The purpose of the Broader Borders project is to promote U.S.-Mexico scholarship at the University of San Diego by increasing inter-institutional and cross-border collaboration with libraries in Mexico City and the border region.
This project is a joint venture between USD's Legal Research Center and Copley Library and was funded in part by the Trans-Border Institute of the University of San Diego.
For Copley's Broader Border page, please click here.
San Diego’s geographic, social, and political nexus with Mexico and our University’s commitment to the study of trans-border as well as peace and justice issues have created an environment where the considerable acquisition of materials on the law of Mexico is a necessity. The Legal Research Center's Mexican Law collection includes primary source materials in the Spanish language, as well as English and Spanish language analytic or “secondary” monographs, journals, and treatises.
As is true of most contemporary legal research endeavors, significant free and commercial digital collections compliment our basic print-paper materials, including the Inter-American Database and the Westlaw and Lexis research systems. Lexis and Westlaw disseminate much of the basic primary authority generated by the Government of Mexico in its law making process. At present, Westlaw publishes a current version of the Diario Oficial de la Federacion as well as ENFLEX, a database of all currently available environmental, health and safety regulations for Mexico. Lexis provides access to the decisions of the Supreme Court of Mexico (Jurisprudencia de la Corte Suprema de Mexico) and the central Códigos de México, including the Civil and Penal Codes. Taken together, the Westlaw and Lexis research systems offer student and faculty important full-text access to the primary authority of Mexico.
In addition, the Legal Research Center is proud to support the scholarship of USD School of Law Professor Jorge A. Vargas who teaches Mexican Law, Comparative Law, NAFTA Law, International Environmental Law, and Law of the Sea. He is the author of several English language treatises on Mexican Law including:
Professor Vargas also oversees our donation and exchange program with the Universidad Iberoamericana. For more information on that program please contact him at mexlaw@sandiego.edu.
