Mexico City.- If the reform of the Judicial Branch is approved, there is a risk of having weak judges and interference by organized crime in their appointment will be allowed, warned Coparmex and lawyers.
José Medina Mora, president of Coparmex, denounced that the Open Parliaments, convened by legislators to discuss judicial reform, were restricted and not all experts were heard.
“The biggest concern is undoubtedly the proposal for popular election of judges, magistrates and ministers, as it may compromise judicial independence.
“The proposal as it stands could erode both public confidence and the attraction of investments. This could generate legal uncertainty, which is what investors are so eager for. No OECD country elects judges and magistrates,” Medina Mora said at a press conference.
He added that the reform could politicize justice, creating conflicts of interest.
Ana Rovira, from the Bar Association, warned that the immobility of judges puts them at risk from organized crime.
“The immobility of judges dealing with organized crime is equivalent to their security. A judge who is entrenched in a state that deals with organized crime cases runs the risk of being killed. The issue of mobility for this type of judge is designed for their protection,” he said at a press conference.
For this reason, he said, exceptions are required for this type of judges within the framework of judicial reform.
“One of the issues is that if the reform is going to pass, what will happen to these judges? I think we need to have clear exceptions to protect them,” Rovira said.
Mariana Campos, an analyst at Mexico Evalúa, also agreed that violence is used to seek control of governments and justice systems.
“It is worrying that instead of strengthening the permanence of positions and generating public policies that deal with the attacks and threats faced by employees of the rule of law, such as judges, we are opening the door to making it much easier for criminal groups to influence justice,” he said.
He added that the government has demonstrated its inability to stop electoral political violence, as evidenced by what happened during the presidential elections.
“If we have already seen how violence and crime are corrupting electoral processes, we are going to open the door for this to also be possible in the Judiciary,” Campos said.
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