Law and the Mexican Constitution, Ley y la Constitucion de la Republica Mexicana

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As we continue with our entries for the bi-lingual attorneys and lawyers in Cabo San Lucas, San Jose del Cabo and the Los Cabos area of Baja California Sur we have the following:

Continuando con lo mismo articulo 27..ahora en inglés,  para los abogados y bufetes en Cabo San Lucas, San José del Cabo y el área de Los Cabos en Baja California Sur..

 

Article 27 - Lands and waters understood to be within the limits of the national territory belong originally to the Nation, which has had and has the right of transmitting their ownership to particular persons, thus constituting them as private property. Expropriations may only be for cause of public utility, and by means of indemnization.

The Nation will at all times have the right to impose on private property the ways of use that the public interest dictates. Its use will be regular, to social benefit, and for the appropriation of its natural elements, with the object of making an equitable distribution of public wealth, taking care to conserve these elements, and to achieve balanced development of the country and improvement of life for the rural and urban population. As a consequence, the Nation will dictate the means necessary to keep human settlements functioning, and establish adequate provisions, uses, reserves, and end uses of lands, waters, and forests to the effect of building public works and planning and regulating their construction, conservation, improvement, and growth of centers of population, to preserve or restore ecological balance, to divide large estates; to manage, in the terms of regulating law, the organization and collective functioning of communes and communities, for the development of rural property; for the promotion of agriculture, ranching, use of forest products, and of the various economic activities in the rural setting, and to avoid the destruction of natural elements, and the damages that property may suffer to the detriment of society.

The Nation has direct ownership of all natural resources of the continental shelf and underwater zones around islands, of minerals or substances that are in veins, layers, or masses; of beds of ore that constitute deposits naturally distinct from the components of the earth, such as minerals from which metals and alloys used in industry are derived; of beds of precious stones; of rock salt, and the salts formed directly in sea waters; the products derived from the decomposition of rocks when their exploitation requires underground work; of mineral beds, or beds of organic materials that are used as fertilizers; solid combustible materials; of petroleum and all solid, liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons, and of the space situated over the national territory, to the extent and terms fixed by international law.

The waters of the territories are the property of the Nation, to the extent and terms fixed by international law: interior navigational waters, lagoons and inlets that are permanently or intermittently linked with the sea, naturally-formed interior lakes that have water in them constantly, rivers and their direct or indirect tributaries from the point where their first permanent intermittent or torrential water starts until their flow into the sea; lakes, lagoons, or inlets that are national property, constant or intermittently-running creeks and washes and their direct or indirect tributaries when, in all or part of their length, they serve as a boundary of national territory, or between two federated entities, or when they pass from one federated entity to another, or cross the boundary line of the Republic; lakes, lagoons, and inlets which cross boundary lines of two or more entities or between the Republic and a neighboring country, or when the limit of the banks serves as a boundary between two federated entities, or between the Republic and a neighboring country; waters that have their origins in beaches, maritime zones, river beds, or banks of lakes, lagoons, or inlets that are national property, and those that are extracted from mines, and river beds or beds of interior lakes to the extent that the law sets. Ground water may be freely appropriated by means of artificial works and used by the owner of the land, but when the public interest requires it or it affects other users, the Federal Executive has the power to regulate its extraction and utilization, and also to establish zones where ground water use is prohibited, equal to those waters which are national property. Whatever waters were not included in the preceding, are considered the property of the lands under which they run or where their deposits are found, but if they are located under two or more properties, the use of these waters is considered of public utility, and will remain subject to the dispositions that the States dictate.

In cases referred to in the two paragraphs above, the ownership of the Nation is inalienable and essential, and the exploitation, use, or enjoyment of these resources by individuals or by associations governed by Mexican law cannot take place except by means of concessions granted by the Federal Executive according to the rules and conditions which the laws establish. Normal laws relating to works or labors of exploitation of minerals and substances referred to in the fourth paragraph of this article will regulate the execution and verification by which the exploitation is conducted, or the operations by which it should be effected, independent of the date of granting of the concession. Non-observance will result in the cancellation of the concession. The federal government has the right to establish national reserves, and to relinquish them. The corresponding declarations will be made by the Executive in the cases and conditions that the laws specify. No concessions or contracts will be granted for the extraction of petroleum or solid, liquid, or gaseous hydrocarbons, or for radioactive minerals. The Nation will carry out the exploitation of these products in the terms that the respective regulating law specifies. The Nation has the exclusive right to generate, conduct, transform, distribute, and supply electrical energy for use in public service. In this matter, concessions will not be granted to individuals, and the Nation will make use of the goods and national resources required to achieve these ends.

The Nation also enjoys the right to use nuclear combustibles for the generation of nuclear energy, and to regulate its application in other uses. The use of nuclear energy is permitted only for peaceful ends.

