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SUBJECT I: CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

1. Concept.
It is the fundamental right, which legally and politically organizes the State. It determines the form of the State
and its government, competencies and powers, state purposes, rights and guarantees of the inhabitants. It regulates
the organization of all law, establishing basic principles and determining the form of government and the form of
state. It also determines the relationship between individuals and the State and the obligations arising therefrom.

2. Constitution.
Aristotle, when speaking of constitution, referred to the end, he said that the constitution of the state has as its
object the organization of the magistracies, the distribution of powers, the attributions of sovereignty, and so on.
Perez Guilhou affirms that the political constitution is born from the conciliation between reason, norm, history
and reality.
Castorina de Tarquini tells us that constitution is the basis, that which sustains and gives meaning and raison d'être
to the community.
It is the central nucleus of constitutional law that tends to organize the state politically and legally.

Etymological origin:
It comes from the Latin satum "statuere", meaning to order, regulate and regulate.

Positive legal concept:

The Constitution is originally and above all LAW, this law has a particular scope, that is, the regulation of the
organization of the political reality of the state. Legally it is considered a rule, a law or a fundamental right of
organization of state power.

3. Constituent Power.
It is the power possessed by the people to constitute itself and to dictate a constitution or to reform it. Sampay tells
us that it is the original power of the sovereign political community, destined to provide it in its origin or in its
revolutionary transformations, of the organization of its political being and of its acting, regulated by means of
fundamental norms, for whose creation that constituent power is not limited, in its scope nor in its mode of
exercise, by pre-existing rules of positive law (law or normative).
4. Constitutional Supremacy.
Concept Sense (See Art. 31 and concordant provisions of the National Constitution).
Our constitution is written, rigid and consequently supreme. The supremacy is expressly enshrined in Art. 31 of
the National Constitution. By virtue of Article 31 and its interplay with other constitutional norms, a hierarchical
graduation appears that shows us the legal system structured in different levels.
The Constitution is no longer alone in its supreme hierarchical echelon; it is accompanied by the human rights
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treaties enumerated in Art. 75 inc. 22 of the National Constitution, which have constitutional hierarchy.

Legal System after the 1994 Reform.

1- National Constitution (see art. 31 of the National Constitution), Human Rights Treaties (see art. 75 inc. 22
second paragraph of the National Constitution).
2- Integration Treaties, other Treaties and Concordats (see art. 75 inc. 22 first paragraph and paragraph 24 and
art. 27 of the National Constitution).
3- Laws of the Nation (see art. 28 of the National Constitution) and Decrees of Necessity and Urgency (see
art.99 inc.3 of the National Constitution).
4- Regulations (see art. 99 inc. 2º of the National Constitution).
5- Provincial Public Law (see art. 31 and 5 of the National Constitution).
6- Municipal Law (see art. 123 of the National Constitution).

The Supremacy of the Constitution is a fundamental principle of the rule of law.

It is nothing but respect for the law. The existence of a supreme Constitution ensures the participation of the
provinces in the national leadership and conciliates their actions with those of the Central Government. It
provokes in every federal state relations of supremacy and subordination that bring unity, recognizing the Nation
as the sole depositary of sovereignty.
The legal system and the Federal Government are supreme with respect to the Member States (provinces).

5. Control of constitutionality.
Concept. It is the procedural mechanism to control the constitutional validity of norms and acts inferior to the
Constitution (according to Ekdmejian).
The object is to maintain the supremacy of the Constitution; if there were not some kind of control, constitutional
supremacy would be a mere theoretical assertion.
The Supreme Court of Justice is the guardian of constitutional supralegality through the control of the
constitutionality of laws.
The control of constitutionality DIFFUSO is in charge of all the judges that make up the Judicial Branch,
regardless of their rank or competence, although the Supreme Court of Justice has the last word in relation to such
control.
In our country, the Supreme Court of Justice, from the very beginning, adopted the system of DIFFUSED
JUDICIAL CONTROL. Our Supreme Court of Justice has firmly held that the control of constitutionality
corresponds exclusively and exclusively to the members of the Judiciary of the Nation and the Judiciary of the
Provinces, without distinction of hierarchy. This dispersion of the competence to control the constitutionality of
lower norms and acts does not imply that there are different criteria on each issue, since the Supreme Court of
Justice of the Nation has the last word in the control of constitutionality.
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6. Representative and Republican Form of Government.

