The AALS Sections on European and African Law presents Judicial Diversity in Transnational Courts, on Jan. 2-6, 2019 at the AALS Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA. To be considered for the panel, submit a title and abstract (300 words max) to Mathilde Cohen at mathilde.cohen@uconn.edu & Fernanda Nicola at fnicola@american.edu by Aug. 15, 2018.
Program Summary:Â Why do so few women and people of color serve on transnational courts and tribunals? Given the paucity of seats available to each nation on the international bench, it should be easy for states to nominate, vote, or appoint them in greater numbers. Yet, despite a series of initiatives to increase gender parity, women, particularly women of color, continue to be conspicuously underrepresented on these courts. Why does it matter? There is now an extensive body of scholarship discussing the reasons why domestic judiciaries might strive for more diversity, including increased legitimacy, dispelling stereotypes, higher quality decision-making and outcomes, and internal institutional change. Are there additional, specific benefits to greater judicial diversity to be expected at the transnational level? Convening leading scholars in the fields of equality law and transnational courts, this panel will address these questions with a special focus on European and African regional courts.
