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304C H A P T E R X V I I IThe LFPA provides that private parties may defend themselves against acts of authoritiesbelonging to the public administration through a procedure called the administrativemotion for review (recurso administrativo de revisión), the purpose of which is toreview an administrative act considered illegal, either by amending it, annulling it orconfirming it according to the guidelines established by the LFPA.The deadline for filing a motion for review is 15 days from the day following the dateon which the notice of the administrative act takes effect.The administration act must contain certain elements and comply with certainrequirements, among which are the following: (i) to be issued by a competent body, (ii)to have a purpose that can be subject to an administrative act, (iii) to be in the publicinterest, (iv) to be in writing, signed by the authority issuing it, (v) to be grounded inlaw and fact, (vi) to be issued free of mistake or duress, (vii) to mention the body issuingit and the place and date of issuance, and (viii) in the case of appealable administrativeacts, mention must be made of the available appeals.When the administrative act does not comply with the above-mentioned requirementsand with the applicable law, a motion for review may be filed. The motion must be filedbefore the governmental authority that issued the challenged act and it will be reviewedby the superior of the issuer.The ruling issued in the motion for review may nullify the administrative act. The legalact that is declared null and void will be invalid, will not be presumed legitimate orenforceable and private parties will not be obligated to comply with it. The act that isdeclared annullable will be considered valid, will enjoy the presumption of legitimacyand enforceability and will be curable by the administrative bodies with full compliancewith the requirements indicated by the law.Furthermore, the ruling must be based on law and when a specific act or the initiationof a retrial is ordered, such must be done within four months. In this respect, inpractice exceptional cases arise in which the reticence of the authority to comply with aparticular ruling lasts for more than four months, in which case the private party hasseveral administrative liability actions it can file against the reticent public officials.It is important to note that the ruling issued in the administrative review is also anadministrative act, not a judicial decision. Therefore, the administrative review is aprior step that, as a general rule, must be exhausted before seeking judicial reviewthrough an administrative law court proceeding (juicio contencioso administrativo) and,finally, the amparo proceeding (juicio de amparo).However, there are certain situations under which the possibility of initiating courtactions is direct and, therefore, the filing of the administrative review prior to accedingto the courts is optional.In general the rulings issued in the administrative reviews are the result of constantmeetings and informal and “friendly” discussions with the authority in which it is