Recent usmex_prajm items

La Justicia Electoral Mexicana y la Anulación de Comicios:

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Este ensayo propone hacer un análisis de la justicia electoral de México en el periodo de octubre de 1996 a diciembre de 2005. El ensayo se divide en cuatro secciones. La primera es una revisión general de la reforma electoral de 1996. La segunda sección es un estudio cuantitativo de los 24 casos de anulación de comicios que ha decretado la justicia electoral mexicana en el periodo señalado. La tercera sección es un análisis de las consecuencias políticas en cuatro casos: dos gubernaturas estatales y dos distritos electorales federales de mayoría relativa. La cuarta sección es un balance general de las determinaciones para anular los comicios. La conclusión del estudio es que la justicia electoral de México ha declarado anulaciones por diversas causales y con distintas pruebas.

Non bis in idem: Mexican Regulation and International Standards

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0000

One of the most heated debates over Mexico’s ratification of the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court dealt with a violation of the non bis in idem principle. Whether one agrees with the jurisdiction of the ICC or not, what came to light with this disagreement is that the Mexican Constitution might be at odds with international human rights standards with regard to this Principle. Consequently, there is a need to make a comparative assessment between both bodies of law. While the obvious starting point is Article 23 of the Mexican Constitution, which states this principle, an extensive study cannot stop there but must include its judicial interpretation. Furthermore, only the precedents that seem to stretch the application of the principle will be considered, because it is through these borderline cases that we can establish the extent of the Principle (It should be noted that this approach is not common, since there is no system of precedents in Mexico; however,...

Mobilizing Across Borders: The Case of the Laguna San Ignacio Saltworks Project

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0000

This analysis outlines a successful binational campaign to protect critical grey whale habitat by using the rule of law in Mexico to hold the state and its representatives accountable to their constituencies, and thus to stop an industrial saltworks project in Baja California Sur, Mexico. Beginning with a review of the facts of the dispute over an industrial saltworks development at Laguna San Ignacio; then tracing the role of binational cooperation in the Campaign itself; and highlighting the ten most important coordinated actions taken by the binational coalition; followed by analysis of the outcome in light of the cooperation. An afterward will discuss the rule of law in relationship to the land easements recently put in place to further protect the lagoon. The Laguna San Ignacio campaign is one of the best case studies of the challenges and successes of cross-border, cross-sectoral, and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

The role of regulatory improvement program in the strengthening of rule of law in Mexico

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0000

This paper attempts to identify the role that regulatory improvement program play in the building of liberal democracy in Mexico. It argues that the use of regulatory improvement tools has strengthened the “rule of law” principle. The use of instruments such as Regulatory Impact Analysis or Public Consultation help to build an accountable government that informs and explains about their decisions. This article is divided into three main sections. The first part introduces the analytical framework to evaluate a liberal democracy. The second section explains how the regulatory reform program maintains and encourages the rule of law. Likewise, it analizes some of the mechanisms or instruments the Mexican government has envisioned to ensure the succes of the regulatory reform program. The final section evaluates this public policy from the Mexican experience.

Cooperation and Conflict between Firms, Communities, New Social Movements and the Role of Government

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Cerro de San Pedro is a semi-abandoned historic mining town located in the center of Mexico, the State of San Luis Potosi. Cerro de San Pedro is a small village 10 miles east of the City of San Luis Potosi, the Capital of the State of San Luis Potosi. Cerro de San Pedro is located in the mountains above the valley of San Luis Potosi and is part of the watershed area for the valley and its major cities. The valley is the source of 73% of the water for the area. It is a ghost town containing the ruins of shops, churches, estates and a hospital.

Neighborhood Organizations, Local Accountability and the Rule of Law in Two Mexican Municipalities

Mon, 22 May 2006 00:00:00 +0000

This paper focuses on the role of neighborhood associations as the primary intermediaries between residents and municipal government. Drawing from fieldwork in two metropolitan municipalities of the State of México, it identifies the ways that residents interact with local government authorities as they express their concerns about public safety and policing, as well as their ideas and demands for responses to these issues. The research has important implications for all three aspects of the rule of law discussed in this volume. It touches on the ways that leaders of neighborhood associations perceive and respond to issues of public order within their jurisdictions; it considers the accountability of municipal officials to their constituents; and, by comparing conditions and patterns in two sharply contrasting localities (Huixquilucan and Nezahualcóyotl), it encompasses questions of access to justice on both individual and neighborhood bases. However, the paper concludes that...

