Sex Discrimination in the Recent Case Law of the Court of Justice and the Challenge of Gendering the Bench

Abstract

Sex Discrimination in the Recent Case Law of the Court of Justice and the Challenge of Gendering the Bench

The rise in the number of female judges is considered one the fundamental changes which are needed to attain the objective of ensuring gender equality. The paper contends the equation between women on the bench and eradication of sexual discrimination, arguing that the legitimacy of courts following their feminization has to be backed up by the spread of a gender-competent legal education. The analysis of the recent case of law of the Court of justice on sex discrimination highlights that the approach of the judges sitting in Luxembourg is still fraught with prejudices and stereotypes preventing women’s voices from being heard. Such an outcome is the consequence of two concurring phenomena: the still low number of female judges and the difficulties women on the bench face in reshaping judges’ traditional mindsets.