With the amendments to the Law of Amparo*, this legal right becomes an ideal instrument for the procedural defense of the collective rights of indigenous peoples, said the President of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN), Juan Silva Meza.
With the amendments, the indigenous that seek legal protection will not need to demonstrate a subjective right in order to be considered affected and seek the protection of the federal courts, Silva said at the launch of the "Action Protocol for those who administer justice in cases involving the rights of individuals, communities and indigenous peoples".
"The collective will of an indigenous people now has the legal mechanisms to be effectively protected in the interest of the conservation of the features of identity that allow historical continuity and a life developed according to their own culture expressed in life styles, social institutions and economic policies," said Silva, according to Notimex.
According to the justice, the reforms will allow the legal system and the judges
"to respond from a language of rights to old problems like the lack of access by indigenous people to the justice administered by the State."Specifically, this means qualified interpreters of indigenous languages in trials, expanding criteria for admission and presentation of evidence, and accepting indigenous jurisdiction over resolution of internal matters, explained Silva.
These practices are linked with domestic and international regulations as well as with the principles, practices and judgments of the Supreme Court and international human rights bodies, he added.
The Special Rapporteur of the United Nations for the rights of indigenous peoples, James Anaya, said that the protocol highlights international obligations of the Mexican State in the matter, taking into account the constitutional reform of 2011.
Anaya explained that the reform gives superior standing to guarantees enshrined in international treaties ratified by Mexico. The protocol covers the issue of the right of indigenous peoples to maintain and resolve their own justice systems in coordination with the national justice system, under the concept of legal pluralism.
The Mexican Senate gave final approval to the amendments to the Law of Amparo in mid-March. The writ of amparo, considered indispensable by lawyers for the defense of guarantees against abuses of power, will now be granted to protect rights enshrined in international treaties, not only in the Mexican Constitution.
Under the new law, citizens will be able to demand protection from omissions by the authority, not just from their actions. Moreover, the appeal will not only protect their applicant but those possibly affected. Spanish original
*MV Note: 'Amparo', literally 'protection', is a legal right granted in the Mexican Constitution to individuals and corporations that they may appeal to successively higher courts for an order of protection against an action by any level of government they believe to be violating their rights. In U.S. law, the amparo is comparable to an injunction to block a government action or an appeal of a judicial decision, including a criminal conviction.