On June 2, 2026, the Decree amending and supplementing various provisions of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States concerning the Judiciary (the “Decree”) was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation.
The reform introduces significant changes to the structure and operation of the country’s judicial bodies. Among other aspects, it redefines the internal organization of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, creates new coordination mechanisms for the evaluation of judicial candidates, and modifies the procedures, timelines, and rules governing the popular election of judges and magistrates at both the federal and local levels. Broadly speaking, the reform is structured around five (5) main pillars:
1. Reorganization and Operation of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation
The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación, “SCJN”), composed of nine (9) Justices, will continue to operate primarily in plenary session. However, upon the entry into force of the Decree, the Full Court may authorize the SCJN to sit in two (2) Sections, thereby reinstating a structure similar to the Chambers that existed prior to the 2024 judicial reform.
2. Screening Mechanisms and Evaluation Committees
The reform substantially modifies the judicial candidate selection process through the implementation of new evaluation and screening mechanisms:
a) Creation of the Coordinating Commission
Each Branch of Government will have an Evaluation Committee composed of five (5) individuals of recognized standing in the legal profession. The individuals serving as coordinators of such committees will, in turn, form a national Coordinating Commission responsible for verifying compliance with legal requirements, standardizing knowledge examinations, establishing evaluation criteria, and issuing guidelines applicable to all Evaluation Committees.
b) Reduction in the Number of Judicial Nominations
The reform reduces the number of candidates that each Branch of Government may nominate for certain judicial positions. Specifically, the maximum number of nominations is reduced from three (3) to two (2) candidates per position for vacancies corresponding to Justices of the SCJN, Magistrates of the Superior Chamber of the Federal Electoral Tribunal (Tribunal Electoral del Poder Judicial de la Federación, “TEPJF”), and members of the Judicial Disciplinary Tribunal.
c) Candidate Screening Through Public Lottery
Each Evaluation Committee must prepare a list containing the four (4) highest-ranked candidates for each position. Subsequently, through a public lottery process, such list will be reduced to two (2) candidates per position. Throughout this process, gender parity principles must be strictly observed both in the candidate lists subject to the lottery and in the final nominations submitted to the Branches of Government.
d) Call for the Judicial Election
The reform establishes that the Senate must publish the corresponding call for applications no later than April 30 of the year preceding the judicial election.
3. Organization of the Election Day
The reform provides that judicial elections shall be held on the first Sunday of June of the fourth (4th) year of the applicable constitutional term, concurrently with ordinary federal or local electoral processes.
As a result, the ordinary federal election for Circuit Magistrates and District Judges, originally scheduled for June 2027, is postponed until June 2028 in order to coincide with the ordinary election cycle.
4. Transitional Regime and Renewal of the Superior Chamber of the Federal Electoral Tribunal
The Magistrates currently serving on the Superior Chamber of the TEPJF will remain in office until 2028, formally concluding their terms on the date the newly elected officials are sworn into office.
Likewise, the Decree modifies the length of the term of service to align future renewal cycles. Individuals elected during the extraordinary election held in 2025 will serve for eight (8) years, while those elected in the federal election of 2028 will serve for an exceptional five (5) year term. This adjustment is intended to synchronize subsequent renewal cycles beginning in 2033.
5. Harmonization of Reforms by the States
The Decree requires the states and Mexico City to harmonize their constitutional and legal frameworks with the new federal standards. Among other obligations, local authorities must implement local Evaluation Committees, public lottery mechanisms, gender parity rules, and judicial performance evaluation systems.
To comply with this mandate, local legislatures will have one hundred and eighty (180) calendar days from the entry into force of the Decree to enact the necessary amendments. Furthermore, the complete renewal of local judicial positions must be concluded no later than the 2028 federal election.
In light of the foregoing, the 2026 constitutional reform constitutes a further adjustment to the judicial organization model established following the 2024 judicial reform. While it preserves the popular election of judges and magistrates as the central feature of the system, it introduces additional mechanisms for coordination, evaluation, and candidate screening, while also seeking to align judicial renewal processes at both the federal and local levels.
Over the coming months, it will be particularly important to monitor the secondary legislation and legislative harmonization processes that must be implemented at both the federal and state levels, as these provisions will define the operational aspects that ultimately determine the practical functioning of the new judicial model.
