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253 female judges in Jordan, representing 27%

Amman Today

publish date 2022-03-10 11:35:17

Jordan News

The percentage of women’s representation in the Jordanian judiciary is 27%, with 253 female judges in the various courts of the Kingdom, knowing that Taghreed Hikmat is the first female judge and was appointed in 1996.

Together with the world, Jordan celebrates today, Thursday, the first International Day of Women Judges, which falls on March 10 of each year, with the aim of promoting the full and equal participation of women at all levels of the judiciary, celebrating the progress that has been made and raising awareness of the challenges ahead.

The United Nations indicated that the issue of women’s representation in the judiciary is key to ensuring that courts represent citizens, address their concerns and issue sound judgments, and thus the presence of female judges enhances the legitimacy of the courts, and sends a strong signal that they are open and available to those seeking redress and justice.

According to the annual report for the year 2020 issued by the Jordanian Judicial Council, which was reviewed by the “Kingdom”, the number of female judges reached 253 out of a total of 975 judges, and thus women constituted 27% of Jordan’s judges.

Among the positive steps that Jordan has taken, according to the United Nations, is appointing female judges to high-ranking positions, and issuing regulations that give all judges the opportunity to apply to senior positions without discrimination.

An ESCWA report indicated that civil society institutions “played a role in this process, as the Arab Women’s Legal Network, a regional organization based in Jordan, worked to provide a platform for women in the legal field, to exchange experiences and discuss common issues, while providing extensive training and capacity-building for new and regular judges.” “.

Taghreed Hikmat was chosen as the first female judge in 1996, in addition to receiving the second highest vote in the elections held at the United Nations to choose experienced judges for membership in the International Tribunal from 2003 to 2011 to try war criminals in Rwanda, the African country that lost hundreds of thousands of its children because of War crimes, to be the only Jordanian and Arab judge in that court, along with a large number of the most prominent judges in the world.

In 2018, the Judicial Council issued a decision appointing Ihsan Zuhdi Barakat, as the first female judge in the Court of Cassation, which is the highest judicial authority in the Jordanian regular judiciary and simplifies its control over all Jordanian courts.

In 2020, Christine Faddoul, a member of the Court of Appeal of the Orthodox Church, was appointed as the first woman to hold a position in the ecclesiastical judiciary in Jordan.

According to the United Nations, despite the increased participation of women in public life, they “remain remarkably underrepresented in decision-making positions”, since in fact, relatively few women were in or part of the judiciary, nor Especially in senior judicial leadership positions.

The entry of female judges to the places from which they were excluded represented a positive step to view judicial bodies as “more transparent, inclusive and representative of the citizens who fall under their sphere of influence,” according to the United Nations.

By celebrating this occasion, the United Nations reaffirmed the commitment to develop appropriate and effective national strategies and plans for the advancement of women in judicial justice systems and institutions at the leadership and administrative levels and to ensure the implementation of those strategies and plans.

Women judges and equality

Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls—which fall under SDG 5—are critical to achieving progress on all the SDGs and adding a gender perspective to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

The representation of women in the judiciary in particular is an important issue for many reasons. As well as ensuring that the legal system is developed with the whole of society in mind, it also inspires and motivates the next generation of women judges to achieve their goals.

The world will be able to achieve sustainable development, peace and democracy by ensuring the active participation of women, on an equal basis with men, and at all levels of the decision-making process.

Despite the historical absence of an equality perspective in the judiciary, there are currently measures to address this, as evidenced by the declaration of the United Nations General Assembly on March 10 as the International Day of Women Judges, which shows tangible evidence of a positive transformation.

Addressing gender inequalities is at the heart of the UNODC strategy for gender equality and the empowerment of women, as well as a goal shared by the Global Program for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration in Qatar, as it works to promote a culture of respect for the law around the world, and to provide Education, training and support for the full participation of women in all professional fields.

Facts and figures in the world

Women made up 40% of judges in 2017, an increase of 35% over 2008, according to a United Nations update.

In 1946, Eleanor Roosevelt wrote an “open letter to the women of the world” urging them to increase their participation in national and international affairs.

In most European countries, there are more women judges than professional judges or investigative judges; However, women represent 41 percent of judges in national supreme courts, and only 25 percent of court presidents.

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Jordan News

Source : اخبار الاردن

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