Héctor Fix-Zamudio (24 September 1924 – 27 January 2021) was a Mexican jurist.

Education

Born in the downtown quarter of Mexico City, Fix-Zamudio studied law at the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public university, public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countri ...

(UNAM), where he earned his bachelor's degree in 1956 and his doctorate (magna cum laude) in 1972. He also received honorary doctoral degrees from the

University of Seville The University of Seville (''Universidad de Sevilla'') is a university in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. Founded under the name of ''Colegio Santa María de Jesús'' in 1505, in 2022 it has a student body of 57,214,U-Ranking Universidades español ...

(Spain), the

University of Colima The University of Colima (in Spanish: ''Universidad de Colima'') is a Mexican public university with several campuses across the state of Colima, bordering the Pacific Ocean. It was created on September 16, 1940 by the President Lázaro Cárdenas ...

(Mexico), the ''

Universidad Externado de Colombia The Universidad Externado de Colombia (Externado University of Colombia) is a private university in Bogotá, Colombia. It has produced graduates including lawyers, academics, judges, financiers, journalists, as well as senior government officials a ...

'', the

Pontifical Catholic University of Peru Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (, PUCP) is a private university in Lima, Peru. It was founded in 1917 with the support and approval of the Catholic church, being the oldest private institution of higher learning in the country. The Peru ...

, the

University of Puebla The Meritorious Autonomous University of Puebla () (BUAP) is the oldest and largest university in Puebla, Mexico. Founded on 15 April 1578 as Colegio del Espíritu Santo, the school was sponsored by the Society of Jesus during most of the Spanis ...

(Mexico), the

Complutense University of Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid (, UCM; ) is a public research university located in Madrid. Founded in Alcalá in 1293 (before relocating to Madrid in 1836), it is one of the oldest operating universities in the world, and one of Spain's ...

(Spain),

Los Andes Peruvian University The Los Andes Peruvian University (UPLA) () is an educational institution created on December 30, 1983 (Law Nº 23.757). The main campus is situated in Huancayo, Peru. It is one of the most prosperous

(Peru), and the ''Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo del Estado de Michoacán'' (Mexico).

Professional career

From 1945 to 1964 Fix-Zamudio held various positions in the Mexican judiciary, culminating with a position as clerk to the

Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (, SCJN) is the Mexican institution serving as the country's federal high court and the spearhead organisation for the judiciary of the Mexican Federal Government. Judges of the SCJN are appointed ...

. In 1964 he accepted a full-time research position at the UNAM's Legal Research Institute ''(Instituto de Investigaciones Jurídicas)'', then known as the Institute of Comparative Law ''(Instituto de Derecho Comparado)''. He also served as the institute's director from 1966 to 1978. In 1981 he was elected to the UNAM's Governing Board ''(Junta de Gobierno)'', where he served until 1988. In 1974 he was chosen as the first president of the Ibero-American Constitutional Law Institute, a position he held until 2002 when he was named honorary president. He was elected to serve as a judge on the

Inter-American Court of Human Rights The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (I/A Court H.R.) is an international court based in San José, Costa Rica. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it was formed by the American Convention on Human Rights, a human r ...

from 1987 to 1997, including two terms as its president. He served on the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities The Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (before 1999, known as the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities) was a subsidiary agency of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. It ...

from 1998 to 2001. He was a member of the Consultative Council of the

National Human Rights Commission A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights. The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...

since 1998.

Awards and recognitions

On 23 October 1974 he was elected to the Colegio Nacional. The awards he won included the National Prize for History, Social Science and Philosophy, the National Jurisprudence Prize, awarded in 1994 by the Mexican Bar Association (1994), and the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

's Belisario Domínguez Medal of Honour in 2002. In 1986 he was awarded the

UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education The UNESCO/Bilbao Prize for the Promotion of a Culture of Human Rights, created in 1978 as the UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education to mark the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, serves to honour the ef ...

, and he later served on the jury for that prize for four years from 1988 to 1991. In recognition of his work in the field, the UNAM's Legal Research Institute currently awards the annual Héctor Fix-Zamudio International Prize for Legal Research.

Death

Héctor Fix-Zamudio died at the age of 96 of heart failure on 27 January 2021.

Publications

Fix-Zamudio published 20 books and 250 articles on legal topics, including amparo,

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...

and human rights.

References

External links

Héctor Fix-Zamudio
( El Colegio Nacional)
Héctor Fix-Zamudio: Curriculum Vitae
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fix-Zamudio, Hector 1924 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Mexican judges Members of El Colegio Nacional (Mexico) Members of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni Recipients of the Belisario Domínguez Medal of Honor Inter-American Court of Human Rights judges Mexican officials of the United Nations Mexican judges of international courts and tribunals