Dr Nirmala Pillay

About Dr Nirmala Pillay

Dr Nirmala Pillay joined Leeds Beckett University in February 2019 as Reader and Post Graduate Course Director Academic. Her main work is in philosophy and International Human Rights Law.

Nirmala studied philosophy and law in the UK, Netherlands (Leiden) and South Africa. She has taught philosophy and law in Universities in South Africa, New Zealand, the United States and United Kingdom.

Dr Pillay's main research and interests are in constitutional law, philosophy and human rights. As Chief Research Specialist at the Human Sciences Research Council (SA) she was involved in commissioned research in this area and co-organised the philosophy and law panels for the disbursement of research funds to academics. Her more recent research publications include constitutional and human rights issues in Sri Lanka and Egypt and health rights.

Her work is mainly in postgraduate teaching and supervision including the development of Masters courses. In 2016 she developed, in collaboration with the Political Science department of Hope College, Michigan, a new Masters course entitled Democracy, Rule of Law and Human Rights which was piloted at Hope College, Michigan and offered at Liverpool John Moore’s University.

Current Teaching

• International human rights law (UG)
• International Human Rights (MA)
• Public Law

Research Interests

Nirmala is part of a research group funded by GCRF and MRC/AHRC grants to study the health rights of HIV positive women and infants in prisons in Zimbabwe and Malawi. She is currently being funded (BA Leverhulme Small Grants Scheme) to investigate the emerging right to health in international law.