Priya Pillai is a lawyer and international law consultant. She holds a PhD in international law and transitional justice from the Graduate Institute, Geneva; an LL.M from New York University; and a B.A./LL.B. (Hons.) degree from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore.
Priya has been involved in different aspects of peace processes and transitional justice initiatives in South and South-East Asia, and she also writes and advocates on these issues regularly. She consults on international law for organizations such as Amnesty International, WHO and the IFRC.
At the ICTY, Priya analyzed contentious legal issues and assisted the judiciary on various aspects of the proceedings at the trial and appellate level. In her role as an in-house counsel at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) headquarters in Geneva, Priya negotiated headquarters agreements in multiple countries to enable global humanitarian operations. Her portfolio included advocacy for effective humanitarian assistance laws, including at the International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. Priya has also been involved in legal campaigns for India to sign the Rome Statue and the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions, as well as on legislative initiatives relating to the prohibition of torture and genocide. She trained senior judiciary on international law and taught international law and transitional justice at NLSIU Bangalore. She also worked at a law firm in her initial years as a lawyer.