La evolución del crimen de lesa humanidad en el derecho penal internacional*

Due to its “ex novo” character and the lack of a definition provided by a treaty, crimes against humanity have been evolutionarily defined by different international norms and by the jurisdictional activity of the International criminal tribunals that have been established throughout recent history up until the creation of the International Criminal Court. Thus, both positive and customary International criminal law have represented a competent judicial cooperative way to face these acts, first and foremost, by developing its gradual conceptualization and final codification and, secondly, through enabling the prosecution and the punishment of those responsible for these crimes. Accordingly, the evolution of the crimes against humanity’s definition is an outstanding legal element, which has contributed to the further consolidation of international criminal law.     

La maternidad subrogada: una confrontación entre italia y méxico

The development of assisted reproductive technologies has amplified the procreative expectations and has changed the traditional conception of parenthood. A significant example of this phenomenon is offered by surrogacy, whose practice has raised several questions. The present article, suggests considering two perspectives of the contemporary debate, the ethical and the juridical. On the one hand the ethical context points out the deepest problems of the practice, analyzing the role f thepeople involved and establishing a comparison between two bioethical currents, the liberal and the personalist. On the other hand, the legal perspective sets some considerations about the Italian and Mexican laws.     

Las restricciones a la libertad de reunión en relación con las elecciones en españa y méxico

This article compares and contrasts the laws that restrict freedom of assembly in Mexico and Spain during elections and electoral campaigns. It analyzes the key decisions and precedents of the Constitutional Court of Spain, the Supreme Court of Justice of Mexico and the Electoral Tribunal of Mexico. It also examines the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights with regard to the freedom of assembly, noting that this Court typically defends citizens freedom of assembly in political contexts although it tends to favor States in contexts of extreme violence such as terrorism. The present article argues that electoral authorities are mistaken if they prohibit meetings out of the mere suspicion that during the event, public support may be expressed for or against a candidate. Electoral authorities should enforce the principle of “favor libertatis” when deciding on limitations on freedom of assembly in electoral contexts.     

La sumisión del poder público al derecho en el civil law y en el common law: estado de derecho,rule of law y su expansión al ámbito internacional

Generally regarded as synonyms, the Rule of Law and the Rechsstaat are different. There are between the two legal institutions substantial differences that we must distinguish rigorously. The idea of the public power submission to the law —expressed through both theoretical constructions— has gone beyond the State borders and, progressively, made its way into international scenario. For some authors, the root for the application of the principle of the Rule of Law to interstate relationships, within international society, could date back to the XVIII century. However, it was until a few years ago that the Rule of Law analysis, from a sttrictly international point of view, started to take off. In this article the author analyzes the differences between the Rechsstaat and the Rule of Law in order to study the extension of these conceptions and how it could be applied to highlight the preeminence of law at international level.     

La responsabilidad patrimonial del estado legislador en el derecho español

This article analyzes the figure of the liability of the State legislature that, unlike the responsibility of the Public Administration and the Administration of Justice, under the Spanish Constitution, in the case of the legislature, its development in terms of key features and requirements, has been made by the Supreme Court, taking into account, as necessary, the European Union law. This responsibility of the State legislature may have two origins, depending essentially on the monitoring charge is used to test the law in question, the Spanish Constitution and the European Union law.     

Ley suprema y derechos humanos en méxico

In this essay I claim that human rights incorporated in the mexican legal order by means of the Constitution, internacional treaties, judicial decisions of federal courts and other legal sources, constitute the supreme criteria for qualifying the legitimacy of legal norms through a conventionality process that includes different stages.     

Los alcances del control judicial en la expropiación

The declaration of public use in takings is, in most constitutional systems, a guarantee every individual has against the power of the State to seize his or her property. The institute is of fundamental importance for the protection of (other) individual guarantees from the expropriatory power of the State. However, our Supreme Court’s traditional precedents do not allow its judicial control. This paper analyses what is public use and what is the reason for its importance. Then, it shows that the Supreme Court’s criteria have varied the matter, containing in its development an important exception and several ambivalences. Finally, it explains why it is more adequate to our constitutional principles, to the rights our Constitution grants and to the very nature of the institute of takings for the declaration of public use to be subject to judicial control.     

Balance y perspectivas de la reforma constitucional penal en méxico a cinco años de su publicación

The criminal constitutional reform in Mexico means cultural and epistemological rupture directed and supported by the realism and the legal guarantism. After the publication of the criminal constitutional reform on June 18, 2008, more than four years have passed, however, less than the 30 percent of the 31 States of the Republic and a Federal District, observe and apply this reform in a comprehensive way. Unfortunately, the obstacles are identified in: reluctance to change legal paradigms, i.e., conservation of the formalistic legal exegetical tradition through the mixed inquisitional criminal system; Lack of infrastructure, human and material; Absence of harmonization of laws, proposes the creation of a unique code of criminal procedure to see how effective and efficient the procedural criminal accusatory system oral and alternative means for dispute resolution, which guarantees the principles: presumption of innocence, due process of law, immediacy, advertising, contradiction and equality.     

La ley natural y su falta de determinación. apuntes sobre la teoría clásica de la determinación del derecho natural

In classical philosophy only a fragment of the legal system is natural law. The natural precepts are solely a little part of the normative system of civil societies. Even though the natural principles are the fundament of positives rules, the iusnatural norms are not sufficient for the regulation of all aspects of human life. They are “indeterminate”. This is the reason of the need the normative power of State, of judges and particulars.     

