The legal system of Mexico
A federal civil-law system built on the 1917 Constitution, with codified federal law layered over 32 state legal systems. Mexico's signature remedy is the juicio de amparo, a constitutional complaint that can be brought against any act of authority and which shaped equivalent remedies across Latin America. Since the 2008 criminal-justice reform the country has run an adversarial, oral criminal process, and since the 2019 labour reform employment disputes go to real judges rather than the old tripartite conciliation boards.
Legal tradition
Mexico belongs to the civil law tradition. A federal civil-law system built on the 1917 Constitution, with codified federal law layered over 32 state legal systems. Mexico's signature remedy is the juicio de amparo, a constitutional complaint that can be brought against any act of authority and which shaped equivalent remedies across Latin America. Since the 2008 criminal-justice reform the country has run an adversarial, oral criminal process, and since the 2019 labour reform employment disputes go to real judges rather than the old tripartite conciliation boards.
How power is divided
Federal. Powers not expressly granted to the union are reserved to the 32 states (Article 124). States run their own civil, family and criminal-enforcement codes, but criminal procedure, labour and commercial law were federalised to produce single national codes.
Where law comes from
- Constitution and ratified treaties
- Article 1 gives human-rights treaties constitutional rank; Article 133 makes them supreme law.
- Federal statutes and national codes
- Includes the National Code of Criminal Procedure and the Federal Labour Act.
- State constitutions and codes
- Civil, family and property law is largely state law.
- Jurisprudencia
- Binding precedent: Supreme Court plenary rulings, and since 2021 any reasoned majority holding of the plenary or chambers.
The legal profession
A law degree plus a cédula profesional from the Education Ministry licenses practice; there is no compulsory bar examination or single mandatory bar, which distinguishes Mexico from most of the region. Notaries public are a separate, strictly limited state-appointed profession with exclusive competence over real estate and company deeds.
Law by topic in Mexico
- Constitutional LawAmparo is the master remedy against any act of authorityRights are enforced through the juicio de amparo, available against laws, judicial decisions, administrative acts and omissions. The 2011 reform to Article 1 gave ratified human-rights treaties constitutional rank and requires every authority to prefer the interpretation most favourable to the person.
- Family LawState civil codes, with nationwide same-sex marriageFamily law is state law, so requirements differ across the 32 entities. The Supreme Court's 2015 jurisprudence made any state ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, and by 2022 every state had legislated accordingly. No-fault divorce is available in most states.
- Business & CorporateFederal commercial law with a single national companies actCompanies are governed by the General Law of Commercial Companies, which is federal and uniform nationwide. The sociedad anónima and the sociedad de responsabilidad limitada dominate; a simplified one-shareholder SAS can be incorporated online without a notary.
- Immigration & NationalityThree status tracks under the 2011 Migration ActThe Migration Act replaced a criminal-law approach with an administrative one and decriminalised irregular entry. Status is either visitor, temporary resident or permanent resident, and most applications begin at a Mexican consulate abroad rather than inside the country.
- Property & LandThe restricted zone and the fideicomiso workaroundArticle 27 of the Constitution bars foreigners from direct ownership of land within 100 km of a border or 50 km of the coast. In practice foreign buyers hold coastal residential property through a bank trust, the fideicomiso, or through a Mexican company for non-residential use.
- Criminal LawA single national code and an adversarial oral trialThe 2008 constitutional reform replaced the written inquisitorial process with an adversarial, oral system, fully in force since June 2016. The National Code of Criminal Procedure applies in every state and at federal level, which is unusual in a federation.
- Employment & LabourFederal Labour Act protection and the 2019 court reformThe Federal Labour Act gives effect to Article 123 and is highly protective: dismissal requires justified cause, and an unjustified dismissal entitles the worker to reinstatement or three months' pay plus 20 days per year of service. The 2019 reform moved disputes from tripartite conciliation boards to judicial labour courts with compulsory prior conciliation.
- Tax LawSAT administration, 30% corporate rate and 16% VATThe Servicio de Administración Tributaria administers federal taxes. Corporate income tax is a flat 30%, individuals are taxed progressively to 35%, and VAT is 16% with a reduced 8% band in the northern and southern border zones. Electronic invoicing through CFDI is compulsory for essentially every transaction.
- Civil ProcedureA new national code replacing 32 state proceduresThe National Code of Civil and Family Procedure was published in June 2023 and unifies what were separate procedures in every state, with a staged rollout to 2027. It introduces oral hearings, electronic filing and case management to civil and family litigation.
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