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Mexico 

Law on International Extradition

CHAPTER I
Objective and Principles

ARTICLE 1     The provisions of this Law are for law enforcement, of federal scope, and their objective is to set forth the cases and conditions for the surrender to the states that request [the extradition] of those who stand accused or convicted by their courts for ordinary criminal offenses, when there is no international treaty.

ARTICLE 2      The procedures established in this Law will be applied for the processing and resolution of any extradition request received from a foreign government.

ARTICLE 3     Extraditions which the Mexican Government requests from foreign states will be governed by the treaties which are in force and, in the absence of these treaties, by Articles 5, 6, 15, and 16 of this Law.

Extradition requests formulated by the competent Federal authorities, competent authorities of the States of the Republic, or the competent authorities of the local jurisdiction of the Federal District, will be processed before the Secretariat of Foreign Relations through the Office of the Prosecutor General for the Republic.

ARTICLE 4     When this Law refers to Mexican criminal law, this will be understood to refer to the Criminal Code for the Federal District for local matters and for the entire Republic in the Federal jurisdiction, as well as all federal laws that define crimes.

 ARTICLE 5     Individuals who may be surrendered pursuant to this Law are those against whom a criminal proceeding has been brought in another country and those allegedly responsible for a crime or who are requested for execution of a sentence handed down by the legal authorities of the Requesting State.

 ARTICLE 6     First paragraph amended by Article 5 of the Decree published in the Official Gazette of 10 January 1994, effective on 1 February of the same year, to read  as follows:

 ARTICLE 6     Intentional crimes or crimes resulting from negligence, as defined by Mexican criminal law, will constitute grounds for extradition if they meet the following requirements:

1.     Amended by Article 5 of the Decree published in the Official Gazette on 10 January 1994, effective on 1 February of the same year, to read  as follows:

I.     Intentional crimes: those punishable under Mexican criminal law and the law of the Requesting State by prison terms with an arithmetic mean of at least one year; crimes resulting from negligence and being serious crimes under the law, and punishable, under both sets of laws, by imprisonment. 

II.     they are not covered by any of the exceptions provided for by this Law.

ARTICLE 7     Extradition will not be granted when: 

I.     The subject of the request has been acquitted, pardoned, or exonerated, or when he has served the sentence for the crime  on which the request is based;

II.     There is no complaint from an legitimate party, if Mexican criminal law requires one for the crime in question; 

III.     Either the prosecution or the penalty is barred by the statute of limitations, pursuant to Mexican criminal law or the applicable law of the Requesting State; and

IV.     The crime was committed within the jurisdiction of Mexican courts.

ARTICLE 8     In no case will the extradition of individuals who may be subject to political persecution by the Requesting State be granted, and in no case will extradition be granted when the subject of the request has been as a slave in the country in which the crime was committed.

ARTICLE 9     Extradition will not be granted if the crime for which it is sought is under military jurisdiction. 

ARTICLE 10     The United Mexican States will require, for processing the request, that the Requesting State undertake: 

I.     If appropriate, to grant reciprocity.

II.     That crimes committed prior to the extradition, omitted from the complaint and not connected to those specified therein, will not be taken into consideration in the proceeding, not even as aggravating circumstances. The Requesting State is relieved of this commitment if the accused freely consents to be tried by [the Requesting State] or if, having remained in its territory more than two consecutive months while absolutely free to leave, he fails to do so.

III.     That if the requested individual is extradited he will be brought before a competent court, established under law prior to the crime of which he is accused in the complaint, to be tried and sentenced in accordance with the formalities required by law;

IV.     That his defense will be heard and he will be provided the legal resources in any event, even if he=s been convicted in absentia;

V.     Amended by Article 5 of the Decree published in the Official Gazette of 10 January 1994, effective on 1 February of the same year, to read as follows:

V.     That if the crime of which the subject of the request is accused is punishable, under its laws, by death or any of the punishments specified in Article 22 of the Constitution, only imprisonment or a less severe punishment established by those laws will be imposed, either directly or by substitution or commutation.

VI.     That extradition of the same individual will not be granted to a third state, except in the cases specified in the second section of this article; and

VII.     That the United Mexican States will be provided with a certified copy of the final judgment in the proceeding.

ARTICLE 11     When the requested individual has a case pending or has been convicted in Mexico for a crime other than the one on which the formal request for extradition is based, his surrender to the requesting state will be deferred, if appropriate, until his release has been decreed in a final judgment.

