Guide to basic research on Mexican law in Tarlton Law Library
Printable version
Prepared by Jonathan Pratter, Foreign & International Law Librarian
I. Overview
The Tarlton Law Library has a major collection of Mexican legal materials. The collection is in more than one place in the Law Library. This guide is intended to bring together references for researching Mexican law in the Law Library, as well as electronically (Internet, Westlaw, Lexis).
The main area of the Law Library holding Mexican legal materials is KGF 10 to KGF 9900 on stacks
648 & 649 (6th floor).
II. Primary sources
National Constitution
- Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos KGF 2914 1917 A6 2007
- A World Wide Web version of the Constitución current to November 2007 and authoritative (produced by the national Chamber of Deputies) is available at the website of the Chamber of Deputies (http://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/1.pdf).
- Another Web version of the Constitución current to April 2008, also authoritative (produced by the UNAM Instituto de Investigaciones Jurídicas) is available on the Instituto's website, InfoJUS (http://info4.juridicas.unam.mx/ijure/fed/9).
- A recent English translation (current through 2003) is available in the hard copy set Constitutions of the Countries of the World. (The Mexico section is kept in the Foreign Law Office on the 6th floor.)
- The translation at www.bibliojuridica.org/doctos/1/12/12.pdf
is stilted, but acceptable.
- Do not use the translation at www.ilstu.edu/class/hist263/docs/1917const.html. It is based on a grossly outdated text. (Caution: This is the first text that appears from a Google search on Mexico and constitution. Another caution: The Wikipedia entry “Constitution of Mexico” is a paraphrase, not a translation.)
State constitutions
- A collection of state constitutions for all 31 states, including the Statute of Government for the Federal District, is available on the InfoJUS website (www.juridicas.unam.mx/infjur/leg/cnsinfo).
- The hard copy Constitutions of Dependencies and Territories K3157 C59 has English translations of the constitutions of Baja California Norte, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Michoacán, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and Yucatán.
National legislation
- The Diario Oficial de la Federación is the daily official gazette of the federal government. It publishes laws and regulations enacted by the federal government. The Diario is available in the following ways:
--From 1967 to 2000, in paper KGF 16 M495, closed stacks
--From 1917 to the present on a subscription basis from the website of the Diario Oficial (www.dof.gob.mx)
--Without a subscription from the same website:
- 2005-present in PDF
- 1995--2006 in JPG format
- Recent numbers, including the current day in Word and HTML formats
--From 1995 to present, on Westlaw (MX-DIARIO)
- The Law Library maintains a large collection of current federal legislation in hard copy in the KGF section. Examples are:
--Código Civil Federal KGF 404.31928 A52 2005
--Código de Comercio KGF 1054.31889 A52 2005
--Ley de Amparo Comentada KGF 2704.51935 C42 2004
- The Chamber of Deputies of the Mexican Congress maintains a website (http://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/index.htm) with over 245 federal codes and laws in current versions. This site also has over 80 of the important reglamentos de leyes federales (regulations to the federal legislation).
- A similar collection is available on the InfoJUS website (http://info4.juridicas.unam.mx/ijure/fed).
- Lexis has several files of Mexican legislative materials under Legal >Find Laws by Country or Region > Mexico. These files vary greatly in quality and utility. Some are well-organized others are not. Some are being updated; others are not. The Lexis version of the Diario Oficial is not recommended.
National legislation in English translation
- Mexican legislation in English translation is scattered in many sources. Some are mentioned here. For further assistance finding translations see Jonathan Pratter, Foreign & International Law Librarian, 6.201 (6th floor).
- Foreign Law Guide (www.foreignlawguide.com); Mexico entry. (The Law Library subscribes to this; UT EID and password required.) This is a valuable resource for finding information on legislation in Mexico, including translations.
- Commercial Laws of the World [Mexico section] K 1005 C65 (in Foreign Law Office).
- Doing Business in Mexico KGF 333 B86 D65 1980 (in Foreign Law Office).
