461.Note also that the response to applications from the authorities comes swiftly, as the courts operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. 462.For a clearer understanding of the reforms of the Mexican criminal justice system we would add the following: 463.On 18 June 2008, the Decree amending and supplementing various provisions of the Constitution of the United Mexican States was published in the Official Gazette, which guarantees oral adversarial criminal proceedings governed by the adversarial principle, openness, continuity, and immediacy, establishing various rights for victims of crimes or injured parties, as well as the likely perpetrators. 464.The amended Constitution provides that the Federation, the states and the Federal District, within the scope of their respective powers, may enact and implement such legislation and amendments thereto as are necessary to incorporate the adversarial system into their legal systems within eight years of publication in order to give full effect to the individual guarantees and human rights. 465.The Ministry of the Interior is conducting an assessment of the true situation of the criminal justice system that covers torture, other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and an international comparative study to compare the evolution of criminal procedure legislation in Mexico and elsewhere. 466.The ministry is also promoting projects aimed at harmonizing legislation, at both procedural and substantive levels, so that the typical definitions and penalties for offences are determined at federal and federal-state level in accordance with international and regional standards. 467.The process of penal reform in Mexico should be analysed at both federal and state levels. Notwithstanding the constitutional amendments published in the Official Gazette on 18 June 2008, they will have an impact on both the federal entities and the Federation, so it is expected that the results will be different in each sphere. This is because the text of the Constitution makes a number of exceptions to the adversarial system that apply to the federal authorities only, as they have jurisdiction for the prosecution of organized crime offences (preventive custody, preconceived evidence, special prisons). To coordinate this reform process, on 13 October 2008 the Coordinating Council for the implementation of the Criminal Justice System was set up as the government entity composed of representatives of the three branches of government at federal and state levels, responsible for directing and devising relevant strategies for putting into effect the new model of justice contained in the above constitutional reform. Its aim is to ensure that the system operates and performs in a manner that is comprehensive, consistent and effective throughout the country, and compliant with the principles laid down in the Constitution. 468.Between its founding in June 2009 and January 2011 the Council has met seven times and among other things has worked out arrangements for approving the training and dissemination programme of the Council’s Technical Secretariat, the strategy for implementing the constitutional reform in the federal entities and the guidelines for allocating resources for implementing the reform in the states. 469.In the same vein, the Technical Secretariat of the Coordinating Council for the Implementation of the Criminal Justice System (SETEC) was set up, tasked with implementing the decisions of the Council, supporting the local and federal authorities in their process of implementing the new criminal justice system and channelling financial support and expert assistance to the federal entities. It has taken a comprehensive approach to the reform process, based on five main areas: legislation, interinstitutional relations, training and dissemination, technical assistance and administration. Those areas are the foundation for the relationships and work with the institutions and players that share responsibility for carrying out the reform. 470.In the legislative field, SETEC has worked hard to coordinate the efforts of various agencies of the Federal Executive to draft a Federal Code of Criminal Procedure, enhanced by analysis and comments of the Coordinating Council. On the instructions of the Coordinating Council, the draft was referred to the Legal Service of the Federal Executive for the addition of the formalities relating to the explanatory introduction, the transitional arrangements and any other arrangements deemed necessary to prepare the draft for submission to the head of the Federal Executive, who in turn will submit it as a bill before the Congress of the Union. 471.The players involved in this implementation process are not only government authorities; there is also citizen participation. The task of federal government, through SETEC, is to coordinate the efforts of: Offices of State attorneys-general’s and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Republic; State courts and the Supreme Court; State and federal ministries of public security; State legislatures and the Congress of the Union; Offices of public defenders; Universities; Public human rights commissions, and Organized civil society. 472.In this context, SETEC carried out a variety of activities in response to particular circumstances in 27 of the 32 Mexican states.Among other things, the Implementation Strategy was produced for the federal entities, as a manual illustrating national and international best practices in relevant policy areas, and including two key technological planning tools:a simulation model and a