As with most civil law jurisdictions, Mexico does not have a formal discovery process. Under Mexican law, in civil and commercial proceedings, a party to litigation has no obligation to deliver or disclose to the counterparty any information related to the subject matter of the dispute. However, Mexican law establishes means to obtain the evidence in question following the commencement of proceedings, either as a pre-trial preparatory procedure (medios preparatorios a juicio) or during the evidentiary stage of the trial.

The obligation to produce documents arises if such documents are related to a proceeding and are requested by a court. In order for a court to order the disclosure of documents by a party to proceedings (and/or a third party), the following conditions must be satisfied:

• The documents are not obtainable from a party to the litigation
• The documents are necessary, as relevant evidence to prove the disputed facts, in order to prosecute or defend the action
• The documents are specifically identified by the requesting party (as opposed to a generic description)