MEXICO Law and Practice Contributed by: Adrián Magallanes, Diego Sierra and Rodrigo Barradas Muñiz, Von Wobeser y Sierra, SC
under which they want their dispute to be heard, and therefore could establish a case manage- ment hearing. Parties usually follow statutory proceedings without agreeing on any modifica- tions to the rules. 7.3 Jury Trials in Civil Cases There are no jury trials in civil or commercial cases. 7.4 Rules That Govern Admission of Evidence Any evidence that may convince the judge about the disputed facts is admissible; the scope is very general. The burden of proof, in principle, rests with the party making an affirmative state- ment (Article 1194 of the Commerce Code). All documentary evidence must be submitted with the complaint or the answer to the com- plaint or reply; otherwise, it will not be admitted, unless it is supervening. Witnesses and expert witnesses must also be identified by name in the complaint or answer to the complaint. In the preliminary hearing, the judge rules on the admissibility of the evidence, reviewing whether it is appropriate and whether the legal formalities for its offering were followed – for example, indi- cating the facts that the offering party intends to prove. 7.5 Expert Testimony Expert testimony is permitted at trial, but only in cases in which ruling on the dispute requires special knowledge of science, arts or an industry. Each party can appoint an expert and prepare an interrogatory report for both experts to answer. If the reports are completely contradictory, the court may appoint a third expert witness. The court may seek expert testimony itself if it needs guidance on a technical issue, because
the Federal Code of Civil Procedure allows it to request any additional evidence to reach a more informed decision (Article 598 of the Federal Code of Civil Procedure). 7.6 Extent to Which Hearings Are Open to the Public In commercial proceedings, all hearings are pub- lic (Article 1080 of the Commerce Code). Other bodies of law, such as the Federal Civil Proce- dure Code, establish that the court will deter- mine the cases in which the hearings shall not be public (eg, in family matters or when one party is a minor). 7.7 Level of Intervention by a Judge Previously, judges were supposed to preside over every hearing, review the interrogatories for witnesses and experts, encourage the par- ties to reach a settlement, etc. However, in prac- tice, judges often delegated much work to their staff and intervened only when there was a con- flict over a procedural decision. Judgments are reserved to a later date. However, in the new oral proceedings that have applied to every commercial dispute since 2020, judges must be more involved in the case, as they personally have to preside over the hear- ings. Judgments are supposed to be notified at a hearing. However, in more complex cases, the judge shall suspend the hearing and appoint a later date to enter the final judgment. 7.8 General Timeframes for Proceedings Obtaining a first instance judgment in a typical oral commercial proceeding takes around five to six months on average from the complaint being submitted. The duration may vary depending on the complexity of the dispute.
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