ARTICLE 12     If extradition of the same person is requested by two or more states, and if it is justified in all or several instances, the accused will be surrendered:

I.     To the state requesting him pursuant to a treaty;

II.     When several states invoke treaties, to the state in whose territory the crime was committed;

III.     When these circumstances are duplicated, to the state claiming him for the crime which merits the most serious punishment; and 

IV.     In any other case, to the state that first requested extradition or provisional arrest for purposes of extradition.

ARTICLE 13     The state that receives preference for extradition in accordance with the preceding Article may decline it in favor of a third state that did not receive preference.

ARTICLE 14     No Mexican may be turned over to a foreign state unless under circumstances that are exceptional in the judgment of the Executive.

ARTICLE 15     Being a Mexican will not be an obstacle to the surrender of the subject of the request when Mexican citizenship was acquired after the events on which the extradition request is based.

CHAPTER II
Procedure

ARTICLE 16     The formal extradition request and the documents on which the Requesting State bases it will contain: 

I.     A statement of the crime for which extradition is sought;

II.     Amended by Article 5 of the Decree published in the Official Gazette of 10 January 1994, effective on 1 February of the same year, to read as follows:

II.     The evidence of the elements of the type of crime and the probable responsibility of the subject of the request. When the individual has been convicted by the Courts of the Requesting State, it will be sufficient to attach a certified copy of the conviction order.

III.     The assertions referred to in Article 10, when there is no extradition treaty with the Requesting State;

IV.     A copy of the text of the Requesting State=s statutes that define the crime and establish the penalty, referring to the statute of limitations on the prosecution and the applicable penalty and to the official declaration that [the law] was in force at the time the crime was committed;

V.     A certified copy of the arrest warrant which, if applicable, was issued for the requested individual; and

VI.     The information and personal history regarding the requested individual, to make it possible to identify him and, if possible, information that will help to locate him; The documents specified in this Article and any other that becomes available and is written in a foreign language will be accompanied by their Spanish translations and legalized pursuant to the Federal Code of Criminal Procedure.

ARTICLE 17     When a state gives notice of its intention to submit a formal request of the extradition of a given individual, and requests the adoption of precautionary measures with respect to said request, the precautionary measures may be granted, provided that the Requesting State=s request contains a statement of the crime for which extradition is sought and the assertion that the competent authority has issued an arrest warrant for the subject of the request.

If the Secretariat of Foreign Relations believes there is a basis for doing so, it will forward the petition to the Prosecutor General for the Republic, who will immediately request that the respective District Court order the appropriate measures, which may consist, at the request of the Prosecutor General, of a ne exeat order or whatever steps are appropriate in accordance with treaties or laws on the matter. 

ARTICLE 18     Amended by the Sole Article of the Decree dated 6 November 1984, published in the Official Gazette of 4 December of the same year, effective the following day, to read as follows:

ARTICLE 18     If, within the two months provided for by Article 119 of the Mexican Constitution, counting from the date on which the measures referred to in the preceding Article are implemented, the formal petition for extradition is not submitted to the Secretariat of Foreign Relations, said measures will be lifted immediately.  The Court which is addressing the matter will notify the Secretariat of Foreign Relations of the beginning of the time period referred to in this Article so that the Secretariat, in turn, may advise the Requesting State. 

ARTICLE 19     When the formal request for extradition has been received, the Secretariat of Foreign Relations will review it and, if it finds it to be unfounded, will not accept it, and will advise the Requesting State.

ARTICLE 20     When the requirements established in the treaty or, if applicable, Article 16, are not met, the Secretariat of Foreign Relations will so advise the Requesting State to enable it to correct the specified omissions or defects.  If the subject of the request is subject to precautionary measures, [the response] must  be completed within the timeframe specified in Article 18. 

ARTICLE 21     If the request is accepted, the Secretariat of Foreign Relations will forward the summons to the Prosecutor General for the Republic, attaching the case record, so that he may file the case before the competent District Court, which shall issue a an order to comply as well as for the arrest of subject of the request and, if applicable, the seizure of papers, money, or other items in the possession of the subject of the request that are related to the crime of which he is accused or that may be evidence thereof, when the Requesting State has so requested.

ARTICLE 22     The District Court for the jurisdiction in which the subject of the request is located will hear the case. If his whereabouts are unknown, the sitting District Court for Criminal Matters for the Federal District will have jurisdiction.

ARTICLE 23     The District Court Judge is not subject to challenge, and there is no appeal against his actions. Questions of jurisdiction are also not admissible.

