Mexican Law in California and Texas Courts and the (Lack of) Application of Foreign Law in Mexican Courts

Abstract

This article discusses two areas of Mexican law seldom addressed by either American or Mexican scholars, namely: first, court decisions rendered by U.S. courts based on Mexican law; and, second, the application of foreign law (including U.S. law) by Mexican courts. Since the entering into force of NAFTA on January 1, 1994, Mexican law has been slowly but steadily making its presence felt in the decisions of U.S. courts. Evidently, this incipient phenomenon is found only in a selected number of States, notably Texas, California, Illinois, Florida, New Mexico and Arizona, where a large concentration of Mexican-Americans and Mexicans are found. Regarding the second area, notwithstanding that Article 14 of Mexico’s Federal Civil Code (as amended in 1988) recognized the application of foreign law in that country (including U.S. law), Mexican courts have somewhat disregarded the tenor of said Article. There is not sufficient data to explain this result.