Mexico City - Mexico's National Supreme Court of Justice, or SCJN, ordered a school to pay a 7-year-old student the sum of 500,000 pesos ($33,311) in compensation for the bullying he suffered there, in what the high court called its first-ever ruling on a case involving that kind of harassment.

The high court said last Friday that at the recommendation of Justice Arturo Zaldivar, it ordered the compensation because one of the victim's teachers provoked the harassment and because of the school's negligence in not taking steps to prevent the bullying.

In a communique, the Supreme Court said a lawsuit was filed by the boy's mother, who demanded financial compensation from the school in Mexico state for the systematic bullying that her son had suffered during his second year in elementary school.

The judge of a lower trial court decided not to sentence the defendants, after which the mother filed an appeal that was taken up by the First Chamber of the Supreme Court, which began studying the breadth and complexity of the "bullying" concept.

The SCJN noted that this is an extremely widespread social phenomenon in Mexican schools and can seriously harm a minor's well-being.

In ruling on the case, the high court determined that this conduct, besides violating the rights of the child to dignity, safety and education, may also constitute a kind of discrimination, as in the case of this boy who suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The SCJN said that while this disorder cannot be clearly defined as a disability, children who suffer from it are particularly vulnerable, and therefore require special protective measures.

Based on an analysis of various evaluations, psychological and sociological tests, as well as on the testimonies of the family and the opinion of the boy, the First Chamber ruled that there had indeed existed bullying conduct by the teacher against the minor.

It was also shown that the boy had been studying in a hostile environment, since the school took no course of action to fulfill its duty to watch over and protect the children in its care.

On the first charge, the First Chamber of the SCJN decided to accept the appeal and ordered the school to provide financial compensation for the psychological/emotional harm done to the 7-year-old.

The high court also determined that the amount of compensation must be based on the amount of harm done and the school's degree of responsibility, as well as on its economic situation. After the analysis was completed, the court ordered the school to pay the child 500,000 pesos ($33,311).

Finally, the sentence stressed that it is necessary for those with minors in their care to have clearly defined duties, for which it drew up specific recommendations for the government "that will make it possible to identify, prevent and combat such a harmful phenomenon as bullying nationwide."