An Evaluation of Process Rights Applying the U.N. Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice and U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child: A Study of Mexican Children

Mon, 22 May 2006 00:00:00 +0000

The aim of this study was to analyze and compare process rights of minors applying the Beijing Rules and the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child and Juvenile Justice Law for minors in the (Mexico- U.S.) border state of Sonora. In order to determine what due process rights were enforced during juvenile process, a study was undertaken of the minors subject to process in January 2001. In this study, a checklist was used to determine variables regarding: the type and severity of the crime committed by the juvenile; the number and type of acts charged by the prosecuting attorney; the number of hours that the juvenile was kept under arrest before (s)he was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Council; the process in the Council; the actions of the defense attorney in the tutelary process; the existence of legal, psychological, social, and family foundations determining the initial and final resolutions; and the resolution issued by the Council. Results of this study show...

Rendición de cuentas y democratización. La revisión de las cuentas públicas municipales en el estado de Sonora

Mon, 22 May 2006 00:00:00 +0000

This work has two main purposes: to analyze, from the point of view of information transparency and accessibility, the normative framework of how municipal authorities are held accountable in the state of Sonora and to briefly review and explore the assessments rendered over their accounts. Thus, the work revises March and Olsen’s neoinstitutionalist approach to accountability, then proposes a list of features for the information, the process and the social environment of public accounts, revises the normative framework of municipal accounts in the state of Sonora; describes the content of assessments of the year 2003; presents a sample of the observations and conclusions and reflects and comments on the observations, marks and sanctions made within the assessments. One of the main ideas of this work is that the democratization of the public accountability requires the development of a network of independent and interplaying public agencies, social groups and civic organizations...

When and Why “Law” and “Reality” Coincide? De Jure and De Facto Judicial Independence in Mexico, Argentina, and Chile

Mon, 22 May 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Our central question is: Under what circumstances can we expect a theoretically informed and reproducible measure of judicial independence de jure to be a good proxy for what we can expect to happen in reality? We argue that whether the de jure measure can be considered a good proxy for, to overestimate or to underestimate, judicial independence in reality depends on the distribution of power among the ruling political groups. Having identified those political conditions, and what Supreme Court judges can expect from them, we explore what is the likely behavior of these judges regarding decisions on cases where the government violates the rule of law or horizontal accountability. Having laid out our theoretical expectations in six different scenarios, we proceed to illustrate them using Mexico Argentina, and Chile.

The Challenge of Transparency: A Review of the Regulations Governing Access to Public Information in Mexican States

Mon, 22 May 2006 00:00:00 +0000

This text provides a critical review of the way in which access to public information began to be more open in Mexican states, as a result of the first state legislation on the matter. It compares the various models and procedures adopted by the states in light of an original theoretical proposal. The article is divided into two parts. The first describes the theoretical assumptions supporting the three levels of analysis used to

compare state laws: one concerning the normative conditions for beginning the process of opening up public information, another referring to the organizational problems associated with this process and a third defining the jurisdictional sphere.

In the second part, ten criteria drawn from these three levels of analysis are used to undertake a critical comparison of the status of access to public information in the Mexican federal regime. The conclusion is that this process is still incipient,

incomplete and fragmented.

Análisis técnico de la propuesta de reforma al sistema de justicia mexicano

Wed, 15 Jun 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Since 2002, the Project on Reforming the Administration of Justice in Mexico has generated a thriving network of scholars and developed new important research on Mexico’s ailing criminal justice system. This project has brought together a multi-disciplinary coalition of well-respected scholars and experts from U.S. and Mexican institutions to analyze the single most important political policy challenge facing Mexico today: strengthening the rule of law. This project has been instrumental in promoting collaborative networks and in generating timely, useful analysis for public officials from the United States and Mexico. Through this project, the Center and the Senate’s Institute for Legislative Research co-hosted two multi-institutional briefings on justice reform legislation for the Mexican Senate. These briefings, held in January and March, provided legislators with a technical analysis of the set of major justice reform proposals presented by President Fox last year. In a...

Guía básica de los procedimientos y garantías del sistema penal mexicano

Mon, 22 Mar 2004 00:00:00 +0000

This document presents a work in progress for the Project on Reforming the Administration of Justice. The objective of this document is to provide general information describing Mexico’s judicial processes to provide greater information and access for ordinary citizens. In its final form this document will be produced as a pamphlet and distributed to interested legal professionals and citizens needing access to the justice system.

