On April 17, 2008 a Decree amending and adding various provisions to Mexico’s Federal Commerce Code (Código de Comercio) was published in the OfficialJournal of the Federation. Such changes relate to mercantile procedural law and business disputes arising in Mexico. The reform closes various legal loopholes existing in mercantile procedural law and provides clear rules for business lawsuits to be handled more efficiently. For this purpose, new terms have been created,mainly in the area of appellate law. In addition, the amendment increases the terms for answering lawsuits, effective when the new law enters into force, of 15days to answer an ordinary mercantile lawsuit, and eight days to file an answer on an executive procedure mercantile lawsuit. The above reforms providedefendants more time to prepare their responses, which is seen as a positive step given the fact that the prior terms were nine days to answer an ordinary lawsuitand five days to answer an executive procedural lawsuit, which in the vast majority of cases did not allow defendants to properly prepare their responses. Thisamendment will enter into force 90 days after its publication (July 16, 2008) and will apply only to those lawsuits filed after such date; lawsuits already in progresswill be governed by the previous law.
