Head: Research and Higher Degrees
Pietermaritzburg
Law Building – Room 7, 1st Floor
Dr Sheetal Soni is the Head of Research and Higher Degrees and a Senior Lecturer in International Law, Health Law, and Bioethics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. She holds LLB, LLM, and PhD degrees and is an admitted Attorney of the High Court of South Africa. Her research sits at the intersection of international law, bioethics, and health law, with a particular focus on reproductive justice, emerging biotechnologies, and the protection of health rights in contexts of conflict and structural vulnerability. She has undertaken consultancy work for the National Department of Health, and contributed to key national policy instruments, including the Clinical Guidelines for the Provision of Genetic Services (NDoH, 2021). Her work also engages international processes, including research contributions to United Nations mechanisms. She has also served on expert panels convened by the Network of African Academies of Sciences and the Academy of Science of South Africa. Her current research develops ethico-legal frameworks for ectogestation and examines reproductive violence as a modality of atrocity crimes. Her ongoing project on Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care in Armed Conflict advances an integrated bioethics and international law framework to protect pregnant women and newborns in conflict settings. Her expertise in international health law and bioethics has received international recognition, including her inclusion on the United Nations list of eligible candidates for appointment as Special Rapporteur on the right to health (Human Rights Council, 2026).
Dr Soni is a member of the African Society of International Law, the African Institute of International Law, the International Law Association (South African Branch), the International Association of Bioethics, and the African Bioethics Network. She serves on the Board of the Association for Responsible Research and Innovation in Genome Editing (ARRIGE) and previously served on the Advisory Board of the AI and Genomics Futures project (a collaboration between the Ada Lovelace Institute and the Nuffield Council on Bioethics). She regularly presents her work internationally and she is frequently an invited participant on expert panels and roundtables, such as the Nuffield Council (U.K) on Bioethics Expert Workshop on the 14-day Rule, and the Lorentz Centre (Leiden) Expert Workshop on Ethical Boundaries in Embryo Model Research, and regularly contributes to public and media engagement. She was also an invited participant in the civil society Gaza Tribunal, and opening plenary speaker at the Feminist Approaches to Bioethics Congress (2026). In 2026, Dr Soni received the International Association of Bioethics Award for Bioethics Service in the Face of Challenges, which recognises outstanding contributions that advance bioethics beyond academic scholarship and translate knowledge into meaningful impact. The award recognised her sustained commitment to principled engagement with difficult and politically sensitive ethical issues, particularly the impacts of armed conflict on women, children and other vulnerable populations.
