Constitutional Reform in Federal Justice

The Official Gazette of the Federation published in its edition dated September 15, 2024 the decree amending, adding and repealing several provisions of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States regarding the reform of the Judicial Branch.

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1. The main changes will be as follows:

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• The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation will have a new composition, there will be 9 ministers, they will serve for 12 years and will be elected by popular vote nationwide, the Executive Branch will nominate 3 candidates, the Legislative Branch through the President will nominate 3 candidates, 1 by the Chamber of Deputies and 2 by the Senate and the Judicial Branch of the Federation, through the full S.C.J.N. will nominate 3 candidates.

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• The election of ministers, magistrates and judges will be by popular vote.

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• It contemplates the extinction of the Federal Judiciary Council and the creation of the Court of Judicial Discipline and the Judicial Administration Body.

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• In indirect Amparo suits against general rules, the suspension of the challenged act will not be admitted.

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• Rulings issued in amparos that resolve the unconstitutionality of general rules will in no case establish general effects.

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• The Administrative Courts, District Courts and Circuit Courts of the Federal Judiciary, as well as the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, must resolve the matter within a maximum of 6 months, counted from the date of knowledge of the matter.

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2. Analysis

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• Companies normally initiated indirect amparo suits against reforms to laws (e.g., the Electric Industry Law, tax reforms, etc.), and when filing an amparo lawsuit against such reforms, the companies requested the suspension of the challenged act, and when granted, they were not obligated to comply with the reforms until the amparo lawsuit was finally resolved, which could often take years. With the present reform, by eliminating the figure of the suspension within the Amparo Proceeding against general rules, companies will be obligated to immediately comply with the changes ordered in such reforms. Considering that an Amparo lawsuit against general rules could take a year or more to conclude, in practice, the company filing the Amparo lawsuit will take more than a year to implement the reform, so that by the time its Amparo lawsuit is resolved, it will no longer be practical or economical to return to the previous scheme.

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• With this reform, it seems that the practical objective of the Executive Branch is to eliminate the Amparo Proceeding against general rules, thus eliminating the most important counterweight that existed against reforms to general rules.

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• The sentences that resolved the unconstitutionality of general norms benefited the entire population, and after the reform, those who want the benefits will have to file an amparo (which normally has 30 business days to be filed). Consequently, the number of beneficiaries of an unconstitutionality will be considerably reduced, with which, once again, the Executive Branch seeks that any reform it enacts be immediately complied with by the entire population.

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• The election of judges by popular vote does not guarantee a higher quality of judicial decisions; on the contrary, it is likely that the judges selected will have less capacity, which will make it difficult to obtain rulings in accordance with the law, affecting access to justice and legal certainty.

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• By eliminating the judicial career that prepared judges for their functions, we will be able to find in their place people who have never issued a sentence and therefore do not have the necessary knowledge and competencies to perform the judicial function.

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For any question related to this topic, you may contact Alejandro Segall Freidkes