Gustavo Castillo and Cesar Arellano
The newspaper La Jornada
Friday, August 23, 2024, p. 6
The service of justice cannot be denied or restricted, and the obligation of all of us who carry out this work, especially judges and magistrates, is to provide this service with the daily routine required by law, and not doing so is incurring some responsibility, warned Celia Maya García, counselor of the Federal Judiciary.
He said that the plenary session of the CJF will meet today to decide on the administrative and legal implications of the suspension of work in the jurisdictional bodies.
Interviewed in the streets surrounding the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN), where she attended a legal analysis forum, she was asked if the CJF plenary session has not taken long to issue a position regarding the work stoppage in courts and tribunals, to which she responded: “I think it could have been seen before, and the topic was touched on in the previous session, but there are many and different points of view, because judicial reform implies a fundamental change.
All of us who are familiar with the process understand the situation of those who are now protesting, but the truth is that we cannot neglect or forget that people are waiting for a service, that they have issues that any delay will affect them, and even if the strike is not on schedule, that does not benefit anyone.
–Judges and magistrates are trusted employees, do they have the right to suspend work?
–They do not have that right. They cannot go on strike or stop work, only demonstrate, protest and make known what they think. We could never restrict their right to freely demonstrate. They can do so, but they must fulfil their obligation to provide a service to society.
–Does this strike and its consequences generate administrative responsibilities for judges and magistrates, and for those who make up the full judiciary?
–There is responsibility on both sides here. Those of us who are in public office know that our actions or omissions regarding the work entrusted to us can generate responsibilities. In this case, with the suspension of the justice service we bear responsibility, and that is why a plenary session has already been called for this Friday; an opinion will be given.
–How long do you think the strike should continue?
–Work must be resumed at 100%, and they must continue to demonstrate as they wish, but leaving the function we are in charge of intact.
