Shylock: Most learned judge, a sentence! Come prepare!
Portia: This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood; The words expressly are “a pound of flesh.”
(The Merchant of Venice, Act 4, Scene1)In her interesting study on “Achieving Sex Representative International Court Benches,” Nienke Grossman observes that international judgeships are often based on personal networks and social currency, or used to reward political loyalty or to advance political agendas, rather than to select the most qualified candidates. She illustrates how nomination procedures for international benches generally lack transparency, and horse-trading infects elections to the international courts. To ensure gender equity, Grossman advocates that states should take remedial steps to make nomination and selection procedures more open, transparent, and merit-based, at both the national and the international level.