Women in Lebanese Judiciary: Added Value or More of the Same?

This article seeks to understand the added value represented by the performance of female judges in the Lebanese judiciary, as compared to males, in light of the results of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development report on the development of the judicial function in various societies, including the Lebanese. This was done by examining a random sample of judgments/ court trial documents of single judges of both genders in the Baabda – Mount Lebanon jurisdiction, 2011–2018. The results obtained in statistical analysis suggest that female judges have greater commitment to applying legal principles and behavioural rules in their occupation than their male counterparts, and by implication may tend to be more committed to social responsibility. However, the two genders’ judging lingered on familiar grounds, and neither ventured beyond those. Margins granted to judges by legislators offering leeway within Lebanese Statuary Law allowing them to assume new proposed roles were not resorted to by either male or female judges.

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Abstract

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This article seeks to understand the added value represented by the performance of female judges in the Lebanese judiciary, as compared to males, in light of the results of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development report on the development of the judicial function in various societies, including the Lebanese. This was done by examining a random sample of judgments/ court trial documents of single judges of both genders in the Baabda – Mount Lebanon jurisdiction, 2011–2018. The results obtained in statistical analysis suggest that female judges have greater commitment to applying legal principles and behavioural rules in their occupation than their male counterparts, and by implication may tend to be more committed to social responsibility. However, the two genders’ judging lingered on familiar grounds, and neither ventured beyond those. Margins granted to judges by legislators offering leeway within Lebanese Statuary Law allowing them to assume new proposed roles were not resorted to by either male or female judges.

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