Dhayanithie Pillay (born 5 January 1958) is a South African judge of the

Labour Court A labor court (or labour court or industrial tribunal) is a governmental judiciary body which rules on labor or employment-related matters and disputes. In a number of countries, labor cases are often taken to separate national labor high courts. O ...

and KwaZulu-Natal High Court.

Early life

Pillay was born in Durban in 1958 and completed her B.Proc at

UNISA The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...

in 1982. Early in her career as an attorney, she joined the firm of noted activist lawyer

Yunus Mohamed Yunus "YM" Mohamed (sometimes ''Mahomed'') (12 June 1950 – 6 January 2008) was a South African lawyer and activist instrumental in founding the United Democratic Front (UDF).. Accessed 2008-01-24 Mohamed was born in Johannesburg to Amina a ...

, a founding member of the UDF and the instructing attorney in the

Delmas Treason Trial The Delmas Treason Trial (1985–1988) in South Africa was the prosecution of 22 anti-apartheid activists under security laws, with the intention of suppressing the United Democratic Front (UDF).Gerhard, Gail"Trial by Color" ''New York Times ...

. Pillay became heavily involved in important political cases and effectively led the firm when Mohamed was in detention. In the late 1980s, Pillay's practice moved towards

labour law Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, ...

, in which she later became an expert, acquiring an

LLM A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

in the subject from the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu-N ...

in 1993. Pillay was a drafter of the Labour Relations Act and later became a senior CCMA commissioner. She also served as an advisor to the drafters of the

South African Constitution The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the Govern ...

Judicial career

Pillay was made a judge of the

in 2000 and of the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in 2010. She supported Judge President Chiman Patel – now ousted amid suspicions that he fell out with the KwaZulu-Natal political establishment – in the racial spat over his appointment. In July 2015 she was interviewed and shortlisted by the Judicial Service Commission for appointment to the

Constitutional Court of South Africa The Constitutional Court of South Africa is a supreme court, supreme constitutional court established by the Constitution of South Africa, and is the apex court in the South African judicial system, with general jurisdiction. The Court was fi ...

. She was nominated by rights groups and former Constitutional Court judge

Zak Yacoob Zak may refer to: People * Zak (surname), a surname of Russian origin * Żak, a Polish surname * Žák, a Czech surname * Zak (given name) Fictional characters * Zak Adama, in the ''Battlestar Galactica'' franchise * Zak Dingle, in UK TV ''Emmer ...

and was praised by commentators.

Other positions and awards

Pillay is an extraordinary professor at the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was ...

and has been a visiting academic at the University of Seattle,

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

and the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

. She was recognised as a human rights defender by the Durban branch of

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

in 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pillay, Dhaya 1958 births Living people South African judges People from Durban University of South Africa alumni University of Natal alumni