On May 29 2000 the Mexican government published several modifications to the Civil Code, the Civil Procedures Code, the Commerce Code and the Consumer Protection Law in order to protect all types of electronic transaction. However, these modifications cannot be considered an E-commerce Law, as they are not gathered together in a single law.
There are several interesting points raised in these modifications:
- They are not limited to a particular technology. The modifications to the Civil Code state that as in an acceptance and/or proposal of an offer "the rules must be applied to an offer made by telephone, or any other electronic or optical means or any other technology that allows the expression of the offer and the acceptance of the same in an expedite way".
- Any information generated by electronic means is admissible as evidence.
- As the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) mentions in its model law, a 'data message' is defined in the new title of the Commerce Code as "the information generated, sent, received, saved or communicated by any electronic or optical means or any other technology".
- Several new functions of the Mexican Public Registry of Commerce are defined in these modifications. The registry will be in charge of maintaining a database in which every mercantile act must be recorded. The procedure of recording these transactions is defined in the corresponding regulations.
Unfortunately, the UNCITRAL model Law was not fully adopted, and there are several important definitions missing from these modifications, such as what constitutes an 'electronic signature'.
Although these modifications are in line with legislation in other countries, in an attempt to reach an international consensus, these laws will have to be modified again in the near future.
For further information on this topic please contact Fernando Becerril at Becerril, Coca & Becerril SC by telephone (+ 525 55 254 0400) or by fax (+525 55 254 5152) or by e-mail ([email protected]).
The materials contained on this web site are for general information purposes only and are subject to the disclaimer.