Rethinking the Rule of Law in Latin America: Judicial Systems at a Crossroads
November 5, 2026 - 9:00 am
Skylight Room
The Graduate Center, CUNY
Join online via Zoom
Across Latin America, democratic backsliding, judicial politicization, and rising authoritarianism are challenging the independence and effectiveness of justice institutions. This mini-conference brings together leading and emerging scholars of judicial politics, comparative law, and democratic governance to critically reassess how legal institutions operate under growing political and social pressures. Drawing on regional experiences, the conference will create an intellectual space for participants to critically reassess and question the conceptual and theoretical frameworks through which we understand the rule of law and democratic governance in a rapidly evolving context. Particular attention will be devoted to judicial independence, accountability, institutional reforms, and the role of legal institutions in democratic erosion.
Speakers at the conference will include Ms. Margaret Satterthwaite, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers; Karina Ansolabehere (Instituto de Investigations Jurídicas-UNAM); Jo-Marie Burt (George Mason University); Lisa Hilbink (Aix-Marseille University, France and U. of Minnesota); Matthew Ingram (University of Albany at SUNY), and other leading and emerging scholars whose work examines judicial independence, democratic erosion, and the rule of law across Latin America.
*Registration begins at 8:30 AM
8:30-8:45 am Registration
8:45-9:00 am Welcoming Remarks
Enrique Desmond Arias, The Graduate Center & Baruch College, CUNY
Verónica Michel, John Jay College, CUNY
9:00-10:15 am Panel 1: Rethinking our Conceptual Frameworks
1. Reflections on Judicial Un/Responsiveness and ‘The Rule of Law’ (virtual
presentation)
Lisa Hilbink, Aix-Marseille Université (France) & University of Minnesota
2. Conceptualizing Judicial and Prosecutorial Capture
Verónica Michel, John Jay College, CUNY; Adriana García, NYU School of Law;
and Aloysia Sonnet, NYU School of Law
3. Pendular Autocratic Legalism in Venezuela
Guillermo Sardi, The Graduate Center, CUNY
10:15-10:45 am Coffee break
10:45 am-12:15 pm Panel 2: Strategies, Resistance, and the Rule of Law
1. Armed Groups, Markets, and the Rule of Law in Latin America
Enrique Desmond Arias, The Graduate Center & Baruch College, CUNY
2. Judicial Resistance to Democratic Erosion in Latin America
Benjamín García-Holgado, University of Delaware
3. Democracy, Rule of Law, and the Judiciary in Brazil and Mexico
Matthew Ingram, University at Albany, SUNY; and Camila Castro, University at
Albany, SUNY
4. Dialogue Under Pressure: Dialogic Remedies as Judicial Strategy in the
Colombian Constitutional Court (virtual presentation)
Juan Rúa-Serna, The Graduate Center, CUNY
12:15-1:45 pm Lunch break*
2:00-3:30 pm Panel 3: Experiences on the Rule of Law from Below
1. Prosecutors’ Offices Beyond Criminal Prosecution: The Case of Mexico (virtual
presentation)
Karina Ansolabehere, Instituto de Investigaciones Jurídicas-UNAM (México)
2. The Pendulum Effect: Guatemala Between Rule of Law and Co-opted Justice
Jo-Marie Burt, George Mason University
3. Rule of Law? Searching for the Disappeared and the Politicization of Justice in
Mexico, 2006–2026
Janice Gallagher, Rutgers University
4. Attacking Independence, Undermining Autonomy: How Autocratizing Governments Interfere with the Legal Profession in Latin America
Meg Satterthwaite, NYU School of Law
3:30:3:45 pm Concluding Remarks
*Lunch break only; lunch will not be provided
