HISTORY OF UNFAIR REPRESENTATION
IN INTERNATIONAL POSTS
Historically, there have been glaring disparities in the
representation of women and men among elected posts at the international
level. This has also been true of the ad hoc international criminal tribunals
for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda where the women serving as judges have
been very few in number.
Despite their minimal numbers, the women judges at the
tribunals have played a vital role in the development of international
criminal law jurisprudence, especially in cases of sexual and gender violence.
The work of these tribunals has yielded jurisprudence which recognizes rape
and other sexual violence as forms of genocide and torture.
The International Criminal Court will be a permanent
judicial institution independent of the UN system - unlike the Yugoslav and
Rwandan tribunals - and has mandates concerning the "fair representation
of women and men" at all levels and legal expertise on violence against
women. Yet, there will still be the danger of inadequate gender representation
on the Court unless civil society plays an active role in monitoring the
process.
CRITERIA FOR ICC JUDGES
Eighteen judges will preside at the Court. Pursuant to
the Rome Statute, the following criteria apply to their selection:
- Must be nationals of a State Party to the Rome
Statute though states are not limited to nominating their own nationals
[Article 36(4)(b)]
- All candidates must be of "high moral character,
impartiality and integrity" [Article 36(3)(a)]
- In addition, candidates must have an
"established competence" in one of two areas: [Article 36(3)(b)]
a. criminal law and procedure, and the necessary
relevant experience, whether as a judge, prosecutor, advocate or in other
similar capacity, in criminal proceedings; or
b. relevant areas of international law such as
international humanitarian law and the law of human rights, and extensive
experience in a professional legal capacity which is of relevance to the
judicial work of the Court
- Should have an excellent knowledge of at least one of
the working languages of the Court (Arabic, Chinese, English, French,
Russian, Spanish) [Article 36(3)(c)]
STATUTORY MANDATES
In Article 36(8), The Rome Statute mandates that States Parties
take into account the need for:
- fair representation of female and male judges
- equitable geographical representation
- representation of the principal legal systems of the
world
- legal expertise on violence against women or children
and other specific areas of concern
In addition to this the Women's Caucus advocates for
candidates that have:
- Gender perspective and/or experience with gender and
sexual violence crimes
- Understanding, respect and support of civil,
political, economic and social human rights
- Not been involved in professional misconduct or
public scandal involving sexual violence or sexual abuse
- Independent and autonomous from influence of power
politics
NOMINATION PROCEDURES
According to Article 36(4), States may choose 1 of 2
ways to nominate candidates.
Option 1: Through the same procedure as
nominations for highest judicial office;
Option 2: Through the same procedure as nominations for the
International Court of Justice
The nominations will be submitted to the Assembly of
States Parties which will make the final selections.
While the procedure for nominations to the highest
judicial office will be different from country to country, the procedure for
nomination to the ICJ will follow a practice established by the Statute of the
ICJ. National-level nominations for the ICJ are chosen by the National Groups
of the Permanent Court of Arbitrators. There is often an informal consultation
process and possible candidates are forwarded to the relevant ministries or
officials. To find out who your National Groups are comprised of, please go
to: www.pca-cpa.org/PDF/Members.pdf
WHAT TO DO:
Mobilize:
- Join with other women's groups on the importance of
nominations for the ICC.
- Link international processes like the ICC to the
improvement of national standards on equal representation among women and
men in positions of power;
- Raise awareness among women's groups and
organizations on the importance of the Court for gender and sexual
violence crimes and therefore on the need to include women in high
positions in the ICC;
- Build national platforms with human rights groups in
order to monitor the process of the ICC, including the nomination process.
Nomination and follow up:
- Contact your Foreign Ministers and make it known
women's groups and organizations are monitoring the actions of the State
in relation to the nomination of women for the ICC in accordance with the
Statute;
- Find out if they have nominated or will nominate
candidates for Judges or Prosecutors and;
- If yes, check backgrounds on ICC and Women's Caucus
criteria
- Seek and promote qualified women candidates and link
with other women's groups and human rights organizations for support
;
- Make the government aware of your preferences at all
stages of the process.
Media involvement:
- Try to raise awareness of the importance of the
process of nomination among media, through opinion columns, articles,
interviews, etc., particularly of the importance of having women
candidates.
- Regularly submit information on the national process
of nomination to the media;
- Submit information regularly of the status of the
nomination at international level;
- Give information on candidates to the press, along
with assessments as to their qualifications and suitability for the posts.
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