Supreme Court Issues Rules for Handling Torture in Mexico Criminal Cases Jesus Aranda - La Jornada
go to original October 2, 2015

According to a ruling by the First Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN), judges are obligated to order an immediate investigation into presumed acts of torture alleged by a defendant. If violation of their human rights is proved, judges are also obligated to order that the criminal proceedings be repeated, starting from the moment when they had knowledge of the fact.

The judgment of mandatory official practice - unanimously approved after contradictory collegiate court theses were resolved—pointed out that in the event the judge confirms that the accused was tortured, he or she must take measures to repeat the [judicial] procedure and invalidate evidence illegally obtained, regardless of the procedural stage of the judicial proceeding.

The thesis of jurisprudence states that once the existence of torture is proved, the Supreme Court will determine the level and timing for repeating the [criminal justice] procedure and the effects of invalidation of evidence. However, the judgment underscores that "there is no reason for everything carried out in the investigation to be affected, because if torture is not proved, the (judicial) proceedings will survive", regardless of the stage of the criminal proceeding.

If torture is confirmed, the effects will transcend the evidence to be excluded from the judgment.

Read the rest at Mexico Voices

Related: Mexico Acknowledged Torturing Key Witness in 43 Students Case (The Huffington Post)

Related: Mexico Supreme Court Ends Federal Prosecutors' Authority to Send 'Just Any' Suspect to Maximum Security Prison (Mexico Voices)

Mexico Voices is a blogging endeavor aimed at raising the awareness of U.S. citizens regarding the destructive impact of the U.S. economic policy and the War on Drugs on Mexico — on its people, their economic and physical security and their human rights, on the nation’s dysfunctional justice system, and on the rule of law and Mexico’s fragile democracy. Visit the website at MexicoVoices.blogspot.mx

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