IACHR warns of impacts on access to justice

High point of yesterday’s ordinary session in the Congress of Mexico City, when opposition and government factions shouted slogans for and against judicial reform.

Protesters against the initiative were contained by metropolitan police who maintained a cordon in the streets surrounding the capital’s Congress

MEXICO CITY (EFE).— The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expressed its “grave concern” Thursday over the approval in Mexico of the reform of the Judicial Branch and warned of the possible impacts on the right of access to justice, on guarantees of judicial independence and on the rule of law.

The reform of the Judicial Branch, proposed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and supported by his successor, the president-elect, Claudia Sheinbaum, promotes the popular election of judges and magistrates starting in June 2025, after its approval by both chambers of Congress and the endorsement of more than half of the 32 local congresses.

“The Commission has received a great deal of information from civil society organizations, experts and justice operators on the possible effects that this constitutional reform would have on Mexico’s international obligations regarding judicial independence, access to justice and the rule of law,” the organization said in a statement.

He noted that the available information indicates that the reform includes the dismissal of judicial authorities in two periods: 2025 and 2027, to make way for a popular election of all judges, magistrates and ministers of the country’s Supreme Court.

Furthermore, the IACHR was struck by “the hasty nature of the profound changes that could have negative consequences for the guarantees of suitability and meritocratic access to the judicial career.”

He said that the criticisms also point out that “it does not start from a diagnosis of the real deficits in access to justice nor does it consider how the strong presence of organized crime in various areas of the country will impact the popular election processes.”

The Inter-American Commission called on Mexican State authorities “to ensure that all judicial reform is carried out in accordance with the American Convention on Human Rights and inter-American standards on judicial independence and access to justice, and that it responds to the needs of its population for prompt and effective justice, without discrimination.”

In the face of conflicts, demonstrations and public protests, he called for the creation of opportunities for real dialogue that would ensure the participation of all interested parties.

Yesterday, Thursday, President López Obrador announced that next Sunday he will enact the judicial reform so that starting in June 2025, judges, the Supreme Court and a new Judicial Disciplinary Tribunal will be elected at the polls.