www.cejamericas.org

II National Meeting of Argentinean Trainers for Criminal Procedure Reform

The II National Meeting of Argentinean Trainers for Criminal Procedure Reform will be held October 14 and 15 in the city of Formosa, Argentina. The event is being sponsored by the Formosa Province Superior Court.

Argentina’s National Network of Trainers for Criminal Procedure Reform has chosen the Formosa Province as the site of its annual meeting in an effort to bring the discussion of said reform to one of the last corners of the country to seriously discuss the need to leave aside the mixed system –which presents predominantly inquisitorial aspects- and introduce the use of oral procedures at all stages of the criminal justice process. The belief that this type of event helps to change the paradigm or guide it towards a reformist effort has motivated members of JSCA’s Alumni Network to meet to exchange experiences and share the knowledge that they have acquired. Each member makes his or her contribution based on their role in prosecutor’s offices, courts, judicial management offices, inter-branch reform agencies or similar agencies or through the practice of the legal profession. This wide range of visions of a single topic has made the Network a key actor in any jurisdiction in which it is active or plans to be as part of an effort to reform the criminal code.

In Formosa, the authors of the current Criminal Procedure Code indicated that it was to be recognized as mixed but oriented towards the adversarial system. However, the legislative effort that was to accompany the transition was delayed and the adversarial spirit began to wane and old practices became the rule.

The Network is aware of the importance of the legislative branch in a Criminal Procedure Reform but sees it as part of a whole that should have qualified operators who are capable of disseminating the various levels of work and commitment that are necessary in order to reach a level of complete orality.

As a result, a responsible –and constant- political pact and qualified professionals are, at least a priori, the pillars of any system that is to take serious and sure steps towards the adversarial model.

As was mentioned above, the Argentinean Network of Trainers for Criminal Procedure Reform has made a commitment to focus on locations in which inquisitorial practices still dominate. Its goal is to introduce the discussion of this phenomenon at the various political, judicial and social strata. The II Meeting is to be held in the city of Formosa in view of this. The event is open to anyone who is interested in learning about the situation of the procedure reform in various parts of Argentina, analyzing good and poor practices, considering their consequences and studying the current state of the initiatives presented. It will be a space in which various actors from very different environments will come together to discuss shared objectives.

The II National Meeting of Trainers for Criminal Procedure Reform will be held October 14 and 15, 2010 in the city of Formosa at the Judicial Branch building. The event, which is being sponsored by the Formosa Province Superior Court, is designed to serve as a point of departure for the effective implementation of oral procedures in all areas of criminal justice in this jurisdiction.

[1] Member of the Argentinean Network of Trainers for Criminal Procedure Reform and Coordinator of the II Meeting.

Share