Criminal
Transition from written inquisitorial to federal adversarial procedure
The Código Penal governs offences nationally, but procedure is being transformed: Ley 27.063 enacted a new accusatorial Código Procesal Penal Federal that is being rolled out district by district, replacing the older written inquisitorial model. Under the new code prosecutors drive investigation, hearings are oral and public, and plea and diversion mechanisms are available.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Federal criminal code; provinces have their own procedural codes
- Deadline — Detainee must be brought before a judge and the investigation formalised promptly under the federal code
- Deadline — Pre-trial investigation: one year ordinary maximum, extendable
- Deadline — Preventive detention: two years under Ley 24.390, extendable by one year
Governing law
- Código Penal de la NaciónLey 11.179
- Código Procesal Penal FederalLey 27.063, as amended
In practice
Because the adversarial federal code is being implemented progressively by jurisdiction, the applicable procedure depends on where the case is heard, and the provinces separately run their own procedural codes — several of which adopted oral adversarial procedure long before the federal system did. Trial by jury operates for serious offences in a number of provinces including Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Neuquén.