The Right to Equal Participation in the Judiciary and the ICJ: Where are the Women? (ILW Webinar) скачать в хорошем качестве

The Right to Equal Participation in the Judiciary and the ICJ: Where are the Women? (ILW Webinar)

The right to equal participation in decision making is a fundamental human right enshrined in international law, including in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic Social, and Cultural Rights, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. In its General Recommendation 40 (GR40) issued in October 2024, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (the CEDAW Committee) made it clear that this right applies to international judiciaries. GR40 notes that despite the fundamental nature of this right, States do not enforce it. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is one such example. In the almost 80 years of the court, only 5.22% of its permanent judges have been women, the rest men, and no data is known regarding other genders. Justice systems should reflect the diversity of the societies they serve, and the ICJ is no exception. Known as the ‘World Court’, the historical and ongoing overrepresentation of one gender on its bench demonstrates its lack of representativeness. This panel discussion will focus on the need for gender parity on the ICJ bench from a human rights lens with a special focus on the right to equal participation in decision making and in the international judiciary. Panelists will discuss the causes and consequences of women’s absence from the ICJ bench and assess barriers to ICJ judicial gender parity and how to overcome them. The discussion will address gender-based discrimination and gendered barriers to the fulfillment of other human rights that may impede the effective exercise of judicial participation rights for women. One year on from GR40, and one year away from the November 2026 ICJ judicial election, it is time to turn the recommendation into reality.