{"id":21143,"date":"2019-03-08T15:42:04","date_gmt":"2019-03-08T20:42:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/?p=21143"},"modified":"2024-09-11T15:42:57","modified_gmt":"2024-09-11T19:42:57","slug":"report-fully-implementing-mexicos-new-national-prosecutors-office-critical-to-strengthening-rule-of-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/2019\/03\/08\/report-fully-implementing-mexicos-new-national-prosecutors-office-critical-to-strengthening-rule-of-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Report: Fully Implementing Mexico\u2019s New National Prosecutor\u2019s Office Critical to Strengthening Rule of Law"},"content":{"rendered":"

March 7, 2019, Washington, DC\u2014<\/strong>A\u00a0just-released report<\/u><\/a>\u00a0by research and human rights organizations the Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF) and the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) examines a recent\u00a0 law that stipulates how the Mexican government must implement its new National Prosecutor\u2019s Office, and thereby create an institution that is more independent, effective, and capable of rebuilding trust in the country\u2019s justice system. Given that an estimated\u00a093 percent of crimes<\/a><\/u>\u00a0in Mexico are not reported or investigated, the creation of a new, functional National Prosecutor\u2019s Office (to replace the federal Attorney General\u2019s Office, PGR) is central to Mexico\u2019s fight against impunity. The report, titled\u00a0The Implementing Law of Mexico\u2019s National Prosecutor\u2019s Office<\/em>, emphasizes that it is essential for government authorities to diligently and fully implement the legislation establishing the new National Prosecutor\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident L\u00f3pez Obrador\u2019s administration has an important opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to creating a National Prosecutor\u2019s Office capable of investigating crimes and fostering truth, justice, and accountability in a country that registered record violence last year,\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0said\u00a0\u00darsula Indacochea<\/a><\/u>, Director for Judicial Independence at DPLF and coauthor of the report.<\/p>\n

The report details some of the most critical components of the legislation that was officially enacted last December and is intended to ensure that Mexico\u2019s new National Prosecutor\u2019s Office is more autonomous and insulated from political pressures. These components include new specialized investigative offices focused on human rights crimes and internal affairs, a public plan that will establish investigative priorities, as well as a citizen-led body that serves as a powerful accountability mechanism. Additionally, the law includes articles meant to make the selection process for the head of National\u2019s Prosecutor\u2019s Office more transparent and merit-based.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe implementing law for Mexico\u2019s new National Prosecutor\u2019s Office responds to many citizen concerns about accountability and human rights, which makes it all the more essential that the L\u00f3pez Obrador administration fully and promptly enforces this legislation so that it doesn\u2019t only exist on paper,\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0said report coauthor and WOLA Director for Mexico and Migrants Rights\u00a0Maureen Meyer<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n

However, the report argues that other parts of the law have problematic implications: for example, the law fails to include sufficient checks and balances on the president\u2019s power to appoint or fire the head of the National Prosecutor\u2019s Office. Additionally, the law does not establish public hearings for the appointment of the national prosecutor, nor does it require that candidates disclose political ties or relationships that could compromise their ability to carry out their job with independence. As the joint DPLF-WOLA report states,\u00a0\u201cIn order to restore citizen confidence in the impartiality of criminal prosecution, it is paramount that there be a clear separation between the head of the National Prosecutor\u2019s Office and the president\u2019s inner circle.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThis a crucial year of transition for Mexico\u2019s justice institutions,\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0said Indacochea.\u00a0\u201cBoth Mexican civil society and the international human rights community are hopeful that the National Prosecutor\u2019s Office is implemented in such a way that Mexico\u2019s justice institutions are at last able to respond to citizens\u2019 and victims\u2019 long overdue demands for justice.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

March 7, 2019, Washington, DC\u2014A\u00a0just-released report\u00a0by research and human rights organizations the Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF) and the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) examines a recent\u00a0 law that stipulates how the Mexican government must implement its new National Prosecutor\u2019s Office, and thereby create an institution that is more independent, effective, and capable […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[681],"tags":[],"country":[887,884],"issue":[856],"program":[872],"resource":[896],"class_list":["post-21143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","country-mexico","country-america-del-norte","issue-public-prosecution-offices","program-judicial-independence","resource-press-releases"],"acf":{"boton_1":"","url_boton_1\u00ba":"","boton_2":"","url_boton_2":"","boton_3":"","url_boton_3":"","boton_4":"","url_boton_4":"","boton_5":"","url_boton_5":"","boton_6":"","url_boton_6":"","boton_7":"","url_boton_7":"","boton_8":"","url_boton_8":"","boton_9":"","url_boton_9":"","boton_10":"","url_boton_10":""},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21143"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21143"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21143\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21144,"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21143\/revisions\/21144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21143"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=21143"},{"taxonomy":"issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue?post=21143"},{"taxonomy":"program","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/program?post=21143"},{"taxonomy":"resource","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dplf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource?post=21143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}