Argentina

Legal tradition

Argentina belongs to the civil law tradition. A federal civil-law system whose 1853 Constitution borrowed the United States federal structure and grafted it onto continental European codes. The defining modern event is the 2015 Civil and Commercial Code, which merged the separate civil and commercial codes of 1871 and 1862 into a single instrument and rewrote family, contract and property law. The provinces keep their own procedural codes and courts, so procedure varies sharply between the City of Buenos Aires and the interior.

How power is divided

Federal. Twenty-three provinces plus the autonomous City of Buenos Aires retain all powers not delegated to the nation (Article 121). Substantive civil, commercial, criminal and labour law is federal and uniform, but each province legislates its own procedure and runs its own judiciary — an inversion of the United States allocation.

Where law comes from

Constitution and treaties with constitutional rank

Article 75(22) lists the eleven instruments; more may be added by a two-thirds vote.

National codes

Civil and Commercial Code (2015), Penal Code, Labour Contract Act — all federal and uniform.

Provincial constitutions and procedural codes

Each province organises its own courts and civil procedure.

Case law

Not formally binding, but Supreme Court doctrine is followed and departure must be reasoned.

The legal profession

A five-to-six-year law degree followed by mandatory registration with a provincial or city bar association, which holds disciplinary power. The Colegio Público de Abogados de la Capital Federal governs practice in Buenos Aires. There is no separate bar examination; enrolment follows the degree. Notaries (escribanos) are a distinct numerus clausus profession with exclusive competence over real estate transfers.