France, Oct. 9 -- "A common thread runs ⁠from her early ​work ⁠defending Nelson Mandela and others who stood up against ⁠apartheid to her service as a ​judge ⁠in some of ‌the key international court cases of our time," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said on Friday.

It described the 85-year-old judge as "one of the most courageous and important legal experts of our time" at a time when "the system of international law is under tremendous pressure, and its institutions are under attack".

Pillay, currently a judge on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in a case in which Myanmar also stands accused of genocide, has been "instrumental in ensuring that war crimes, crimes against humanity, and gen...