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The Mexican government has won its appeal to bring a civil lawsuit against a number of American gun companies. Mexico, which has extremely restrictive gun laws, claims that the \u2018deliberate\u2019 business practices of these US firms results in the illegal flow of firearms into Mexico, contributing to the gun crime violence in the country. They are now seeking as much as ten billion dollars in compensation.

The gun companies, which include some of America\u2019s oldest established names in the firearms business, deny any wrongdoing. Since 2005, these companies have being granted immunity from prosecution under the \u2018Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act\u2019. This law protects the firearms manufacturers and dealers from being held liable when crimes have been committed with their products. But Mexico\u2019s argument is that PLCAA, as it\u2019s also known, only applies within the United States and therefore doesn\u2019t protect the companies from liability.

It\u2019s a case which is also resonating with other Latin American countries who have been impacted by illegal gun trafficking from the United States. Some of these countries have supported Mexico\u2019s claims in the courts. And they will be watching closely to see if Mexico\u2019s lawsuit, the first by a sovereign state, can set a precedent.

So on this week\u2019s Inquiry, we\u2019re asking \u2018Can Mexico win its battle with US gun companies?\u2019

Contributors:\nIoan Grillo, journalist and author focusing on Organised Crime, Mexico\nAdam Winkler, Cornell Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law, California, USA\nRobert Spitzer, Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Political Science, SUNY Cortland; Adjunct Faculty Member, College of William and Mary School of Law, USA\nDr. Le\xf3n Castellanos-Jankiewicz, Senior Researcher, Asser Institute for International and European Law; Academic Supervisor, International Law Clinic on Access to Justice for Gun Violence, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.\n \nPresenter: Charmaine Cozier\nProducer: Jill Collins\nJournalism Researcher: Matt Toulson\nEditor: Tara McDermott\nTechnical Producer: Cameron Ward\nProduction Co-ordinator: Liam Morrey\n \nImage: Reuters via BBC Images