Introduction
Apathy towards participating in judge elections and learning about candidates is intertwined with misinformation. While small and medium-sized business owners may believe that the electoral process holds little relevance to their concerns, such as suppliers and customers, all businesses require certainty in investments, commercial operations, and most importantly, the performance of authorities.
The Role of Judges in Providing Certainty
Judges should provide certainty when resolving disputes, such as commercial lease disagreements, breaches of contract with suppliers, or loan controversies with banks. This judicial election process is crucial as it not only affects the selection of federal judges, who have been targeted by federal government attacks, but also impacts the entire justice system in the country, including judges at all federal entity levels.
Historical Context and Concerns
Mexico has made significant strides in professional judicial career development, ensuring that public servants advance through the judicial career by demonstrating not only licenciature knowledge but also completing and passing various professional development courses from the Federal Judiciary Institute. These courses include practical exercises and assessments that evaluate both theoretical knowledge and complex, high-level technical case resolution.
On this upcoming Sunday, citizens will elect hundreds of judges without full assurance that most candidates possess the necessary legal knowledge, argumentation skills, and conflict resolution abilities. Moreover, there’s no guarantee that they will apply the law with prudence and justice, except in exceptional cases.
Constitutional Reform and Its Consequences
A constitutional reform enabled the dismissal of thousands of judges, preceded by a publicity campaign alleging nepotism, corruption, and slowness among other criticisms against judges. These same criticisms could apply to prosecutors and the country’s police system, yet no similar measures were taken against them.
The federal government was frustrated by judicial oversight regarding the legality of its major projects, including the cancellation of Mexico City’s new airport and its military airport renovation in Mexico State, or the construction of a passenger train that affected extensive ecological zones.
Importance of Judicial Independence
Judicial independence is vital in established democracies within modern western states. Every judicial resolution cites specific legal norms granting it authority and precisely applicable to the case at hand. If an authority disagrees with such a resolution, the legal system provides mechanisms for them to express their discontent, just as any citizen would by presenting their reasons. Another judicial body then resolves the dispute by explaining relevant legal reasoning.
Key Questions and Answers
- What is the issue at hand? The problem lies in the lack of citizen engagement and knowledge about judge candidates due to misinformation, which threatens judicial independence and certainty in the legal system.
- Why are judge elections important? Judge elections impact all businesses and the overall functioning of society by ensuring certainty in investments, commercial operations, and authority performance.
- What concerns arise from the recent constitutional reform? The reform enabling mass judge dismissals was preceded by a campaign targeting judges with unfounded accusations, while similar issues in prosecutors and the police system remained unaddressed.
- How does judicial independence benefit democracies? Judicial independence is crucial for established democracies, as it ensures that legal resolutions are based on specific norms and not political declarations without foundation.
