On Monday March 1st, DPLF presented its report Judicial Independence in Oaxaca, Mexico: Reality or Fiction? (Independencia Judicial en Oaxaca, México: ¿una ficción?) in the city of Oaxaca, Mexico. The report was written in collaboration with FUNDAR, Centro de Análisis e Investigación, A.C. of Mexico City, and the International Commission of Jurists of Geneva, Switzerland, following a 2008 mission to the Mexican state of Oaxaca by a delegation of experts from these three organizations.
The public event included presentations by Samuel Castellanos, the Director of Human Rights of the Superior Tribunal of Justice of Oaxaca, Juan Carlos Martínez and Cécile Lachenal of FUNDAR, Guillermo Padilla of CIESAS (Social Anthropology Research and Graduate Studies Center), Aline Castellanos of the Consortium for a Parliamentary Dialogue, and Mirte Postema of DPLF.
The report identifies several problems with the administration of justice and judicial independence in the state of Oaxaca. The main concerns reported were related to the influence of the Executive Branch has over the Judicial Branch, for example in the appointment of magistrates.
The concentration of powers in the President of the Superior Tribunal, and the broad discretionary decision-making powers he enjoys in practice, are other elements that affect judicial independence in Oaxaca.
Moreover, the virtual inexistence of good training programs for judges and magistrates, and the severe limitations suffered by the state's public defenders services in human and financial resources were other serious concerns for the quality of the administration of justice in the state of Oaxaca.
To read the report (in Spanish), please click here.