Currently, there are no Internet sites that provide English translations of the totality of the Mexican federal statutes that control and regulate the commercial activities of foreign investors in Mexico. There are, however, a number of web sites that make available the text in English of one or more Mexican statutes.
In the alternative, there are commercial companies that sell English translations of solicited statutes (and their regulations) for a fee, or as a service to paying subscribers. The listing of these commercial companies is outside the scope of this Note.
In the absence of comprehensive Internet sites with English texts of Mexican federal statutes and regulations, possibly the best single source of these legal materials is the bilingual (English/Spanish) collection of Mexican federal statutes published in the series titled: MEXICAN LAW LIBRARY: COMMERCIAL CODES:
Vol. 1: Business and Commercial (Seven statutes): (1) Commercial Companies Act; (2) Foreign Investment Act; (3) Foreign Investment Regulations; (4) Economic Competition Act; (5) Federal Labor Act; (6) Industrial Property Act; and (7) Bankruptcy Act, already repealed;
Vol. 2: Tax (Three statutes): (1) Income Tax Act; (2) Value Added Tax Act; and (3) Asset Tax Act;
Vol. 3: Financial Services (Five statutes): (1) Credit Institutions Act; (2) Negotiable Instruments Act; (3) Securities Market Act; (4) Act regulating Financial Groups; and (5) Insurance Institutions and Mutual Insurance Companies Act;
Vol. 4: Foreign Trade (Six statutes): (1) Customs Act; (2) Maquiladora Decree; (3) Car Industry Decree; (4) Oil Act; (5) Natural Gas Regulations; and (6) Federal Telecommunications Act;
Vol. 5: Environment and Natural Resources (Seven statutes): (1) Environmental Act; (2) Hazardous Wastes Regulations; (3) Atmospheric Pollution Regulations; (4) Environmental Impact Regulations; (5) National Waters Act; and (7) National Waters Regulations.15
However, the text of these materials is now outdated considering that the statutes and regulations included in this series have been amended after publication in this series in 1997-1998.
The volume of information on Mexican law in Spanish available on the Internet is plentiful. In particular, the official electronic portal titled: Legislación Federal de México (Mexico’s Federal Legislation), provides the most complete and current text of 229 federal statutes and the most important federal codes, as well as local enactments that only apply to the Federal District (Mexico City). All of the federal statutes included in this site govern the commercial activities of foreign investors and foreign companies in Mexico.
This website is sponsored by the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico’s Federal Congress (Cámara de Diputados del Hon. Congreso de la Unión). Legislación Federal de México (Mexico’s Federal Legislation). The texts are in Adobe Acrobat Reader format.
This site contains the complete text of Mexico’s Federal Constitution of 1917, as amended, as well as the texts of the following federal codes: (1) the Federal Civil Code; (2) the Code of Commerce; (3) the Federal Code of Civil Procedure; (4) the Federal Code of Criminal Procedure; (5) the Federal Criminal Code; (6) the Code of Military Justice; (7) the Federal Code of Electoral Institutions and Procedures; (8) the Fiscal Code of the Federation.
All the texts are current, updated and in force. The complete list of these federal statutes, regulations and codes (and an informal English translation of their titles) appears in Appendix I of this Note.
(1) Act Against Organized Delinquency; (2) Airports Acts; (3) Civil Aviation Act; (4) Consumer Protection Act; (5) Copyright Act; (6) Credit Instruments Act; (7) Customs Act; (8) Environmental Protection Act; (9) Expropriation Act; (10) Federal Labor Act; (11) Firearms and Explosives Act; (12) Gambling and Lottery Act; (13) Fishing Act; (14) Foreign Investment Act; (15) Foreign Trade Act; (16) General Means of Communications Act; (17) Immigration Act; (18) Industrial Property Act; (19) Insurance Contracts Act; (20) International Extradition Act; (21) Investments Companies Act; (22) Mercantile Bankruptcy Act; (23) Mercantile Companies Act; (24) Mining Act; (25) Navigation and Maritime Commerce; (26) Nuclear Energy Regulatory Act; (27) Oil Regulatory Act; (28) Ports Act; (29) Radio and Television Act; (30) Stock Market Act; (31) Telecommunications Act; and (32) Tourism Act.
The same website: www.cddhcu.gob.mx/leyinfo, also reproduces the texts of these eight federal codes: (1) the Federal Civil Code; (2) the Code of Commerce; (3) the Federal Code of Civil Procedure; (4) the Federal Code of Criminal Procedure; (5) the Federal Criminal Code; (6) the Code of Military Justice; (7) the Federal Code of Electoral Institutions and Procedures; (8) the Fiscal Code of the Federation. All the texts are current, updated, and in force.
