M e x i c o

7. CRIMINAL LIBEL, CIVIL DEFAMATION: SLANDER AND LIBEL

The Print Law of 1917 sets out certain criminal offenses:

Article 14: ?Criminal liability for offenses referred to in Articles 1, 2 and 3 of this law shall fall directly on authors and their accomplices, the former and the latter being determined under the regulations of the Common Criminal Law and as provided for in the following Articles.?

Article 15. ?In order to put a printed item in circulation, affix to a wall or bulletin board, exhibit it in public, in a shop window, or distribute it by hand, mail or any other way it must unfailingly contain the name of the printing house, lithographer, engraving shop or office where the printing was done, with the exact address of this, the date of printing and the name of the author or person responsible for the printed matter.

?Failure to comply with any of these requirements shall cause the printed matter to be regarded as clandestine and as soon as the municipal authority becomes aware of the fact, it shall prevent its circulation, seize any existing copies, invalidate those that cannot be seized because they have been affixed to walls or billboards, and punish the owner of the printing company or office in which the publication was made with a fine of no less than 25 pesos and no more than 50, without prejudice to the corresponding penalty should the publication amount to a breach of privacy or offense against morals or public peace.

?If the printed matter does not give the name of the author or person responsible for it, this omission in itself shall not carry any penalty whatsoever, but then criminal liability shall be determined under terms of the following Article.?

Article 16: ?When the offense is committed in printed matter, lithography, engraving or any other means of publishing and the identity of the person responsible as the author is unknown, then the one responsible shall, in the case of non-periodical publications, be the editor of the book, brochure, announcement, card or loose sheet and, in his absence, the executive of the printing company or office in which the publication was made and, if there is no such person, the owner of said office.?

Article 17: ?The operators of a printing company, lithography or any other publishing office shall only be held criminally responsible for unlawful publication in the following cases:

I.   When it is fully proven that they are its authors or they provided the information to make it or took part in the production or execution of the crime with full knowledge that it was a punishable offense, whether or not there was prior agreement with the person principally responsible;

II.   When they are at the same time editors of a periodical publication, or the publishers, executives or owners of the office in which the publication was made, in those cases where criminal responsibility falls to them;

III.  When a crime is committed by clandestine publication and those are the ones who did it, so long as they do not produce the author, executive or owner of the office in which the publication was made.?

Article 18: ?News vendors or newsboys shall only be held criminally liable when they fall within any of the cases listed in the previous Article and when, in cases involving anonymous written or printed matter, it is not proven which person or persons delivered the matter to them to be affixed to walls or billboards or to sell, distribute or exhibit them..?

Article 21: ?The editor of a periodical publication is held criminally liable for articles, fillers, briefs, news items and other news or features:

I.   When they are bylined by him or are unsigned, in which case he is presumed to be the author;

II.   When they are bylined by someone else, if they contain a clear invasion of privacy or offense against morals or public peace, unless it is proven that the publication was made without his consent and he could not prevent it except in the case of negligence on his part;

III.  When he has ordered publication of the contested article, paragraph or report, or has provided the information on which it is based, or has expressly approved it.?

Article 25: If mention of the name and address of the author turns out to be false, the respective criminal responsibility shall devolve upon the persons mentioned in the previous Articles.?

Article 26: ?In no case may there appear as editors, publishers or persons responsible for articles, newspapers, books and other publications those who are outside the Republic, in prison, on remand or under caution on charges unrelated to print.

?Non-compliance with this provision shall be subject to administrative penalty, with a fine of 25 to 100 pesos, being responsible for it the executive officer of the printing company, lithography plant, engraving shop or any other place where the publication is made, and the editor, executive officer or owner of the newspaper committing the violation, without prejudice to the criminal liability that may result from non-compliance with the provisions contained in Articles 1, 2 and 3 of this law.?

The 1931 Penal Code for the Federal District and subsequent amendments define the following unlawful acts regarding the press:

Article 350: ?The crime of defamation shall be punishable with up to two years? imprisonment or a fine of 50 to 300 pesos, or both at the discretion of the judge.

