It is a requirement for every country to have a set of laws and regulations that govern it. This helps maintain an orderly system in the country and the citizens are expected to abide by them. These laws are implemented by following a certain system depending on the country; this system is known as the legal system. Civil law, Common law, and Religious law make up the legal system in every Country.
Mexico’s legal system is influenced by ancient activities usually by the Greeks or Romans; Classical beliefs play a big role in their legal system too. Culture and traditions are highly respected in Mexico and the laws implemented should be able to go hand in hand with the culture of the people.
Therefore, the focus of this paper is the Legal System of Mexico and how practice and tradition play their role in it.
In most countries, the court system is usually divided accordingly and the same applies to the Mexican court system, which is divided into; Federal courts, State courts and other courts. The Mexicans took after the United States, constitution, Article III.
The federal courts deal with major criminal offenses by international states being exercised in Mexico such as; drug trafficking.
In most cases, the offender is arrested without a warrant and is taken to court where the judge delivers a verdict without the presence of a jury. Testimonies are sometimes permitted but usually, the judge depends on recorded statements.
Mexico has thirty-one states and each of them is represented by the state court assigned to each state. Each state court deals with offenses committed within the given geographical boundaries. The Governor of the state is responsible for selecting the state judges and is approved by the local congress. The judges make their decisions based on the constitution in every given state.
Other courts include; Agrarian courts, which help solve issues concerning land and boundaries, the Tax courts make sure all taxes are paid on time and deal with matters of legal entities.
Since the Mexicans value tradition and cultural beliefs, they make sure that they are protected from laws that violate them.
They do this through the Amparo or Mexico’s Juicio de Amparo. This law protects the rights of the citizens in case they are violated by any public laws; foreigners also tend to enjoy the benefits that come with the Amparo. This way all individuals feel protected and can enjoy their rights.
All these courts have judges assigned to them but to become a judge in Mexico some facts have to be present.
According to their amendments, the Executive has the authority to select supreme judges and is given support by the senate (Vargas 3). The judges appointed for the Supreme Court cannot be removed from their positions unless there is a case of misconduct like crime or they are incapable of delivering what is expected of them. Recommendations for one to be selected as a Supreme Court judge are: one should be a citizen of Mexico by birth and more than thirty-five years of age. The Supreme Court judges now have the task of appointing the Circuit and District Judges.
Five codes are used to help maintain the legal system of Mexico, they are; the Civil Code, the Code of Civil Procedure, the Penal code, the Code of Penal Procedure, and the Code of Commerce. The Federal Criminal code protects Mexican citizens’ rights of expression. Anyone trying to stop the Mexicans from expressing themselves freely faces serious charges (Vargas 2). Journalists and other media personalities are most targeted and this code helps them exercise their freedom.
Most Mexicans believe they have a right to do whatever they feel is right to them based on their traditions. In cases like this, they would interpret the freedom to express themselves in a different way than the intended way it is supposed to be interpreted. This leads to them breaking laws and using rights of expression as an excuse. Since they value their culture a lot, they believe in tradition and its rules other than the implemented laws of the state.
The legal system that applies to all Mexican citizens does not seem to apply to the military. This is due to the accusations and complaints filed by civilians regarding the military. Cases of human rights violations keep increasing and the rates of death due to abuse from the military have been on a rise. Although the military represents a unit of authority and power, the civilians feel that the jurisdiction must also apply to them. Hence, activists are trying to bring justice to the crimes committed by the military and are covered up. Other distinctions include; individual police officers and self-serving practices still have strongholds on their culture, therefore, having their own interpretations of the law and evoking negative influence on politics and economic status of the country.
Mexico also uses international laws in its legal system. These laws are implemented in areas concerning trade and the economy of Mexico.
When refugees who seek a better living in Mexico are concerned, international law is involved to govern the refugees.
The laws implemented are enforced on the citizens to maintain law and order. Police forces in Mexico are used to make sure that the laws are being followed and every state has the police force. The federal police in Mexico are respected and have the authority to carry out investigations and to help stop the rate of crime from rising.
The government of Mexico respects all the rights that the citizens of Mexico are enjoying and makes sure that they are not violated. The Due Process of Law Foundation was formed to make sure that the judiciary in the Latin American countries is maintained and improved at every possibility and that there are no loops holes in the judiciary system.
In general, Mexico’s legal system today aims at protecting the rights of the citizens and making sure the laws are enforced properly to create a stronger and more stable government. Although the military and other bodies are using an interpretation of these laws unfairly, some of the activities are standing up against this and want justice to apply to all regardless of the ranking. Therefore, culture and tradition are important to all Mexicans and the laws implemented make sure they maintain law and order without having to change their culture in big ways.
Work Cited
Vargas, Jorge. Mexico and its Legal System. Law and Technological Resources for Legal Professionals. 2008. Web.