Dear Clients and Friends,
In recent days, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) issued a ruling regarding the Fifth Transitory Article established in the Mining Law, following its reform on May 8, 2025.
This article provides that all applications for new mining concessions shall be automatically dismissed, even if they were submitted in full compliance with all requirements for their granting.
On September 25 of this year, the SCJN resolved two amparo proceedings filed by private individuals challenging the application of this article, producing an analysis that established important criteria on this matter.
Regarding one of the trials, the petitioner, Rosa Isela de la Rocha Nevárez, challenged the decree on formal defects in the legislative process leading to its enactment. The SCJN determined that the submission of a mining concession application does not generate an acquired right, but merely constitutes a legal expectation that does not guarantee the applicant the granting of the concession.
On the other hand, in the other amparo trial, the petitioner, Carlos Moisés Pérez Carrasco, argued that the automatic dismissal of all pending mining concession applications would violate the principle of non-retroactivity enshrined in Article 14 of the Mexican Constitution. In this regard, the SCJN issued a favorable resolution, finding that applications submitted prior to the entry into force of the reform must be resolved in accordance with the law in effect at the time of their submission.
This decision opens a positive outlook for all individuals who submitted mining concession applications prior to the reform’s entry into force, as it sets a precedent to be relied upon by the Circuit Collegiate Courts to provide legal certainty and protect their rights and interests.
Should you have any questions or comments regarding the foregoing, please do not hesitate to call your usual contact in the Firm.
Errata Notice for the Legal Alert
Dear Clients and Friends,
Through this communication, we issue a correction regarding the bulletin previously circulated on Tuesday, September 30 of this year, under the title “La Suprema Corte resuelve controversia del artículo 5º transitorio de la Ley Minera” in which reported on recent rulings by the Mexican Supreme Court of Justice (SCJN) concerning the Fifth Transitory Article of the Mining Law, as amended on May 8, 2023.
In the circulated version, it was stated that one of the appeals for review proceedings discussed in the SCJN’s session held on September 25 of this year had been resolved favorably for the petitioner, specifically the amparo filed by Mr. Carlos Moisés Pérez Carrasco.
We must clarify that this information was inaccurate, as both, the aforementioned appeal for review, as well as the one filed by Ms. Rosa Isela de la Rocha Nevárez, were decided negatively. The SCJN confirmed that the mere filing of a mining concession application does not imply that it is automatically granted but rather constitutes a simple expectation of rights.
By doing so, the SCJN expressly upheld the constitutionality of the Fifth Transitory Article, consolidating the jurisprudential line holding that mining concession applications filed prior to the entry into force of the reform do not constitute acquired rights, and reaffirming that the provision stated in the fifth transitory article, which discards applications for new mining concessions as established in the May 8, 2023 reform does not amount to a violation of the constitutional principle of non-retroactivity set forth in Article 14 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States.
Notwithstanding that the amparo proceedings were resolved unfavorably and the constitutionality of the Fifth Transitory Article of the Mining Law was confirmed, this does not mean that applications for new concessions should be considered automatically dismissed. Even in this scenario, the General Directorate of Mines is required to issue an express, duly reasoned and grounded resolution for each application, which, while not creating an expectation of a favorable outcome, ensures that every application receives a formal response from the authority.
Should you have any questions or comments regarding the foregoing, please do not hesitate to call your usual contact in the Firm.
Mining
Pablo Méndez / pablo.mendez@ecrubio.com
Alejandro Guerra / alejandro.guerra@ecrubio.com
Jorge Hernández / jorge.hernandez@ecrubio.com
Daniel Rico / daniel.rico@ecrubio.com
Martín Miranda / martin.miranda@ecrubio.com
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