Overview
- In Peru, the Constitutional Court annulled the Eficcop-led investigation of attorney Mateo Castañeda in the ‘Los Waykis en la sombra’ matter, voiding the formalization, case accumulation, and the preventive-detention request, and ordering a new prosecutor to take over.
- The ruling found the raid on Castañeda’s law office violated attorney–client confidentiality because the warrant failed to specify it was a legal practice, and it reconverted the case from habeas corpus to amparo to address broader rights violations.
- The Court referred Judge Richard Concepción Carhuancho to the National Board of Justice for potential discipline after delays that left Castañeda 23 days without effective appellate review, affecting his right to defense and second instance.
- In Mexico, the Supreme Court unanimously held that direct-amparo decisions issued by its now-extinct Salas are definitive and not subject to review, despite a contentious paragraph in the lead opinion about possible reopening for alleged ‘cosa juzgada fraudulenta’ that drew majority opposition.
- In a separate decision, the SCJN ruled that authorities must consider UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention opinions and, if they depart from them, give a clear, well-founded explanation consistent with the Constitution and human-rights obligations.