The Limits of the International Judicial Function of the Mexican Federal Judiciary

Abstract

Mexican judges are increasingly acting as international law judges. Their international judicial function includes a basic understanding of a judicial function per se: dispute resolution through the application and interpretation of legal rules by an independent and impartial judicial body. The international character of this work depends on the recourse to international law as a legal basis for the dispute settlement of the particular cases brought to their jurisdiction. Mexican judges are performing an international judicial function when they interpret international law norms and principles, when they guarantee private persons’ rights and duties under international law, and when they assess the conformity of domestic legislation with the international law commitments of the Mexican state. However, at present, Mexican judges are not behaving as ordinary judges of all international law. The place of international law in the Mexican Constitution, the slow democratization of the Mexican presidential regime and the deference of Mexican judges to the executive in foreign affairs help explain the constraints upon the international judicial function as experienced by Mexican judges. The general context of the Mexican political regime impacts the role of the federal judiciary with regards to the promotion of respect for the rule of law, domestically and internationally.