The Removal of Criminal Cases to the Federal Jurisdiction: A Study of the Mexican Reforms of 2012-2013

Abstract

The article deals with the main situations in which criminal jurisdictions can collide at national level, or in which the courts resolve the jurisdictional conflicts which arise. It focuses mainly on Mexico, and it uses a comparative approach. It analyzes the most common conflict, that is: the possibility of removing or remanding a case from local or State Courts to Federal Courts. The article aims at mapping the main problems posed that this type of conflict in the criminal jurisdictions, and at pointing out what the solutions have been in different countries. It also tries to establish some minimum standards regarding the capacity of federal authorities to remove a particular case from state or local Courts, particularly in Mexico, after the procedural reforms of 2012 and 2013 to punish the crimes against freedom of expression and particularly against journalists.