A Notary Public in Mexico is a highly experienced lawyer, appointed by the state governor and ratified by the state’s Executive Council. They are charged with executing many high-level legal activities, including validating and certifying real estate transactions.
Verification of Property Status: The Notary Public verifies the legal status of the property, ensuring there are no liens, encumbrances, or other potential legal issues that could impact the transfer of the title.
Calculation of Taxes and Fees: They calculate and arrange for the payment of all associated transaction taxes and fees.
Preparation of Deeds: They prepare the official deed of conveyance (Escritura Pública), the legal document transferring the property’s ownership.
Signature Authentication: They verify and certify the identities of all parties involved, and ensure all parties understand the contract terms before signing.
While the Notary Public ensures the legality of the transaction, a Closing Coordinator plays a different, yet equally important role. They can act as your point of contact and guide through the entire process, especially if you’re a foreign buyer unfamiliar with the intricacies of Mexican real estate transactions.
Bilingual Support: Language barriers can cause significant misunderstandings during a property transaction. A bilingual Closing Coordinator can communicate clearly with all parties involved, ensuring you fully understand every aspect of the process.
Coordination of Parties: Real estate transactions involve many parties, including the buyer, seller, bank, Notary Public, and more. A Closing Coordinator manages communications between all these parties, ensuring everyone is informed and on schedule.
Expert Guidance: With comprehensive knowledge of real estate laws and processes, a Closing Coordinator can provide expert guidance and advice, helping you avoid pitfalls and make informed decisions.
Stress Reduction: Having a professional handle the transaction logistics reduces the stress and burden on you, allowing you to focus on the excitement of your new property.
Time Efficiency: A Closing Coordinator can expedite the process, having familiarity with paperwork and experience dealing with property registries and other governmental offices.
Navigating a real estate purchase in Mexico doesn’t have to be a daunting task. With the legal expertise of a Notary Public and the strategic support of a Closing Coordinator, you can rest assured that your transaction will be handled professionally and efficiently.
At Grupo Nar, we are committed to providing a seamless property purchasing experience. Our team of professionals, including dedicated Closing Coordinators, are ready to guide you every step of the way. Contact us today to explore the opportunities awaiting you in the Mexican real estate market.
Today's legal system of Mexico is the result of the dynamics of many unique social, racial, political, religious, and economic historical factors that gave birth to the Mexican nation and that have propelled it to the present. An exhaustive study of such a complex social institution is far beyond the scope of this work. This work, as the title implies, is a guide to the legal system of Mexico. It is meant to serve as the point of departure for the study of the legal system of Mexico and not as the final point for such a study. The guide is arranged by legal topic and points to primary and secondary sources. Primary and secondary English language sources were sought out especially for inclusion in this guide. Sources for obtaining the primary and secondary materials (print and electronic) cited in the work are provided.
Mexico’s legal system stems from the Civil Law Tradition. This occurred as a result of Mexico’s long historical association with Spain. It is important to be aware of some of the most important concepts of the civil law tradition in order to formulate research strategies in conducting research into Mexican law. The Civil Law Tradition is the oldest and most widely used legal tradition in the world today. Its foundations were developed in the Italian universities of the Renaissance when Roman law was rediscovered.
Other important historical contributors to the Mexican legal system were Roman law, canon law, and medieval commercial law. Roman law influenced “the law of persons, the family, inheritance, property, torts, unjust enrichment, and contracts.”[1] The influence of canon law is found mainly “in the area of family law and succession (both parts of the Roman Civil Law), criminal law and the law of procedures.”[2] The third historical component, medieval common commercial law, is most evident in the commercial codes of the modern civil law tradition.[3]
The most important contributions of secular natural law and secular positive law are in the public law area. They are most evident in constitutional law, administrative law, and the judiciary.[4] The civil law tradition divides the law into two major areas of law: private law and public law. Private law concerns the legal relationships between individuals. Public law concerns the legal relationships between individuals and the state.[5]
The historical legal roots of the Mexican legal system go back to 16th-century Spanish law and to pre-Columbian indigenous law.[6] Spain ruled Mexico for over 300 years and consequently left its mark on the legal system of Mexico. The link to Pre-Colombian indigenous law is traced through the Aztec Empire which was the dominant political power in Mexico at the time of the arrival of the Spaniards. The Spanish conquistadores found an advanced indigenous legal system in place when they conquered the Aztec Empire. The Spanish Crown did not do away completely with the indigenous legal system. Instead the Crown kept the indigenous laws and legal institutions that did not go directly against established Spanish customs or against Church doctrine. The Spanish Crown also introduced its own laws and legal institutions to replace and/or supplement what was discarded, and the Crown passed laws and created legal institutions that were intended for Colonial Mexico, legislation that did not exist in Spain.[7]
