Since 2016, the Mexican Supreme Court of Justice and the Judicial Branch of the United Kingdom have strengthened their relationship through an annual exchange of experiences and practices concerning criminal justice. In particular, they have worked on solidifying the new accusatory criminal justice system of Mexico. These encounters have become highly important due to the need for Mexican judicial officials to gain a better understanding of comparative law approaches on criminal justice systems. The former has been achieved through a dialogue with top-tier judicial officials of the United Kingdom, a country that has an outstanding experience on the subject.
The “Dialogues on the Criminal Justice System with the United Kingdom” have evolved from conferences to an annual seminar with practical activities. The new format allows participants from both countries to improve their abilities, share good practices, and reflect on new challenges, with the objective to strengthen the criminal justice system. The final aim of the dialogues is for the officials working in the new criminal justice system of Mexico to become familiar with other experiences and to fully implement the 2008 reform.
Background Information
As a result of the Supreme Court´s participation in the Dual Year of the United Kingdom and Mexico in 2015, the Judicial Branches of both countries established a close relationship for cooperation that has lasted during the last five years. This relationship has opened an exchange of knowledge and experiences on criminal justice with the objective of strengthening the criminal justice systems of both countries.
Several joint activities have taken place as part of this cooperation relationship. On the 20th November 2016, Lord Anthony Hughes de Ombersley, then Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, delivered the Master Conference “The judge´s role the United Kingdom´s Criminal Justice System hearings”. Also, on the 12th October 2016, Sir Nicholas Blake, judge of the High Court of England and Wales, participated in the panel discussion “Dialogue between Judges about the Criminal Justice System, Shared Challenges: Mexico and the United Kingdom”, which focused on the exchange of views and opinions amongst six federal judges about the implementation of the British and Mexican Criminal Justice Systems.
In 2017, with the objective of strengthening the capacities of the officials working within the New Criminal Justice System of Mexico, both Judicial Branches decided to create a different format for skill development, focused on experience sharing amongst judges. During the 22nd and the 24th August 2017 the first edition of the “Dialogue between Judges about the Criminal Justice System, Shared Challenges: Mexico and the United Kingdom” took place, which was a seminar and practical workshop where judges Sir Nicholas Blake and Michael Topolski of the United Kingdom participated, as well as twenty judges and ten public defenders of Mexico.
The following year, the second edition of the seminar took place during the 25th and the 28th June 2018 with the presence of three judges from the United Kingdom: Lord Anthony Hughes of Ombersley, Sir Nicholas Blake, and Mrs Justice Mcgowan, as well as twenty federal judges, five public defenders and ten law clerks of the Mexican Supreme Court of Justice.
