Laurence Pantin: Mexico Judicial Reform Depends on Due Process Laurence Pantin - Animal Politico
go to original March 20, 2014

This month in a ceremony that we could call "prompt and expedited," yet not without considerable fanfare, the President of the Republic enacted the National Code of Criminal Proceedings [establishing standard criminal investigation and trial procedures for all state and federal justice systems].

In the words of Enrique Peña Nieto, this new legislation is "one of the most relevant legal changes of the last decades" and must allow for "clarifying criminal acts with great speed and efficiency to determine with certainty whether criminal responsibility exists."

It is truly important to recognize the importance of this new tool. But it is striking that, at the hour of reflecting upon the justification of this new Code, few mentioned the aspiration of having access to trials that respects "due process." Meanwhile, many voiced faith that these new rules of the game would allow for reducing "impunity," accelerating the speed of the justice system and rendering it more "effective" and "efficient." [1]

Without a doubt, combating impunity is a priority in a country whose rate is estimated at 96.4% [2]. So is achieving more prompt and effective justice, when defendants wait on average 180 days to be sentenced [3], as is the case in Mexico.

However, even though it is essential to make trials swifter and more efficient, in order to have quality justice, that won't be enough to guarantee that our justice is ... just.

Read the rest at Mexico Voices

Translated by Tristan Foy

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