Circulación de modelos y centralidad de los códigos civiles en el derecho privado latinoamericano

This work presupposes the existence of a family of laws which can be situated in the extensive system of codified laws based on the Roman tradition, and within it a Latin American group, and seeks to organize the material within the context in which it has been produced, with the aim of achieving greater comprehension of the formation of the private law in Latin America, highlighting the models and influences used, the intervention of jurists and the significance it took on for the different societies, the characteristics of the mentioned process and the causes for its early or tardy consolidation.     

Libertad de expresión y discurso homofóbico en méxico: ¿es correcta la teoría constitucional de la suprema corte?

The article discusses a recent decision by the Mexican Supreme Court whereby damage resulting from the use of discriminatory language may in certain cases appropriately counterweight freedom of speech. The ruling expresses thesis at three different levels, all of them relevant from the viewpoint of constitutional theory. First, it expresses a vision of the kind of exercise the Court should deploy when reviewing sentences in amparo: it is a maximizing vision that the author considers to be fundamentally correct. At a second and third level, with different degrees of specificity, it proposes a particular constitutional reading for the revision of the case at hand. On this count and given the relevant historic-constitutional context, the article celebrates the Court's willingness to counterweight free speech with antidiscrimination-based considerations, though in terms of the sub-rules of decision used to pin down the general reading it identifies both successes and failures.     

Hacia una aproximación crítica entre el derecho constitucional y el derecho internacional

The state has traditionally been studied from an internal prism, a study which has been carried out by political or Constitutional law; or it has been studied from an external focus, in its relations with other states and supranational organizations; matter that was awarded to International Law. These categories are obsolete. New times coming from the effects of globalization force us to bring epistemological and axiological approaches from both disciplines. This is the reason, purpose and need for this paper, which is formulated from positions close to the criticism. The happiness of human being is the aim of policy and law, both state and international. So, it is necessary adopting different social tools to interpret critically the juridical reality.     

Fundamentos de derecho comparado y global: ¿Cabe un orden común en la globalización?

The current crisis is global, for historical reasons (for the end of a period dominated by the national-State), space (planetary-scale) and materials (affecting almost any social institution). We can take the opportunity to evaluate and to come back to the beginning of the new paradigm, the spirit of San Francisco, after World War II, when people believed in the possibility to contribute all together to the common good, by international organizations.     

La protección de los derechos fundamentales del deportista en la lucha contra el dopaje. Una visión desde el ordenamiento jurídico español

Doping is addressed in this paper from two different scopes: on one hand, the legal regulations for prevention and repression are studied; on the other hand, the clash between the anti-doping control mechanism and a fundamental right such as the athlete's privacy is noted. We start from the irrefutable fact that “awareness against doping” is practically universal. The enactment of this law was a milestone in the history of the fight against doping in the Spanish regulation. However, the problem arises when the anti-doping legislation worldwide and in Spain, which enables some healthcare professionals and other people involved, to carry out several anti-doping operations that may conflict with the athlete's fundamental right to privacy, all of this in a context of strong media and social impact. For this reason, it is pertinent to raise the issue if one of these operations, such as the duty of permanent localization, is sufficiently justified in terms of protecting the sportsperson's health.     

Legitimación en las acciones colectivas

This paper analyses the standing in collective actions to enforce undefined and collective interests as well as homogeneous individual interests, according to the Brazilian legal doctrine and legislation. He treats the types of class actions, the standing to bring a suit and the adequate representation in the Latin American countries that have developed these matters: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay. Of Argentinean Law, the author examines the collective amparo contained in article 43 of the National Constitutional, and the environmental and consumer’s procedures. Of Brazilian Law, the author studies the actions to enforce undefined and collective interests and homogeneous individual interests, contained in the 1990 Consumer’s Defense Code. The Brazilian Law guidelines have influenced the Model Code of Collective Procedures for Iberoamerica and the Chilean and Mexican Laws. In Colombia the collective interests are enforced by popular actions, and the equivalent to the homogeneous individual interests are defended through group actions.     

El principio de reconocimiento mutuo en el derecho de la unión europea según la cláusula de “plena fe y crédito” de la constitución de estados unidos

The paper shows a comparative analysis of the law of the united states of america (US) and the european union (EU) focusing on the principle of mutual recognition, which has served as a basis in order to achieve the enforcement of judicial decisions by the authorities of the different Member States. It illustrates the origins and evolution of this principle within the US legal system, as well as its recent implementation within the European integration system with the aim of creating a common space of freedom, security and justice. The paper lists and analizes a substancial number of legal acts adopted so far in the area of civil and criminal law. Furthermore, it highlights the influence the case-law of the US Supreme Court and the Court of Justice of the EU has had on the development of this principle. Moreover, it elaborates on the function of this principle as a nation-building element, raising the question whether this concept could be possibly transposed to a regional integration system with clear federal traits such as the EU.     

Integración de las autoridades electorales: (re)construcción jurisdiccional de un derecho por el tepjf

This article offers a diagnosis about the jurisdictional protection of the right to be a member of the local electoral authorities, which was included on the law since the 2008’s electoral reform. It presents also, an explanation of the different judicial mechanisms to control the processes of renovation of the electoral authorities that exist in the states. The objective of this essay is reconstruct the content of this right, throughout the sentences of the Electoral Court, but also, question the argumentations that the electoral judges have used to solve those cases. Practically, no work in the mexican literature has been written about the right to be a member of the electoral authorities, and that´s why this article represents a first outline to understand this topic.