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4h ago

Mexico’s Supreme Court Voids Quintana Roo Law Expanding Wiretap and Geolocation Powers

A seven‑vote majority held that only each state’s attorney general may seek judicial authorization for communication interception or real‑time phone tracking under national procedure.

La ministra Yasmín Esquivel señaló que la legislación local es constitucional porque remite a las reglas previstas en el Código Nacional de Procedimientos Penales, en cuanto a medidas eficaces para combatir la corrupción.
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Overview

  • The Court invalidated reforms that allowed Quintana Roo’s specialized anti‑corruption prosecutors to petition judges directly for wiretaps and live mobile geolocation.
  • Ministers anchored the decision in Article 16’s privacy protections and Article 291 of the National Code of Criminal Procedure, rejecting dispersion of intrusive investigative powers.
  • The ruling reiterates that requests for interception and real‑time tracking must be centralized in the head of each state Fiscalía rather than delegated to specialized units.
  • The session featured tense exchanges, with Minister María Estela Ríos González opposing the project and Minister Yasmín Esquivel advancing a narrower view that deference to national rules could validate certain local provisions.
  • The decision strengthens legal uniformity on surveillance techniques and sets a binding criterion likely to guide reviews of similar state statutes.