-
7/28/2019 Module 1. Translation and Writing Exercise.
1/9
Translation & Writing Exercises
Basic Instructions:
1. We have prepared three exercises for you.2. Start with the
one that you feel more comfortable with.3. You may do as much as
you feel appropriate.4. The more you practice the better.5. You do
not need to do all of the exercises if you do not want to.6. When
you finish, send it to:[email protected] that we can
provide
you with feedback.
www.le-workshop.com
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.le-workshop.com/http://www.le-workshop.com/http://www.le-workshop.com/mailto:[email protected]
-
7/28/2019 Module 1. Translation and Writing Exercise.
2/9
Module 1: The Mexican Legal System
Exercise A
Translation Practice (English-Spanish)
Source Text Your Translation
Codification Efforts in Mexico
Mexico's efforts to produce the five basic codeswhich sustain
the legal system in any countrybelonging to the civil legal
tradition -that is, theCivil Code, the Code of Civil Procedure, the
PenalCode, the Code of Penal Procedure, and theCode of Commerce-
date back to 1822, one yearafter Mexico acquired its political
independence.However, the most fruitful results did notmaterialize
until the late 1880s.
Following the European tradition, the importanttask of codifying
a major branch of Mexican lawwas the work of an eminent group of
juristsworking as a special commission appointed by theexecutive at
the federal level (and at the locallevel for the enactment of the
corresponding Statecodes). Interestingly, in Mexico, some of the
mostimportant pioneering codification efforts wereinitiated at the
state level.
Civil Code
The Civil Code is of central importance toMexico's legal system.
In general, this code ispresent at each and every step of the life
ofMexicans, as well as that of foreigners when theyare present in
Mexico and engage in certain actsor transactions. In a nutshell,
the Civil Code is soimportant because it is at the core of
Mexico'ssocial fabric: it incorporates the country's family
law, regulates personal and real property, detailsa variety of
major contracts, and governs trustsand estates. A section at the
end of this code setsforth and details the services provided by the
CivilRegistry and by the Public Registry of Propertyand Commerce in
Mexico.
Traditionally, the Civil Code is divided into fourmajor
sections, known as "Books." The Book ofIndividuals (Personas)
addresses the legalcapacity and rights of individuals and
legalentities, ranging from birth, paternity, andguardianships to
marriage, divorce, kinship andsupport, parental authority,
emancipation andmajority. The Book of Assets (Bienes) includeslaws
relating to real estate, personal property,
Esfuerzos de Codificacin en Mxico
Los esfuerzos de Mxico para producir los cincocdigos que
sostienen el sistema legal en un pasperteneciente a la tradicin de
derecho civil esdecir, el Cdigo Civil, el Cdigo deProcedimientos
Civiles, el Cdigo Penal, elCdigo de Procedimientos Penales, y el
Cdigode Comercio datan de 1822, un da despus deque Mxico obtuvo su
independencia poltica. Sinembargo, los resultado ms prspero no
sematerializ hasta finales de los mil ochocientosochentas.
. Continuar.
-
7/28/2019 Module 1. Translation and Writing Exercise.
3/9
usufructs, easements and servitudes, andadverse possession. The
Book of Decedent'sEstates (Sucesiones) relates to last wills
andtestaments, testamentary and intestatesuccessions, concubinage
relations, andexecutors. The Book of Obligations (Obligaciones)
and contracts comprises general obligations,payment,
associations and companies, andguarantees in general.
The legal innovations introduced by the Civil Codeof 1928
include the legal equality of men andwomen (Art. 2, Federal Civil
Code or FCC),property rights (Art. 840), civil liability in tort
cases(Art. 1910), strict liability in personal injury cases(known
in Mexico as "Extra-contractual objectiveliability") (Art. 1913),
professional liability (Arts.1935-1937), the promise to contract
(Arts. 2243-2247), the exercise of judicial discretion in
certain
cases (Art. 21), the recognition of unions as legalentities
(Art. 25), and the equal authority andprivileges of husband and
wife regarding thehousehold (Art. 168).
Two closing commentaries should be maderegarding the Civil Code.
First, the Civil Code ofthe Federal District had a traditional dual
role inMexico. It was the local code for the FederalDistrict (that
is, Mexico City) in ordinary matters,and for the entire Republic in
federal matters.However, this legal duality changed in 2000.Today,
Mexico has a Federal Civil Code and a
separate Civil Code for the Federal District. Thischange,
consisting in having two separate codes,introduced substantive
reforms and updated thelegislation of the Mexico City code in the
area offamily law.26
Secondly, the Civil Code for the Federal District,given Mexico's
highly centralized political system(until 2000 when the nation's
political control bythe PRI crumbled), was reproduced
almostverbatim by each of the 31 States since 1884.Until now, there
has been little, if any, differencebetween the Federal Civil Code,
on the one hand,
and each of the Codes of the thirty-one States, onthe other. It
is likely that in the future, as changesoccur throughout the
country, each State willrevise and update its own local civil code
in orderto reflect these changes.
