Legal analysis of the principles governing criminal proceedings and procedures in Mexico.

Abstract

On June 18, 2008, the Decree amending and supplementing various provisions of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States regarding criminal law and public security was published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación (Official Gazette of the Federation). This constitutional reform transformed the criminal justice system from an inquisitorial and mixed model into an adversarial and oral one—focused primarily on the protection of human rights—in which the presumption of innocence and transparency take on significant importance and procedural principles are introduced, all with the aim of achieving a justice system that is both efficient and grounded in the guarantee of rights. The present paper is based on this fundamental premise.