Personal details
9 September 1975, Johannesburg (born)
Husband: Dr Reuven Ziegler
Education
1994 – 1996 – Bachelor of Arts (University of the Witwatersrand)
1997 – Bachelor of Arts (Honours) (University of the Witwatersrand)
1998 – 1999 – Bachelor of Laws (University of the Witwatersrand)
2000 – 2001 – Master of Philosophy (University of Cambridge)
2001 – 2004 – Doctorate of Philosophy (University of Cambridge)
Professional history
| Name of employer | Position held | Period |
| Constitutional Court of South Africa | Law Clerk to Deputy Judge President Pius Nkozo Langa | Jan to Sep 2000 |
| Ashira Consulting (Pty) Ltd | Legal Consultant | Sep to Nov 2004 |
| Ross Kriel Attorneys | Candidate Attorney | Dec 2004 – Jan 2007 |
| University of the Witwatersrand | Lecturer (part-time) | 2005 – 2009 |
| South African Institute for Advanced Constitutional, Public, Human Rights and International Law (SAIFAC) | Senior Researcher |
Feb 2007 – Dec 2008 |
| SAIFAC | Director | 2009 – present |
| University of Johannesburg | Associate Professor | Jan 2010 – Nov 2012 |
| University of Johannesburg | Full Professor | Dec 2012 – present |
| University of Reading | Full Professor (part-time) | Jul 2020 – present |
Other Activities
Membership of Legal Organisations
| Name of organisation | Position held | Period |
| Law Society of the Northern Provinces (now Legal Practice Council) | Admitted as an Attorney (but currently on non-practising role) | 2007 – present |
| South African Law Reform Commission | Advisory Committee Member on the Law Relating to Witchcraft | 2011 – 2023 |
| International Association of Constitutional Law | Secretary-General | April 2013 – June 2020 |
| International Association of Constitutional Law | Vice-President | June 2020 – present |
| International Association of Constitutional Law/SAIFAC | Head of Local Organising Committee: World Congress of Constitutional Law | 2017 – 2022 |
| Constitutional Court Trust | Trustee | 2015 – present |
| Society of Legal Scholars (UK) | Member | 2022 – present |
| Society for Law Teachers for Southern Africa | Member | 2010 – present |
Membership of Community, Academic and other organisations
| Name of organisation | Position held | Period |
| JEWISH COMMUNITY | ||
| Beit Emanuel Progressive Synagogue | Vice-Chair | 2013 – 2014 |
| Limmud International Steering Group | Chair | Dec 2014 – Dec 2016 |
| Jewish Democratic Initiative | Member of Committee | 2017 – 2021 |
| Beit Emanuel Progressive Synagogue | Head, Rabbinic Search Committee | 2023 – present |
| EDUCATIONAL | ||
| Law, Ethics and Philosophy International Journal | Editorial Board | 2011 – present |
| International Journal of Human Rights and Constitutional Studies | Editorial Board | 2012 – present |
| Global Journal of Animal Law | Advisory Editorial Board | 2012 – present |
| Journal of South African Law (TSAR) | Member of Editorial Board | 2013 – 2014 |
| South African Journal on Human Rights | Member of Managing Editorial Board | 2014 – 2016 |
| Constitutional Court Review | Member of Editorial Board and Managing Editor (from 2020) | 2014 – present |
| Business and Human Rights Journal | Member of Editorial Board | 2017 – present |
| Max Planck Encyclopaedia of Comparative Constitutional Law | Member of Advisory Editorial Board | 2017 – present |
| OTHER | ||
| Animal Law Reform South Africa Board Member 2017 – present (Currently on leave from Board) | ||
Honours and Awards
- Society of Advocates Prize (to the best final year LLB Student): 1999
- Skye Foundation Scholarship: 2000
- Bradlow Foundation Scholarship: 2000 - 2003
- Awarded Research Fellowship, University of Sydney: 2009
- Included on the list of top 200 Young South Africans by Mail and Guardian: 2010
- Received an NRF rating as an internationally acclaimed researcher: 2012 and 2019
- Elected as a member of the South African Young Academy of Science: 2015
- Received a Georg Forster Fellowship from the Von Humboldt Foundation: 2016
- Appointed Visiting Professor, National University of Singapore: 2016
- Visiting Research Professor, Humboldt University of Berlin: 2017 – 2018
- Visiting Research Professor, Minerva Center for Human Rights, Tel Aviv University: 2018
- Elected Member of the Academy of Science of South Africa: 2020
Publications
Acting Justice Bilchitz has written two monographs, edited five collections (with others), co-authored one textbook, written 41 journal articles (including case notes) and 28 book chapters. Some examples of his book publications are below: for a full list click here
BOOKS
1. Poverty and Fundamental Rights: The Justification and Enforcement of Socio-Economic Rights (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2007) (provides a justification for socio-economic rights, that recognises their urgency and importance and develops a legal doctrinal approach to give effect to them; consideration is also given to the policy implications of these rights).
2. Fundamental Rights and the Legal Obligations of Business (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2021) (develops a legal analytical framework for determining the substantive content of corporate obligations with respect to fundamental rights).
EDITED COLLECTIONS
1. Is this Seat Taken? Conversations at the Bar, the Bench and the Academy about the South African Constitution (with Stuart Woolman) (Pretoria University Law Press, 2012) (edited volume of essays).
2. Human Rights Obligations of Business: Beyond the Corporate Responsibility to Respect? (with Surya Deva) (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2013)
3. Building a Treaty on Business and Human Rights: Context and Contours (with Surya Deva) (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2017).
4. The Evolution of the Separation of Powers: Concept and Practice (With David Landau) (Edward Elgar, 2018).
5. Transitional Justice, Distributive Justice and Transformative Constitutionalism: Comparing Colombia and South Africa (with Raisa Cachalia) (Oxford University Press, December 2023).
