Peace prize winner Navi Pillay has served as a judge across multiple international courts

Navanethem "Navi" Pillay has won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote peace and international law. Pillay, a former International Criminal Court judge and pioneering jurist born in Durban, South Africa, into a family of Indian Tamil origin, made a lighthearted remark after receiving the honor, joking that she "may share it with Trump."

Prior to winning the prestigious prize, Pillay served on South Africa's high court, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the International Criminal Court, and oversaw a report concluding that Israel committed genocide in Gaza.