Mexico
The justice system of Mexico
A federation that duplicates every justice function federally and in 32 states, harmonised by a single national procedural code and an accusatory oral process.
Facts on this page were checked against their sources on .
Mexico is a federation of free and sovereign states plus Mexico City (Article 40), with residual powers reserved to the entities (Article 124). Substantive criminal law is split — Congress legislates federal crimes and organized crime, while each state has its own penal code for common-order (fuero común) crimes — but a single national code governs criminal procedure, alternative dispute resolution, sentence execution and juvenile justice for both orders (Article 73-XXI-c). The criminal process is constitutionally accusatory and oral (Article 20), a transition completed nationwide by 2016.
The same idea, explained generally
- What is justice?
Justice is the principle that people should be treated according to rules that apply equally to everyone, decided by bodies that are authorised, constrained, and answerable. This guide explains what that means institutionally.
- What is the rule of law?
The rule of law is the principle that everyone, including the government, is subject to law that is public, applied equally, and interpreted by independent courts. This guide explains what it requires and what it does not.
- What do courts do?
Courts resolve disputes, test the state’s case against individuals, interpret law, and review public decisions. This guide explains those functions and why judicial independence is structural.
Sources
Sources
Political Constitution of the United Mexican States (1917, current text)
Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación / official constitutional text · Legislation · 1917-02-05 · link verified 2026-07-27
The Political Constitution of the United Mexican States (1917), confirmed against the Supreme Court's per-article texts and a current-text mirror in two independent passes (the consolidated official PDF at diputados.gob.mx was unreachable). Supports Art. 17 (federal and local laws shall guarantee the independence of the courts); Art. 40 (a representative, democratic, secular and federal Republic of free and sovereign States and Mexico City); Art. 124 (residual powers reserved to the States or Mexico City); Art. 73-XXI (Congress legislates federal crimes and organized crime, and enacts a single national code of criminal procedure, sentence execution and juvenile justice governing both the federal and the common order); Art. 94 (the Supreme Court of nine Ministers, plus a judicial-administration body and a Judicial Discipline Tribunal); Art. 102-A (the Public Prosecution of the Federation is organised as an autonomous public body, the Fiscalía General de la República); Art. 21 (public security is a shared function of the Federation, the states and the municipalities; the investigation of crimes corresponds to the Public Prosecutor with the police under its conduct and command); Art. 18 (the penitentiary system, organised for social reinsertion); Art. 96 and Art. 116-III (judges elected by direct citizen vote — see the 2024 reform); and Art. 102-B (the human-rights commissions and their non-binding recommendations).