Mexico is a civil law country. Accordingly, codes in Mexico play a primary role in defining the relative legal rights and obligations of parties. As legislative enactments, codes are unitary works that integrate all norms in a given branch of Mexican law in a systematic, comprehensive, organized and logical manner.
Mexico has distinct codes to regulate: (1) civil matters, (2) civil procedure, (3) penal matters, (4) criminal procedure, (5) commerce, and (6) tax matters, at the federal and state levels. Pursuant to Mexico’s Federal Constitution of 1917, its government is structured according to a federal system (Art. 40, Fed. Const.). Thus, the federal government and each of the thirty-one Mexican states (Art. 43, Fed. Const.) maintain separate sets of codes. For the most part, state codes closely parallel the format and the language of the federal codes.
Originally enacted in 1928 as the local code for the Federal District on ordinary matters and for the entire Republic of Mexico on federal matters (D.O. of March 26, 1928), a special Federal Civil Code was recently enacted by the Federal Congress (D.O. of May 29, 2000), as amended.16
From a substantive viewpoint, the text of the Civil Code for the Federal District is virtually the same (except for minor changes), as that of the Federal Civil Code. In essence, the Federal Civil Code constitutes the core of Mexican Civil Law and occupies a most salient place within Mexico’s legal system. Furthermore, the thirty-one local Civil Codes of the Mexican States, which compose the Republic of Mexico, are a virtual copy (with insignificant changes) of the Federal Civil Code. Accordingly, this means that, de facto, regarding civil law matters the Federal Civil Code governs throughout the entire country.17
Mexican Contract LawThe Federal Civil Code is composed of 3,074 Sections (Articles) divided into four sections (Books), and preceded by some preliminary provisions. Book One (Persons) refers to the rights and obligations of individuals and legal entities including: questions relative to their domicile, civil registry, marriage, divorce, adoption, relationship and support, parental authority, guardianship, emancipation, absent and missing persons, and the homestead. This new code substantially modernized most of its family law provisions. Book Two (Property) governs real property and personal property, possession, ownership, usufruct, easements and prescription. Book Three (Successions) deals with successions by will, legal and testamentary successions, executors and partition questions. Book Four (Obligations or Contracts) pertains to: contracts, special obligations and their effects, leases, agency, professional services, associations and companies, mortgages, credits and public registry.
Under Mexican law, it is important to identify the number of Article(s) that explicitly refer to the specific topic or legal issue. For example, Article 14 of the Federal Civil Code refers to the application of foreign law in Mexico; the content of a marriage certificate is given in Article 103; the community marriage legal regime (Sociedad conyugal)18 is described in Articles 183-206, as opposed to the separation of property regime (Separación de bienes), which is regulated by Articles 207-218; the twenty grounds for divorce are listed in Article 267; and the principles that govern personal injury cases19 are enunciated in Articles 1910-1934 of the same Federal Civil Code.
The provisions of the Code of Commerce apply exclusively to acts of commerce, and to the activities of merchants. This code composed of 1,462 Sections (Articles), was originally enacted in 1889, and has been amended several times.
Book One (Merchants) governs merchant activities. Book Two (Overland Commerce) regulates acts of commerce and mercantile contracts, commercial transactions, commercial companies, agents, factors and employees, mercantile bailments and loans, purchase and sale transactions. Book Three (Repealed, now substituted by a federal statute on maritime commerce). Book Four (Repealed, and substituted by the recent federal Bankruptcy Act). Book Five (Mercantile Actions) refers to mercantile judicial proceedings, pre-trial and trial procedures, general rules of evidence, judgments, appeals, and commercial arbitration and its procedure.
This Code is the exact counterpart to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, first adopted in our country in 1938 and then used as a model for similar state codes. Mexico’s code was enacted in 1943, and then substantially amended in 1988 to allow for the application of foreign law by Mexican courts and to establish clearer rules in the area of international procedural cooperation.
It is interesting to point out that Mexican judges should apply foreign law in the same manner the law would be applied by the respective foreign judge; that the non-existence, absence or lack of Mexican legal institutions, or precise procedural rules, are not to hinder the application of foreign law provided there are “analogous” institutions or procedures under Mexican law; and that different phases of a given judicial proceedings may be governed by “different laws,” whether foreign or Mexican, when applied harmoniously with the aim of achieving the intended purposes of the different applicable laws.20
The Federal Code of Civil Procedure consists of 577 Sections (Articles) divided into four parts. Book One (Parties) regulates the parties who may intervene in a federal civil trial, the judicial authorities, the rules of evidence, judicial resolutions and judicial formalities. Book Two (Litigious Matters) regulates the trial phases, including the initial complaint, the answer, evidence, the final judgment and incidents, as well as precautionary measures and enforcement. Book Three (Special Procedures) details liquidation proceedings, demarcations and boundaries, and expropriations, closing with voluntary jurisdiction. Book Four (International Procedural Cooperation) includes some basic principles, letters rogatory, jurisdiction over procedural issues, evidence, jurisdiction over judgments, and enforcement of judgments.
