Positions
- Judge - International Criminal Court (2003 - )
- President - International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (1999 - 2003)
- Acting Judge - Supreme Court, South Africa (1995 - ?)
- Judge - International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (1995 - 1999)
- Trustee - The Legal Resources Centre (1995 - 1998)
- Vice President - University of Durban Westville (1995 - 1998)
- Chairperson - Equality Now (1992 - 1995)
- Lecturer - University of KwaZulu-Natal (1980 - ?)
- Member - Black Lawyers Association (BLA)
- Member - Women's National Coalition
[edit] Notes
- ^ The bus driver's daughter (alumni profile), Harvard Law Bulletin, Spring 2006
- ^ Citation for honourary doctorate, Rhodes University, April 2005
