Mexico. The Federal Institute of Telecommunications, IFT, was notified of two agreements by the Minister of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN), Olga María del Carmen Sánchez Cordero, who serves as Minister instructor in the constitutional controversy presented by the Federal Executive, on the occasion of the agreement of the Thirty-Second Civil Judge of the Federal District, which noted that the IFT has no competence to order the free retransmission of certain free-to-air television channels.
The first agreement issued by Minister Sánchez Cordero admits the claim of constitutional controversy referred to. The second agreement grants ex officio the suspension of the acts challenged by the Federation in the constitutional dispute, in accordance with the following:
"The suspension granted with respect to the effects and consequences of the acts whose invalidity is demanded consists in maintaining things in the state they currently keep, that is, so that the Thirty-Second Civil Court of the Superior Court of Justice of the Federal District continues with the substantiation of the trial of file 1653/2011 of its index until its total conclusion n, even, to issue the corresponding final resolution; however, it must refrain from making any pronouncement or act that implies disregarding the powers that the Federal Telecommunications Institute has in telecommunications matters by direct and express mandate of the Federal Constitution".
The agreement establishes that in accordance with the criteria of the SCJN's own plenary, the investigating Minister determined the foregoing "with the purpose of safeguarding the matter of the present case, since if the precautionary measure were not granted, it would be allowed that, through the contested determinations, the competence in telecommunications matters directly granted by the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States to the Federal Institute of Telecommunications was made null and void."
These agreements leave the IFT free to exercise its powers in the field of telecommunications and broadcasting, so that an extraordinary session of the Plenary of this regulatory body will be convened shortly to deliberate and, where appropriate, resolve on the draft general guidelines for the retransmission of open television signals in television systems. Restricted.
