The Mexico court system is a civil-law judiciary split between a federal branch and 32 independent state branches, topped at the federal level by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation and backed by a constitutional remedy called the amparo. It is also in the middle of the largest overhaul in its modern history: a 2024 constitutional reform that put federal judges on the ballot and is rolling out in stages through 2027.1Mayer Brown. Mexico’s Controversial Judicial Reform Takes Effect: Assessing Its Impact
Because Mexico follows the civil law tradition, judges apply codified statutes rather than binding precedent. That shapes everything below.
How the Federal Courts Are Organized
Article 94 of the Constitution vests federal judicial power in the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, the Electoral Tribunal, circuit courts, and district courts.2Constitute Project. Mexico 1917 (rev. 2015) Constitution
The Supreme Court used to have eleven ministers serving fifteen-year terms. After the 2024 reform it has nine, serving twelve-year terms, and the first nine justices chosen by popular vote took office following the June 2025 election.1Mayer Brown. Mexico’s Controversial Judicial Reform Takes Effect: Assessing Its Impact
Below the Supreme Court sit the Collegiate Circuit Courts. These three-judge panels are the main appellate bodies, reviewing lower-court decisions for errors in how federal law was applied. Below them are the District Courts, where a single judge handles first-instance federal matters. For most people entering the federal system, a district court is where the case starts.
The judiciary’s administrative machinery changed too. The Council of the Federal Judiciary, which used to manage budgets, careers, and discipline for every court below the Supreme Court, has been split into two bodies: the Judicial Administration Body, which runs budgets, personnel, and training; and the Judicial Discipline Tribunal, whose popularly elected members can review judicial decisions, sanction judges, and remove them.3Judiciaries Worldwide. Mexico
What the 2024 Judicial Reform Changed
The constitutional amendment signed in September 2024 made Mexico the first country to put nearly all federal judges up for popular election at this scale. It rolls out in two phases. The June 2025 vote filled the Supreme Court, the Electoral Tribunal, the Judicial Discipline Tribunal, and roughly half of all district and circuit positions. The remaining district and circuit seats are scheduled for the 2027 ballot.4Baker McKenzie. Mexico: Constitutional Amendment Introduces Popular Elections for Judicial Positions
Turnout in the June 2025 election was about 13 percent.5Organization of American States. Preliminary Report – Mexico Extraordinary Judicial Elections Every judge elected under the new system serves a one-year probationary period during which the Judicial Discipline Tribunal can remove them. International observers have flagged tension between that probationary structure and judicial independence, since one elected body can remove members of another within the first year.
If you have litigation pending or are considering filing, assume the bench and the administrative rules around it will keep moving through 2026 and 2027.
State Courts and Local Disputes
Mexico’s federalist structure gives each of the 32 states its own judiciary for local matters, usually headed by a Superior Court of Justice as the final appellate body in that jurisdiction. State courts handle the cases that touch most residents: divorces, custody, property disputes, lease disagreements, and crimes prosecuted under state law.
Each state constitution and organic law defines its own structure, so procedure and court organization vary. Judges may be appointed or elected depending on rules set by the state legislature.
The Oral Criminal Trial System
Criminal cases, at both the federal and state level, run on an oral adversarial model that replaced the old written inquisitorial system. All states were required to adopt it by 2016. Proceedings that once moved on paper now unfold through public hearings with live testimony, cross-examination, and oral arguments.
A case moves through distinct stages. Investigation starts with evidence gathering and witness interviews, then shifts to a judicialized phase where a control judge supervises due process and decides whether to formally link the accused to the proceeding. In the intermediate stage, the control judge rules on which evidence will be admitted. The oral trial itself is heard by a trial tribunal of one or three judges, with opening statements, live testimony, and closing arguments, ending in a verdict. Either side can appeal, and an amparo remains available as a final constitutional check.
Specialized Tribunals
Some disputes go to dedicated tribunals rather than general courts.
