Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona has presented a new reform plan to overhaul Argentina’s federal criminal procedural code, including steps to change the penal code and introduce trial by jury.
Speaking at the Casa Rosada on Tuesday, Cúneo Libarona said he is seeking "an absolute transformation” of the existing system. "to make justice more efficient, transparent and speedy."
"We want Javier Milei's government – and he has asked me personally many times – to transform the justice system with division of powers, independence and efficiency," said the official.
The announcement, which was described by the minister as a "historic moment in Argentina," seeks to establish a national system similar to the one that has been implemented in the northern provinces of Jujuy and Salta since 2015. It would be a “complete change” to the accusatory system, said Cúneo Libarona, as all cases would be assessed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which then decides how to proceed.
"It is a historic moment because the accusatory system will be in force throughout the country. This means the presence of a prosecutor who investigates, the defence and an impartial, different judge, who performs the essential jurisdictional tasks," he said.
Explaining the scope of the reform, the minister explained: "If you are a victim of a crime, a judge intervenes and can delegate the case to a prosecutor or keep it selectively … every case goes to the Public Prosecutor who analyses whether the case is worth investigating or whether it is insignificant; whether an abbreviated trial or a conciliation can be proposed."
Cúneo Libarona stressed that serious “mafia” cases would be brought before the courts. "Mafia cases will be brought to the Oral Court and the trial will be carried out quickly," he promised.
Another major change is that the system would be adversarial – it involves an opposition between a defence attorney, who seeks to ensure that the defendant's rights are respected, and a prosecutor, who accuses him or her at trial. This, among other things, implies a greater speed in judicial processes, argued the minister.
There is an advisory council accompanying the reform process, said the official, which includes Supreme Court Chief Justice Horacio Rosatti, Attorney General of the Nation,Eduardo Casal, and other top legal minds.
Cúneo Libarona said that the impartiality of judges would be achieved in two ways. "On the one hand, suitability. A suitable judge does not listen to politics, he listens to the file and the evidence. On the other hand, politics does not intervene in justice. There is a division of powers and judicial independence," he said.
– TIMES/NA/PERFIL
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