?Defamation consists of: deceitfully communicating to one or more persons the imputation made of another person or entity in those cases provided for under the law of an established or undetermined true or false fact that is liable to cause that person dishonor, discredit or harm or expose him to contempt.?

A person accused of defamation is permitted the defense of exceptio veritatis (truth) under terms of Article 351, only in the following cases:

I.   When the alleged defamation is of a depository or agent of authority, or any other person performing duties of a public nature, if the imputation concerns the carrying out of those duties and

II.   When the imputed fact is declared to be true by irrevocable ruling and the accused has acted out of public interest or legitimate private interest and without malicious intent.

?There is no penalty when what are involved are technical opinions on some literary, artistic, scientific or industrial production or on the abilities, education, competency or conduct of another, if it is proven that he acted in carrying out a duty or in the public interest, or with the due reserve he did it for humanity, to provide a service to a relative or a friend, providing a report he had been asked for, so long as it is not done knowing it to be defamatory.

?Also exempted is the author of a written deposition or declaration made in court, as if it contains any defamatory or slanderous utterance, the judge may impose the relevant sanction under the law.?

Article 355: ?It shall be no excuse for defamation or calumny that what is imputed is well known or that the defendant has merely reproduced what has been published in the Republic or abroad.?

Article 356: ?The crime of calumny shall be punishable with six months? to two years? imprisonment or a fine of 2 to 300 pesos, or both at the discretion of the judge, on:

I.   Those who impute a certain fact characterized as a crime under the law, in the event that the imputation is false or the person concerned is innocent;

II.   Those who file defamatory complaints, accusations or lawsuits in which a named person is alleged to have committed a crime when he is known to be innocent or has not committed it and

III.  Those who would make an innocent person appear guilty of a crime by planting in his home or elsewhere evidence pointing to his guilt.?

Article 357: ?Although the innocence of the person defamed is clear or the facts presented in support of the formal complaint or charge are false, the person concerned shall not be liable to punishment if it is fully proven that he had good reason to err.

?Nor shall any penalty whatsoever be applied to the author of a formal complaint or charge if the facts imputed in it are true, even though they do not amount to a crime, and he has erroneously or falsely said they do.?

Article 360: Legal action may not be taken against the author of a slander, defamation or libel other than by the offended person, except in the following cases:

I.   If the offended person has died and the slander or defamation come after his death, only the widow, heirs, descendants and siblings may proceed with the case.

     ?When the slander, defamation or libel precede the death of the offended person, complaints filed by the above-mentioned persons shall not be heard if he had allowed the offense to occur, knowing about it and not having initiated proceedings while alive although having been able to do so, nor having arranged for his heirs to do so, and

II.   When the offense is against the Mexican nation or a foreign nation or government, or against their diplomatic agents in this country. In the former case, it shall be for the Attorney General?s Office to file charges, but in all other cases it shall be for others to initiate proceedings.?

Article 361: ?Slander, defamation and libel of Congress, either of the legislative chambers, the courts or any other official corporate body or institution shall be punishable under terms of the provisions set out herein, without prejudice to those in Article 190 of this Code.?

Article 363: ?Whenever a person is found guilty of slander, defamation or libel, if the offended person so requests the sentence shall be published in three newspapers at the cost of the former. When the offense is committed in a newspaper, its owners, managers or directors, whether or not they have criminal responsibility, shall be required to publish the ruling, being subject to a fine of 100 pesos per day if they fail to do so following the day of notification of sentencing. The amount of the fine may not exceed 10,000 pesos.?

There are other offenses that imply restrictions on news content:

Article 191: ?Anyone insulting the national coat of arms or flag by word or deed shall be subject to six months? to four years? imprisonment or a fine of 50 to 3,000 pesos, or both at the discretion of the judge.?

Article 200: ?Imprisonment of six months to five years or a fine of 300 to 500 days? pay, or both at the discretion of the judge, shall be imposed on:

I.   Anyone producing, reproducing or publishing obscene books, writings, images or objects and anyone displaying, distributing or circulating them;

II.   Anyone publishing by any means or conducting or having others conduct obscene exhibitions;

?Actions of an investigatory, scientific, artistic or technical nature shall not be punishable.?

