Losing judgment: Mexico’s Judicial Reform | Documentary screening and talk

In partnership with the Academy of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law at American University WCL, the Rule of Law Lab at NYU Law, the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Mexico Office and Juicio Justo, we are pleased to invite you to the screening of the documentary Losing judgment: Mexico’s Judicial Reform, which analyses the impact of the judicial reform that led to the removal of more than 7,000 judges and magistrates and their replacement by elected officials, and examines its implications for judicial independence and democratic checks and balances.

The documentary sets out the context in which the reform was passed in 2024, which provided for the removal from office of all the country’s judges and magistrates, both federal and state, and introduced the mechanism of election by popular vote to appoint their replacements. It also portrays the positions of the actors involved, as well as some of the reform’s most significant impacts, from the perspective of the judges whose professional careers and life plans have been affected.

Following the screening, a discussion will take place, featuring:

María Emilia Molina de la Puente, retired magistrate and president of the Mexican Association of Female Judges.
Professor Carlos Ayala Corao, member of the Electoral Observation Mission for the Election of Judicial Authorities in Mexico
Professor Adriana García, NYU Rule of Law Lab
Úrsula Indacochea, Judicial Independence Programe Director at DPLF.

Date: Friday, April 17, 2026
Time: 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Place: Room NT07, American University Washington Collage of Law (4300 Nebraska Avenue NW, Washington DC)