CAT/OP/MEX/1/Add.2 disturbance of the public peace or any other occurrence which places society in grave danger or conflict, only the President of the United Mexican States shall, in agreement with the heads of the state departments and the Office of the AttorneyGeneral of the Republic and with the approval of the Congress of the Union or, if in recess, the Standing Committee, be empowered to restrict or suspend throughout the country or in a specific location the exercise of any rights or guarantees which obstruct the rapid and expeditious handling of the situation […].” Transitional article 4 stipulates that an act implementing article 29 of the Constitution in regard to suspension of the exercise of rights and guarantees has to be promulgated within a maximum period of one year; • The Act Regulating the Expulsion of Aliens: The amendment to article 33 of the Constitution states: “[…] The Executive of the Union shall be empowered, following a hearing, to expel foreign nationals from the national territory pursuant to the law, which shall regulate the administrative procedure and the place and duration of detention.” Transitional article 5 stipulates that the act implementing article 33 of the Constitution in regard to expulsion of aliens shall be promulgated within a maximum period of one year. Until that act is promulgated, this article will continue to apply under the terms of the text currently in force; • Carrying out necessary adjustments to the state legislatures for the purpose of granting autonomy to state human rights agencies; • Carrying out necessary adjustments to the National Human Rights Commission Act concerning investigative powers. 2. Reform of the criminal justice system 33. The reform, which was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on 18 June 2008, is intended to speed up the administration of justice through oral proceedings and establishes a system where the rights of both victims and suspects are respected, which will result in the strengthening of due process. The main provisions in the area of human rights include the following: • The transition from the formal accusatory or mixed criminal justice system to the oral accusatorial model based on adversarial, consolidated, single and direct public proceedings; • The establishment of the principle of presumption of innocence for every accused person, which was already provided for; • The recognition of the right of every accused person to make a statement or remain silent and the prohibition of incommunicado detention, intimidation and torture; • The denial of the probative value of any confession made without the presence of defence counsel and of any evidence obtained in violation of fundamental rights; • The establishment of a reasonable trial time limit of four months in the case of crimes for which the penalty does not exceed two years or of one year if the penalty exceeds that term; • The institution of the right of the accused to an adequate defence by a lawyer of his or her choice or by a public defender, who, where applicable, is appointed by the judge, and the recognition of the inalienable right to a defence and the obligation of the State to provide such defence; • The recognition of the right of the accused to be tried in public; GE.13-41196 (EXT) 9