CNDH Fights Quintana Roo’s Illegal Court Leader

QUINTANA ROO, Mexico — The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) has formally challenged the position of Heyden Cebada Rivas as the presiding magistrate of the Supreme Court of Justice of Quintana Roo, arguing that his designation violates Constitutional Supremacy.

The CNDH's action confirms prior assertions that Cebada Rivas's role as magistrate and president of the court was, by all appearances, illegal. The national body has intervened to counter what it describes as rigged and unilateral actions committed by state authorities.

A Questionable Appointment Process

Heyden Cebada Rivas is a magistrate who was not elected. By determination of the XVIII Legislature, he was exempt from participating in the June 1 elections, in accordance with the new judicial system. The Yucatán native was imposed by the Local Congress, then headed by the president of the JUGOCOPO, Jorge Arturo Sanen Cervantes, and his followers. Sanen Cervantes has been self-proclaimed as the second-best JUGOCOPO president in Mexico, based on a national survey described as lacking credibility and of dubious reputation.

Subsequently, the new magistrates reportedly decided by mutual consent to name Cebada Rivas president of the Supreme Court of Justice following his illegitimate position on the tribunal.

Constitutional Challenge Filed

The CNDH has now resorted to an action of unconstitutionality, arguing that the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States was violated. The CNDH states that, based on the Principle Ratio, which establishes the obligation of entities and organisms to govern themselves according to established norms and the Constitution, the Judicial Power of Quintana Roo failed to adhere to Constitutional Supremacy.

According to the Constitution, the presidency of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) and its equivalent in the states, as well as the Tribunal of Judicial Discipline (TDJ), must be rotated every two years.

Consequently, the president of the CNDH, María del Rosario Piedra Ibarra, demanded the invalidity of the appointment on September 11 of this year. The election of the presiding magistrate should be held in August, and the chosen individual would assume functions on the first day of September.

The Path Forward and Eligible Magistrates

Therefore, the process must be reset by the collegiate body, unless another political agreement or "exception" is made, similar to the one that placed him in his current, exhibited position, which lacks legitimacy and credibility.

Cebada Rivas, originally from Mérida, Yucatán, was sworn in on September 1, after the TSJE held its first session to elect him as presiding magistrate for the next four years. The designation that allowed Cebada Rivas to remain in the Presidency of the TSJE, which was reportedly based on a political agreement, failed to comply with established norms, according to the national good faith body.

Only those magistrates who obtained the highest number of votes in the Immediate Previous Election have the right to participate for the position of president. They are: Elena Esmeralda Gonzales Flores, Teresa de Jesús Villa Velasco, Omar Yael Landeros Rosado, José Raúl Galán Muedano, Gabriela del Carmen Rodríguez Díaz, Wendy Fabiola Barrera Ucan, and Fabián Azael Gamboa Song.