MEXICO Law and Practice Contributed by: Jorge Asali, Omar Colomé, Rodrigo Macin and Saul Fonseca, Bufete Asali
Mexican Commerce Code or Article V of the New York Convention is met. To date, there are no known judicial precedents in Mexico where a foreign arbitral award annulled at the seat was nevertheless enforced by Mexican courts. Similarly, there is no clear judicial guidance on the treatment of awards undergoing set-aside proceed - ings at the seat. The approach will likely vary depend - ing on the particular circumstances – especially whether the Mexican courts and the courts at the seat are within the same legal system – and will require a case-by-case analysis. As for state or state-owned entities, there is no blanket immunity at the enforcement stage. Although Mexico has acceded to the United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Property, which has not yet entered into force, Mexican courts may consider its principles as persuasive guidance. In practice, Mexican courts tend to assess sovereign immunity claims based on the nature of the acts in question and whether the state entity acted in a com - mercial or sovereign capacity. 12.3 Approach of the Courts Mexican courts are generally arbitration-friendly and tend to recognise and enforce both domestic and for - eign arbitral awards, including those rendered abroad under the New York Convention, to which Mexico acceded in 1971 without reservations. However, it remains to be seen how this pro-arbitration stance may evolve in light of the ongoing judicial reform and potential shifts in institutional posture. Enforcement may be refused on limited grounds under Article 1462 of the Mexican Commerce Code, which mirrors Article V of the New York Convention. One such ground is public policy. While Mexican law does not expressly distinguish between domestic and inter - national public policy, courts have typically applied a narrow construction aligned with international stand - ards, reserving this defence for exceptional cases where enforcement would seriously violate Mexico’s fundamental principles of justice. For instance, in the Commisa v PEMEX case , the Mexican courts initially annulled a domestic award
on public policy grounds. However, a US court later enforced that same award under the New York Con - vention, holding that the annulment had been based on retroactive legislation inconsistent with fundamen - tal notions of due process. This case has since been cited as an example of the nuanced and evolving nature of public policy review in international arbitra - tion. Overall, while the public policy exception remains a possible bar to enforcement, Mexican courts have shown restraint and an overall willingness to uphold the finality of arbitral awards. 13. Miscellaneous 13.1 Class Action or Group Arbitration Mexican law does not provide for class action arbitra - tion or group arbitration. There is no statutory frame - work recognising collective arbitration proceedings, nor are there established procedural rules addressing the consolidation of claims on a class or group basis in arbitration. While class actions do exist in the judicial context under certain consumer protection and environmental laws, these mechanisms have not been extended to the arbitral sphere. As a result, any attempt to bring collective claims in arbitration would face significant legal uncertainty and would likely require express par - ty agreement and careful structuring to be considered arbitrable. 13.2 Ethical Codes Mexican arbitration law does not impose a mandatory or comprehensive ethical code for counsel or arbitra - tors. The only express legal requirement is that arbitra - tors must be independent and impartial, as set out in Article 1428 of the Mexican Commerce Code. In practice, however, both counsel and arbitrators commonly adhere to internationally recognised stand - ards of ethics and conduct. These often include soft law instruments such as the IBA Guidelines on Con - flicts of Interest in International Arbitration and the IBA Guidelines on Party Representation, which are fre - quently used as reference points, even if not binding.
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