Ernesto Zedillo and Norma Piña focus on rule of law and the independence of the judiciary at opening of the IBA Annual Conference in Mexico
On 15 September, at the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 International Bar Association (IBA) Annual Conference held in Mexico City, the rule of law and threats to the independence of the judiciary and democracy were the central themes of the speeches of IBA President Almudena Arpón de Mendívil Aldama, keynote speaker Professor Ernesto Zedillo, a former president of Mexico and Norma Piña Hernández, the President of Mexico’s Supreme Court of Justice – honoured with the first IBA Impact Award.
In powerful and passionate addresses before an audience of international delegates, Norma Piña and Professor Zedillo received bursts of spontaneous applause and standing ovations.
In order of delivery, below are extracts from each of the speeches.
IBA President Arpón de Mendívil stated: 'The IBA presence in Mexico takes place at an historic moment and at a special day, the United Nations Day of Democracy, addressed to review the state of democracy in the world. In the Region, some countries have totally departed from democracy – Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia-whilst the erosion of democracy and of the Rule of Law is quickly spreading to other countries: Ecuador, Colombia. And Mexico, which has for years been the nation within the Region to look at, is nowadays taking steps such as the Constitutional Reform approved last week, that can risk the independence of the judiciary, the rule of law, democracy and thus,
Norma Lucía Piña Hernández, who was honoured with the inaugural IBA Impact Award, commented in her acceptance speech: ‘I am pleased to receive this First IBA Impact Award, conceived to "give maximum visibility to those entities and individuals who make a particularly positive contribution in this field [law], as is clearly the case of the Supreme Court". Personally, and assuming the enormous responsibility of being the President of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation and of the Council of the Federal Judiciary, I have maintained, time and again, and with the greatest
possible emphasis in recent days, that justice is not only a matter of laws and courts; justice is a matter of human rights, equity, ethics and dignity that involves all the authorities of the different levels of government.’ She also expressed: ‘deepest appreciation to all [IBA] members for their persistent work in protecting the rule of law; in supporting the independence of the judiciary and the right of lawyers to practice our profession without interference.’ Read the full speech here.
In his speech, Professor Zedillo highlighted the implications of the changes of the Constitutional Reform, to the independence of judges. He said: 'I begin by confessing that I come to this forum of "believers in rules" to break a rule, even if it is one of my own creation and self-imposition. That rule - which I have not broken in almost a quarter of a century – is to strictly leave to others the task of making comments, analysis and scrutiny of the events, decisions, and consequences of my time as President of the Republic, together with my firm will to abstain from publicly commenting on the political events in my country. I think that suspending, as an exception, my self-censorship rule in this forum is justified for a very sad reason: our Federal Congress has just approved – and has been ratified by a majority of state legislatures – a set of constitutional reforms that will destroy the Judicial Branch and, with it, bury Mexican democracy and what remains of its fragile rule of law.'
On the topic of judges being selected by popular vote, Professor Zedillo said: ‘In essence, there is a significant risk that members of the judiciary will not owe their position to the people who vote in the judicial elections, since those elections will be a grotesque farce, but that these members will owe their place in the judicial system to their political patrons who put them on the electoral lists, as well as to other questionable promoters who could well be criminals who financed or supported their campaign. It is therefore likely that there will be judges and magistrates who will obey not the law but the dominant political power. This risk will be amplified because the new regime will also have the means to punish the “disobedient”.’ Read the full speech here.
The IBA Annual Conference is bringing together delegates from more than 100 jurisdictions to address the most critical issues for the profession such as: the rule of Law, artificial intelligence legislation, climate change and judicial independence. The Conference’s Opening Ceremony took place on 15 September 2024 at Centro Citibanamex, Av. del Conscripto 311, Lomas de Sotelo, Hipódromo de las Américas, Miguel Hidalgo, 11610 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico.
The full programme for the six-day Annual Conference, consisting of more than 200 sessions, can be viewed here.
Click here to read the IBA President’s message on this year’s IBA Annual Conference.
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Notes
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Read the full Opening Ceremony speech for:
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The International Bar Association (IBA), the global voice of the legal profession, is the foremost organisation for international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. Established in 1947, shortly after the creation of the United Nations, with the aim of protecting and promoting the rule of law globally, it was born out of the conviction that an organisation made up of the world's bar associations could contribute to global stability and peace through the administration of justice.
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