Before Mexico achieved its independence, “Spanish law was the dominant feature in the Mexican legal” system.[8] Spanish law was most dominant in the area of private law; in matters of commerce, property, family inheritance, and obligations, Spanish law was used almost exclusively.[9] In the area of public law, indigenous law and the law that was passed exclusively for Colonial Mexico "was very comprehensive and it was the major source of the law for Colonial Mexico."[10] Several attempts made to place together in a single code all of the laws pertaining to Colonial Mexico. The results of these efforts were the: "Cedula de Puga (1556, Decrees and Orders of Puga)," "Nueva Recopilacion (1567, New Compilation)," "Codigo Ovandino (1571, Ovandino Code)," "Recopilacion de Leyes de las Indias (1680, Compilation of the Laws of the Indies)," and "Novisima Recopilacion (1805, Newest Compilation)."[11] Another important compilation of laws of the period was the "Ordenanzas de Bilboa (1737, Statutes of Bilboa)." This code concerned private law matters and "became the commercial code and was used in Mexico even after Independence.”[12]
Professional Bilingual Lawyers in MexicoThe movement towards Mexican Independence started in 1810. In 1814 the Constitution of Apatzingan was issued. Although this constitution never came into effect, many "ideas it expressed served as a model for future changes."[13] The Apatzingan Constitution incorporated secular natural law and secular positive law which were the product of the revolutions that took place in the Western World in the 18th and 19th centuries beginning with the American Revolution. The crux of secular natural law and secular positive law is that all individuals are created equal with natural rights to property, to liberty, and to life. It is the responsibility of the government, which should be divided into separate, independent powers, to recognize and secure these rights for the individual.[14] The American Declaration of Independence and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen are prime examples of the new 18th and 19th century political philosophy. Nationalistic fervor also formed part of the new political philosophy.
Mexico achieved independence in 1821 and adopted its first constitution in 1824. The 1824 Constitution provided for a Federal Republic consisting of 19 states, four territories, and a Federal District. The 1824 Constitution also provided for: recognition of self-determination; division of power into the executive; the legislative, and the judiciary; the equality of all citizens before the law; the principle of innocent until proven guilty; freedom of expression and of the press; the protection of private property; the abolition of special privileges for the clergy and the military; and agrarian reform.
The 1824 Constitution was never applied strictly because of internal armed conflict between the conservative and liberal elements of the newly independent Mexican nation. In 1857 a new constitution was adopted which was drafted by the liberal elements who had ascended to power.The most important contribution of the 1857 Constitution was the writ of "amparo" (see page 10 for an explanation of the writ of "amparo").[15] The 1857 Constitution survived a civil war and the French intervention of 1862. It was not until after the triumph of the 1910 Mexican Revolution that the 1857 Constitution was replaced by the current Mexican Constitution of 1917.
The current Mexican Constitution is commonly referred to as the 1917 Constitution. The official name of the 1917 Constitution is the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States (Constitucion Politica de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos). The original name given to the 1917 Constitution was the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, that Revises the One of February 5 of 1857 (Constitucion Politica de Los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, Que Reforma la del 5 de Febrero de 1857). The 1917 Constitution adopted from the 1857 Constitution the chapters on territorial organization, civil liberties, democratic forms, anti-clerical clauses, and anti-monopolies clauses.
Although the 1857 Constitution served as a foundation for the 1917 Constitution, there are major, fundamental differences between them. They differ basically in approach. Both constitutions define and articulate democratic political rights and duties, but the 1917 Constitution goes on to include economic, social, and cultural rights.[16] The inclusion of these economic, social, and cultural rights in the 1917 Constitution was original and revolutionary at the time.[17] A leading Mexican legal scholar has stated that, "the importance of the Mexican Constitution of 1917 is the systematic establishment of basic rights of economic and social integration."[18]
Another fundamental difference between the 1857 Constitution and the 1917 Constitution is in the different philosophical approaches to governing the nation that the different constitutions embrace. The 1857 Constitution called for a politically neutral federal government, a federal government that would be passive in relation to economic and social matters and a federal government that respected the status quo. The 1917 Constitution, on the other hand, calls for a federal government that has a moral obligation to take an active role in promoting the social, economic, and cultural well-being of the people.
The Federal Constitution is the most important political document in Mexico. It is the source and origin for all Mexican law. The 1917 Mexican Constitution calls for a "federal, democratic, representative Republic composed of free and sovereign States."[19] All public power is derived from the people. The country, whose official name is the United Mexican States (Estados Unidos Mexicanos), consists of 31 states and a Federal District. Mexico City, the national capital, is located in the Federal District. There is a centralized federal government, and individual state governments and a Federal District government.
The Federal Constitution is the most important political document in Mexico. It is the source and origin for all Mexican law. The 1917 Mexican Constitution calls for a "federal, democratic, representative Republic composed of free and sovereign States."[19] All public power is derived from the people. The country, whose official name is the United Mexican States (Estados Unidos Mexicanos), consists of 31 states and a Federal District. Mexico City, the national capital, is located in the Federal District. There is a centralized federal government, and individual state governments and a Federal District government.
