In Mexico, legal concepts such as authority and granting of powers of attorney are covered in local Civil Codes, which are issued by the local Congress or Legislative Assembly of each Mexican state, which are found in and individually regulated by the 32 Civil Codes in force in Mexico. Even though these legal provisions may seem uniform, various particular differences exist in each one of the civil codes, which must be taken into consideration when considering grants of authority or powers of attorney. In this sense, it is safe to say that certain Civil Codes have similar provisions for the granting, amendment, termination, exercise and term of powers of attorney, as is the case with the current Civil Codes of the states of Aguascalientes, Baja California, Campeche, Colima, Distrito Federal, Durango, Hidalgo, Oaxaca, Queretaro, and Veracruz. However, in the other states’ Civil Codes currently in force, a number of special provisions and differences exist, including the following: i) restrictions regarding term or duration of a power of attorney, as in the case of the state of Jalisco, which provides that, unless in certain cases where a power of attorney is understood to be renewed, no power of attorney may be granted for longer than a term of five years; and in the Civil Code of the state of Mexico, which provides that a power of attorney must state its duration or term, and in contrary cases such maximum duration is three years; ii) with respect to the required transcription of powers of attorney, it is understood that in the state of Jalisco there is no requirement to insert a transcription of any article; iii) special requirements that a power of attorney must have in order to donate property, as in the case of the state of Quintana Roo where it is not possible to grant apower of attorney for making donations; iv) with respect to the termination or continuation of powers of attorney after the death of the party granting the power of attorney; v) with respect to formalities that must be met and cases in which powers of attorney are granted orally, through a simple private letter, or through public instruments; vi) special cases and provisions regarding irrevocable powers of attorney; and vii) with respect to cases in which the agent is authorized to make decisions regarding medical treatment or health conditions resulting from incapacitation of the granting party. Given the existence of the special provisions in each local jurisdiction, it is always advisable to review specific applicable laws at the time the power of attorney is granted in order to avoid situations where the validity of the power of attorney may be called into question to negate legal acts or judicial procedures carried out as a result of the power of attorney conferred by a principle to an agent.
