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Mexico’s Supreme Court Upholds Keeping Serious Crimes on Criminal-Record Certificates

In a 6–3 decision, the Court said retaining entries for grave offenses serves public-protection and investigative aims while keeping certificates confidential and limited to the person concerned.

Overview

  • The justices validated article 27, section V, item g) of the National Law on Criminal Enforcement, which permits records of serious offenses to remain after sentences are completed.
  • The ruling distinguishes between grave and non-grave crimes, allowing cancellation only for the latter and finding the differential treatment objectively justified.
  • The majority concluded that retention is compatible with equality, non-discrimination, and reintegration rights, stressing that certificates are not public and are issued solely to the individual.
  • Court president Hugo Aguilar Ortiz and Minister Yasmín Esquivel Mossa dissented, calling the permanent notation stigmatizing and akin to a double sanction; Minister Giovanni Figueroa Mejía dissented on procedural grounds.
  • The case stemmed from an amparo by a person denied a security job after a certificate reflected a past conviction for transporting 10 migrants, illustrating labor-market effects of the policy.