The new Supreme Court in Mexico, the country’s first elected judiciary, is set to form on Monday. The key point of curiosity will be whether the court can establish its autonomy from the governing party, which was primarily responsible for orchestrating the country’s inaugural judicial elections. Of the total nine justices, only a trio has prior experience in the Supreme Court, while the others are newly introduced. The President of the court, Hugo Aguilar, is a lawyer who has dedicated his career to advocating for Indigenous rights.
The concept of electing judiciary was put forth by the country’s ex-president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. In spite of his frequent disagreements with the judges who would often challenge his policies, López Obrador held a firm belief that elected judges, being directly accountable to the public, might exhibit lesser corruption. However, critics voiced concerns that such elections may inevitably infuse politics into the judiciary.
Even though the election was intended as nonpartisan, there were reported cases where voting materials had subtly propagated candidates affiliated to the governing party. The public seemed to struggle with the vast number of nominees – approximately 7,700 candidates campaigned for over 2,600 judicial positions. Among all the positions, though, the Supreme Court will possibly draw the most interest.
The Supreme Court, in the past, has posed as a balancing body to the popular López Obrador, as his Morena party currently holds majority in both houses of Congress. ‘For ensuring its independence, the court must refrain from uttering judgments merely in alignment with the government’s stand,’ voiced Juanita Goebertus, Human Rights Watch’s Americas director. ‘They must ground their opinions in law.’
The court is going to inherit nearly 1,400 ongoing cases. Prominent among them is the issue of compulsory pretrial detention, which has attracted wide-ranging international censure. This is because of López Obrador’s extension of the list of crimes that would warrant automatic pretrial detention, even for some non-violent crimes, prompting allegations of treaty violations.
The government of Mexico, however, claims that implementation of this policy is essential in cracking down on crime and ensuring judicial protection. But in a system where legal proceedings can get indefinitely prolonged without reaching conclusions, and a mere one in five charged individuals get convicted, the dissenters argue that such a policy encroaches upon their rights. As per the 2023 Federal and State Penitentiary Systems census, about 40% of the Mexican prison population had not been convicted.
The domain of abortion rights also features in the court’s agenda. The previous court had groundbreakingly expanded the scope of abortion rights in 2021 and 2023. However, the newly formed court would likely have to deliberate on appeals against states where abortion still retains its criminal status as per their penal codes.
In 2023, extant criminal penalties at a federal level pertaining to abortion were invalidated by the court, labeling them as unconstitutional intrusions upon women’s human rights. However, in Mexico’s legal landscape, these landmark judgments did not extend to state laws, leading to state-wise alterations being necessitated. Ana Cárdenas, the director of justice projects in Mexico for the World Justice Project, voiced concerns about interpretive continuity from the newly appointed court on pressing issues such as these.
In addition to this, previous courts expanded transgender rights, as evidenced in their rulings mandating that register offices should facilitate administrative processes for transgender people to rectify their gender identifications on official documents without judicial intervention. This was extended to underage individuals as well in 2022.
However, as it stands, only seven out of 32 states in Mexico permit children to modify their identification documents in alignment with their perceived gender identity. Issues pertaining to transgender rights will therefore be another significant area for the new court to navigate.
Mining inductions will also likely pose a challenge for the new Supreme Court. In the year 2023, the governing party pushed for modifications in the mining laws through the Congress. These changes encompassed reduction in the maximum tenure of mining rights from half a century to three decades. Additional clauses to curb speculation, like allowing authorities to retrieve concessions if no work is undertaken within a two-year gap, were also introduced.
These reforms led to controversy in the mining field, which is largely comprised of foreign business interests. Major points of contention included environmental effects and speculative activities, as well as the fact that the areas surrounding the commercial mines continued to be afflicted by economic poverty. The new Supreme Court will therefore have to tackle legal challenges arising from these contested changes.
The development of Mexico’s first Supreme Court is a landmark event in the country’s political landscape. The court’s decisions will not only be precedent-setting, but they will also set the tone for the role of judicial power in government. The public will carefully watch the way the court handles these critical issues.
Regardless of opinions on these controversial matters, one fact is undeniable: the new Supreme Court represents a concrete shift in Mexico’s political landscape, an evolution of the judicial arm of the state that parallels broader transformations in governance and democratization.
Drawing on the importance of these cases, it is evident how a heavy mantle of responsibility weighs upon the shoulders of this freshly-formed court, with the balance of power, as well as the direction of Mexico’s judiciary, hanging in the balance.
The post Mexico’s Newly Elected Supreme Court to Shape Judicial Power appeared first on Real News Now.
About Author