Electoral Tribunal
The Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judicial Branch is the final authority on election disputes. It resolves challenges to presidential, congressional, and senatorial results; rules on disputes involving the National Electoral Institute; adjudicates complaints about violations of political and electoral rights; and reviews the legality of gubernatorial elections.6Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judicial Branch. Review of Judicial Processes and Institutional Structure Its magistrates are now popularly elected under the 2024 reform.
Agrarian Courts
Agrarian courts handle land disputes involving ejidos, the communal land systems that trace back to post-revolution land reform. They resolve boundary conflicts, possession rights, and disputes over use of communal agricultural land.
Federal Tribunal of Administrative Justice
This tribunal handles conflicts between individuals or businesses and government agencies: tax disputes, regulatory challenges, and contested fines or administrative decisions. If a government agency issues a penalty you believe is unlawful, this is where you contest it.
Labor Courts
Labor disputes were historically heard by tripartite conciliation and arbitration boards that sat outside the judicial branch. A 2019 constitutional reform moved these cases into new labor courts within the judiciary, with state labor tribunals required to be operational by 2022.7U.S. House of Representatives. The Labor Reform Transition in Mexico: 2019–2023 These courts handle wrongful termination claims, collective bargaining disagreements, and other workplace disputes.
The Amparo
The amparo is Mexico’s distinctive constitutional remedy. Grounded in Articles 103 and 107 of the Constitution, it lets any person challenge a government act that violates their constitutional rights, whether that act comes from a judge, a legislator, or an executive official.8World Intellectual Property Organization. Amparo Law on the Implementation of Articles 103 and 107 of the Constitution of the United Mexican States It combines elements of habeas corpus and judicial review in a single procedure.
There are two main types. An indirect amparo is filed in a district court against laws, regulations, or government actions that happen outside a final court judgment. If an agency issues an order that threatens immediate harm or denies due process, this is the route. A direct amparo is filed with a collegiate circuit court and challenges a final judgment that ended a trial, asking the appellate court to overturn it on constitutional grounds.
The filer has to show a direct legal interest or concrete harm. A favorable ruling can produce anything from suspension of the challenged government action to full reversal of a lower court decision.
Amparo courts can also suspend the challenged act while the case is pending. A 2025 amendment tightened the criteria for granting a suspension, and suspensions are prohibited outright in some categories, including suspected money laundering, activities conducted without required federal permits, and matters affecting public debt. For final tax obligations, a court may grant suspension if the filer guarantees the disputed amount through a deposit certificate or letter of credit.
Hiring a Lawyer and Submitting Documents
Any attorney representing a client in a Mexican court must hold a cédula profesional, the official license issued by the General Directorate of Professions under the Secretariat of Public Education. Before retaining counsel, you can verify a cédula through the government registry at gob.mx.
Spanish is the working language of every court. All filings, pleadings, and evidence must be in Spanish, and foreign-language documents require certified translation by a perito traductor, a court-authorized translator. Untranslated documents or translations by uncertified individuals can be challenged or excluded. Foreign documents generally also need to be apostilled under the Hague Convention before Mexican courts will accept them.
Foreign nationals can be parties to Mexican lawsuits, but courts will not waive language or authentication requirements. Gathering and authenticating documents before filing saves time you will not get back later.
Looking Up a Case
To track a federal case, you need the número de expediente (the unique case number assigned at filing), the specific court handling the case, and the city and judicial circuit where that court sits. Those details appear on notifications delivered by court officials and on the headers of formal court orders.
The federal judiciary runs digital platforms for case status, though those systems have shifted alongside the broader restructuring. For physical access to files, you go to the court’s archives during business hours; viewing non-public documents requires proof that you are a party or an authorized representative, and clerks charge modest fees for certified copies.
State courts keep their own records and digital tools, and accessibility varies widely. Some states offer solid online portals; others still work mostly through in-person inquiries. For state records, contacting the specific court’s clerk’s office directly is the most reliable path.