The president of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN), Arturo Zaldívar Lelo de Larrea, recognized that access to justice in our country is a “privilege of the elites”, and admitted that universal rights in Mexico are a chimera. He warned that as long as they do not cause changes in the judiciary, inequalities will continue to be reproduced and perpetuated.
“Few things are at the same time, as old and as valid, as the demands for justice; access to it remains, to a large extent, a privilege of the elites. Obtaining the protection of a court that resolves disputes and protects the rights involved is something that for many people, for the poorest, marginalized and discriminated against, only exists on paper. And as long as this reality persists, the idea that rights are universal and that they assist every person for the simple fact of being so, will continue to be a chimera, an unfulfilled promise”, he stated.
When inaugurating the XXI Ibero-American Judicial Summitthe minister president of the Court He argued that this unacceptable reality must be transformed.
“Dialogue, exchange and the commitments that result from our work must be useful tools for this purpose, leveling the playing field for everyone. Provide justice that contributes to reversing the historic, heartbreaking, and persistent inequalities that hurt so many people and communities,” he said.
Zaldivar He said that there will be no different results if the same thing continues to be done in the judiciary, and inequalities will continue to be reproduced and perpetuated.
“The strengthening of the judicial powers, their independence, their modernity and their proper functioning must be instrumental in the construction of a truly equalizing justice, before which there are neither rich nor poor, before which there are no powerful”, he referred.
He explained that in recent years in Mexico, the Judicial Power of the Federation has undergone changes, such as the judicial career, a public defender’s office that reaches all regions of the country, and that has promoted policies with a gender perspective and people with disabilities. .
During the event, the president of the Supreme Court of Justice of Uruguay, John Pérez Brignani, stressed that the Latin American judicial powers must act in coordination, not only sharing experiences and resources, but also generating an area of defense of the judicial function.
Open vacancies for people with disabilities
On the other hand, the minister Arturo Zaldivar signed an agreement to issue a call to fill vacancies in the SCJN, so that at least 3% of the people who work in the administrative areas of the Court have some type of disability.
A protocol for judging with a disability perspective was also presented, which will help judges to know how to deal with these cases, and to internalize the social model of disability and provide effective equality of justice.
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