THE GENERAL LAW ON ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE SETTLEMENT MECHANISMS (MASC) COMES INTO EFFECT
By: Juan Carlos Aguirre
In Mexico, alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, also called jurisdictional equivalents or alternative justice procedures, are so well established and recognized by the Constitution and legislation as is the administration of justice. They encourage civil society participation and have some advantages over formal judicial procedures.
The MASC Law not only seeks to prevent and resolve conflicts directly by those involved, but also standardizes non-jurisdictional procedures throughout the country, which implies reaching resolutions in much shorter periods and significantly reducing costs, both for the parties and for the Federal Judicial Branch and for each entity; always hand in hand with the principles of will, promptness, honesty, confidentiality and economy.
This law recognizes, but is not limited to, alternative dispute resolution mechanisms: (i) negotiation, (ii) collaborative negotiation, (iii) mediation, (iv) conciliation and (v) arbitration.
The people empowered to apply the law are known as facilitators, who may be public or private and will have public faith regarding the certification of the agreements signed by the parties, so they must be certified by the Federal Judicial Branch or of each federal entity, as well as the local and federal Administrative Justice Courts in their respective areas of jurisdiction.
For the processing of alternative mechanisms, interested parties must request access to any Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanism Center, which may be public or private, but in the case of the latter they will have to pay the fees that For this purpose, it is agreed with the facilitators.
The MASC Law opens the possibility of carrying out the procedure through the use of electronic means, which represents a greater advantage over judicial procedures.
Once the parties manage to sign an agreement, these will have res judicata effects from their registration and registration in the System of Agreements belonging to each Public Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms of the Judicial Branch of each federal entity or of the Branch. Federal Judicial.
Restorative and therapeutic justice processes are also considered here, in addition to guidelines for alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in the administrative field.
This Law is applicable to current administrative procedures or trials before the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection, National Water Commission, as well as before state and municipal environmental authorities. At B + F we provide the necessary legal advice to our clients for the implementation of these Mechanisms.