Mexico City, Mexico — President Claudia Sheinbaum has announced a reform to the Amparo Law. The new reform, she says, is to prevent abuse of the provision and ensure swift justice.
On Friday, President Sheinbaum led the presentation of secondary reforms explaining that the initiative amending the Amparo Law seeks to end the excessive use of the legal form.
“It’s clear that the right to protection is essential in this country. Citizens must have legal instruments that allow them to defend themselves against acts of authority. No one doubts that, the problem is the abuse of this provision.”
Sheinbaum explained that the virtue of the reform to the Judicial Branch is that it recognizes that in some instances, 20 years pass without justice after a company, for example, files various injunctions to avoid paying taxes or fails to comply with contracts agreed upon with the government.
“The company goes and files for protection. The government has to keep hiring them because the company can’t be disqualified and disqualifying them can take years. So with an Amparo reform, let it instead take months to get a thorough resolution.”
Ernestina Godoy Ramos, legal council to the Federal Executive Branch, explained that the Senate has already received the proposal to harmonize secondary laws in connection with the reform of the Judiciary, which establishes deadlines for issuing rulings on tax and other criminal matters.
In tax matters, courts must rule within a maximum of six months. In criminal matters, four months for offenses not exceeding two years in prison, or within one year for longer sentences, she explained.
This is the second package of reforms related to the constitutional change that seeks to guarantee swift justice.
“The reform will make Amparo trials more agile and simple with clear rules. Furthermore, it incorporates digital Amparo trials with full legal validity and practical effectiveness without replacing the procedure,” she said Friday.
“This reform doesn’t weaken the protection of human rights, it strengthens it. It maintains it as a shield for citizens, but no longer as a refuge for those seeking to avoid justice. Seeking protection to defend rights is justice. Seeking protection to conceal crimes is impunity,” she explained.
Godoy Ramos announced that the proposed amendments to laws already before the Senate include the National Code of Criminal Procedure, the Federal Law against Organized Crime and the Federal Law on Contentious Administrative Procedure.
