On March 13, 2025, the Federal Official Gazette published the decree amending and repealing various provisions of the Amparo Law (the "Amendment").
Substance and Objectives of the Amendment
This amendment to the Amparo Law aims to reflect recent constitutional reforms, specifically: (i) the reform of the Federal Judiciary; (ii) the prohibition of injunctions and rulings on the merits from having general effects; and (iii) the inadmissibility of amparo proceedings against constitutional amendments.
The changes also incorporate procedural matters previously established in agreements issued by the Judiciary Council, inclusive language, and the replacement of references to the Procedural Code of Civil Proceedings with the National Code of Civil and Family Procedure. Although the Amendment modifies several articles of the Amparo Law, the relevant changes and impacts are limited to the changes already included in the Mexican Constitution.
Key Aspects of the Amendment
a. The Amendment reinforces that amparo rulings cannot have general effects, either through their judgments or through injunctions against the challenged act. The general declaration of unconstitutionality remains the only mechanism that allows a ruling of unconstitutionality issued by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) to have general applicability.
b. The Amendment confirms that amparo proceedings cannot challenge rulings issued by the Judicial Administration Body or the Judicial Discipline Tribunal.
c. The SCJN will continue to exercise its authority to attract cases ex officio. However, the Amendment now allows the Attorney General's Office to request the exercise of this authority. The criteria of interest and significance remain prerequisites for its application.
d. In exceptional cases, the Legislative and Executive Branches may ask the Chief Justice of the SCJN to prioritize the resolution of a specific case, including all its appeals.
e. This Amendment will be effective as of March 14, 2025.
f. The Amendment applies to ongoing proceedings initiated before its enactment, regardless of their procedural stage. Consequently, the new rules on admissibility, injunctions, final judgments, the SCJN's authority to attract cases, and case prioritization will apply to them.
g. Until the new Justices, who must take office on September 1, 2025, assume their positions, the SCJN will continue operating under the voting rules in effect before the Amendment. This ensures the preservation of the quorum requirements of four and eight votes necessary for rulings by the Chambers and the Plenary, respectively, to establish precedent or lead to a general declaration of unconstitutionality.
