Lobbying for judicial reform: The role of the MexicanSupreme Court in institutional selection

Abstract

While the behavior of judges clearly affects the success of judicial reformefforts, it is not clear how judges might influence the selection of judicial institutionsaimed at building healthier courts. In this paper, I suggest that judges might play animportant role in defining the judicial reform agenda by both directly lobbyingimportant policy makers and by going public. I develop these claims through adiscussion of the Mexican Supreme Court’s recent efforts to induce further judicialreform. I consider the Court’s important successes and failures and discuss importantconstraints on the ability of judges to influence the reform process through lobbying.