Alberto Pérez proposes to recover citizen confidence in justice

Eduardo Murillo and Gustavo Castillo

Newspaper La Jornada
Saturday December 10, 2022, p. 5

The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) must maintain an institutional dialogue, of collaboration and respect, but also independently, with the other powers of the Mexican State, since this is essential for democracy, said Minister Alberto Pérez Dayán, who learned of the intention to use justice for political purposes, and in 2002, as a magistrate, went against the position of two of his peers and considered that the now President of the Republic, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, complied with the amparo sentence in the El Encino case, for which reason it was considered inappropriate for it to be submitted to a trial of provenance.

With a decade as a minister, Pérez Dayán, who will turn 62 next Tuesday, is competing to be president of the highest court with a proposal that includes giving greater credibility to the Federal Judiciary (PJF), with unity and autonomy, he affirms in an interview with the day.

Communication between the powers is fundamental, it cannot be done without it. The State is one and the sovereignty of the people is exercised through its powers, and collaboration between them is not only necessary, but also a requirement for effective management. Democracy in its new advances is no longer reduced only to the possibility that citizens choose their rulers, but that their rulers comply with what the law mandates and give them that well-being that they demandhe claimed.

Attempts to use the law for political reasons are not unknown to Pérez Dayán. In 2002, when an attempt was made to challenge President López Obrador for the alleged failure to comply with a judicial suspension so as not to affect the El Encino property, he was part of the seventh collegiate administrative court of the first circuit, and was the only one who voted against the decision. to declare the then head of government of Mexico City in contempt.

Twenty years after that decision, he states: I maintain my criteria on what I said there: I think the evidence showed me that there was no violation of the suspension.

The balance of powers, he explained, is necessary to apply law and justice and not allow attempts to use them to a mere feint of power. The axes of his work proposal are to combat corruption, excessive bureaucracy, the delay in the administration of justice and to recover citizen trust.

The management of the judicial structure from its autonomy supposes a deep respect for the decisions of the judges, but also their vigilance. I am absolutely convinced that the more than 1,500 judges and magistrates know how to do their job very well. You have to constantly insist that they continue to do well, the public expects a lot from them. They trust us, we will have to continue insisting, working, improving so that our justice is precisely what the Constitution ordersheld.

Federal judges will have the confidence and autonomy to work freely and responsibly, but when this does not happen, he stated, the Federal Judicial Council will take the necessary measures to impart discipline. And define: Insist on our honesty, our rectitude, and keep in mind that any anomaly that is detected will have to be punished.

He adds that in order to achieve the improvements and development that he seeks for the SCJN, it is necessary to capitalize on what has worked in previous administrations, but to correct what has not. The way to do this, he proposes, is to reactivate the commissions made up of ministers, which are already included in the internal regulations of the highest court, to make the tasks and responsibilities plural.

I would like the Judiciary to be exercised in a more shared way. The Supreme Court is made up of 11 ministers and ministers, all of them have a very high capacity and the possibility of giving a result to their own participation. It is impossible in the time we live in that the Judiciary can be governed only through its own criteriahe pointed.

– What will be your personal style of governing the PJF? Will there be monthly conferences, TikToks?

–It will be simple, just simple, that is the best communication –he concluded.