Alfonso Sepúlveda García
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Alfonso Sepulveda is a partner at the Mexican Law Firm SEPLAW | Sepúlveda y Díaz Noriega, S.C., which specializes in complex domestic and cross-border litigation and dispute resolution.
Member of the Mexican Bar Association (BMA), the International Law Section of the American Bar Association (ABA), the International Association of Family Lawyers (AIJUDEFA), and the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL).
He is also a member of the International Commercial Arbitration Committee of the Mexican Chapter of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). Member of The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), and Vice-president of the Mexican Chapter of the Club Español e Iberoamericano del Arbitraje (CEIA).
Relevant experiences and positions
Received his JD (Título of Abogado) from the Escuela Libre de Derecho in Mexico City in year 1990, and obtained post-graduate degrees from: the Instituto Federal de Especialistas en Concursos Mercantiles (Bankruptcy Law and Insolvency Proceedings, 2003); from Georgetown Law Center (United States Law, 2002); from the Universidad Iberoamericana (Telecommunications Law, 2001); from the Escuela Libre de Derecho and the International Chamber of Commerce México (International Commercial Arbitration, 2016); from the International Centre of Arbitration, Mediation and Negotiation (CIAMEN) of the Instituto Universitario de Estudios Europeos, Universidad CEU San Pablo, Madrid, Spain (Superior Course on International Commercial Arbitration, 2019).
He has experience in handling civil, commercial, and family law cases before the Mexican State and Federal Courts, in both the trial and appellate levels, including “amparo” proceedings before the Mexican District and Circuit Courts, and the Mexican Supreme Court of Justice.
He is also experienced in handling disputes in a broad range of areas, such as product liability, product recalls, forum non conveniens (FNC), the taking of evidence abroad, the recognition and enforcement of international arbitration awards, court orders, and voluntary agreements; as well as the handling of a wide variety of proceedings based in different Hague Conventions, including the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
He has served as an arbitrator for domestic and crossborder cases under the Rules of the International Court of Arbitration of the ICC, and under the Rules of the Mexican Chamber of Commerce (CANACO).
He has also served as an expert on Mexican Family Law matters before the US Courts and the Courts of England and Wales.
Has been recognized by international publications, such as Latin Lawyer 250, Who´s Who Legal Mexico, Best Lawyers, Leaders League and Chambers for having a high standard in civil and commercial litigation practice.
Some personal questions
What is your opinion on the law / case law on child relocation in your country?
Although Mexico recognizes in its Federal Constitution (CPEUM) that all governmental bodies, when dealing with minors/underage individuals, are to uphold at all times, the “best interest of the child” principle (CPEUM article 3), and the Mexican Courts are also mandated to act swiftly when solving disputes (CPEUM article 17), the forum experience shows that, very unfortunately, oftentimes the Trial Courts are slow when deciding disputes concerning the relocation of children, even slower when the sought relocation implicates the child moving to a foreign country (international relocation).
Because the disputes concerning the relocation of children fall within the field of Family Law, and the latter is a matter of state Law (CPEUM articles 73 and 124), such disputes are normally handled at the trial and appellate levels by the state Courts and not by the Federal Courts, although it is also true that Family Law disputes will usually reach the Federal Courts at some conclusive stages of the Mexican judicial review process to analyze potential violations of the fundamental rights of the litigant parties (“amparo” proceedings).
Mexico has 32 states (federated entities), and since each state has its own trial and appellate courts for family matters, I have experienced that unfortunately the courts of certain states are less efficient and much slower than others in the handling of relocation cases.
In short, when dealing with disputes concerning the international relocation of children, the state Courts, at both the trial and the appellate levels, usually take too long in deciding whether to grant or deny the relocation, which coupled with the long period of time that the Mexican judicial-review process entails, being involved in disputes of this nature can be very frustrating and discouraging for the parent intending or needing to relocate.
What is your advice to parents who are thinking about relocating with a child?
Because as a matter of Mexican statutory law, the rule is that both parents will hold rights of “patria potestad” over their minor children, I would advise the parent intending or needing to relocate, to conduct all necessary efforts to get the free will/voluntary consent of the other parent for the relocation of their child/children, avoiding the need to litigate the matter before the Mexican Courts.
What would you like to say to judges handling child relocation cases?
In addition to the traditional factual backgrounds that commonly underlie relocation cases, it is a fact that, nowadays, social media networking, including all the online dating resources, have enabled people from different countries, nationalities, and cultures to meet, fraternize, and even to engage in intimate relationships.
From said social media source, people from different cultures start living together as a couple in a country which is usually the place of habitual residence of one of them but foreign to the other.
Many children have been born or adopted from those couples, but when their partner relationships or marriages break up, one of the parents will usually want to go “back home” and if “home” is in a foreign country, problems will commonly arise, namely because they will need to decide where their child/children will also be relocated.
Absent an agreement in that regard, disputes of international relocation will arise, and the Courts must be prepared to solve the cases properly and swiftly for the best interest of the subject child/children.
What do you think is important to do or not do as an attorney in child abduction cases?
While handling international child abduction cases, I have sadly experienced that some Mexican opposing counsel are not aware that our country is a signatory to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, and therefore, as a matter of Mexican statutory Law (CPEUM article 133), the provisions of said international convention are at the same hierarchical level as those of the Mexican Federal Constitution, and therefore its mandates need to be fully observed by all Mexican governmental bodies, including by the Mexican Courts.
Consequently, counsel entertaining the Courts with allegations and motions that violate such Convention should know that Courts are obligated to disregard such requests.
What is your advice to parents dealing with international child abduction?
That Mexico, being a signatory to the said Hague Convention on Child Abduction, will be observing its provisions, principles, and guidelines.
Additionally, and very importantly, the precedents, both binding (jurisprudencia) and/or persuasive (tesis aisladas), that the Mexican Highest Courts (Supreme Court of Justice, the Circuit Courts, and the Regional Plenary Courts) have issued concerning child abduction matters favor the strict observance and compliance with said International Convention.
Consequently, my advice to parents is to rest assured that in their abduction case, the rules of the Hague will eventually prevail, even if it takes the Mexican Courts a while to decide this type of cases.