The Mexican
Constitution of 1917
(La Constitución Política de 1917)
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The Mexican
Constitution of 1917, written after the Mexican Revolution
is the basis of all Mexican law - the Magna Carta. It
contains reforms that addressed the principal causes of the
Mexican Revolution - labor abuses, land expropriated from
farmers and villages, natural resources exploited by foreign
companies, etc. The Constitution of 1917 contains such
revolutionary ideas for the time as 48 hour work weeks,
overtime, vacations and maternity leave.
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Laws
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Laws are
based directly on the Constitution; all Mexican laws receive
their authority from the Constitution. Some Laws like
the Labor law are defined in great detail in the
Constitution (art. 123a). Article 123 is considered one of
the social guarantees - human rights established in the
Constitution. Laws assign authority and responsibility for
enforcement.
Laws begin
as initiatives from State or Federal Representatives (Diputados),
or Senators, or from the Executive branch.
They are
approved by Congress and signed by the President. Each law
designates which Secretary (cabinet branch) is responsible
for oversight. (STPS- Secretary of Labor, SEMARNAT -
Secretary of Environment, etc) |
Regulations
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Regulations
define the Laws - Regulations of laws are created by the
Secretary that is responsible for the enforcement of the
Law. Regulations establish the procedures, processes, etc.
for compliance to the Laws. |
Standards
(Norma Oficial Mexicana, NOM's)
Official Mexican
Standard |
NOM's
(Official Mexican Standards) have the force of law.
The DGN (Dirección General de Normas) is a department of the
Secretary of Economy and is responsible for creating the
NOMs. They detail the form, format, documentation that must
be maintained for compliance to laws and regulations; they
also detail fines and sanctions.
What the different parts of the code for NOM's
stand for
an example... |
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NOM- |
018 |
STPS |
2015 |
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Norma Oficial Mexicana |
number of the NOM |
Abbreviation for the
Government Dept. that it falls under |
Year it took effect |
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NMX
(Normas Mexicanas)
Mexican Standard |
NMX's are
voluntary standards and reference guides, they are
obligatory when a Law, Regulation or NOM obligates their
use.
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CIRCULARS
(CIRCULARES) |
“Circulares” are administrative acts through which the
Federal Executive departments and entities (“Secretarías”
and “Subsecretarías”) give instructions to lower departments
or to give clarification to the parties subject to the laws,
regulations or standards.
They are not regulations or standards – they are designed to
develop criteria for the compliance to regulations or
standards (NOMs) or clarify procedures or processes that are
requirements in the laws, regulations or standards.
The “circulares” cannot modify regulations or standards but
are meant to clarify specific points without establishing
new rights or obligations to the parties subject to those
regulations or standards. Their intent is to
constitute general criteria to apply to concrete cases, and
they are meant to aid the lower level functionaries and the
subject parties to apply the precepts found in the laws,
regulations, or standards.
“Circulares” by their nature are not permanent and they
cease to have legal effects when a law, regulation or
standard is cancelled or modified.
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