Article 90 Federal Criminal Code

The granting and enjoyment of the benefits of the conditional sentence shall be subject to the following norms:

I.- The judge or Court, as applicable, upon issuing a conviction judgment or in the hypothesis established by section X of this Article, shall suspend the execution of the penalties, stating the grounds for doing so, at the petition of a party or ex officio, if these conditions concur:

a).- That the conviction relates to a prison sentence that does not exceed four years;

b)That the sentenced person is not a recidivist for an intentional offense, has evidenced good conduct before and after the punishable act and that the conviction does not relate to any of the offenses indicated in section I of Article 85 of this Code, and

c)That, by reason of his personal background or honest way of living, as well as by the nature, modalities and motives of the offense, it is presumed that the sentenced person will not commit an offense again.

d)Repealed.

II.- To enjoy this benefit the sentenced person must:

a).- Grant the guarantee or submit to the measures that are set for him, to secure his appearance before the authority whenever required;

b).- Undertake to reside in a specified place, from which he may not absent himself without permission of the authority that exercises care and vigilance over him;

c).- Engage in, within the period that is set for him, a lawful profession, art, trade or occupation;

d).- Abstain from the abuse of intoxicating beverages and from the use of narcotics, psychotropic substances or other substances that produce similar effects, except by medical prescription; and

e).- Repair the damage caused.

When, by reason of his personal circumstances, he cannot repair the damage caused immediately, he shall give bond or submit to the measures that, in the judgment of the judge or court, are sufficient to secure that he will comply, within the period that is set for him, with this obligation.

III.- The suspension shall comprise the prison sentence and the fine, and as to the other sanctions imposed, the judge or court shall decide at their discretion according to the circumstances of the case.

IV.- The offenders to whom the execution of the judgment has been suspended shall be made aware of the provisions of this Article, which shall be recorded in a formal proceeding, without the absence thereof preventing, as applicable, the application of what is provided in the same.

V.- The sentenced persons who enjoy the benefits of the conditional sentence shall remain subject to the care and vigilance of the General Directorate of Coordinated Services of Social Prevention and Readaptation (Dirección General de Servicios Coordinados de Prevención y Readaptación Social).

VI.- In the event that a bondsman has been appointed for the fulfillment of the obligations assumed in the terms of this Article, the obligation of the former shall conclude six months after the term to which section VII refers has elapsed, provided that the offender does not give origin to a new proceeding or when an acquittal judgment is pronounced in the latter. When the bondsman has well-founded motives not to continue performing the office, he shall state them to the judge so that the latter, if he deems them just, may order the sentenced person to present a new bondsman within the period that he must prudently set for him, warned that the sanction shall be made effective if he fails to do so. In the event of death or insolvency of the bondsman, the sentenced person shall be obliged to bring the fact to the knowledge of the judge for that purpose and under the warning that is expressed in the preceding paragraph.

VII.- If, during the term of duration of the penalty, from the date of the judgment that becomes final, the convicted person does not give origin to a new proceeding for an intentional offense that concludes with a conviction judgment, the sanction fixed in the former shall be considered extinguished. In the contrary case, the first judgment shall be made effective, in addition to the second, in which the prisoner shall be committed as a recidivist, without prejudice to what is established in Article 20 of this Code. In the case of a negligent offense, the competent authority shall decide, stating its grounds, whether or not the suspended sanction must be applied;

VIII.- The facts that give origin to the new proceeding interrupt the term to which section VII refers, whether it involves an intentional offense or a negligent one, until a final judgment is issued;

IX.- In the event of a failure to comply with the obligations assumed by the convicted person, the judge may make the suspended sanction effective or admonish him, with the warning that, if he again fails any of the conditions fixed, said sanction shall be made effective.

X.- The prisoner who considers that at the time the judgment was issued he met the conditions fixed in this provision and that he is in a position to comply with the other requirements that are established, if it is through inadvertence on his part or on the part of the courts that he did not obtain in the judgment the granting of the conditional sentence, may petition that it be granted to him, opening the respective incidental proceeding before the judge of the case.