The Mexican Constitution is based on seven basic principles: a declaration of human rights; national sovereignty; division of powers; the representative system; a federal structure; constitutional remedy and the supremacy of the state over the Church. It is seen as an instrument to be used to bring about social change. The government is very active in the national economy and promotes change through ownership, regulations and legislation.
It is estimated that in 1910 almost 97 percent of the arable land in Mexico was in the hands of no more than 1,000 families, while 2 percent belonged to small land holders, and 1 percent belonged to municipalities.[20] Article 27, which consists of over 50 paragraphs, was written with the intent of breaking up land, water, and other natural resource monopolies held by the privileged few.[21] The privileged few not only consisted of the 1,000 Mexican Families mentioned previously, but included the Church and foreign interests.
The first paragraph of Article 27 gives the nation original ownership "of the lands and waters within the boundaries of the national territory." Paragraph 1 also gives the nation "the right to transmit title thereof to private persons, thereby constituting private property." Article 27 goes on to grant the nation the power to expropriate private property by indemnification for reasons of public utility and "to ensure a more equitable distribution of public wealth." Paragraph three states that "the Nation shall at all times have the right to impose on private property such limitations as the public interest may demand." Paragraphs 4 and 5 give the nation direct ownership of all subsoil resources.
Article 27, Section II contains clauses restricting real property ownership by religious organizations. Religious organizations cannot "acquire, hold, or administer real property or mortgages there on; such property held at present either directly or through an intermediary shall revert to the Nation." Not only did all churches become the property of the nation, but the federal government was empowered to "determine which of them may continue to be devoted to their present purposes." Furthermore, all, "Bishopries, rectories, seminaries, asylums and schools, shall at once become the property of the Nation by inherent right." Also "all places of public worship" built in the future would become the property of the state. Section II of Article 27 also restricts the real property that private and public charitable institutions and commercial stock companies may acquire. All that changed with the amendments to the Constitution and the reform of the Law of Religious Associations and Public Worship that started about 1992. One of the most important changes that came about with 1992 reforms was the granting of legal status to religious organizations. There are still some restrictions in place on the Church, such as limits on the amount of property the Church can own, and it is barred from political action and the area of education.
Property rights of foreign citizens and foreign corporations are covered by Section I of Article 27. In part, Section I states that foreigners must agree to submit themselves to Mexican law, “and bind themselves not to invoke the protection of their government in matters relating thereto” to be able to acquire property and mining concessions. In case of noncompliance by foreign citizens and foreign corporations, their property or mining concessions are forfeited to the nation. Foreign ownership of real property is further limited by the last sentence of Section 1. This sentence states that “under no circumstances may foreigners acquire direct ownership of lands or waters within a zone of one hundred kilometers along the frontiers and of fifty kilometers along the shores of the country.” There are ways of getting around these restrictions by use of the long-term trust. The section on property of this work gives more details.
Constitutional Article 27 altered "the theory of the inviolability of private property" in the Mexican legal system. The "economic interest" of the people and the nation were viewed as paramount when compared against the rights to private property by the framers of the 1917 Constitution. But Paragraph 1 of Article 14 of the 1917 Constitution seems to conflict with Article 27. Paragraph 1 of Article 14 reaffirms the sanctity of private property in the constitution.
Article 123 consists of 31 paragraphs. The article was written with the intent of incorporating "extensive constitutional protections for labor."[22] It was also written "as a means of achieving" a just society.[23] This article places all labor matters under federal jurisdiction, though some limited authority is delegated to states in creating conciliation and arbitration boards.[24]
Article 123 covers three different aspects of benefit to workers. The first part concerns workers' rights: an 8-hour workday, a 7-hour work night, special limits in the work of minors and women, maternity leave, mandatory vacation, mandatory days of rest, a safe working place, job security, minimum wage, overtime pay, and comparable pay. The second part of the Article deals with workers' compensation. Workers are entitled to compensation by their employers for injuries, death, or occupational diseases incurred as a result of their employment. There is no requirement to show fault or negligence "and contributory negligence is no defense."[25] The recoverable amount, which tends to be very low when compared to our workers' compensation in the United States, is set by law. The third part concerns labor management relations. Workers are given the right to organize and bargain collectively. Workers also have the right to strike, with few reservations. Workers are entitled to profit sharing, and the percentage of profits workers are entitled to are set by a national committee. Finally, workers cannot be fired except for certain causes set out in statutes.
Another article of the 1917 Constitution that is important is Article 49 which established the organization and division of the powers of the federal government. The federal government is divided into executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Each branch is independent of the other, and two or more of the powers shall never be united in one single person or corporation. The executive is empowered to assume sole control of the government in case of emergencies. The emergencies and procedures for the executive to assume sole control of the government are defined and articulated in Article 29.