A Dialogue between Hispanic Law and U.S. Law: The Roots of the Amparo and Civil Rights Injunctions

José Ignacio Hernández (Visiting Scholar, Boston College Law School) & Sergio J. Campos (Professor of Law, Boston College Law School)

The origins and evolution of the amparo suit is a case study of the dialogue between the Hispanic and U.S. Law. The amparo, first codified in the Mexican Acta de Reformas of 1847, was influenced by the U.S. legal tradition of judicial review, a conversation that was facilitated by the writings of John Adams. But Adams himself was inspired by Spanish law, particularly the fueros of Aragon. It is this blend of Hispanic and English legal traditions (with an assist by the Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville) that gave birth to the amparo in Hispanic Latin America. But these same sources would only have a delayed impact on the civil rights injunction, which only blossomed during the 1960s civil rights movement in the United States. We trace this history to suggest some central contributions of a unique American legal tradition.

This conversation will be part of a series devoted to exploring the dialogue and connections between the Hispanic and the U.S. Law.