The Federal Code of Civil Procedure consists of 577 Sections (Articles) divided into four parts. Book One (Parties) regulates the parties who may intervene in a federal civil trial, the judicial authorities, the rules of evidence, judicial resolutions and judicial formalities. Book Two (Litigious Matters) regulates the trial phases, including the initial complaint, the answer, evidence, the final judgment and incidents, as well as precautionary measures and enforcement. Book Three (Special Procedures) details liquidation proceedings, demarcations and boundaries, and expropriations, closing with voluntary jurisdiction. Book Four (International Procedural Cooperation) includes some basic principles, letters rogatory, jurisdiction over procedural issues, evidence, jurisdiction over judgments, and enforcement of judgments.
Book Four (Arts. 543-577) is particularly important; its provisions, jointly with those of other applicable federal statutes as well as treaties and international conventions to which Mexico is a party, govern cases involving international civil litigation. The Code was recently amended (D.O. of May 29, 2000).
The constitutional guarantees (GarantÃas individuales) enunciated by Mexico’s Federal Constitution in the criminal law area (i.e., Arts. 14, 16, and 18-23. Fed. Const.), are enunciated, protected and detailed in the Federal Code of Criminal Procedure enacted in 1934 and amended several times (D.O. of February 6, 2002).
This Code consists of 576 Sections (Articles) divided into these Titles: Title One (General Rules) establishes the rules which govern the criminal procedure: jurisdiction, search and seizure warrants, summons, judicial resolutions, etc. Title Two (Initial Investigation) covers all aspects pertaining to pre-trial proceedings. Title Three (Causes of Action). Titles Four and Five (Pre-Trial Initial Investigation and Trial Initiation) pertains to evidence to prove the criminal offense and the probable responsibility of the alleged offender. Title Six is devoted to evidence and Title Seven to conclusions. Title Eight cover acquittals and Title Nine the criminal trial and irrevocable judgments. Title Ten refers to appeals, and Title Eleven to the incidents to free the alleged offender. Title Twelve refers to mental cases, minors and drug addicts, and Title Thirteen to the implementation of the final judgment, reduction and lessening of sanctions, pardons, amnesty and rehabilitation.
Interestingly, this code regulates the procedure to be followed in cases taking place before a popular jury (Jurado Popular), which is a rather atypical and unusual procedure since Mexico, unlike the United States, has no jury trials. An overwhelming majority of criminal cases in Mexico are resolved by a judge (Juez de Primera Instancia) sitting as both trier of fact and of law. This includes trials at both the state and federal level.
Mexico’s Federal Criminal Code is applicable throughout the Republic of Mexico to criminal offenses of a federal nature. Enacted in 1931, this code has been amended numerous times, in particular since 2000 (D.O. of January 4 and June 12, 2000; June 1, 2001; and February 6, 2002).
The Code is formed by 429 Sections (Articles) divided into twenty-six titles, ranging from penitentiary rules, sanctions, enforcement of judgments to professional responsibility, termination of criminal responsibility, detailed enunciation of the federal crimes, etc.
Unlike the United States where criminal offenses are divided into “felonies and misdemeanors,” depending upon their seriousness, in Mexico criminal offenses are categorized under the social value protected by the law. Therefore, the Federal Criminal Code enunciates in detail only federal crimes (Delitos federales) which are, in turn, classified under numerous categories of “crimes against” a protected legal value under Mexican law (Delitos federales en contra de…). These categories range from crimes against the nation’s safety, international law and public security, to crimes against the person’s property and patrimony, electoral crimes, crimes against the environment, and copyright violations.
Each Article in this code enunciates or defines in detail the corresponding criminal offense, its modalities, its essential component, and the corresponding sanction. Recently, this code has been amended to include relatively novel federal crimes such as sexual harassment, family violence, corruption and prostitution of minors, crimes against the professional malpractice of attorneys and medical doctors, electoral crimes, and certain acts against the environment. Moreover, in recent years the Government of Mexico has enacted federal statutes formulated to punish certain criminal activities; in this regard, the Act against Organized Delinquency (D.O. of October 28, 1996) deserves mention.
This important Code regulates the payment of taxes in Mexico by both individuals and companies, including certain foreign nationals, as mandated by the Federal Constitution (Art. 31, para. IV), and other federal statutes. The Code was published in the D.O. of December 31, 1981 (last amendment in D.O. of December 31, 2000). This Code provides definitions of the legal tax terms, such as types of taxes, residents of the Mexican territory, fiscal domicile, impounding of assets, business activities, financial transactions, business markets, etc., all of them indispensable for tax purposes to foreign investors, foreign business persons, and foreign legal entities which transact business in or with Mexico.