Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Mexico’s Supreme Court Rejects Bid to Curb Environmental Amparo Suits

A jurisdictional decision kept in place Mexico’s broad standing for environmental amparo by civil groups.

Overview

  • Justice Yasmín Esquivel Mossa’s project sought to require concrete proof of “legitimate interest,” such as using or living in the affected area, before associations could file amparos.
  • The Court declined to find a contradiction of criteria among lower courts, so it did not address the substance of the proposed restrictive interpretation.
  • Court president Hugo Aguilar Ortiz and justices Giovanni Figueroa Mejía and Arístides Guerrero García said the matter falls to the Regional Circuit Plenums.
  • Reports differed on the vote count, with one outlet citing a 7–2 dismissal and another noting six votes for the project but seven votes finding no contradiction.
  • Environmental groups, including Greenpeace, warned the proposal would narrow access to justice, and for now associations may continue filing amparos without showing direct harm.