Mexico 1917 Constitution (reviewed 2015)

TITLE FOUR. Public Servants’ Accountability, Individuals related to Administrative Liabilities or Corruption Acts

Article 108

For the purposes of this Title, public servants or civil servants are the representatives elected by popular vote; the members of the Federal Judicial Branch; the members of the Judicial Branch of the Federal District; the officials, the public employees and, in general, any person who holds any position or assignment in the Congress of the Union, in the Federal District’s Assembly of Representatives, in the federal government or in the Federal District Government. Public servants are also the persons who work in the autonomous bodies created by this Constitution. Public servants are accountable for the acts or omissions they commit in the performance of their duties.

The President of the Republic, during his term in office, may be impeached only for treason or serious common crimes.

Governors, representatives of the State Houses, magistrates of the States Supreme Courts, members of the local Judicial Councils, members of the Municipal Councils and the members of the autonomous entities established in the local constitutions or the autonomous entities established by the Federal District Charter, shall be liable for infringements against this Constitution and federal laws, as well as for mishandling federal funds and resources.

The constitutions of the States shall detail the public servants that perform any job, position or assignment in the state or municipal government according to the terms described in the first paragraph of this article in order to establish the effects of their performance. Those public servants shall be accountable for the mishandling of public resources or for public debt.

The public servants described in this article shall submit, under oath, a declaration of assets and properties and a declaration of interests before the corresponding authorities and according to the terms defined by the law.

Article 109

Public servants and individuals that infringe the law in regard to the responsibilities with the State shall be penalized according to the following:

1. The public servants mentioned in the Article 110 can be impeached and punished when during their time in office they commit acts or omissions that affect fundamental public interests or they affect their proper exercise.Impeachment due to expression of ideas is not accepted.
2. Perpetration of crimes by any public servant or individuals that commit corruption acts shall be prosecuted according to the applicable criminal law.The laws shall establish the cases and circumstances in which criminal sanction shall proceed due to illicit enrichment to the public servants that during their term in office or because of it increase their assets or estate and which legal origin can not be proved. The laws shall state that this type of offence shall require confiscation of the assets as penalty among others that may apply.
3. Administrative penalties shall be imposed to the public servants who commit acts or omissions affecting their legality, honesty, loyalty, impartiality and efficiency while performing their duties or commissions. Reprimand, suspension, dismissal, and banning constitute administrative penalties. Economic penalties shall be established according to the economic benefits that the accused obtained by the misuse or abuse of public office. The law shall determine the procedures for the investigation and prosecution of these acts.The Federal Auditing Office, the Comptroller Offices or their partners in the local governments will investigate the administrative offences accordingly and the resolution will be made by the Administrative Justice Court that correspond. Other offences and sanctions will be resolved by the internal comptroller offices.

   For the investigation, prosecution and resolution of the administrative responsibilities of the member of the Federal Judicial Power the procedures will follow the Article 94 of this Constitution regardless the powers of the Federal Auditing Office in terms of the accountability on the management, use and safekeeping of public resources.

   The law shall establish the cases and procedures to challenge the categories given by the internal comptroller offices about administrative offences as severe or not severe.

   The federal agencies shall have a comptroller office with the powers stated by the law to prevent, correct and investigate those acts or omissions that may constitute administrative responsibilities. The comptroller offices may punish those administrative offences that are not in the jurisdiction of the Federal Administrative Court, it also may supervise the revenues, expenditures, management, safe-keeping and use of the federal public resources, as well as to present inquiries for acts and omissions that may constitute a criminal offence before the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecution Office.

