The inclusion of section 4(4) in the Bill, which provides that an appointing person may over-ride the requirement to give preference to a woman in the circumstances described in sections 3 and 4 of the Bill, is required by the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice which provides that such a requirement cannot be absolute (see Case C-450/93 Kalanke v Freie Hansestadt Bremen [1995] ECR I-3051; Case C-409/95 4 This document relates to the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Bill (SP Bill 16A) as amended at Stage 2 Marschall v Land Nordrhein-Westfalen [1997] ECR I-6363; Case C-158/97 Badeck [2000] ECR I-1875; Case C-407/98 Abrahamsson v Fogelqvist [2000] ECR I-5539; Case C-476/99 Lommers v Minister van Landbouw Natuurbeheer en Visserij [2002] ECR I-2891; Briheche v Ministri de...