Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said the award was a message to those undermining international law institutions. “This is definitely a message to those who are undermining the international system and institutions,” Frydnes said. He noted the system of international law is under “tremendous pressure” amid a shift “towards power politics at the expense of legal frameworks.”

Pillay has spent decades in international law, serving as a judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC), the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014, and currently as an ad hoc judge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). She chaired the UN Commission of Inquiry that concluded in 2025 that Israel committed genocide in Gaza. Israel dismissed the report as “scandalous.”

The U.S. has long been critical of the ICC. President Donald Trump accused it of “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.” On Friday, the Trump administration announced new sanctions against the court, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio stating: “President Trump will never allow the International Criminal Court to prosecute Americans.”

The U.S. sanctions aim to cut off financial transactions with the ICC and penalize companies that support it. ICC Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan condemned the move, saying: “The sanctions are intended to undermine the rule of law internationally and the work that an independent judicial institution is doing.”

Pillay was informed of the award while at the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg, Germany, a historically significant site for international justice. She said: “Perhaps it was meant to be that I was in this historic courtroom… when the announcement was made and I was informed of the award.” She also joked: “If you clap a little bit louder I may share this prize with Trump,” drawing laughter from the crowd.

Born in apartheid-era South Africa to Tamil parents, Pillay became the first woman in Natal to start her own law firm and the first non-white woman to serve on South Africa’s High Court. She defended anti-apartheid activists and helped secure legal rights for political prisoners on Robben Island.

The Nobel Committee emphasized the importance of international law in maintaining peace, stating: “An international legal system in which war criminals are held to account and the victims of abuse see justice served is a precondition for a peaceful world.”

The award is expected to intensify the global debate over the role of international law in holding powerful nations accountable.