The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) This Monday validated the reforms presented by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to the Hydrocarbon Law regarding the granting and revocation of permits in energy matters.
The Court declared the constitutionality of the change by a majority of seven votes in favor of the proposal, of which a clarifying vote in favor was recorded by Minister Jorge Mario Pardo Rebolledo, and two votes against by the ministers. Alberto Pérez Dayán and Norma Lucía Piña.
The articles that were validated by the Court were:
- 51, section III.
- 53, second paragraph.
- 57 and 59 Bis, of the Hydrocarbons Law.
- Fourth and Sixth transitional provisions of the Decree published in the DOF in May 2021.
What were the changes proposed by AMLO?
The modifications proposed by López Obrador they refer to granting and revoking permissions for the development of various activities in the field of hydrocarbons, such as refining, export, importtransportation, storage, distribution, marketing and sale to the public, among others.
The rapporteur minister Alberto Pérez Dayán explained that President López Obrador’s proposal in the sixth transitional article specifies that energy permits can be revoked as long as it is proven that their owners do not comply with the corresponding requirements or violate the provisions of the law.
“The law (approved) does not imply a violation of the principle of legal certainty, because prior to the contested decree The figure of revoking permits already existed. Nor is the principle of legality violated, since there is precision in the sanctions that will be imposed on permit holders when they fail to comply with the established provisions, among them, the revocation of the permit, without new assumptions having been incorporated for this purpose,” he indicated in the session.
He also added that, prior to the reform, the legislation already empowered the Ministry of Energy to the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) to review, verify or supervise that permit holders comply with the provisions of the applicable regulations.
“Revocation of permissions is not automaticsince it requires a procedure in which it is determined that the permit holder failed to comply with the obligations provided for in the law,” said Pérez Dayán.
Carlos Vallejo Galván, legal director of the Association of Regulated Energy Sector Regulators (ARSE), considered that the resolution gives the CRE and Energy certainty that the procedures they carry out for this type of actions or omissions will have the advantage of being confirmed, at least, in constitutional aspects.
The law also provides that Permits may be temporarily suspended for reasons of national security, energy security or national economy..
“The figure of suspension does not imply a confiscation of the assets of the permit holders, since it is a legally established procedure for the authority to temporarily revoke a permit,” highlighted Minister Pérez Dayán.
He clarified that the provisions do not violate the principles of legal certainty, free competition and competition in the hydrocarbon market, since it is intended that the suspended facilities continue providing their services with the provisional help of productive companies of the State, in The situation disappears so much that it is considered dangerous and illegal.
