Two decisions by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in cases litigated by MacArthur grantees Centro de Derechos Humanos Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez and Comisión Mexicana de Defensa y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos are prompting Mexico's government to reform its Code of Military Justice. First, a ruling by the Court condemned the government for its complicity in Rosando Radilla's disappearance and called for reforms that would guarantee that cases of human rights violations committed by the military be dealt with in civilian courts. As a result, Mexico's Congress drafted legislation last year, but human rights advocates felt the bill was not comprehensive enough. Then, a related ruling by the Court last month granted reparations to two environmental activists who were tortured by the military into admitting to crimes they did not commit. This ruling decreed that the government must enact stricter reforms that ban all human rights crimes from military jurisdiction. Both judgments are legally binding and not subject to appeal.
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