Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation

The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (Spanish: Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación, SCJN) is the Mexican institution serving as the country's federal high court and the spearhead organisation for the judiciary of the Mexican Federal Government. It consists of eleven magistrates, known as ministers of the court, one of whom is designated the court's president.

Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation
Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación
Map
19°25′52.01″N 99°7′55.58″W / 19.4311139°N 99.1321056°W / 19.4311139; -99.1321056
Established1825
LocationPino Suárez no. 2, Colonia Centro, Delegación Cuauhtémoc, C.P. 06065, Mexico City
Coordinates19°25′52.01″N 99°7′55.58″W / 19.4311139°N 99.1321056°W / 19.4311139; -99.1321056
Composition methodSupreme Court
Authorized byConstitution of Mexico
Judge term length15 years
Number of positions11
Websitehttps://www.scjn.gob.mx/
President
CurrentlyNorma Lucía Piña Hernández
Since2 January 2023

Judges of the SCJN are appointed for 15 years.[1] They are ratified through affirmation by the Senate from a list proposed by the President of the Republic. The ministers chosen will select from among themselves who shall be the President of the Court to serve a four-year period; any given minister may serve out more than one term as president, but may not do so consecutively.

Requirements for holding a seat on the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation

  • Be a natural born citizen of Mexico.
  • Be no less than 35 years of age nor over 65 years of age at the time of one's appointment
  • Have held a law degree for at least 10 years.
  • To have a good reputation and have not have been convicted of theft, fraud, forgery, breach of trust, or any other offense which could imply a punishment of more than one year in prison.
  • Not have been Director for Domestic Affairs, Chief of an Administrative Department, Attorney General of the Republic or Federal District Attorney, Senator, Member of Parliament, Governor of any State, or Chief Executive of the Federal District during the year prior to his or her appointment.

The Constitution requires that the appointment of ministers of the court should fall to those persons who have served ably, effectively and honorably in the administration of justice, or to those who have distinguished themselves by their honor, competence and professional background in the exercise of their duties.

Ministers may take leave of their posts for three reasons:

  • The end of their terms
  • Relinquishment, which is only allowed in serious cases, all of which must be affirmed by the President and accepted or discarded by the Senate.
  • Voluntary retirement: Proceeds when the interested party requests their retirement, as long as they meet the conditions of age and seniority.

Supreme Court building

Building of the Supreme Court of Justice of Mexico
Mexico's Supreme Court of Justice Building

The court itself is located just off the main plaza of Mexico City on the corners of Pino Suarez and Carranza Streets. It was built between 1935 and 1941 by Mexican architect Antonio Muñoz Garcia.[2] Prior to the Conquest, this site was reserved for the ritual known as Dance of the Flyers which is still practiced today in Papantla. Hernán Cortés claimed the property after the Conquest and its ownership was in dispute during much of the colonial period with Cortes' heirs, the city government, and the Royal and Pontifical University all claiming rights. It was also the site of a very large market known as El Volador.[3]

Within the building, there are four flanks painted in 1941 by José Clemente Orozco, two of which are named The Social Labor Movement and Commonwealth. There is also a mural done by American artist George Biddle entitled "War and Peace" at the entrance to the law library.[3] The building also contains a mural by Rafael Cauduro, which "graphically illustrates the Gran Guignol of Mexican torture",[citation needed] and includes a depiction of the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre as well as "a cut-away of a prison, perhaps the infamous Lecumberri Black Palace where student leaders who escaped death were jailed."[citation needed]

While this building is still the chief seat for the Supreme Court, an alternative site at Avenida Revolución was opened in 2002.[4]