ARTICLE 24     Once the subject of the request has been arrested, he will be brought, without delay, before the appropriate District Court, which will advise him of the content of the extradition request and the supporting documents.  At the same hearing, the detainee may name a defense attorney and, if he does not have one and indicates his desire to do so, he will be presented with a list of defense attorneys who may be appointed ex oficio, from which he may choose; if he fails to do so, the Court will do it for him.

The detainee may ask the Court to defer the proceeding until his defense attorney accepts the position, if the defense attorney is not present at the time of designation.

ARTICLE 25     The detainee will offer a defense, speaking on his own behalf or through his defense attorney, and will have up to three days to assert a defense, which may be only:

I.     That the extradition petition is not in accordance with the applicable treaty or, if there is no treaty, the precepts of this law; and

II.     That he is not the person whose extradition is sought.  The requested individual will have 20 days to prove his objections. This time period may be extended by the Court, if necessary, first giving notice to the Public Prosecutor, who may, within the same time period, produce whatever evidence he deems appropriate. 

ARTICLE 26     The Court, keeping in mind the information in the formal extradition request, the personal circumstances, and the seriousness of the crime, may grant the subject of the request release on bail, if he so requests, under the same conditions under which he would be entitled to it if the crime had been committed on Mexican territory.

 ARTICLE 27     When the time period referred to in Article 25 has ended, or earlier if the necessary proceedings have been concluded, the Court will, within the following five days, give the Secretariat of Foreign Relations its legal opinion with respect to the proceedings and that which was proven before it. The Court will consider, ex oficio, the objections permitted under Article 25, even if they have not been raised by the requested individual. 

ARTICLE 28     If the requested individual fails to assert a defense or expressly consents to his status in the period established in Article 25, the Court will proceed, without additional formalities, to issue its opinion within three days.

ARTICLE 29     The Court will provide, along with the case record, its opinion to the Secretariat of Foreign Relations so that the Secretary of Foreign Relations may issue the decision referred to in the following Article. Meanwhile, the detainee will remain in the custody of the Secretariat. 

ARTICLE 30     The Secretariat of Foreign Relations will, on the basis of the record and the opinion of the Court, within the following 20 days, determine whether extradition will be granted or denied.

In the same ruling, if applicable, it will make a determination regarding surrendering the items referred to in Article 21.

ARTICLE 31     If extradition is denied, the immediate release of the requested individual will be ordered, unless the situation requires action in accordance with the following Article.

ARTICLE 32     If the requested individual is Mexican and extradition is denied for that sole reason, the Secretariat of Foreign Relations will notify the detainee and the Prosecutor General for the Republic, making the detainee available to him and remitting the record to him so that the Public Prosecutor may transfer the case to the competent court, if appropriate. 

ARTICLE 33     In all cases, if extradition is granted, the requested individual will be notified.

This ruling may be challenged only through amparo proceedings.

When fifteen days have elapsed without the requested individual or his legal representative bringing a petition for amparo or if, in such case, said petition is definitively denied, the Secretariat of Foreign Relations will notify the Requesting State of the ruling in favor of extradition and order that the individual be turned over. 

ARTICLE 34     The surrender of the subject of the request will take place after notification of the Secretariat of the Interior, and he will be surrendered by the Office of the Prosecutor General for the Republic to the authorized personnel of the State granted extradition at the border port or, if appropriate, on board the aircraft on which the extradited individual must travel.

 The participation of the Mexican authorities will cease, in the latter case, when the aircraft is ready to take off.

ARTICLE 35     Amended by Article 5 of the Decree published in the Official Gazette of 10 January 1994, effective on 1 February of the same year, to read as follows:

 ARTICLE 35     When the Requesting State allows sixty calendar days to elapse from the day following the day on which the requested individual is made available to it, without taking custody of him, he will be released and may not be re-arrested or surrendered to the state for the same crime on which the extradition request is based.

ARTICLE 36     The Executive may grant [extradition] under the terms of Article 10 when it is requested by a foreign state in order to grant it an extradition case that is not mandatory under a treaty.

ARTICLE 37     The expenses occasioned by any extradition may be paid from the Federal Treasury and charged to the Requesting State that filed the request. 

TRANSITION

 ARTICLE 1     This Law will take effect on the day following its publication in the Official Gazette. It repeals the Extradition Law of 19 May 1897.

ARTICLE 2     All extraditions that are in process when this Law takes effect will be subject to its provisions.