13. Gender Imbalance at the ICC: The Continued Hegemonic Entrenchment of Male Privilege in International Criminal Law

The ICC, an invaluable part of the international criminal justice landscape has a mixed bag of successes and failures. There are many challenges facing the Court and the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) and one of them is the shocking gender imbalance at the senior levels of the Court and within the ASP. The Independent Expert Review (IER) process, which came about in a bid to improve the Court’s efficiency and effectiveness, produced a voluminous 348-page report released in September 2020. It reveals a number of concerning issues including sexual harassment which is inextricably linked to the chronic staff related gender imbalance at the ICC. Gender imbalance, perpetuated by many factors including hiring practices, entrenches hegemonic ideas related to male privilege at the expense of women. Taking into account the findings of the IER, and other studies this chapter will delve into the gender imbalance and the associated consequences including how the imbalance affects the field as a whole. This chapter will also look at ways to change the imbalance including better recruitment practices, and tenure policies.