   The local and municipal public agencies, as well as the public agencies of the Federal District and its territorial divisions shall have internal comptroller offices that will be responsible for the local supervision and powers stated in the previous paragraph

4. The Administrative Justice Courts shall impose economic sanctions, disqualifications to participate in public tenders, leasing other services; as well as to establish the restoration of the damages caused to the Treasury or the federal, local or municipal agencies to those individuals that participated in serious administrative offences regardless of other type of responsibilities that emerge from these actions. Companies shall be punished in terms of this provision when the acts related to serious administrative offences are performed by individuals that act in representation of the company or to its benefit. The Court may also order suspension of activities, dissolution or intervention to the respective company when the offences produce damages to the Treasury or federal, local or municipal agencies, given that this company has obtained a pecuniary benefit of these activities and that there is proof that its administrative, supervision organs or its partners have systematically used the company to participate in administrative offences. In this case, the punishment will be executed once the final resolution is issued. The laws shall establish the procedures to the investigation and punishment to those acts and omissions.The procedures for the punishment application in the cases mentioned in the previous paragraph shall be independent. Never shall a punishment for one single action be applied more than once.

Any citizen, by its own responsibility and presenting the corresponding evidence, may present before the House of Representatives an inquiry about the acts and omissions mentioned in this article.

Provisions in regard to fiscal and financial secrecy or protection of data in deposit, management, savings or investment operations shall not proceed when the agencies responsible of investigation and sanction of administrative responsibilities or corruption acts are performing its duties. The law shall establish the procedures in which this information will be delivered.

The Federal Auditing Office and the Ministry responsible for the internal control of the Federal Executive, may use the resolutions of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecution Office and the Federal Administrative Justice Court, as stated in article 20 part C item VII and article 104 of this Constitution.

The State’s responsibility for the damages caused to the rights and property of the individuals due to its irregular administration shall be objective and direct. The individuals will have the right to compensation according to the basis, limits and procedures established by law.

Article 110

The following civil servants may be impeached: members of the Senate, members of the House of Representatives, Justices of the Supreme Court of Justice, Councilors of the Federal Judicial Council, Secretaries of State, members of the Federal District’s Assembly of Representatives, the Head of the Federal District Government, the Attorney General of the Nation, the Attorney General of the Federal District, the circuit magistrates, district judges, magistrates and judges of ordinary courts in the Federal District, Councilors of the Federal District’s Judicial Council, the President of the Electoral Council, Electoral Councilors and the Executive Secretary of the National Electoral Institute, magistrates of the Electoral Court, the members of the constitutional autonomous organs, and the general managers of the decentralized agencies, semipublic companies, associations assimilated by semipublic companies and public trusts.

Governors, local representatives, magistrates of the local superior courts and the members of the local judicial councils, as well as the members of the local agencies that the local constitutions and the Federal District Charter grants autonomy; they may only be impeached in reason of: a) serious infringement of this Constitution and the federal laws derived from it, b) mishandling federal funds and resources. However, the ruling shall be only declarative and shall be notified to the state legislature in order to implement the pertinent proceeding.

Penalties for public servants shall be: dismissal from office and disqualification to perform any public function, job, position or assignment in the public service.

The procedure shall be as follows: the House of Representatives shall substantiate the case, shall hear the accused and the absolute majority of the members of the House shall declare the impeachment. Then the House of Representatives shall submit the impeachment to the Senate.

The Senate shall carry out the necessary proceedings and shall hear the accused. The Senate then shall become jury and shall impose the appropriate penalty by the vote of the two-thirds of the members present.

Rulings pronounced by the House of Representatives and the Senate are irrefutable.

Article 111

Members of the Senate, members of the Chamber of Deputies, Justices of the Supreme Court of Justice, magistrates of the Supreme Electoral Court, Councilors of the Federal Judicial Council, Secretaries of State, members of the Federal District’s Assembly of Representatives, the Head of the Federal District Government, the Attorney General of the Nation, the Attorney General of the Federal District, as well as the President of the Electoral Council and Electoral Councilors of the General Council of the National Electoral Institute may be indicted for perpetration of crimes during their terms. The House of Representatives shall declare, by absolute majority of the present deputies, whether there are grounds to proceed against the accused.

A negative declaration by the House of Representatives shall suspend any further procedure. However, such a suspension shall not resolve the indictment in a definitive way. Once the accused finish his term in office, a criminal trial shall begin if the charges remain.

If the House of Representatives declare the indictment, the individual shall be turned over the respective authorities, which shall proceed according to the law.

