MEXICO Law and Practice Contributed by: Luis Asali, Omar Colomé, Katia Hernández and Jesús Figueroa, Bufete Asali
Bufete Asali Juan Salvador Agraz 73, 17th floor Santa Fe Mexico City 05348 Mexico Tel: +52 55 52 81 13 00 Email: santiago.escobar@bufeteasali.com Web: bufeteasali.com
1. General 1.1 General Characteristics of the Legal System Mexico’s legal system is grounded in the civil law tra- dition, rooted in Roman-Germanic principles rather than the common law framework, and follows an adversarial model. The main sources of law are codes, statutes and regulations, at both the federal and local levels. Judicial precedents do play a role, but they are not automatically binding; a case only acquires bind- ing authority if it meets specific requirements under the Amparo Law, which governs the constitutional review of government actions. This structure shapes the country’s litigation process in several ways. Legal proceedings are primarily con- ducted in writing, although recent reforms have intro- duced procedures that combine written submissions and oral arguments in certain areas, including civil and commercial law. 1.2 Court System Mexico’s judiciary operates under a dual structure, consisting of federal and state (local) courts, each empowered by the Constitution and relevant legisla- tion to handle distinct areas of jurisdiction. Federal Courts At the federal level, the system is led by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, which sits at the top of the hierarchy. Beneath it are:
• collegiate circuit courts, which serve as appellate bodies and also exercise review over local courts; • collegiate appellate courts, which function mainly as appellate bodies; and • district courts, which serve as courts of first instance and also exercise review over local courts. Federal courts deal with two groups of cases: amparo proceedings and ordinary proceedings. Depending on the judicial circuit, federal courts may be organised by subject matter, or may hear cases from all subject matters. They are usually divided into: • civil courts, which decide civil and commercial cases; • criminal courts; • administrative courts; and • labour courts. Local Courts Each state judiciary operates independently, featuring: • appellate courts, which review lower court deci- sions; and • trial courts of first instance, typically divided by subject matter (for example, civil, commercial, fam- ily or criminal courts). In commercial disputes, there is always concurrent jurisdiction, allowing a claimant to choose between federal or local courts. At both the federal and local levels, there are specialised courts that hear adminis- trative, labour and electoral matters.
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