JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION SYSTEM The Judiciary Judicial power is exercised by the Supreme Court of Justice and other lower courts established by Congress within the national territory (art. 108). In no circumstances may the President exercise judicial functions, assume jurisdiction over pending cases or reopen cases that have been closed (art. 109). Prior to the reforms, judges were appointed by the Executive with the approval of the Senate. According to the new constitutional text and Law 24.937, appointments are based on a binding list of three candidates proposed by the Council of the Magistrature (art. 114). This Council is reconstituted periodically in such a way as to achieve balanced representation of elected political bodies, judges from all the courts, and lawyers on the federal register, as well as other persons from the academic and scientific fields, the size and structure of the Council being spelled out in the special law establishing it. The judges of the Supreme Court and lower courts retain their posts as long as they maintain a good standard of conduct (art. 110). They may be removed from office by the decision of an impeachment jury composed of legislators, magistrates and registered lawyers (art. 115), on grounds of poor performance or professional misconduct or for ordinary offences (art. 53). It is the responsibility of the Supreme Court and lower federal courts to hear and decide all cases relating to matters governed by the Constitution, the laws of the Nation or treaties with foreign nations; the Supreme Court exercises jurisdiction over appeals in accordance with the rules and exceptions prescribed by Congress. The foregoing notwithstanding, the Supreme Court has primary and exclusive competence in: cases concerning ambassadors, government prosecutors and foreign consuls; cases involving the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; matters in which the Nation is a party; and cases arising between two or more provinces, between one province and the residents of another province, between the residents of different provinces, and between one province and its residents against a foreign State or citizen. Under the Argentine legal system, the administration of justice is a power shared by the Nation and the provinces. Articles 5 and 123 of the Constitution provide that each province shall enact its own constitution in accordance with the principles, declarations and guarantees of the supreme law, “which ensures its administration of justice”. The provinces elect their own officials and judges, without intervention by the Federal Government (art. 122). At the same time, article 31 of the Constitution provides that the Constitution itself, the laws enacted by Congress in pursuance thereof, and treaties with foreign Powers are the supreme law of the Nation, and the authorities of each province are bound thereby, notwithstanding any provision to the contrary which the provincial laws or constitutions may contain. The Judiciary of each province is responsible for the administration of ordinary justice within that province’s territory, applying the codes mentioned in article 75, paragraph 12, namely, the Civil, Commercial, Criminal, Mining, Labor and Social Security Codes - depending on the jurisdiction under which matters or persons lie. As to national justice, under article 116 of the Constitution the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts hear and decide all cases relating to matters governed by the Constitution and the laws of the Nation, except those matters falling to the provincial jurisdictions. In these cases, according to article 117, the Supreme Court exercises jurisdiction over appeals. The Ministerio Público (“Public Ministry” or Attorney General’s Office) The Ministerio Público has been part of the justice administration system since the national institutions were organized (1853-60), and was incorporated into the national constitution in 1994. The constitutional reform that took place that year included the Ministerio Público among the authorities of the nation (together with the Executive Branch, the Legislative Branch and the Judiciary) as an independent body with functional and financial autonomy (article 120). According to the Constitution, the function of the Ministerio Público is to promote justice, to uphold the law and the general interests of society. It comprises the Public Prosecution Office, headed by the Prosecutor General (Procurador General de la Nación), and the Public Defense Office, headed by the Defender General (Defensor General de la Nación). Its members enjoy functional immunity and salary protection (article 120) The regulations for implementing this constitutional clause were passed by Congress in 1998 in the form of the Organic Law for the Federal Attorney General’s Office (Law 24,946). That law enshrines the principles of objectivity, hierarchy, unity and coherence of action, fixes the number of prosecutors and defenders who will work, respectively, under the Prosecutor General of the Nation and the Defender General of the Nation, and regulates the functions of each, as well as other aspects related to the institution’s organization and operations. Pursuant to article 5 of that law, the Prosecutor General of the Nation and the Defender General of the Nation are to be appointed by the President, with the consent of the Senate through a vote of two-thirds of members present. The law also extends this requirement to other prosecutors and defenders, but in their case Senate concurrence may be expressed by a simple majority of members present. In these cases, moreover, the President must select (and the Senate must approve) the person to be appointed from a shortlist of candidates submitted by the Prosecutor General or the Defender General, following a public competition. The law also establishes the mechanism of impeachment, stipulated in article 53 and 59 of the Constitution, for the removal of the Prosecutor General and the Defender General, and for the remaining prosecutors and defenders, which provides for intervention by an impeachment jury comprising former Justices of the Supreme Court or former Prosecutors or Defenders General, one designated by the President, another by the Senate, and the third by the Supreme Court (articles 18 ff). Article 23 governs relations with the executive and legislative branches, and provides that the Public Ministry shall deal with the first through the Ministry of Justice, and with the second through a bicameral commission, the composition and functions of which must be determined by the Chambers of Congress.

Vocabulary :

1. The Judiciary – Sądownictwo
2. the Supreme Court of Justice – Sąd najwyższy sprawiedliwości
3. national territory – terytorium kraju
4. reforms – reformy
5. judges – sędziowie
6. Council – rada
7. Office – urząd
8. Lawyer – prawnik
9. Offence – przestępstwo
10. exercised - sprawowana
11. Supreme Court of Justice - Najwyższy Trybunał Sprawiedliwości
12. the national territory - terytorium kraju
13. circumstances - okoliczności
14. President - prezydent
15. functions - funkcje
16. jurisdiction - Jurysdykcja
17. cases - przypadki
18. reforms - reformy
19. judge - sędzia
20. appointed - wyznaczony
21. approval - zatwierdzenie
22. Senate - senat
23. bind - wiązać
24. candidat - kandydat
25. periodically - periodyczne
26. elected - wybrany
27. courts - sądy
28. lawyer - prawnik
29. federal - federalny
30. register - zarejestrować
31. establishing - ustanowienie
32. conduct - zachowanie
33. office - biuro
34. decision - decyzja
35. impeachment - oskarżenie
36. jury - jury
37. legislators - ustawodawcy
38. responsibility - odpowiedzialność
39. exceptions - wyjątki
40. competence - kompetencja
41. cases - przypadki
42. ambassadors - ambasadorowie
43. government - rząd
44. prosecutor - prokurator
45. admiralty - admiralicja
46. jurisdiction - jurysdykcja
47. provinces - prowincje
48. residents - mieszkańcy
49. citizen - obywatel
50. enact - uchwalenia
51. principles - zasady
52. declarations - deklaracje
53. intervention - interwencja
54. article - artykuł
55. Constitution - konstytucja
56. enacted - uchwalona
57. treaties - traktaty
58. authorities - władze
59. province - województwo
60. administration - administracja
61. governed - regulowane
62. provincial - prowincjonalny
63. institutions - instytucje
64. reform - reforma
65. society - społeczeństwo
66. Prosecutor General - Prokurator generalny
67. The regulations - regulacje
68. principles - zasady
69. defender - obrońca
70. Defender General of the Nation - rzecznik generalny narodu
71. Prosecutor - oskarżyciel
72. stipulated - mowa
73. impeachment - oskarżenie
74. Public Ministry - Ministerstwo publiczne
75. Ministry of Justice - Ministerstwo sprawiedliwości
76. bicameral - dwuizbowy
77. commission - komisja
78. functions - funkcje
79. Chambers of Congress - izby kongresu