Path: Janda's Home Page > PoliTxts > World Documents
Excerpts from The Constitution of Mexico 1917
As amended through 1972Title I, Chapter I Individual Guarantees
Article 1. Every person in the United Mexican States shall enjoy the guarantees granted by this Constitution, which cannot be restricted or suspended except in such cases and under such conditions as are herein provided.
Article 2. Slavery is forbidden in the United Mexican States. Slaves who enter national territory from abroad shall, by this act alone, recover their freedom and enjoy the protection afforded by the laws.
Article 3. The education imparted by the Federal State shall be designed to develop harmoniously all the faculties of the human being and shall foster in him at the same time a love of country and a consciousness of international solidarity, in independence and justice....
Article 4. No person can be prevented from engaging in the profession, industrial or commercial pursuit, or occupation of his choice, provided it is lawful....
Article 5.1 No one can be compelled to render personal services without due remuneration and without his full consent, excepting labor imposed as a penalty by the judiciary....
Only the following public services shall be obligatory, subject to the conditions set forth in the respective laws: military service and jury service as well as the discharge of the office of municipal councilman and office of direct or indirect popular election.... The State cannot permit the execution of any contract, covenant, or agreement having for its object the restriction, loss or irrevocable sacrifice of the liberty of man, whether for work, education, or religious vows. The law, therefore, does not permit the establishment of monastic orders, whatever be their denomination or purpose....
Article 6. The expression of ideas shall not be subject to any judicial or administrative investigation, unless it offends good morals, infringes the rights of others, incites to crime, or disturbs the public order.
Article 7. Freedom of writing and publishing writings on any subject is inviolable. No law or authority may establish censorship, require bonds from authors or printers, or restrict the freedom of printing, which shall be limited only by the respect due to private life, morals, and public peace. Under no circumstances may a printing press be sequestrated as the instrument of the offense....
Article 8. Public officials and employees shall respect the exercise of the right of petition, provided it is made in writing and in a peaceful and respectful manner....
Article 9. The right to assemble or associate peaceably for any lawful purpose cannot be restricted; but only citizens of the Republic may do so to take part in the political affairs of the country. No armed deliberative meeting is authorized. No meeting or assembly shall be deemed unlawful which has for its object the petitioning of any authority or the presentation of a protest against any act; nor may it be dissolved, unless insults be proffered against said authority or violence is resorted to, or threats are used to intimidate or compel such authority to render a favorable decision.
Article 10.1 The inhabitants of the United Mexican States are entitled to have arms in their possession in their homes for their protection and legitimate defense, except such as are expressly forbidden by law, or which the nation may reserve for the exclusive use of the army, navy, air force or national guard. Federal law shall determine the ... conditions, requirements and places in which inhabitants may be authorized to carry arms.
Article 11. Everyone has the right to enter and leave the Republic, to travel through its territory and to change his residence without necessity of a letter of security, passport, safe-conduct or any other similar requirement....
Article 12. No titles of nobility, or hereditary or prerogatives or honors shall be granted in the United Mexican States, nor shall any effect be given to those granted by other countries.
Article 13. No one may be tried by private laws or special tribunals. No person or corporate body shall have privileges or enjoy emoluments other than those given in compensation for public services and which are set by law. Military jurisdiction shall be recognized for the trial of crime against any violation of military discipline, but the military tribunals shall in no case have jurisdiction over persons who do not belong to the army....
Article 14. No law shall be given retroactive effect to the detriment of any person whatsoever.
No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, property, possessions, or rights without a trial by a duly created court in which the essential formalities of procedure are observed and in accordance with laws issued prior to the act.
In criminal cases no penalty shall be imposed by mere analogy or by a prior evidence. The penalty must be decreed in a law in every respect applicable to the crime in question.
In civil suits the final judgement shall be according to the letter or the juridical interpretation of the law; in the absence of the latter it shall be based on the general principles of law....
Article 16. No one shall be molested in his person, family, domicile, papers, or possessions except by virtue of a written order of the competent authority stating the legal grounds and justification for the action taken. No order of arrest or detention shall be issued against any person other than by the competent judicial authority, and unless same is preceded by a charge, accusation, or complaint for a credible party or by other evidence indicating the probable guilt of the accused; in cases of flagrante delicto, any person may arrest the offender and his accomplices, turning them over without delay to the nearest authorities. Only in urgent cases instituted by the public attorney without previous complaint or indictment and when there is no judicial authority available, may the administrative authorities, on their strictest accountability, order the detention of an accused person, turning him over immediately to the judicial authorities. Every search warrant, which can be issued only by judicial authority and which must be in writing, shall specify the place to be searched, the person or persons to be arrested, and the objects sought, the proceedings to be limited thereto, at the conclusion of which a detailed statement shall be drawn up in the presence of two witnesses proposed by the occupant of the place searched, or by the official making the search in his absence should he refuse to do so.
