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Baines, Beverley --- "Women judges on constitutional courts: why not nine women?" [2017] ELECD 845; in Irving, Helen (ed), "Constitutions and Gender" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017) 290

Book Title: Constitutions and Gender

Editor(s): Irving, Helen

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781784716950

Section: Chapter 11

Section Title: Women judges on constitutional courts: why not nine women?

Author(s): Baines, Beverley

Number of pages: 31

Abstract/Description:

Justice Ginsburg proposed a court composed entirely of women. Obviously an entirety of women judges on a constitutional court could eliminate judicial patriarchy. However, western democracies do not appear poised to adopt this approach anytime soon. Nor have any western governments endorsed the prevailing proposals – parity and feminism – that served well to initiate change but now are stagnating in their efforts to end judicial patriarchy. Section 11.2 of this chapter sets out these proposals which include some men while excluding some women. Section 11.3 situates Justice Ginsburg’s proposal for all-women constitutional courts as ‘moving beyond the strategy of containment’, a process Abrams suggested would make feminist domestic violence law reform more efficacious (Abrams 2016: 105). Sections 11.4 and 11.5 support this explanation with examples of constitutional decisions by women judges. Section 11.6 concludes that the prevailing proposals could also move beyond containment were they to acknowledge all-women constitutional courts.