J.S.D. candidate Pavithra Rajendran is an academician, multi-faceted feminist, and first-generation lawyer from Kandy, Sri Lanka. An LL.B. graduate from the University of Colombo, Pavithra became an attorney at the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and later pursued her LL.M. degree, concentrating on criminal justice, constitutional law, gender justice, and women’s rights.

Through the Fulbright Award, Pavithra earned her second LL.M. degree, graduating cum laude from Notre Dame Law School’s program in International Human Rights Law in 2023. Her thesis on gender stereotypical malpractices in Sri Lanka won the Percy Buchanan Graduate Prize at the 72nd Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs.

Since beginning her J.S.D. journey in fall 2023, Pavithra has explored several avenues — such as writing papers, actively engaging in fellowships, and participating in conferences — to delve into the complex and dynamic intersections of disciplines such as law, feminism, criminology, sociology, economics, cultural studies, colonization, and human rights.

“I never see human rights purely as a law. It’s a multidisciplinary program,” said Pavithra. “Law is a powerful tool to approach human rights, but any person can approach human rights from their own perspective. A person in arts and culture, for example, may have their own different human rights perspective.”

For Pavithra, being a “different kind of lawyer” means having a deep passion for a cause. She stated, “It means thinking outside the box and having the courage to embrace your insecurities, imperfections, and uniqueness. A ‘different kind of lawyer’ always prioritizes human dignity above all else.”

At Notre Dame, Pavithra has brought this vision to life through her diverse academic and extracurricular pursuits. She chose Notre Dame for its strong human rights focus and her passion for bridging human rights and criminal law. “From the moment I received Notre Dame’s acceptance letter, I knew that I belonged here,” she said. She expressed that she is very grateful to Professor Diane Desierto, director of the LL.M. program in International Human Rights Law, and feels inspired by her leadership.

Read below to learn more about Pavithra’s exciting work and accomplishments as a J.S.D. candidate at Notre Dame Law School.

J.S.D. Dissertation

Pavithra’s dissertation, “Gender Sensitive Criminal Justice System as Anti-Discrimination: A Global Agenda” delves into feminist criminology and explores whether affirmative action is visible in the criminal justice systems. The first phase of her dissertation examines how women belonging to certain socio-economic and cultural classes are more vulnerable to the criminal justice system. The second phase offers a Global North versus Global South approach, comparing the United States and Sri Lanka. Specifically, Pavithra is examining the progress the United States has made in adopting women's rights within the criminal justice system, compared to Sri Lanka, where such protections remain significantly underdeveloped. The third phase provides recommendations on how the Global North and international laws can set examples to help the Global South combat violence against women. Her dissertation advisor is Professor Stephen Smith. Pavithra’s former LL.M. advisor, Professor Christine Venter, is also offering her guidance.

Colin B. Picker Graduate Prize in Comparative Law

Pavithra’s paper, titled, “Butterfly Effects: Women and Criminal Law — A Comparative Analysis of Sri Lanka and the United States,” received an honorable mention in this year's Colin B. Picker Graduate Prize in Comparative Law, organized by the American Society of Comparative Law’s Young Comparativists Committee. This paper, which she wrote under the guidance of Professor Smith, will be published in the Washington International Law Journal in its Spring 2025 issue. In addition, with the support of a grant from the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, Pavithra presented her paper at the Texas A&M University School of Law in October 2024.

Book Chapter

Pavithra’s chapter, titled, "Ensuring Childhood Aftermath of Armed Conflict," has been published in the book “Enhancing Stabilization and Strategic Partnership in a Post-Conflict Environment: A Comprehensive Approach to Human Security.” This was a one-year project by the NATO Security Force Assistance Centre of Excellence, involving several experts in international humanitarian law and practice.

2024 Notre Dame Law School Program on Law & Economics Student Fellowship

Pavithra was selected to be part of the inaugural Law & Economics Student Fellowship, which aims to foster deeper intellectual engagement and enhance research capabilities in the economic analysis of law. As a fellow, she has opportunities to engage in specialized coursework, attend guest lectures, and participate in research opportunities focused on the intersection of law and economics, including conceptual, behavioral, experimental, and empirical approaches. The fellowship is offered by the Notre Dame Program on Law and Economics, directed by Professor Avishalom Tor.

Pavithra is the only J.S.D. candidate in the inaugural cohort and the only fellow without an economics-related degree. “I’m coming to this with limited knowledge of economics,” she noted. However, her strong interest in the intersection of law and economics is evident in her work on economic abuse as a form of domestic violence, which will be published in the Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law. She hopes to use the Law & Economics Student Fellowship to further explore this topic, focusing on economic-based solutions.

2024 Graduate Justice Fellowship

The Graduate Justice Fellowship, awarded by the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Social Concerns, offers graduate students from across the University a year-long opportunity to work with faculty and a community of other graduate students on questions of justice broadly conceived from any disciplinary perspective. Fellows work with invited scholars and leaders from the University and beyond to sharpen research plans through interdisciplinary dialogue and workshops.

As a 2024 Graduate Justice Fellow, Pavithra is enthusiastic about learning how each fellow approaches and understands justice through different lenses. “The Graduate Justice Fellowship gives me the chance to work in a diverse community, and it’s a very big cohort, too,” she said. “It’s fascinating to know how people from the natural and social sciences approach justice.”

2024 Elinor Ostrom Fellowship

Pavithra is a recipient of the 2024 Elinor Ostrom Fellowship, awarded by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. This one-year program is designed for doctoral students from region-specific universities and disciplines who have an interest in the themes of markets, culture, morality, and sociality in political economy.

Pavithra aims to broaden her understanding of sociality and morality through a Global South lens and assess whether it is possible to adapt Westernized perspectives in the Global South. She will examine the influence of economic factors on women victims' ability to access justice. Of the 44 fellows in this year’s cohort, Pavithra is the only fellow with a law background, as well as the only fellow from Notre Dame Law School.

Kellogg Institute Ph.D. Fellowship

Through its Ph.D. Fellowship, the Kellogg Institute for International Studies offers five years of supplemental financial support to outstanding graduate students in a variety of disciplines who are committed to the study and understanding of global issues regardless of methodological approach or region of interest. Fellows must devote their major doctoral work to a topic directly related to addressing democracy or human development. Pavithra is concentrating on human development, with an emphasis on advancing women’s rights within the criminal justice system. She started receiving this fellowship in the fall of 2023.

Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs

In September 2024, Pavithra served as the chair of the “Gender and Justice” panel at the 73rd Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs, hosted this year by the University of Notre Dame. She presented her paper, “Societal Stigmatization of Survivors of Sexual Crimes and the Response of the Law: A Spotlight on India,” which will be published in UCLA School of Law’s Pacific Basin Law Journal next year. This was the final paper she wrote for Professor Venter’s Gender Issues and International Law class last semester, for which she was named a recipient of the Faculty Award for Excellence.

You can learn more about Notre Dame Law School’s J.S.D. program at law.nd.edu/academics/jsd/.

Originally published by Arienne Calingo at law.nd.edu on October 24, 2024.