Former ICC Judge Navi Pillay Awarded 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for Promoting Peace and International Law

Navi Pillay, a former International Criminal Court (ICC) judge who oversaw a UN inquiry that concluded Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her efforts to promote peace and international law.

The Nobel Committee said this year's award highlighted the importance of preserving an organised international order at a time when international legal institutions are facing mounting pressure and attacks.

“The system of international law is under tremendous pressure, and its institutions are under attack,” the committee said in its citation, warning that the growing dominance of power politics over legal frameworks threatens stability, trust and peaceful coexistence.

Born in Durban, in South Africa's Natal province, to a family of Indian Tamil origin, Pillay, 85, has served as a judge on several international courts, including the ICC and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. She also served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Pillay chaired the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which concluded last year that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. Israel rejected the report, describing it as “scandalous”.

Her legal career also broke significant barriers in apartheid-era South Africa. In 1967, she became the first woman to establish a law practice in Natal and the first non-white woman to serve on South Africa's High Court.

'FIRM MORAL COMPASS'

The Nobel Committee praised Pillay for holding governments and national leaders accountable, offering hope to victims of violence and conflict, and demonstrating a firm moral compass throughout her career.

Her work defending Nelson Mandela and others who opposed apartheid, followed by her service as a judge in major international cases, reflected a consistent commitment to justice, the committee said.

The award comes as the Hague-based ICC faces growing pressure from US President Donald Trump, who last month urged countries to withdraw from the court. Washington has already imposed targeted sanctions on several ICC prosecutors and judges and is reportedly considering broader measures in response to investigations involving Israeli leaders.

However, Haakon Gjerloew, acting director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo, said the decision to honour Pillay was not a direct criticism of Trump.

He described the award as a broader endorsement of an international legal order, while acknowledging that Trump's administration could react to Pillay's association with the ICC.

The Nobel Peace Prize is the fifth award announced this week, following the prizes for literature, chemistry, physics and medicine. Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado received the 2025 Peace Prize.

The award carries a prize of 12 million Swedish kronor, worth approximately $1.2 million. The ceremony is scheduled for December 10 in Oslo, marking the anniversary of the death of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, who established the prizes in his 1895 will.