Empowering Change: The life and legal legacy of Judge Navi Pillay

“I went from office to office, mostly white law firms and mostly got the same answer. 'We cannot give you a job because we cannot have white secretaries taking instructions from a black person'…” – Judge Navi Pillay

In this episode of Legal Luminaries, Judge Navanethem "Navi" Pillay reflects on her journey into the judiciary, the milestones achieved during the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the duty judges have on the bench.

In 1967, Judge Pillay became the first non-white woman to open her own law practice in Natal Province; while years later she was the first non-white woman judge of the High Court of South Africa. Judge Pillay served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014.

Speaking to Iman Rappetti in this JacPod Original podcast, in collaboration with Juta, Judge Pillay also shares her perspectives on the imperative surrounding the protection of our Constitution and democracy.

Judge Pillay currently holds positions as Judge Ad Hoc of the International Court of Justice in the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the crime of Genocide (The Gambia v Myanmar), President, International Commission Against the Death Penalty, Madrid, President Advisory Council of the International Nuremberg Principles Academy, Chair of UN/HRC Independent Commission of Inquiry into Israel and Palestine, Member, Africa Group for Justice and Accountability and Co-Convenor, Donor Direct Action, New York.

* Some content in this interview relating to sexual crimes may be disturbing to sensitive listeners.