Code of Civil Procedure
The Code of Civil Procedure of the FederalDistrict was
promulgated on May 15, 1884, whichreproduced most of the provisions
contained inthe corresponding code enacted twelve yearsearlier, on
August 13, 1872. The current code was
published on August 29, 1932, and has beenamended several times.
In 1896, Porfirio Daz,
http://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htm#_ftn26http://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htm#_ftn26http://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htm#_ftn26http://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htm#_ftn26
-
7/28/2019 Module 1. Translation and Writing Exercise.
4/9
then President of Mexico, published the FederalCode of Civil
Procedure, which was thenamended in 1908. The current Federal Code
ofCivil Procedure dates back to 1942,27 and wasamended in 1988 to
adopt the policy of "LimitedTerritorialism," which allowed the
application of
foreign law to Mexico. This amendment alsoadded a new section on
"International ProceduralCooperation."28This code was recently
amended.
Penal Code
The first Mexican Penal Code was enacted by theState of Veracruz
on April 28, 1835, and wasamended in 1849. It was not until 1871
that thePenal Code of the Federal District, known as theMartnez de
Castro Code, was promulgated. Afterthe 1910 revolution, a new Penal
Code was
published in 1929.29 This code was thensubstituted by the
current 1931 Code which, inturn, has been amended many times.
Code of Penal Procedure
The Code of Penal Procedure for the FederalDistrict appeared on
September 15, 1880, to berepealed by the 1890 Code. The sources for
thiscode included pertinent legislative enactmentsfrom France,
Spain, Italy, Belgium, Portugal,Germany, and Japan. This code was
replaced by
a code promulgated on October 2, 1929. Thecurrent Code of Penal
Procedure dates back to1931.30
The first Federal Code of Civil Procedure waspublished in the
Diario Oficial de la Federacin(D.O.) Of December 16, 1908. The
current codedates back to 1931, and has been amended manytimes,
including a major revision in 2002.
Code of Commerce
In a country where codes and other legislativeenactments play an
important role in the dailyconduct of legal, political, social, and
economicinteractions, Mexico's Code of Commerce is notonly the
oldest in that nation, but also one of themost venerable throughout
Latin America.
This Code governs the conduct of businesstransactions throughout
the Republic of Mexico,although not in an exclusive manner.
Thisregulatory power is shared, first, with theapplicable
provisions of the Federal Civil Code,and secondly, with numerous
specialized federalstatutes that address specific matters
ofcommercial importance, such as companies,negotiable instruments,
insurance contracts,
http://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htm#_ftn27http://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htm#_ftn27http://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htm#_ftn27http://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htm#_ftn28http://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htm#_ftn28http://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htm#_ftn28http://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htm#_ftn29http://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htm#_ftn29http://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htm#_ftn29http://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htm#_ftn30http://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htm#_ftn30http://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htm#_ftn30http://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htm#_ftn30http://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htm#_ftn29http://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htm#_ftn28http://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htm#_ftn27
-
7/28/2019 Module 1. Translation and Writing Exercise.
5/9
bankruptcies, maritime law, etc.32
The application of the provisions of the FederalCivil Code to
commercial matters is explicitlyauthorized by Article 2 of the Code
of Commerceas a mechanism for supplementing its provisions
in the absence of commercial rules. Given theparamount
importance the Federal Civil Codeplays in the conduct of civil and
commercialmatters throughout the republic of Mexico, it isonly
logical to expect that this Code is to fill in thegaps found in the
Code of Commerce. This isespecially true when one considers that
theFederal Civil Code addresses in detail inter alia,contractual
matters -including the formation,interpretation, enforcement and
breach ofcontracts, civil associations and companies,movable and
immovable assets, mortgages, thePublic registry of Property and
Commerce, etc.-
all significant legal avenues for the conduct ofbusiness
transactions.
Adhering to the legal philosophy of the epoch, the1889 Code of
Commerce may be described as acomprehensive and systematic legal
corpus thatcontains the major principles, rules, andinstitutions of
a mercantile nature, bothsubstantive and procedural, divided into
fivebooks. Out of these books, books 3 and 4 havebeen repealed. The
Code was originallycomposed of 1,5000 Articles (similar to
Sections)but 649 of them (approximately 43%) have since
been abrogated or statutorily replaced, as a resultof 29 major
amendments that took place from1932 through 2003.Today, the Code
ofCommerce is effectively composed of 780Articles.
Source Text:http://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htm
http://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htm#_ftn32http://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htm#_ftn32http://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htm#_ftn32http://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htmhttp://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htmhttp://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htmhttp://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htmhttp://www.llrx.com/mexicolegalsystem.htm#_ftn32
-
7/28/2019 Module 1. Translation and Writing Exercise.
6/9
Exercise B
Translation Practice (Spanish-English)
Source Text Your Translation
Fuentes Formales del Derecho
Son el origen del derecho, es decir, de dondenace.