The Nation will exercise control over an area situated outside the territorial seas and adjacent to them, under the rights of sovereignty and the jurisdiction that the laws of the Congress determine. The exclusive economic zone will extend to two hundred nautical miles from where the territorial seas start. In those cases in which this extension produces conflict with the exclusive economic zones of other countries, the boundaries of these zones will be determined by means of agreements with those countries.

The ability to acquire the domain of the lands and waters of the Nation will be regulated by the following prescriptions:

I. Only Mexicans by birth or naturalization and Mexican associations have the right to obtain ownership of lands, waters, and their accessories, or to obtain mining or ground water concessions. The State has the power to concede the same right to foreigners, as long as after verifying with the Secretariat of Relations that they will respect the lands and waters as nationals would, and will not invoke the protection of their governments. The penalty in case of violation of the contract is loss to the Nation of the benefits that were acquired from the concessions. In a zone of one hundred kilometers' distance from the borders, and fifty from the coast, no foreigners shall be permitted to acquire direct ownership of land or water for any reason.

The State, in agreement with internal public interest and the principles of reciprocity, may allow foreign states to acquire real private property necessary for the direct service of their embassies or legations in the permanent place of residence of the Federal Powers.

II. Religious associations, as defined in the terms of Article 130 and its regulating law, will have the capacity to acquire, possess, or administer exclusively the property that is essential for their object, with the requisites and limitations that the regulating law establishes.

III. Public or private institutions of benefit that have for their object aid to the needy, scientific research, the spread of education, the mutual aid of their members, or any other legal object may not acquire more real property than is necessary for the object immediately or directly destined to them, subject to what the regulating law establishes.

IV. Mercantile societies by means of stock may become owners of rural lands, but only in the extension that is necessary to complete their object.

In no case may societies of this type acquire lands dedicated to agriculture, ranching, or forestry activities in greater extension than the amount equivalent to twenty-five times the limits given in section XV of this article. The regulating law will regulate the capital structure and minimum number of members of these societies, to the effect that the lands owned by the society do not exceed what each member would own as small property. In this case, all property of individual investors corresponding to rural lands will be counted for the effects of computation. At the same time, the law will give the conditions for foreign participation in these societies.

The appropriate law will establish the means of registration and control necessary to implement this section.

V. Commercial banks that are authorized and that conform to the laws of credit institutions may hold capital obligations for rural and urban property in accordance with the prescriptions of the same laws, but they may not hold or administer more resources than those entirely necessary for their direct objects.

VI. The States and the Federal District, as well as the municipalities of all the Republic, will have the full capacity to acquire and possess all the real property necessary for public services. The laws of the Federation and the States, in their respective jurisdictions, will determine the cases in which public utility requires the occupation of private property. The procedures used by the administrative authority to acquire this property will be according to these laws. The price fixed for indemnification of the expropriated property will be based on its fiscal value as figured at the appraiser's or assessor's office. When its worth has been demonstrated by the owner, payment has been accepted by him or her tacitly. Any increase in value that the particular property has for improvements during or after the date of appraisal will be subject to expert judgment or judicial resolution only. The exercise of actions that belong to the Nation by virtue of the dispositions in the present article will have effect by judicial procedure, but within this procedure and by order of the corresponding tribunals that will dictate the maximum term of one month, the administrative authorities will proceed without delay with the occupation, administration, auction, or sale of the lands or waters taken and all their accessories, except that in no case may the same be revoked by the same authorities without a written order of execution.

VII. The judicial personality of concentrations of population in communes and communities is recognized, and their property on the land is protected as well as their human character and productive activities. The law will protect the integrity of the lands of indigenous groups.

The law, considering the respect and strengthening of the community life of communes and communities, will protect the land for human communities and regulate the use of common lands, forests, and waters, and the taking of actions of promotion necessary to elevate the level of life of their inhabitants.

The law, with respect for the will of commune and community residents to adopt the conditions most agreeable to them for the use of their productive resources, will regulate the exercise of the rights of community residents over the land, and of each commune resident over his or her own parcel of land. At the same time, it will establish the procedures by which commune and community residents have the power to associate with each other, with the State, or with third parties, and grant the use of their lands; and in conjunction with commune members, it will transmit their parcel rights among the individual members of the concentration of population, equally fixing the requisites and procedures by which the communes in assembly may grant individuals ownership of their parcels. In the case of transfer of parcels, in accordance with the right of preference that the law contains, within a given concentration of population, no commune member may become the owner of more than 5% of commune lands. In all cases the ownership of lands by one commune member must conform to the limits specified in section XV.

The general assembly is the supreme organ of a communal or community concentration of population with the organization and functions that the law specifies in section XV.

The general assembly is the supreme organ of a communal or community concentration of population with the organization and functions that the law specifies. The commune or community property commissioner, elected democratically in terms of the law, is the representative of the concentration of population, is the person responsible for the actions of the concentration, and is responsible for putting into effect the resolutions of the assembly.

