Mexican Law and Policy

Módulo I: Brief Constitutional History of Mexico
Professor: Francisco José Paoli Bolio
Topics:

• War of Independence and the first constitutional documents (1808-1814)
• Constitutive Act of the Federation and the Federal Constitution of the Unites States of Mexico 1824
• Centralist constitutions (1836-1846)
• Re-establishment of federalism and the Constitution of 1857
• Mexican Revolution and the Constitution of February 5, 1917

Módulo II: Mexican Federalism
Professor: José María Serna de la Garza
Topics:

• Historical timeline of Mexican federalism
• General scheme in the distribution of powers
• Distribution of powers in taxation
• Recent developments of state constitutionalism
• Constitutional status of municipalities
• Coordination mechanisms between state and federal government relations

Módulo III: State Constitutional Law
Professor: Daniel Barceló Rojas
Topics:

• Theory and practice of Mexican federalism and the distribution of power. Concurrent powers and powers reserved for the states
• Organization of state powers and of municipal governments
• Legal structures of and within states, comparing the state of Sonora and Mexico City
• Organization of the judiciary and judicial review of state actions, with special attention on "amparo"
• Indigenous state law, with a focus on the Yaqui communities in Sonora
• How to find current state law

Módulo IV: How to Find the Applicable Law in Mexico
Professor: Alejandro López Olvera
Topics:

• Historical approach to the Law of Mexico
• Hierarchy of law in the 19th century
• Constitutional law in the Mexican federalist system. Globalization of law
• Public law v. private law
• Constitutions, statutes, codes and judicial interpretation

Módulo V: Organization and Functions of Public Powers. Presidentialism and Autonomous Constitutional Bodies
Professor: María del Pilar Hernández Martínez
Topics:

• Formation of the Mexican State and system of government: The influence of 18th-century constitutionalism
• The triad of the exercise of State power
• Presidential structure: Its hegemonic nuances and its primary crisis
• Emergence of autonomous constitutional bodies: A pretense of modernity
• A prospective

Módulo VI: Electoral and Representative System
Professor: Hugo Concha
Topics:

• How and why political parties are governed by Constitutional Law
• Electoral amendments, 1977-2014
• The development of Mexican pluralism
• Electoral institutions
• New challenges to the party system and to the electoral system

Módulo VII: Human Rights: Relevant Cases and Relevant Recommendations From the National Commission of Human Rights (CNDH)
Professors: Carlos Pelayo Möller and Alethia Fernández de la Reguera Ahedo
Topics:

• Non-judicial defense mechanisms of human rights in the Inter-American System
• The beginnings of non-judicial defenses of human rights in Mexico
• The Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (CoIDH)
• The National Commission of Human Rights (CNDH) and the state commissions of human rights
• Relevant cases of the CoIDH
• Human rights from the perspective of the "Theory of Violence"
• Human rights of migrants in Mexico
• Gender violence
• Violation of women’s human rights in Mexico's southern border region

Módulo VIII: The “Amparo” and Other Constitutional Defense Mechanisms: Theory and Practice
Professor: Jorge Carmona Tinoco
Topics:

• Historical development of judicial review ("control de constitucionalidad") in Mexico
• Classification of the different types of constitutional judicial review
• The “amparo” in Mexico
• Actions of unconstitutionality /“Acciones de inconstitucionalidad”
• Constitutional controversies/”Controversias constitucionales ”
• Impeachment/“juicio político”
• Judicial reform

Módulo IX: Inter-American Human Rights System
Professor: Guillermo Estrada y Magdalena Cervantes
Topics:

• Foundations of the Inter-American Human Rights System
• Inter-American Commission of Human Rights and its protection mechanisms
• Inter-American Court of Human Rights and its protection mechanisms
• Human rights controls in the States of the region 
• The impact of rulings of the Inter-American Human Rights System bodies

Módulo X: Economic Constitutionalism
Professor: Susana Dávalos Torres
Topics:

• The socio-economic system of Mexico’s constitutionalism
• Economic law
• International economic law
• Economic and social regulations
• Public policy and development, law and economics, and economic competitiveness

Módulo XI: Constitutional Culture in Mexico
Profesor: Andrea Pozas Loyo
Topics:

• The Constitution as culture
• Constitutional culture as a confluence between political culture and legal culture
• Importance and significance of constitutional culture
• Analysis of constitutional culture polls in Mexico
• The future of the Mexican Constitution

Módulo XII: A New Constitution for Mexico?
Professor: Pedro Salazar Ugarte
Topics:

• Constitutional reforms of “amparo” and human rights
• Criminal justice reforms 
• Creation of the national anti-corruption system
• Creation of autonomous constitutional bodies
• National Guard reforms