Restorative Justice as an Alternative
Partially meets the criterion.
Mexico has a national legal framework recognizing alternative and restorative mechanisms within the criminal justice system. The National Law on Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms in Criminal Matters regulates mediation, conciliation, and restorative meetings, while the National Code of Criminal Procedure incorporates alternative solutions with recognized procedural effects. In addition, the Office of the Attorney General has a specialized body establishing federal institutional availability to operate these mechanisms.
However, the available sources do not verify consolidated national use of restorative justice specifically in drug-related cases. They also do not establish homogeneous coverage across jurisdictions, frequency of use, restorative outcomes, effective access, or comparable application by prosecutors and courts. Therefore, the criterion is partially met: legal and institutional availability of restorative justice as a criminal-justice alternative exists, but sufficient evidence of effective and drug-specific use remains missing.
Sources (4): the documents that support the traffic light
- Cámara de Diputados del H. Congreso de la Unión. (2026). Código Nacional de Procedimientos Penales, mecanismos alternativos y suspensión condicional del proceso (Legislation)
- Cámara de Diputados del H. Congreso de la Unión. (2026). Ley Nacional de Mecanismos Alternativos de Solución de Controversias en Materia Penal (Legislation)
- Fiscalía General de la República. Órgano Especializado de Mecanismos Alternativos de Solución de Controversias (Regulation or programme)
- Fix-Fierro, H., & López-Ayllón, S. Mecanismos Alternativos de Solución de Controversias y Justicia Restaurativa en México (Academic)
Links lead to the original document or to its archived copy.