The highest court in Mexico Tuesday unanimously declared a reform decree that extended the court’s President and Federal Judicial Council Member terms by two years unconstitutional.

The Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (SCJN)  held that the term extension violated Articles 97 and 100 of the Mexican Constitution. Articles 97 and 100 establish the procedures for appointing the court’s president and council members and set forth the term limits for these judiciary members. These articles also provide Mexico’s constitutional supremacy principles and call for judicial autonomy and independence.

Pursuant to the court’s ruling, judicial officials’ terms must end on the date determined upon their appointment. Consequently, current supreme court President Arturo Zaldívar Lelo de Larrea will complete his four-year term on December 31, 2022. Had the court upheld the reform decree, Zaldívar would have remained the court’s president until late 2024.

Mexico’s Senate voted to extend the high court president’s term in April, seeking to combat nepotism and corruption. The Senate passed the reform decree in an 80 to 25 vote. National Action Party (PAN) leaders cautioned that permitting Congress to extend a judicial term could create a precedent to extend the President of Mexico’s term. These political leaders called on Zaldívar to declare unconstitutional the reform decree that would extend his term. Zaldívar agreed that the decree was unconstitutional and joined in the court’s unanimous decision.

The court will now provide official notice of its decision to Mexico’s President and Congress, at which time the declaration will become effective.