President of Mexico’s Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) Arturo Zaldívar. Photo: Google

By KELIN DILLON

Mexican Supreme Court of Justice (SCJN) President Arturo Zaldívar announced on Monday, June 14, that he would have the court examine the constitutionality of his recently-approved three year term extension, now known as the Zaldívar Law.

“I am beginning the procedure for the plenary session of the SCJN to determine, as soon as possible, the constitutionality of the judicial reform’s 13th transitory article,” wrote Zaldívar on Twitter, publishing a letter he sent to the court to the public.

The reform was spearheaded by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) and passed through Congress without a hitch on April 23, despite vocal criticism and opposition, a move which reportedly caught Zaldívar himself “off guard.”

In his statement, Zaldívar noted that the SCJN must examine the reform “in its capacity as guardian of autonomy and independence,” and said that there has been growing public mistrust against him upholding these values following the law’s enactment.

He asked the plenary session to “settle the controversy that has been generated over the interpretation of articles 97 and 100 of the constitution in relation to the article that extends his mandate until 2024.”

The SCJN president likewise raised five questions for the court to answer during its examination, including what kind of majority in the council would be needed to overturn the reform, the law’s constitutionality and what the general effects of the decision would be.