Administrative officials may enter private homes for the sole purpose of ascertaining whether the sanitary and police regulations have been complied with, and may demand to be shown the books and documents required to prove compliance with fiscal rulings....
Article 17. No one may be imprisoned for debts of a purely civil nature. No one may take the law into his own hands, or resort to violence in the enforcement of his rights. The courts shall be open for the administration of justice at such times and under such conditions as the law may establish; their services shall be gratuitous and all judicial costs are, accordingly, prohibited.
Article 18.1 Arrest is permissible only for offenses punishable by imprisonment. The place of detention shall be completely separate from the place used for the serving of sentences....
Article 19. No detention shall exceed three days without a formal order of commitment, which shall state the offense with which the accused is charged; the substance thereof; the place, time and circumstances of its commission; and the facts brought to light in the preliminary examination. These facts must be sufficient to establish the corpus delicti and the probable guilt of the accused....
Any ill-treatment during arrest or confinement; any molesting without legal justification; any exaction or contribution levied in prison are abuses which shall be punishable by law and repressed by the authorities.
Article 20. In every criminal trial the accused shall enjoy the following guarantees:
I. He shall be freed on demand and on furnishing bail which shall be fixed by the judge, according to his status and the gravity of the offense with which he is charged, provided, however, that such offense is not punishable with more than five years' imprisonment....
II. He may not be forced to be a witness against himself: wherefore denial of access or other means tending to this end is strictly prohibited.
III. He shall be publicly notified within 48 hours after being turned over to the judicial authorities of the name of his accuser and the nature of and cause for the accusation, so that he may be familiar with the offense with which he is charged, reply thereto and make a preliminary statement.
IV. He shall be confronted with the witnesses against him, who shall testify in his presence if they are to be found in the place where the trial is held, so that he may cross examine them in his defense.
V. All witnesses and other evidence which he may offer shall be heard in his defense... he shall furthermore be assisted in securing the presence of the persons whose testimony he may request, provided they are to be found at the place where the trial is held.
VI. He shall be entitled to a public trial by a judge or jury of citizens who can read and write and are also residents of the place and district where the offense was committed, provided the penalty for such offense exceeds one year's imprisonment.... VII. He shall be furnished with all information on record which he may request for his defense.
VIII. He shall be tried within four months, if charged with an offense whose maximum penalty does not exceed two years' imprisonment; and within one year, if the maximum penalty is greater.
IX. He shall be heard in his own defense, either personally or by counsel, or by both, as he may desire. Should he have no one to defend him, a list of official counsel shall be submitted to him, in order that he may choose one or more to act in his defense. If the accused does not wish to name any counsel for his defense, after being called upon to do so at the time of his preliminary examination, the court shall appoint his counsel for the defense. The accused may name his counsel immediately upon arrest, and shall be entitled to have him present at every stage of the trial: but he shall be obliged to make him appear as often as required by the court.
X. In no event may imprisonment or detention be extended through failure to pay counsel fees or for any other monetary obligation, on account of civil liability, or for other similar cause. Nor shall detention be extended beyond the time set by law as the maximum for the offense charged..
Article 22. Punishment by mutilation and infamy, branding, flogging, beating with sticks, torture of any kind, excessive fines, confiscation of property and any other unusual or extreme penalties are prohibited.... Capital punishment for political offenses is likewise prohibited; as regards other offenses, it can only be imposed for high treason committed during a foreign war, parricide, murder that is treacherous, premeditated, or committed for profit, arson, abduction, highway robbery, piracy, and grave military offenses.
Article 23. No criminal trial shall have more than three instances. No person, whether accused or convicted, can be tried twice for the same offense....
Article 24. Everyone is free to embrace the religion of his choice and to practice all ceremonies, devotions, or observances of his respective faith, either in places of public worship or at home, provided they do not constitute an offense punishable by law. Every religious act of public worship must be performed strictly inside places of public worship, which shall at all times be under governmental supervision.
Article 25. Sealed correspondence sent through the mail shall be exempt from search and its violation shall be punishable by law.
Article 26. No member of the army shall in time of peace be quartered in private dwellings without the consent of the owner, nor may he impose any obligation whatsoever. In time of war the military may demand lodging, equipment, provisions, and other assistance, in the manner laid down in the respective martial law.
Article 27. Ownership of the lands and waters within the boundaries of the national territory is vested originally in the Nation, which has had, and has, the right to transmit title thereof to private persons, thereby constituting private property. Private property shall not be expropriated except for reasons of public use and subject to payment of indemnity.