Popular election of judges – INSIGHTS IAS

Source: Dawn

Context: Mexico has become the first country in the world to allow voters to elect judges at all levels.

• The reform was advocated by the outgoing president Andrés Manuel Lopez ObradorWHO criticized the existing legal system because it served the elite.
• The reform, which was met with much protest and opposition, stipulates that approximately 1,600 judgesincluded Supreme Court judges, will stand for election in 2025 or 2027.
• Critics argue that this system could expose judges to criminal influenceespecially in a country where drug cartels have significant power.
• Despite warnings from the Chief Justice of the Supreme Courtthe reforms were implemented both in the upper house and the lower house.