The President of the Republic may be charged only before the Senate and according to the provisions established by the Article 110. The senate shall resolve the case observing the applicable criminal law.

Governors, local representatives, magistrates of the local superior courts and the members of the local judicial council, and members of the local entities that are granted autonomy by the local constitution or the Federal District Charter may be indicted for federal crimes and shall follow the procedures established in this article. However, the indictment ruling shall be only declarative and shall be notified to the state legislature in order to implement the pertinent proceedings.

Rulings pronounced by the House of Representatives and the Senate are irrefutable.

If the resolution declares the indictment, the public servant shall be removed from office while is on trial. In the event of acquittal, the accused can resume duties. In the event of guilty verdict, pardon may not be granted to the accused, provided that the crime was perpetrated during his term.

Related to lawsuits on civil matter against any public servant, it is not necessary that the Congress declare the indictment.

Prison sentences shall be applied according to that established in the criminal law. In the case of crimes where the perpetrator obtains economic benefit or cause damage or loss to property, prison sentence shall be proportional to the profit obtained by the accused and to the damages and losses caused by his unlawful conduct.

Economic penalties cannot exceed three times the amount of gains obtained or the damages or losses caused.

Article 112

It is not necessary that the House of Representatives declare the indictment when any public servant, mentioned in the first paragraph of the Article 111, perpetrates a crime when he is not holding office.

However, if the public servant resumes duties or has been appointed or elected for a new position, which is mentioned in the Article 111, he shall be indicted according to such article.

Article 113

The National Anticorruption System will be the coordinating entity between the authorities of every government level responsible for prevention, detection and punishment of administrative responsibilities in corruption acts, as well as the surveillance and control of public resources. For the fulfillment of its objectives it will adhere to the following provisions:

1. The National Anticorruption System shall have a Coordinating Committee that will be formed with the directors of: the Federal Auditing Office, the Specialized Anticorruption Prosecution Office, the Federal Ministry responsible for internal control, the president of the Administrative Justice Court, the president of the National Transparency Agency, one representative of the Federal Judicial Council and one representative of the Citizen Participation Committee.
2. The Citizen Participation Committee of the National Anticorruption System shall be formed by five citizens that have distinguished themselves for their contributions to transparency, accountability and the anticorruption movement. They will be nominated according to the law.
3. The Coordination Committee of the National Anticorruption System will be responsible for:
   1. The establishment of a mechanism of coordination with the local systems
   2. The design and advancement of comprehensive policies in regard to accountability and control of public resources, policies about prevention, control and deterrence of administrative offences and acts of corruption with special focus on the causes of these acts.
   3. The establishments of mechanisms for the generation, systematization, sharing and update of the information in regard to these topics that the institutions generate.
   4. The establishment of basis and principles for the effective coordination between authorities of different government levels in regard to accountability policies and control of public resources.
   5. The creation of an annual report that details the results and progress in the exercise of their functions and the implementation of anticorruption of policies and programs.As a result of this report, the System may issue nonbinding recommendations to the corresponding authority in order for them to implement the measures and procedures to strengthen the institution and prevent administrative offences and corruption acts. The authorities that receive these recommendations shall inform the Committee about the implementation of those recommendations.

The States and the Federal District shall establish local anticorruption systems to coordinate the corresponding local authorities about the prevention, detection and punishment of administrative responsibilities and corruption acts.

Article 114

Impeachment against a public servant can be initiated only during the period of time he is holding office and within the first year after such term. Punishments shall be applied within the first year after that proceedings have initiated.

Crimes perpetrated by a public servant during the period of time he is holding the office shall be punished according to the statutes of limitations provided by the criminal law. Such terms shall never be shorter than three years. Statute of limitations shall be interrupted while the public servant holds any of the offices listed in the Article 111.

The law shall establish the cases where the statute of limitations shall be applied to administrative liability, taking into account the nature and consequences of the acts or omissions mentioned in the Article 109, paragraph III. Statute of limitations shall never be shorter than seven years for serious acts or omissions.