
Dr Gauri Pillai
BA LLB (Hons.) (NUJS), BCL, DPhil (Oxon.)
Current positions
Lecturer in Law
University of Bristol Law School
Contact
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Research interests
Gauri studies pregnancy and reproduction through the lens of public law. She is especially interested in understanding how constitutions receive and resist reproductive rights. When constitutional texts are silent on reproductive rights – as they often are – which expressly listed rights can be used to build a home for them? On the other hand, what are sites of constitutional resistance to reproductive rights, and can they be diluted through reinterpretation? Gauri’s work also positions reproductive rights as a site to interrogate broader themes in public law, such as conceptions of separation of powers, theories of judicial review, and methods of rights analysis. The reach of her research therefore extends far beyond reproductive rights. Gauri adopts different methodological approaches to answer these questions, ranging from doctrinal and theoretical study to comparative analysis, with a specific focus on ‘Global South’ constitutions. In her ongoing work, she also draws on empirical legal methods and historical study.
Publications
Recent publications
11/11/2024The Privacy-Equality Synthesis
Oxford Journal of Legal Studies
Unenumerated Constitutional Rights
World Comparative Law
Continuing Constitutional Conversation
International Journal of Discrimination and the Law
Shades of Life in Indian Abortion Law
National Law School Journal