Current make-up of the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court building
One of the chambers of the Mexican Supreme Court
Entrance to the court
TitleNameBirthAppointerAffirmation by the SenateAge at appt.Elected /
Length of service
PresidentNorma Lucía Piña Hernández[5]29 July 1960
(age 64)
Enrique Peña Nieto796310 December 2015
8 years, 4 months
MinisterLuis María Aguilar Morales[6]4 November 1949
(age 74)
in Mexico City
Felipe Calderón91601 December 2009
14 years, 4 months
MinisterJorge Mario Pardo Rebolledo[7]1 February 1961
(age 63)
in Xalapa, Veracruz
Felipe Calderón915010 February 2011
13 years, 2 months
MinisterAlfredo Gutiérrez Ortiz Mena[8]14 October 1969
(age 54)
in Cuernavaca, Morelos
Felipe Calderón103411 December 2012
11 years, 4 months
MinisterAlberto Pérez Dayán[9]13 December 1960
(age 63)
in Mexico City
Felipe Calderón104513 December 2012
11 years, 4 months
MinisterJavier Laynez Potisek[10]2 June 1959
(age 64)
in Torreón, Coahuila
Enrique Peña Nieto815610 December 2015
8 years, 4 months
MinisterJuan Luis González Alcántara Carrancá[11]19 August 1949
(age 74)
in Mexico City
Andrés Manuel López Obrador1146920 December 2018
5 years, 4 months
MinisterYasmín Esquivel Mossa[12]15 September 1963
(age 60)
in Mexico City
Andrés Manuel López Obrador955512 March 2019
5 years, 1 month
MinisterMargarita Ríos Farjat[13]13 September 1973
(age 50)
in Monterrey, Nuevo León
Andrés Manuel López Obrador94465 December 2019
4 years, 4 months
MinisterLoretta Ortiz Ahlf[14]24 February 1955
(age 69)
in Mexico City
Andrés Manuel López Obrador926612 December 2021
2 years, 4 months
MinisterLenia Batres Guadarrama[15]6 August 1969
(age 54)
in Mexico City
Andrés Manuel López ObradorAppointed by the president of Mexico5414 December 2023
4 months

Presidents

Meeting of the president Enrique Peña Nieto with the eleven Ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation

The following persons were once Presidents of the Supreme Court under the 1917 Constitution:

  • 1917–1919: Enrique M. del Río
  • 1919–1920: Ernesto Garza Pérez
  • 1920–1922: Enrique Moreno Pérez
  • 1922–1923: Gustavo A. Vicencio
  • 1923–1924: Francisco Modesto Ramírez
  • 1924–1925: Gustavo A. Vicencio
  • 1925–1927: Manuel Padilla
  • 1927–1928: Francisco Díaz Lombardo
  • 1928–1929: Jesús Guzmán Vaca
  • 1929–1933: Julio García
  • 1934: Francisco H. Ruiz
  • 1934–1940: Daniel V. Valencia
  • 1941–1951: Salvador Urbina
  • 1952: Roque Estrada Reynoso
  • 1953: Hilario Medina
  • 1954: José María Ortiz Tirado
  • 1955–1956: Vicente Santos Guajardo
  • 1957: Hilario Medina
  • 1958: Agapito Pozo Balbás
  • 1959–1964: Alfonso Guzmán Neyra
  • 1965–1968: Agapito Pozo Balbás
  • 1969–1973: Alfonso Guzmán Neyra
  • 1974–1975: Euquerio Guerrero López
  • 1976: Mario G. Rebolledo Fernández
  • 1977–1981: Agustín Téllez Cruces
  • 1982: Mario G. Rebolledo Fernández
  • 1982–1985: Jorge Iñárritu y Ramírez de Aguilar
  • 1986–1990: Carlos del Río Rodríguez
  • 1991–1994: Ulises Schmill Ordóñez
  • 1995–1999: José Vicente Aguinaco Alemán
  • 1999–2002: Genaro David Góngora Pimentel
  • 2002–2006: Mariano Azuela Güitrón
  • 2007–2010: Guillermo Iberio Ortiz Mayagoitia
  • 2011–2014: Juan N. Silva Meza
  • 2015–2018: Luis María Aguilar Morales
  • 2019–2022: Arturo Zaldívar Lelo de Larrea
  • 2023–incumbent: Norma Lucía Piña Hernández

References

External links

19°25′52.01″N 99°7′55.58″W / 19.4311139°N 99.1321056°W / 19.4311139; -99.1321056