Particle.news

Download on the App Store

Mexico's Supreme Court Delays Debate on Draft Limiting NGO Standing in Environmental Amparos

The justices will first hear stakeholders after petitions for audience.

Overview

  • Court president Hugo Aguilar Ortiz asked Ministers Lenia Batres and Yasmín Esquivel to postpone their cases, and both withdrew their projects to allow hearings with affected groups.
  • Esquivel’s draft in contradiction 217/2021 would require organizations to prove a qualified direct affectation, stating that an entity’s stated purpose is not enough to establish legitimate interest.
  • The opinion ties standing to harm in the environmental services an organization uses, a shift critics say departs from prior jurisprudence that recognized collective and diffuse rights.
  • Dozens of civil-society groups, including Artículo 19, Greenpeace México, CEMDA, Fundar and Centro Prodh, argue the proposal is regressive and conflicts with Mexico’s Escazú Agreement commitments and the principle of non-regression.
  • The debate unfolds as Senate-passed reforms to the Amparo Law also seek to narrow legitimate interest and limit suspensions, raising concerns that concurrent judicial and legislative moves could curtail environmental access to justice.