International Criminal Court Judge to Speak at the UA
Navanethem Pillay, an International Criminal Court judge
Judge Navanethem Pillay's lecture is part of a James E. Rogers College of Law series.
South Africa-born Navanethem Pillay became the first woman to open a law practice in Natal Province while in her 20s.
That was 1967.
Today, Pillay is an International Criminal Court judge who has come to be known as a human rights advocate in her country and around the world.
Invited as part of the UA James E. Rogers College of Law's Isaac Marks Memorial Lecture, Pillay will give a talk Wednesday at the UA titled "Equal Justice for Women - A Personal Journey."
Pillay is honorary chair for Equality Now, an international human rights organizations that focuses on the rights and protection of women.
She represented people who were fighting against apartheid and also handled precedent-setting cases to establish as a defense the effects of solitary confinement, the right of political prisoners to due process and the family violence syndrome.
Pillay earned her undergraduate degrees from South Africa's Natal University before earning a master's degree in law and a doctorate in juridical science from Harvard University.
In 1995, she became the first woman attorney in her country appointed acting judge of the High Court of South Africa by the Mandela Government during Nelson Mandela's presidency.
Pillay, who holds a position in the court's Appeals Division, was later elected by the United Nations General Assembly to be a judge on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
In 2003, she was elected by the Assembly of State Parties to the Rome Statute to be a judge with the International Criminal Court, based in The Hague in the Netherlands.
The International Criminal Court is an independent court that handles serious criminal cases. Most often, those being tried are accussed of committing crimes that concern more than one country. Among the crimes the court tries are those against humanity, such as genocide and war crimes.
Pillay has held numerous key positions for organizations, including the Women Lawyers Association, the Advice Desk for Abused Women and the Black Lawyers Association.
et cetera
- What | Isaac Marks Memorial Lecture
- When | March 12, 10 a.m.
- Where | School of Music, Holsclaw Hall, 1017 N. Olive Road
- Extra Info |
The Isaac Marks Memorial Lecture was established in 1979 to enrich the curriculum of the James E. Rogers College of Law by bringing the scholarship and learning of eminent people in various fields of law.
The late Judge Jack Marks and his wife, Selma Skora Paul, a 1956 graduate of the UA College of Law, endowed the lecture series in memory of the judge's father, Isaac Marks. Judge Marks died in 1983.
- Contact Info
Media ContactNancy Stanley
James E. Rogers College of Law
520-621-8430