Navanethem Pillay

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Navanethem Pillay is a South African judge who has served 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. In June 2007 she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Civil Law degree from the University of Durham, England.

[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

  1. ^ The bus driver's daughter (alumni profile), Harvard Law Bulletin, Spring 2006
  2. ^ Citation for honorary doctorate, Rhodes University, April 2005

[edit] Sources and external links

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