The distribution of lands, forests, and waters to concentrations of population will take place in terms of the regulating law.

VIII. The following are declared null and void:

a) All transfers of lands, waters, and mountainous lands belonging to towns, settlements, congregations, or communities, made by the political heads, governors of the states, or by any other state or local authority in contravention to the disposal specified in the law of June 25, 1856, and other relevant laws and dispositions.

b) All concessions, settlements, or sales of lands, waters, and mountainous lands made by the secretariats of Promotion, Finance, or any other federal authority, from the first of December of 1876 to this date, when these lands and waters were invaded and illegally occupied, or of any other class of lands or waters pertaining to towns, settlements, congregations, or communities, and concentrations of population.

c) All acts of surveying or marking boundaries, transactions, transfers, or resolutions that took place during the time referred to in the previous subsection by companies, judges, or other authorities of the States or of the Federation, when these resulted in the illegal invasion or occupation of lands, waters, and mountainous lands of communes, commonly shared lands, or of any other cases belonging to concentrations of population.

Exceptions to the above will include only those lands transferred with regards to the law of June 25, 1856 and possessed with proper title of more than ten years, when their area does not exceed fifty hectares.

IX. The division or distribution that took place among neighbors of a concentration of population with an appearance of legitimacy, and in which there was an error or bad intent shall be nullified when three fourths of the persons are in possession of one fourth of the lands in question, or one fourth of the same persons are in possession of three fourths of the lands.

X. (Repealed);

XI. (Repealed);

XII. (Repealed);

XIII. (Repealed);

XIV. (Repealed);

XV. Large estates remain prohibited in the United Mexican States.

Small agricultural property will be considered anything which does not exceed one hundred hectares of irrigated or non-irrigated prime land, or its equivalent in other classes of land.

For the purposes of equivalence, one hectare of irrigated land will be computed to be as two of secondary land, as four of grazing land of good quality, and as eight of woods, mountainous land, or grazing land in arid areas.

As small property, the land that an individual may have may not exceed one hundred fifty hectares when the lands are used to raise cotton, if they receive irrigation; and of three hundred if they are used for the cultivation of bananas, sugar cane, coffee, henequen, rubber, palm oil, wine grapes, olives, quinine, vanilla, cacao, or fruit trees.

Small ranching property will be considered anything which does not exceed the area necessary to maintain up to five hundred head of large livestock or its equivalent in small livestock, in the terms that the law fixes, in accord with the grazing capacities of the lands.

When, through works of irrigation, drainage, or any other works done by the owners or possessors of a small property, the quality of the land has been improved, the land will continue to be considered small property, even when, by virtue of the improvement obtained, it passes the maximum amounts specified by this section, as long as it remains as one piece of property according to the requisites that the law sets.

When, within one small ranching property, there are improvements in lands and these are dedicated to agricultural uses, the area utilized for these cannot exceed in any case the limits from the second and third paragraphs of this section that correspond to the quality that these lands had before the improvement.

XVI. (Repealed);

XVII. The Congress of the Union and the legislatures of the states in their respective jurisdictions will pass laws that establish the procedures for the dividing and transfer of property that exceeds the limits specified in sections IV and XV of this article.

The excess must be divided and transferred by the owner within the term of a year from the receipt of notification. If the excess has not been transferred by the time the term has elapsed, the sale must be by means of a public auction. When possible, the right of preference will be respected by the regulating law.

State and local laws will determine what the worth of the family is, and determine the goods that belong to it on the basis that it will be inalienable and will not be subject to being frozen or encumbered with liens.

XVIII. All the contracts and concessions made by the previous government since 1876, that have had as a consequence the collection of lands, waters, and natural resources of the Nation for a single person or association, are declared subject to review, and the Executive of the Union will be enable to declare those that involve serious damage to the public interest null and void.

XIX. On the basis of this Constitution, the State will have at its disposal the means for the expedient and honest distribution of agrarian justice, with the object of guaranteeing legal recognition of the tenancy of collective and communal lands, and of small property, and it will support the legal rights of farmers.

All questions on the boundaries of communal and community lands, that have their origin in these, are under federal jurisdiction: pending or ongoing questions among two or more concentrations of population, as well as questions on the possession of the land of communes and communities. For these effects, and in general, for the administration of agrarian justice, the law will institute tribunals given autonomy and full justice with magistrates proposed by the Federal Executive and confirmed by the Chamber of Senators, or, in the Senate's recess, by the Permanent Commission.

The law will establish an organ for pursuit of agrarian justice.

XX. The State will promote conditions for integral rural development, with the object of generating employment and guaranteeing the farming population's well-being and its participation and incorporation in national development, and will promote agriculture and forest activity for the optimum use of land, with works of infrastructure, financial grants, credits, storage services, and technical assistance. At the same time, it will make regulating legislation to plan and organize agricultural production and its industrialization and commercialization, considering the public interest