MEXICO Law and Practice Contributed by: Adrián Magallanes, Diego Sierra and Rodrigo Barradas Muñiz, Von Wobeser y Sierra, SC
• the composition of the arbitral tribunal or the arbitral procedure was not in accordance with the agreement of the parties; or • the court finds that the subject matter of the dispute is not arbitrable, or the award is in conflict with public policy. 13.4 Procedure for Enforcing Domestic and Foreign Arbitration The Commerce Code provides for a specific pro- ceeding to enforce arbitral awards. The proceed- ings begin with a complaint, which the defend- ant can answer within 15 working days. After the response is filed, the court receives the evidence offered by the parties. After all the evidence is received, the court holds a hearing on the mer- its within the next three days. Lastly, the judge renders a final judgment. The proceedings to enforce an award usually take between six and 12 months. 14. Outlook 14.1 Proposals for Dispute Resolution Reform The oral adversarial commercial proceeding fully came into force in Mexico in 2020. This proceed- ing was previously limited to small claims. In addition, the Constitution was reformed in 2017, granting the federal Congress powers to legislate on civil and family procedural matters, which were previously reserved to each state. In May 2021, the Supreme Court of Justice issued a resolution ordering Congress to enact the cor- responding legislation. The National Code for Civil and Family Proceedings was enacted on 7 June 2023, and must be adopted by the federal and local courts by 1 April 2027. This new regu- lation addresses issues such as access to jus-
tice, digital justice, orality and gender perspec- tive, aiming to homologate its national coverage. A reform of the Judicial Branch of the Federa- tion came into effect in 2021 and implied certain changes to the administration of justice, with an impact on litigation. Many of the changes were of an administrative nature, related to the judicial career and the organisation and distribution of powers among jurisdictional bodies. However, the precedent system was also modified to establish that, under certain circumstances, a single prec- edent of the Supreme Court of Justice is binding for lower courts, unlike the previous system that required five precedents in the same vein on the subject or a contradiction of criteria. Finally, as discussed in 1.2 Court System , the Mexican judicial system will be subject to modi- fications due to a constitutional reform enacted in September 2024. Its implementation is in process. 14.2 Growth Areas Recent years have seen a considerable increase in disputes in the infrastructure and energy sectors. Both sectors have seen considerable growth in Mexico and attracted both domestic and foreign investment, which has logically led to an increase in related disputes. Most of these disputes arise from contractual claims in the context of project development. Some of these contracts have arbitration claus- es, but have required the intervention of Mexi- can courts for injunctive relief and other types of judicial assistance or intervention. Over the years, the Mexican judiciary has shown a favour- able attitude towards arbitration and has built up a consistent and sound body of judicial prec- edents. This has made Mexico a suitable venue for international arbitration of commercial dis- putes.
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