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CONCEPT NOTE

70^th Session, United Nations Commission on the Status of Women Side Event 

Women’s Equal Right to Participate in the Judiciary and Women’s Access to Justice: More Women, More Access

Tuesday 10 March | International Day of Women Judges | 6:15-7:30 pm

Location: Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, 425 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10017 | Zoom Link

Food and beverages provided from 6pm

 Background

Access to justice is a fundamental human right,[1] and States are obligated to ensure access to justice for women and girls.[2] Globally, women and girls face numerous gendered barriers to justice, whether as claimants, witnesses, victims, or defendants. Relatedly, the right to equal and inclusive participation in decision making, including the judiciary, is a fundamental human right, and States have a responsibility to appoint women to judicial roles at all levels of the judiciary.[3] Yet, around the world, men often comprise the majority of judges in domestic, regional, and international courts, particularly in the most senior judicial roles.

Women’s equal and inclusive participation in the judiciary and access to justice for women and girls are linked in several ways. The CEDAW Committee has noted that ‘[w]omen’s equal participation in the judiciary is part of what makes access to justice meaningful’ and that ‘[i]f the judiciary lacks equal participation, the system’s credibility and legitimacy are compromised’.[4] Observing that ‘gender stereotyping by judges is a “core impediment” to access to justice,’[5] the Committee called for States Parties to remove barriers to access to justice, including by ‘confront[ing] and remov[ing] barriers to women’s participation as professionals within all bodies and levels of judicial and quasi-judicial systems and providers of justice-related services.’[6]

Similarly, the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers stated that ‘discrimination against women stems not only from certain explicit regulatory obstacles but also from institutional, structural and cultural barriers that lead to underrepresentation in public decision-making positions or confinement to certain areas of the judicial system.’[7]The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights noted that ‘[i]ncreased representation of women within the police and the judicial system as well as mainstreaming gender within the judiciary can also improve their responsiveness to gender issues and make it easier for women to seek assistance or report their cases.’[8]

Further, UN Women has observed that ‘[w]omen’s representation in the judiciary is a matter of equality and fairness, but it is also important for maintaining public confidence in the justice system. There is evidence that women judges can create more conducive environments for women in courts and can make a difference to outcomes.’[9] UNDP and UN Women have together found that there is ‘evidence that women judges are less susceptible to corruption, and their effective representation in the judiciary increases trust in the system,’[10] and that ‘[t]he mere presence of women judges enhances the legitimacy of courts, sending a powerful signal that they are open and accessible to all who seek justice’.[11]

Against this backdrop, and recalling CSW 70’s priority theme of ‘[e]nsuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls, including by promoting inclusive and equitable legal systems, eliminating discriminatory laws, policies, and practices, and addressing structural barriers,’ this side event aims to converge States, UN bodies, international and regional organisations, civil society, and other key stakeholders to discuss the connections between increasing gender equality for the judiciary and increasing access to justice for women and girls. Building on our previous side events focused on achieving gender parity for judges at the International Court of Justice,[12] this event invites participants to commit to achieving women’s equal and inclusive participation in the judiciary, both as a fundamental human right in itself, and as a pathway for increasing access to justice for women and girls and strengthening the protection of human rights for all.    

Structure of the event:

This is an in-person roundtable dialogue moderated by Dr. Jessica Lynn Corsi and Professor Milena Sterio. Observers may join by Zoom (Link here), and all attendees are invited to contribute following the prepared interventions.

6:00 pm food and beverages provided

6:15 pm Welcome and introduction of the topic by Dr Jessica Lynn Corsi, Associate Professor of Law, City St George’s, University of London, and Co-founder and Co-Chair, Working Group on Gender Parity for the ICJ

6:30 pm Prepared interventions

1) Ambassador Jennifer Feller, Director General for Human Rights and Democracy, Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs

2) Catherine Amirfar, Partner & Co-Chair, International Dispute Resolution and Public International Law Groups, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

3) Ms. Akila Radhakrishnan, Legal Advisor, End Gender Apartheid Campaign

4) Professor Jelena Pia-Comella, Independent Expert, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)

5) Amanda Chong, Counsellor (Legal), Permanent Mission of Singapore to the United Nations

6) Ms. Amie Lewis, Senior Program Officer and Lead, Women in Leadership in Law (WILIL) Initiative, International Association of Women Judges

7) Claudia M. Flores, Chair of the UN Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls

8) Lucía Solano, Legal Adviser to the Permanent Mission of Colombia

Roundtable dialogue:

Attendees are invited to make interventions and raise questions and discussion points.

