Positive discrimination for male judges in The Hague?

There are so many women judges and officials working at The Hague court that management is considering giving priority to men, the AD reports on Thursday.

Some experts fear that having too many women will distort the image of neutrality at the court, the paper says.

The idea of positive discrimination for men has been discussed in an internal document but no decision has yet been taken, the paper says.

More women

The court declined to comment on the proposals in detail. However, criminal law professor Theo de Roos said he understood the concerns.

‘There are implications for the legitimacy of the legal system if, for example, 80% of the judges are female,’ he said. ‘Then the legal system is not representative and that is not good.’

The number of women judges outstripped men in 2008 and women now account for 56% of the judges’ bench, the AD says. In some courts, the percentage is far higher and has reached 64% in Utrecht.

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