Tradicionalmente, las fuentes delderecho se clasifican en reales,
histricas yformales. Dentro de las fuentes formales, queson los
procesos de creacin de normasjurdicas, el derecho mexicano
contempla ala legislacin, la jurisprudencia y lacostumbre.
Tambin encontramos como fuentes a lasnormas individualizadas y a
los principiosgenerales del derecho.
1. Legislacin
La ley constituye en Mxico la msimportante fuente formal del
derecho. En elmbito federal, el proceso legislativo estprevisto en
los artculos 71 y 72
constitucionales y consta de seis etapas, queson: iniciativa,
discusin, aprobacin,sancin, publicacin e inicio de vigencia.
Esimportante sealar que existen procesossimilares en cada una de
las entidadesfederativas.
2. Jurisprudencia
Es un conjunto de principios establecidos enlas resoluciones de
determinados tribunales,al interpretar las leyes o al definir los
casosno previstos en ellas. Los Jueces y lostribunales estn
obligados a resolver, de unau otra forma, los asuntos sometidos a
suconocimiento, pero a veces es precisoaveriguar el sentido que el
legislador le quisodar.
De esta manera, en el mbito federal, elPoder Judicial de la
Federacin creajurisprudencia a travs del Pleno de la
Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nacin, desus Salas, de los
Tribunales Colegiados de
Formal Sources of Law
They are the genesis of law, where it comesfrom. Traditionally,
the sources of law areclassified into: real, historical and
formal.Within the formal sources, which are theprocesses of
creation of juridical provisions,the Mexican legal system includes
legislation,jurisprudence and custom.
. Continue
-
7/28/2019 Module 1. Translation and Writing Exercise.
7/9
Circuito, de la Sala Superior del TribunalElectoral y de las
Salas Regionales de ste.
Existen otros tribunales que tambin puedenemitir jurisprudencia
en sus respectivos
mbitos de competencia; por ejemplo, elTribunal Federal de
Justicia Fiscal yAdministrativa, el Tribunal Superior Agrario,la
Junta Federal de Conciliacin y Arbitraje ylos Tribunales Superiores
de Justicia dealgunas entidades federativas.
3. La Costumbre
Es el procedimiento consuetudinario decreacin del Derecho. Se
trata de normas
jurdicas no escritas, impuestas por el uso, esdecir, a travs de
la reiteracin constante deuna conducta de los hombres. La
legislacinmexicana, en algunos casos, admite lacostumbre a falta de
ley u otra disposicinexpresa, ya que contra la observancia de laley
no puede alegarse desuso, costumbre oprctica en contrario.
La costumbre est prevista en algunosordenamientos, tales como:
el Cdigo de
Comercio, diversos Cdigos Civiles, la LeyGeneral de Ttulos y
Operaciones de Crditoy la Ley Federal del Trabajo.
4. Normas Individualizadas
Se crean para aplicarse en forma individual auna persona o grupo
de personas claramentedefinido. Entre ellas podemos mencionar
lassentencias judiciales, los contratos, lasresoluciones
administrativas y los
testamentos. Pueden ser creadas inclusivepor particulares como
por ejemplo loscontratos; sin embargo, en este caso sloobligan a
quienes expresamente los aceptan.
5. Los principios generales del derecho
Son verdades jurdicas notorias,
-
7/28/2019 Module 1. Translation and Writing Exercise.
8/9
indiscutibles, de carcter general, creadasmediante
procedimientos jurdico-filosficosde generalizacin.
Constituyen una fuente supletoria de la ley,
que permite a los juzgadores resolver lascontroversias frente a
las lagunas uomisiones de sta. Algunas veces esobligatorio recurrir
a ellos, segn se adviertedel contenido del ltimo prrafo del
artculo14 constitucional, que dice: En los juicios delorden civil,
la sentencia definitiva deber serconforme a la letra, o a la
interpretacinjuridical de la ley, y a falta de sta se fundaren los
principios generales del derecho.
En Mxico no existe un listado expreso deprincipios generales del
derecho, porque sunmero vara constantemente debido
alperfeccionamiento de que son objeto. As,queda a criterio del
juzgador determinarlos odeducirlos, siempre y cuando nodesarmonicen
o estn en contradiccin conel conjunto de normas legales cuyas
lagunasu omisiones han de llenarse con la aplicacinde dichos
principios.
Source:http://www.scjn.gob.mx/conocelacorte/documents/publicaciones/Sistema-Juridico-Mexicano.pdf
Exercise CWriting Practice
Write a 500-word essay
What would change of the Mexican legal system?
http://www.scjn.gob.mx/conocelacorte/documents/publicaciones/Sistema-Juridico-Mexicano.pdfhttp://www.scjn.gob.mx/conocelacorte/documents/publicaciones/Sistema-Juridico-Mexicano.pdfhttp://www.scjn.gob.mx/conocelacorte/documents/publicaciones/Sistema-Juridico-Mexicano.pdfhttp://www.scjn.gob.mx/conocelacorte/documents/publicaciones/Sistema-Juridico-Mexicano.pdf
-
7/28/2019 Module 1. Translation and Writing Exercise.
9/9
