Achieving Gender Parity: A Comprehensive Analysis of Women’s Underrepresentation on the International Court of Justice and Strategies for Future Reforms

LAURA SOPHIE WEGNER, Harvard College '25

THURJ Volume 14 | Issue 2

Abstract

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the highest judicial entity within the United Nations, resolving international conflicts to maintain global peace. The current judge selection process for the ICJ ensures diverse geographic representation with judges of varied nationalities, races, and cultures. However, female judges are underrepresented, comprising only 4.6% of judges in the court’s history. This research article aims to examine the connection between this lack of female representation and the judge selection process, starting from the nomination phase and extending through the election process. It is argued that there are four primary drivers for female underrepresentation on the ICJ: almost exclusively focusing on geographical representation, a male-dominated nomination process, the preference of judicial qualities aligned with expertise in male-dominated professions, and re-elections allowing judges to serve multiple terms. A diverse ICJ bench is imperative to ensure impartial case outcomes because they have the potential to impact entire societies. Consequently, equitable representation of the global population at large is inevitable. This research article proposes strategic reforms focused on refining the nomination and election procedures to achieve gender parity on the ICJ.