裁判官の公選制導入へ改革案承認　メキシコ上院

【メキシコ市ＡＦＰ＝時事】メキシコ上院は１１日、最高裁判事を含むすべての裁判官を公選制とする司法制度改革案を承認した。すでに下院を通過しており、今後１７の州議会の承認を得る必要があるが、メキシコ政局は与党連合が支配的な立場にあるため、形式的なものと見なされている。その後、大統領の署名を経て正式に法として成立する。（写真は、記者会見するメキシコのアンドレス・マヌエル・ロペスオブラドール大統領。メキシコ市で。大統領府提供）
　上院で行われた採決結果は賛成８６、反対４１で、憲法改正に必要な３分の２以上を満たした。裁判官の公選制を導入する国は、メキシコが初めてとなる。
　１０月に退任するアンドレス・マヌエル・ロペスオブラドール大統領は、２０１８年の就任以来、エネルギーや安全保障分野で自身の政策推進を阻止してきた最高裁をことあるごとに批判してきた。
　大統領はこの日の記者会見で、国民が裁判官を自由に選べるようになった時、大きな進展を遂げられると強調。「（司法制度の）腐敗と不処罰を終わらせることが極めて重要だ」と語った。
　これに対し、野党や専門家は、強大な麻薬カルテルが賄賂や脅迫を通じて当局者に影響を及ぼすことが横行しているメキシコにおいては、選挙で選ばれた裁判官は犯罪組織の圧力に対し脆弱（ぜいじゃく）な立場に置かれる恐れがあると警告している。
　上院ではこの日、司法制度改革に反対するデモ参加者が乱入し、審議が中断する場面もあった。デモには裁判所職員や法学生も参加。上院での法案通過後、再び街頭に繰り出した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/09/12-17:06）

Lawmakers in Mexico approved controversial reforms on Wednesday that will make it the first country to allow voters to elect all judges, hours after protesters invaded the Senate to disrupt debate.
Outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had pushed hard for the constitutional changes, criticizing the current judicial system as rotten, corrupt and serving the interests of the political and economic elite.
But opponents and legal experts warn that elected judges could be more vulnerable to pressure from criminals, in a country where powerful drug cartels regularly use bribery and intimidation to influence officials.
The leftist leader said the reforms -- which have sparked street protests, diplomatic tensions and investor concerns -- would be an example to the world.
It's very important to end corruption and impunity. We will make great progress when it is the people of Mexico who freely elect the judges, the magistrates, the justices, the 70-year-old told a news conference.
Judges, with honorable exceptions... are at the service of a predatory minority that has dedicated itself to plundering the country, he added.
Lopez Obrador has frequently lashed out at the judiciary since taking office in 2018 -- in particular the Supreme Court, which has impeded some of his policies in areas such as energy and security.
The judicial reform was approved by 86 votes to 41 in the Senate in the morning's early hours, garnering the two-thirds majority needed to amend the constitution, in an upper chamber dominated by the ruling coalition.
Legislators were forced to suspend their debate and move to another location after demonstrators stormed the Senate, chanting The judiciary will not fall.
Lopez Obrador, who wanted the bill approved before close ally Claudia Sheinbaum replaces him on October 1, accused protesters of protecting the interests of the political elite.
The reforms have the full support of Sheinbaum, who said they would strengthen the justice system.
The regime of corruption and privileges is becoming more and more a thing of the past, she wrote Wednesday on social media platform X.
Meanwhile, the Mexican peso appreciated about 1.5 percent against the dollar, buoyed by investor confidence after the reforms passed, according to traders in New York.
The peso had hit a two-year low in early August due to pressure by investors who were concerned the reforms would influence the independence of judges.
- 'Powerful forces' -
The plan, which had already cleared the lower house, must now be approved by 17 of 32 state congresses -- considered a formality given the ruling coalition's political dominance -- before being signed into law by the president.
Opponents, who accuse Lopez Obrador of overseeing a trend toward democratic backsliding, have held a series of protests against the plan, under which even Supreme Court and other high-level judges would be chosen by popular vote.
Around 1,600 judges would have to stand for election in 2025 or 2027.
This does not exist in any other country, Margaret Satterthwaite, UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, told AFP ahead of the vote.
Without strong safeguards to guard against the infiltration of organized crime (in the judicial selection process), an election system may become vulnerable to such powerful forces, she warned.
Demonstrators, including court employees and law students, were back on the streets Wednesday, hours after the reforms were passed.
We are not going to surrender, said Mario Dominguez, a magistrate from the western state of Jalisco.
- 'Demolition' of judiciary -
In an unusual public warning, Supreme Court chief justice Norma Pina has said that elected judges could become susceptible to pressure from criminal groups.
The demolition of the judiciary is not the way forward, she said in a video released on Sunday.
The United States, Mexico's main trading partner, has warned that the reforms would threaten a relationship that relies on investor confidence in the Mexican legal framework.
The changes could pose a major risk to Mexican democracy and enable criminals to exploit politically motivated and inexperienced judges, US Ambassador Ken Salazar said last month.
Human Rights Watch had urged lawmakers to reject what it called the dangerous proposals, saying they would seriously undermine judicial independence and contravene international human rights standards.