Vinod Boolell holds a law degree from Oxford University and was called to the Bar at Inner Temple London. He also holds a Maîtrise in French law and a Diploma from the French Ecole de la Magistrature, Paris.

After practicing at the Bar, he joined the Office of the Attorney General and the Director of Public Prosecutions in 1972, where his duties consisted in advising government departments and being a prosecutor in high profile offences.

In 1988 he was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court. He has also served as a District Magistrate where he presided over criminal and civil cases. He also served as the President of the Industrial Court that has jurisdiction to hear disputes relating to employment matters.

In 1985 he was a member of a Committee established by the Government of Mauritius to review the law on the lease of immovable property
In 1986 he was a Special investigator for the Commission of Inquiry on Drugs., His duties were to investigate all suspected drug traffickers with the help of the police and to probe into their bank accounts and other assets.

He was also a Member of the Judicial and Service Commission for the government of Mauritius. The Commission makes recommendations to the President of the Republic for the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court.; the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Solicitor General and all Law Officers of the Attorney General’s Office and magistrates of the District Courts.
Vinod Boolell has also been a Member of the Board of Examiners at the Council of Legal Education that is responsible for organizing professional courses and examinations for members of the legal profession.
In 2001 he joined the United Nations Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights and was appointed as an adviser to the Supreme Court of Cambodia. His duties consisted in advising the judges and prosecutors of the Court on human rights application in the criminal justice system.
In 2003 he was mandated by the International Bar Association to carry out a survey of the legal profession in Cambodia.

From 2002 to 2009 he served as aJudge and later Chief International Judge, with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo. In Kosovo, he investigated and presided over cases dealing with war crimes, ethnic murders, trafficking, terrorism, illegal possession of weapons, illegal immigration, economic crimes, extradition, and child kidnapping.He also monitored and actively participated in the efforts of the United Nations for the transition of powers to the local judiciary and for institutional and capacity building at both regional and provincial level for the judiciary in Kosovo.
In Kosovo he also gave lectures to the judges, prosecutors and police officers of the European Mission, who were taking over from the United Mission, on war crimes, criminal law and procedure.

Between December 2005 and 2006 he was a Speaker at Seminars on Rule of Law organised by the European Commission in Germany and Sweden on investigation and trial of high-profile crimes, namely, war crimes, ethnic killings, human trafficking, organized crime., terrorism, corruption and money laundering.

In July 2009 he was appointed Judge and President of the United Nations Dispute Tribunal and served in that capacity until June 2016.His duties included adjudicating disputes arising between staff members of the United Nations and the Secretary General. These disputes relate to contracts of employment including interim orders to suspend administrative actions relating to contracts of employment, disciplinary matters, financial issues and mediation. He was also involved in the preparation of annual reports on issues relating to the Tribunal to be submitted to the General Assembly.