Webinar: Gender Parity on the ICJ Bench

With all eyes on the World Court, the overrepresentation of one gender on its bench is more visible than ever. Currently, 4 of the 15 permanent ICJ judges are women.

This is a historic high in the ICJ's almost 80-year history, and stands in contrast to the gender equal judiciaries achieved at other international courts. Equality on judicial benches matters.

Key goals like access to justice, fairness, and the legitimacy of courts require gender-equal judicial benches. Judicial identity shapes judicial approaches to law-making.

Women’s equal participation in judiciaries comprises part of the right to participation in politics and public life, essential to achieving the SDGs by 2030.

Beyond the gender binary, the equality of all people requires judiciaries to be inclusive of gender diverse persons. Civil society has been calling for gender equality on the ICJ bench for years, but progress has been slow.

With the next ICJ judicial elections taking place in November 2026, this webinar will offer reflections on what can be done over the next two years to finally achieve a gender equal ICJ bench.

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