Overview
- The Supreme Court unanimously invalidated Article 109 of Sonora’s Mobility and Road Safety Law, ending the requirement to obtain prior authorization for demonstrations.
- The ruling stems from a constitutional challenge filed by the National Human Rights Commission, which questioned both the authorization rule and a related notice provision.
- Reporting Justice Irving Espinosa Betanzo said the permit rule was vague, granted excessive discretion to authorities, and operated as an impermissible prior-control mechanism.
- Article 110 remains in force only as a non-enabling notice for protection and logistics, so lack of notice cannot justify denial, dispersal, or sanctions, and spontaneous protests remain protected.
- Justice Lenia Batres warned the invalidated rule chilled participation by creating legal uncertainty, and Chief Justice Hugo Aguilar Ortiz affirmed that protest is a right.