E-COMMERCE, FINTECH AND CRYPTOCURRENCIES IN COMMERCIAL LAW
The context of the global pandemic has a negative impact on many areas of human life and, in some others, forces us to adapt more quickly to processes that began to develop just a few years ago. The performance of procedures and services at a distance, the boom of e-commerce, the boom of companies known as fintechs and the irruption of cryptocurrencies to the global reality of our times are issues whose legal framework should be expanded and updated as soon as possible.
For attorney Luis Robles Santamarina, whose specialty is commercial litigation, it is precisely on these issues where one of the main challenges for the authorities in the coming years is concentrated.
Robles Santamarina represents a generation of young litigators who have experienced this transition in a gradual manner and who, since the pandemic, have accompanied it in this process of acceleration. This is why he can make a clear analysis projecting the future.
«I believe that one of the challenges in Mexico is that commercial legal regulation must evolve to fully recognize the new reality. It is already starting in terms of electronic contracting; the existing electronic signature in the Code of Commerce (Código de Comercio) and in the banking legislation are a big step, as well as the regulation, quite extensive, of fintechs. However, I think that there is still a need to improve the existing regulation and to evolve in other aspects such as the cryptocurrency industry and everything related to clean energy. These are the three areas that will dominate the commercial law landscape in the coming years» he says.
Another observation is that this transformation also requires more agile and efficient procedures to execute judgemenets:
«Even though there has been progress in the establishment of oral commercial proceedings for disputes of a certain amount, to cite an example, these are still too formal, with many instances.
The mechanisms are still inefficient and cumbersome, so that enforcing a judgment in favor of a client becomes very complicated in Mexico. This does not help trade or the country’s economy, due to the high legal risks arising from these difficulties» he explains.
The mechanisms are still inefficient and cumbersome, so that enforcing a judgment in favor of a client becomes very complicated in Mexico. This does not help commerce or the country’s economy, due to the high legal risks that arise from these difficulties» he explains.
The challenge in this case is to find a process that strikes a healthy balance in order to guarantee the human rights of the parties, without sacrificing the speed and efficiency necessary in commercial proceedings.
A graduate of the Escuela Libre de Derecho and with a master’s degree from Northwestern University in the United States, Luis Robles Santamarina is currently a civil law professor at the Escuela Libre de Derecho and partner of the firm Ramirez Ornelas, which specializes in civil, commercial and administrative litigation. A firm with strict policies as to the type of matters it takes on.
«We prefer to take on fewer matters, so that we have enough time and resources to attend to each one as it is due. This selective policy allows us to us to provide a better service to our clients» he says.
In addition to the firm’s selective policy, the partners also handle pro bono matters.
«In my case, my pro bono practice has focused on family matters. I currently have several divorce cases and alimony disputes. I believe that these types of matters are where I can contribute the most to society. Family is the foundation of society and family matters can be the most important and sensitive» he concludes.
The course of Mexican law is in the hands of this generation of lawyers, with capability and social commitment, who do not stop preparing themselves for the changing scenarios at a global level.