Binational Collaboration in Law Enforcement and Public Security Issues on the U.S.-Mexican Border

Mon, 8 Dec 2003 00:00:00 +0000

This paper examines law enforcement and security context of the U.S.-Mexican border region and the new challenges that have developed since September 11 as a result of new terrorist concerns. The authors explore the conventional understanding of U.S.-Mexican relations and the question of whether there is a “security community” along the border. The authors map the law enforcement and security structures that are of significance in shaping the U.S.-Mexican relationship, particularly the new Department of Homeland Security. The authors highlight successful instances of U.S.-Mexican collaboration in the San Diego-Tijuana region as possible models for best practices in other parts of the U.S.-Mexican border region.

The New Meaning of the Border: U.S.-Mexico Migration Since 9/11

Mon, 8 Dec 2003 00:00:00 +0000

This paper examines the evolution of U.S. immigration policy since September 11, the new meaning of the U.S.-Mexico border, and the consequences of counterterrorist policies on Mexican migrants living in the U.S., and Mexico’s response to recent U.S. policy changes. Finally, it the paper examines at the future of a migration deal between the two nations.

Los Grandes Desafíos de la Educación Legal en México: El Programa de Derecho del CIDE

Mon, 28 Jul 2003 00:00:00 +0000

La tarea de educar abogados, de formar capital humano, debe ser siempre un ejercicio prospectivo, esto es, debe procurar proyectar cuáles serán los retos que los egresados tendrán que enfrentar cuando se incorporen al mercado laboral. Ello a efecto de definir cuáles tienen que ser los conocimientos y destrezas que enfatice y procure sus 4 o 5 años de formación. En el caso de México, la apertura económica y política ha impactado, y lo seguirá haciendo, de forma asombrosa el mundo del derecho. La adecuación de los programas de licenciatura a estos cambios es, sin duda, uno de los grandes desafíos que enfrenta cualquier escuela de derecho en México. El programa de licenciatura del CIDE busca ser una respuesta a este desafío. En esta exposición voy a hablar de cuáles son las razones que motivaron o dieron origen nuestro programa de licenciatura, así como las características más sobresalientes del mismo.

Unweaving the Social Fabric: The Impact of Crime on Social Capital

Mon, 28 Jul 2003 00:00:00 +0000

The intention of this paper is to go beyond the scattered research that has been done using public opinion surveys to compare victims to non-victims. Presently, there is a lack of surveys that allow this comparison, and include measurement of key social concepts (constructs) such as interpersonal trust, networking, membership, fear, well-being and institutional trust. For this paper, a survey instrument was specifically design to measure each concept using multiple items. The reliability of the concepts is tested using confirmatory factor analysis. Relations between concepts are shown using causal analysis assigning temporal precedence to the condition of being a victim (victimization experience).

Diferentes pero Iguales: los Pueblos Indígenas en México y el Acceso a la Justicia

Mon, 28 Jul 2003 00:00:00 +0000

En este artículo discutiremos algunos retos para la construcción de un Estado multicultural en México y los avances alcanzados hasta la fecha en cuanto a las reformas del aparato legal que son necesarias para el pleno reconocimiento de los derechos de los pueblos indígenas. En una primera parte presentaremos el panorama general de pluralismo jurídico existente desde la época colonial y reconocido en 1992 por la Constitución mexicana (en el párrafo primero del artículo 4º constitucional). Después analizaremos las renuencias de los poderes legislativo y judicial a reconocer la diversidad cultural e incorporarla a las concepciones y prácticas del derecho. Posteriormente abordaremos un estudio de caso, para mostrar la manera en que los indígenas del estado de Guerrero, han desarrollado sus propias estrategias para resistir y negociar el derecho del Estado mediante sus prácticas locales de impartición de justicia. Finalizaremos nuestra exposición con algunas reflexiones en torno...

Educación y Entrenamiento Policial para la Democracia

Mon, 28 Jul 2003 00:00:00 +0000

El objetivo de este trabajo es contribuir, mediante la aportación de nuevos elementos de discusión, a que los sistemas de educación y entrenamiento de la policía en México funcionen como vehículo para la inducción de criterios, conocimiento científico y técnicas encaminados a satisfacer las normas y expectativas que sostienen la democracia.

La Investigación de los Delitos y la Subversión de los Principios del Subsistema Penal en México