Article 221-b: ?Anyone disclosing, disseminating or utilizing unduly or to the detriment of others information or images obtained through intercepting private communication shall be subject to six to 12 years? imprisonment and a 300 to 600 pesos fine.?

The Press Law of 1917 sets out the following offenses and regulations:

?Article 29: ?Criminal responsibility for written matter, books, engravings and other objects bought into the Republic in which there are invasion of privacy or offenses against morality or public peace shall fall directly on those persons who import, reproduce or expose them, or failing that, on those who sell or circulate them, unless the latter give evidence as to whom they delivered them for this purpose.?

Article 31: ?Invasion of privacy shall be punishable:

I. With eight days to two years? imprisonment and a fine of 5 to 50 pesos when the offense is not included in the following provision;

II.   With six months? detention to two years? imprisonment and a fine of 100 to 1,000 pesos when the offense is liable to cause affront to public opinion or consist of an imputation or appraisal that may cause considerable harm to the honor, reputation or credit of the injured party, or seriously compromise his life, liberty and rights or interests or expose him to hatred or public contempt.?

Article 32: ?Offenses against morality shall be punishable:

I.   With one to 11 months? detention and a fine of 100 to 1,000 pesos in the case mentioned in Paragraph I of Article 2;

II.   With eight days to six months? detention and a fine of 20 to 500 pesos, in the cases mentioned in Paragraphs II and II of the same Article.?

Article 33: ?Offenses against public order or peace shall be punishable:

I.   With not less than one month?s or more than one year?s imprisonment in the cases mentioned in Paragraph I or Article 3;

II.   In the case of incitement to commit a crime, if the latter occurs immediately after said incitement, it shall be punishable with the penalty that the law stipulates for the crime concerned, considering publication as fourth degree aggravating circumstances. Otherwise, the penalty shall be no less than one-fifth nor be more than one-half of what it would be had the crime been committed;

III.  With not less than three months or more than two years? imprisonment in the case of slander of the Congress of the Union or either of its legislative chambers, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, the Army, Navy or National Guard, or their dependencies;

IV. With six to 18 months? imprisonment and a fine of 100 to 1,000 pesos for slandering the President of the Republic in the carrying out of his duties or by reason of them;

V.  With three to 18 months? imprisonment and a fine of 50 to 500 pesos for slandering Cabinet Members, the Attorney General of the Republic or heads of federal government departments, and the Governors of the Federal and Territorial Districts by reason of their duties;

VI. With one to six months? imprisonment and a fine of 50 to 300 pesos for slandering a Supreme Court justice, a Federal or State Circuit or District Court judge, a lower court judge, whether in the Federal District or in the Territories or the States, an individual of the Federal Legislative Branch or of the state legislatures, or a General or a Colonel in the carrying out of their duties, or for slandering any other corporate public body other than those mentioned in the previous Paragraphs, either Federal or State. If the slander is committed in a session of Congress, court proceedings, or to a General or Colonel in a military parade or in front of their troops, the penalty shall be two months to two years? imprisonment and a fine of 200 to 2,000 pesos;

VII.            With 15 days to three months? imprisonment and a fine of 25 to 200 pesos for slandering anyone in charge of a public force, any of its agents or any other person performing public duties not mentioned in the four preceding Paragraphs in the carrying out of their duties or by reason of them;

     ?VIII.      With one to 11 months? imprisonment and a fine of 50 to 500 pesos in the case of slandering friendly nations or their heads of state or representatives accredited in the country;

IX.  With two months to two years? imprisonment in the case in Paragraph III of Article 30.?

Article 34: ?Whenever the slander of an individual or a public official is perpetrated in a covert or unclear manner and the defendant refuses to give a satisfactory explanation in the view of the judge, he shall be subject to the penalty corresponding to the offense having not been committed in such circumstances. If a satisfactory explanation is given, there shall be no penalty whatsoever.

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