A new court opens a new era for justice in Mexico; ensuring independence will be its greatest challenge.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico will inaugurate a new Supreme Court on Monday, created in unprecedented elections widely supported by the ruling party, raising questions about whether it can preserve the independence of the party that elected it.

The idea for judicial elections originated with former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018-2024), who frequently clashed with judges who rejected his reforms. López Obrador, like his successor, Claudia Sheinbaum, defended the process, asserting that the judges elected in the June elections would be less corrupt. Critics pointed out that the consultation risked politicizing the judiciary.

The elections were supposed to be fair, but there were instances where campaign leaflets identifying candidates linked to the ruling Morena party were distributed. Many voters felt simply overwhelmed by the 7,700 candidates vying for more than 2,600 positions.

However, the Supreme Court will now receive special attention. It was once a counterweight to the popular López Obrador, whose party now also holds a majority in both chambers of Congress.

"If the Court wants to ensure its independence, it should not rule in a partisan manner simply to support the government's position... but should base its positions on the law," said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, acknowledging that this will be the "first acid test" the nine justices will have to face.

Before taking office, the new president of the Court, Hugo Aguilar, a Mixtec lawyer with extensive experience defending Indigenous rights, denied his closeness to Morena and said he came to the highest court without "commitments to any organization or party" and that he will act with "complete freedom and autonomy."

For now, Aguilar, 52, has pledged to work with his colleagues to promote a process of openness, modernization, and outreach to communities. This process will include public hearings, as well as changes in the distribution of cases to spread them among different courts and ensure speedy decisions.

But Ana Cárdenas, director of legal projects in Mexico for the World Justice Project—an international organization that promotes the rule of law worldwide—expressed doubt that the new Court will be able to ensure expeditious justice because some of its members lack sufficient experience and will face "a rather steep learning curve." Three of the nine justices come from the previous Court, and the rest will be new to the position.

In this context, the Supreme Court will receive a list of nearly 1,400 pending cases. These are some of the most notable:

The acid test of automatic imprisonment

If there's one claim that Mexico has dragged through international forums for years, it's the unofficial pretrial detention.

López Obrador expanded the crimes for which a person is automatically imprisoned pending trial, including some nonviolent offenses. The policy appears to violate international treaties Mexico has signed.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights are among the organizations that have called on Mexico to repeal the policy, arguing that it is inconsistent with international human rights standards and violates the rights to personal liberty and due process.

Despite criticism, the Mexican government has refused to repeal pretrial detention, arguing that it is a necessary tool to combat crime.

But experts believe this policy does not solve the problem of violence and, on the contrary, creates complications in a country where trials drag on for years and only two out of ten defendants are found guilty.

According to figures from the 2023 National Census of Federal and State Penitentiary Systems, four out of ten people deprived of liberty in Mexico have not been sentenced.

It is not yet known how the new ministers will operate, but Goebertus stated that "an independent court should be able to set limits on the government."

The previous high court refused to address it in its final days.

Legal certainty and civil rights

Among other relevant issues the Court will also have to resolve are challenges to state criminal codes related to abortion and the declaration of unconstitutionality of state regulations that restrict trans children and child and adolescent registries.

While the previous Court took historic steps in 2021 and 2023 toward decriminalizing abortion in Mexico, it remains unclear whether that approach will be followed to invalidate some states' penal codes that consider abortion a crime.

In this regard, Cárdenas stated that as long as it is not certain whether the jurisprudential line that prevailed in recent years will be preserved, the current situation of uncertainty cannot be overcome.

Transgender rights

Regarding trans children and civil registries for children and adolescents, the Supreme Court also issued a landmark ruling more than three years ago invalidating the requirement of being 18 years of age to apply for a new birth certificate that recognizes the gender identity of trans people. However, in some states, such as Jalisco, this decision has not been followed, prompting complaints and calls for the Supreme Court to enforce its rulings.

According to Human Rights Watch, only seven of the country's 32 states allow gender identity recognition for children and adolescents, and only three have explicitly recognized non-binary identities in their legislation.

Mining concessions

Also pending are challenges to the regulations on mining and water concessions that López Obrador promoted in 2023.

The changes included reducing the maximum duration of concessions from 50 to 30 years, and giving authorities the power to cancel concessions if work was not completed within two years.

The mining industry, largely privately and foreign-run, has been the subject of complaints about environmental damage, speculation, and the fact that communities near the mines remain among the poorest in Mexico.

The challenges posed by these changes await the new court.