THE ROLE OF FEMALE JUDGES IN INTERNATIONAL COURTS AND A GENDER PERSPECTIVE IN PROMOTING JUDICIAL LEGITIMACY AND DIVERSITY ON THE BENCH

Abstract

In the international arena gender parity is one of the main goals that institutions and organizations pursue in many sectors. Sometimes we take it for granted despite there is still a huge disparity between women and men due to traditional patterns and stereotypes that are still strong deepen in our culture and hardly disappear. One of the main challenges in international judicial system is to assure equal gender participation in benches in order to promote legitimacy and transparency among international courts. By analyzing data and resolutions that promote gender balance on the list of candidates, the thesis provides a different perspective to look at the issue of the underrepresentation of women in international bodies since it undermines judicial integrity. It first examines the history of the representation of women in different international courts, such as International Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights and others, explaining the mechanism of the election process and the effects and consequences that such failure has in the system. It then explores the precarious situation of female afghan judges who were bound to move out Afghanistan after the Taliban invasion and how this affects the judicial system in the country. Finally, with a conclusive chapter on the development of international law and the international law commission, it shows a positive change on the international judicial system promoting the integration of women since they can bring a different perspective that helps the progressive development of international law. Women constitute half of the world population, so why on earth should they not represent this part of the international community?