By resolutions adopted in sessions held on April 13, 2020, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, the Council of the Federal Judiciary, the Federal Court of Administrative Justice and the Council of the Judiciary of Mexico City, decided to extend the suspension of jurisdictional activities that had originally been set until April 19, 2020, in the sense of also declaring as non-working days the days comprised in the period from April 20 to May 5, 2020.
The foregoing in order to be consistent with the “Agreement declaring a sanitary emergency due to force majeure, the epidemic of disease generated by the SARS-CoV virus (COVID-19)”, and the “Agreement establishing extraordinary actions to address the sanitary emergency generated by the SARS-CoV2 virus”, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on March 30 and 31, 2020, respectively, which essentially ordered the suspension of non-essential activities from March 30 to April 30, 2020, in order to prevent the spread, transmission, disease burden, complications and deaths caused by the COVID-19 virus in the national territory.
In all cases, considering that the provision of the public service of justice is an essential function, the authorities adopted the necessary measures to maintain the operability of the jurisdictional bodies in dealing with urgent cases. By way of example, the Agreement of the Federal Judiciary Council indicates as urgent cases, the execution of arrest warrants or the freezing of bank accounts, and in general, matters in which the health or physical integrity of persons is in danger.
Finally, the Agreements of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation and the Federal Court of Administrative Justice refer to the possibility of holding the necessary sessions remotely through the use of technological tools.