7:15 pm: Concluding remarks:

Professor Milena Sterio, James A. Thomas Distinguished Professor of Law at Cleveland State University’s Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Managing Director at the Public International Law & Policy Group, Steering Committee Member, Working Group on Gender Parity for the ICJ

7:30 pm Drinks and mingle

Organised by the Working Group on Gender Parity for the ICJ and the ABILA Committee on Gender Justice in International Law

Co-sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Canada, the Permanent Mission of Colombia, the Permanent Mission of Kenya, the Permanent Mission of Mexico, the Permanent Mission of Singapore, the Permanent Mission of Sweden, and the International Association of Women Judges 

With support from UN Women UK

Kindly hosted by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Register here

[1] UDHR, Arts 8, 10; ICCPR Art 14.

[2] CEDAW Arts 2, 15; UDHR Arts 2, 7.

[3] CEDAW Arts 7, 8; CEDAW GR 40 2024 paras 18, 49, 52, 53, 56, 72; CEDAW GR23 1997, paras 26, 29.

[4] CEDAW GR33 2015, para 1.

[5] CEDAW GR33 2015, para 26.

[6] CEDAW GR33 2015, para 15(f); see also CEDAW GR30 2013 para 56(c).

[7] A/76/142: Participation of women in the administration of justice – Report of the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Diego García-Sayán, para 17.

[8] Women’s Rights are Human Rights, HR/PUB/14/2, 2014, p. 117.

[9] UN Women, Progress of the world’s women: In pursuit of justice, 2011, p. 61.

[10] UNDP and UN Women, Women in Justice in Africa, 2023, p. 4.

[11] UNDP and UN Women, Women in Justice in Africa, 2023, p. 6.

[12] CONCEPT NOTE, 79th Session, United Nations 6th Committee Expert Roundtable Side Event, More Women, But Not Enough Women: Achieving Gender Parity for Judges at the International Court of Justice, 24 October 2024, https://www.un.org/en/ga/sixth/79/pdfs/events/25_october_2024_7cn.pdf; CONCEPT NOTE, 80th Session, United Nations 6th Committee Expert Roundtable Side Event, The Right to Equal and Inclusive Participation and the International Court of Justice: Where are the Women?, https://www.un.org/en/ga/sixth/80/pdfs/events/31_october_2025_4cn.pdf.

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The post The Right to Equal Participation in the Judiciary and the International Court of Justice: Where are the Women? – a Pre ILW Webinar appeared first on ABILA.

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.

Moderators:

Jessica Corsi: Dr. Jessica Lynn Corsi is a Senior Lecturer in Law at The City Law School and a founding faculty member at City’s interdisciplinary Violence and Society Centre. At the Centre, she is a Co-Investigator on VISION, a 5 year £7.1 million multi-institution consortium grant from the UKPRP. VISION focuses on how improving measurement and data can contribute to reducing violence and health inequalities in society and support the recovery of victims of violence. Co-Chair of the ABILA Gender Justice in International Law Committee.

Milena Sterio: Milena Sterio, the James A. Thomas Distinguished Professor of Law at Cleveland State University’s Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and Managing Director at the PILPG. She is a leading expert on international law, international criminal law and human rights. Sterio leads PILPG’s Thought Leadership Initiative. Co-Chair of the ABILA Gender Justice in International Law Committee.

Speakers:

J. Jarpa Dawuni: J. Jarpa Dawuni is a Full Professor of Political Science at Howard University, Washington DC. She is a qualified Barrister-at-Law before the Ghana Superior Courts. She holds a Doctorate in Political Science from Georgia State University. Her primary areas of research include judicial politics, women in the legal professions, gender and the law, international human rights, women’s civil society organizing, and democratization.

Margaret M. deGuzman: Margaret M. deGuzman is Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Institute for International Law and Public Policy at Temple University Beasley School of Law. She also serves as a judge of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, where she currently sits on the Trial Chamber in The Prosecutor v. Félicien Kabuga. Professor deGuzman’s research focuses on international criminal law, international humanitarian law, human rights, and transitional justice.

Claudia Martin: Professor Claudia Martin is Professorial Lecturer in Residence and Co-Director of the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. In addition, she is the Co-Director of the LL.M. Program in International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. She teaches and specializes in international law, international human rights law, and the Inter-American Human Rights System. She is also a founding member of GQUAL, a campaign to promote gender parity representation in international court and organs, and serves as a member of the campaign’s Secretariat.

Valerie Oosterveld: Valerie Oosterveld is a Professor at Western Law and Western Research Chair in International Criminal Justice (2024-2028). Her research and writing focus on gender issues within international criminal justice and she has published widely in this field, including on the concept of gender in international criminal law and the interpretation of sexual and gender-based crimes by international criminal courts and tribunals. She also researches outer space law, particularly international environmental space law, space mining, state responsibility in space, armed conflict in space, a feminist analysis of space law, and Canadian space law.

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