Constitutional Judicial Reforms in Mexico – Recent Developments

September 26, 2024

In a very short period, the constitutional judicial reform act was approved by the Mexican Congress, by most of the state legislatures, signed by the President, and published in the Official Gazette of the Federation, taking effect on September 16.

This reform entails the following substantial modifications to the country’s judicial system:

• Election of Justices, Magistrates, and Judges by Popular Vote: This will be implemented gradually, beginning in 2025 and concluding in 2027.
• Judicial career is no longer required: Candidates only need to be Mexican citizens, hold a professional law degree, and have a minimum GPA of 8. This change opens the door to new profiles within the judiciary, with the potential risk of a lack of specialization.
• Supervision under a new body: The Federal Judiciary Council will be replaced by the Judicial Discipline Tribunal, which will lead to a transition and restructuring of judicial oversight and control.
• New electoral organization: The National Electoral Institute (INE) will be responsible for organizing the elections for judicial positions, which will begin as early as the first half of 2025.

As of now, the Supreme Court of Justice has already admitted certain appeals against the reform, resulting in certain degree of uncertainty regarding the timing and manner of its implementation. Moreover, personnel from the Federal Judicial Branch itself have determined to resume activities no earlier than October 2, subject to prevailing conditions. Local and administrative courts continue to work normally.

At OLIVARES, we will keep our clients closely informed on this matter, following how the rules and mechanisms of the judicial reform will materialize in practice.