- Federal Civil Code of Mexico KGF 404.32 A52 2003 and KGF 404.32 V37 2005. These are the recommended translations of this recently enacted civil code.
- The Mexican Civil Code KGF 7611 A291928 A5213 1980. This is the recommended translation of the Civil Code of the Federal District, although it is dated.
- Mexican Law Library: Commercial Codes KGF 1054 1997. These are now somewhat dated translations of business-related legislation.
State legislation
- The section KGF 6211 to KGF 9390 (stack 649) is devoted to law of the Mexican states and the Federal District. Current collections of the major codes are maintained.
- A selection of state legislation is available on the InfoJUS website (http://info4.juridicas.unam.mx/adprojus/leg).
- The Mexican states and the Federal District are now posting a good deal of legislation on their websites.
Use the collection of links to state governments at the website of the Chamber of Deputies (www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/gobiernos.htm).
National judicial decisions
- Semanario Judicial de la Federación KGF 72 A2 1995 (stack
648) is the only regularly published reporter of judicial decisions in Mexico. It covers the decisions of the Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (Supreme Court of México) and the Tribunales Colegiados de Circuito (federal intermediate courts of appeals).
--Tarlton Law Library is one of the few law libraries in the U.S. with a current and complete collection of the Semanario.
- IUS 2006 (www.scjn.gob.mx/ius2006/) is the database of the Suprema Corte containing what are called “tesis de
jurisprudencia” and “tesis aisladas." These are summaries of decisions. In addition to “tesis,” IUS 2006 (which is actually current to 2008) now includes a selection of “ejecutorias” (full text decisions) as originally published in the Semanario.
- “Jurisprudencia” is a category of decisions with precedential effect. In hard copy the jurisprudencia is collected in the Apéndice al Semanario KGF 70.2 M48 2000 (stack 648).
- Decisions of the state appellate courts generally are are very hard to find outside Mexico. The best opportunity for finding state appellate decisions is through the collection of links to state governments at the Chamber of Deputies website noted above.
III. Secondary sources
Materials in Spanish
- The main collection of treatises and other secondary sources on Mexican law is KGF 100 to KGF 9900 (stacks
647/649).
- Use TALLONS to find more sources anywhere in the Law Library.
- An excellent starting point for research in Spanish is the Enciclopedia Jurídica Mexicana KGF 100 E52 2002 (stack
648).
- Leading Mexican law reviews:
--Anuario Mexicano de Historia del Derecho [Instituto de Investigaciones Jurídicas, UNAM] KGF 292 A58
--Ars Iuris [Universidad Panamericana] KGF 10 A77
--Boletín Mexicano de Derecho Comparado [Instituto de Investigaciones Jurídicas, UNAM] K521 M41
--El Foro [Barra Mexicana-Colegio de Abogados] KGF 10 F67
--Investigaciones Jurídicas [Universidad de Guanajuato] KGF 10 I58
--Jurídica [Universidad Iberoamericana] KGF 10 J87
--Revista de Derecho Privado [Instituto de Investigaciones Jurídicas, UNAM] KGF 387 A15 R48
--Revista de Investigaciones Jurídicas [Escuela Libre de Derecho] KGF 10 R481
--Revista Jurídica Jalisciense [Universidad de Guadalajara] KGF 7401.2 R48
Materials in English
- Use TALLONS to find English-language discussions of Mexican law in books.
- Use LegalTrac and Index to Legal Periodicals to find U.S. law review articles on Mexican law.
- In general, more English-language discussion of Mexican law is found in law reviews than in books.
- Stephen Zamora, et al., Mexican Law (Oxford University Press, 2004) KGF 327 M49 2004. This is by far the best introduction in English.
- David Lopez, The Legal System of Mexico in vol. 1 Modern Legal Systems Cyclopedia K 530 M62 (in Foreign Law Office). This is a useful fairly recent overview.
- Jorge A. Vargas, ed., Mexican Law: a Treatise for Legal Practitioners and International Investors KGF 1059 M49 1998. This is a useful fairly recent treatise.
IV. Additional internet resources