The representative regime is institutionalized in our National Constitution, in general clauses of the dogmatic part:
preamble and arts. 1 and 22 of the National Constitution, and in specific rules aimed at the organization of power,
which are manifested in the organic part.
The Republic, recognized in the preamble and in art. 33 of the National Constitution, has as its distinctive
features: the recognition of equality, popular sovereignty, the division of powers, the periodicity of elected public
officials, the responsibility of all officials, and the publicity of government acts.

Federal Guarantee.
The autonomy recognized to the Provinces has as its only limits those established in the National Constitution (see
art. 5 of the National Constitution). Thus, their constitutions must be dictated, but these must establish the
republican representative system of government, in accordance with the principles, declarations and guarantees of
the National Constitution; in addition to ensuring their administration of justice, their municipal regime and
primary education.

7. Declarations, Rights and Guarantees

The Dogmatic part of the Constitution reflects the main principles that give life to the whole political organization
of society.
In our case, it was the Liberal Constitution that gave the fundamental characteristic to this part of the Constitution,
by proposing as the purpose of the State and its organization, the defense of the rights and freedoms of man.
Limiting the State and giving security to the individual against it were the two characteristics of that organization.
Since then, the constitutions that have adopted this approach have resolved the status of men by recognizing their
rights in a declaration or catalog of individual rights.
The Dogmatic part of the Constitution is not incommunicable with the Organic part, but on the contrary, it has an
inseparable relationship with it, since in resolving the status of the human being in the state, it puts in intersection:
the defense and promotion of the rights and liberties of the individual, with the limitation of the state and of the
power for the security of the people.
In this way, an abstentionist State is designed, which appears as the passive subject in the face of human rights,
having in principle a fundamental duty of omission: not to violate those rights, nor impede their enjoyment, nor
interfere in their exercise. Likewise, it was extended to individuals, who as passive subjects, together with the
State, must respect the rights of others.

Concepts.
Statements.
They are solemn statements by the constituent about the characterization of the State, the form of government (see
art. 1 of the National Constitution), relations with the Church (see art. 2 of the National Constitution), the
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fundamental principles (see arts. 7 and 8 of the National Constitution), the protection of the constitutional order
(see art. 6 of the National Constitution), etc..

Rights.
They are prerogatives or faculties recognized to the person. One of the substantial contributions of
constitutionalism is not to conceive fundamental rights as a concession of the Public Power, but to limit itself to
recognize them as existing in every man by his mere condition as such.

Warranties. They are instruments and procedures that ensure the means to make effective the enjoyment of
rights. In their strictest sense, habeas corpus, habeas data and amparo represent the basic constitutional guarantees.
Legal Security.
Legal certainty implies an attitude of confidence in the law in force, and a reasonable predictability as to its future.
It is that which makes it possible to foresee the consequences of man's actions, as well as the constitutional
guarantees enjoyed by such acts.
In short, it is a matter of trust in the legal order, which is based on two fundamental manifestations: protection
against arbitrariness and predictability (being able to foresee the conduct of other people and of government
operators).

Right to Jurisdiction.
It is the right to legal protection. Every rule of law must ensure - as one of its fundamental guarantees - the certain
and effective possibility of resorting to a court of law to resolve their claim. If this guarantee does not exist, it can
be said that there is a lack of legal certainty.
It is a necessary consequence of the reservation of the use of force by the State.
The right to jurisdiction is enjoyed by all persons, whether natural or juridical, to the extent that they have the
capacity to be a party to a judicial proceeding. It is a right that must be exercised through previously established
legal channels.
This right is inseparably linked to the need for truly impartial, honest and suitable natural judges, with the
effective existence of sufficient judicial bodies with adequate staffing, financial resources and procedures.

Natural Judge.
Art. 18 National Constitution: "No inhabitant of the Nation may be punished without prior trial based on law
prior to the fact of the process, nor tried by special commissions, or removed from the judges appointed by law
prior to the fact of the cause...".
Article 18 of the National Constitution(2) contains two prohibitions:
1) "judged by special commissions".
2) "drawn from the judges appointed by law before the fact of the case".-.
The guarantee of natural judges is located in the second prohibition, which is totally different from the first
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(creating special commissions to judge certain facts).

The Guarantee of the Natural Judge belongs to the: Dogmatic Part of the National Constitution (GUARANTEE)
and to the Organic Part of the National Constitution (Organization of the Judiciary, administration of justice).
Article 18 of the National Constitution prohibits the so-called "courts of exception", i.e. those that are created after
the fact. The constitutional text states that no one can be "removed from the judges appointed by law before the
fact of the case".
Congress is in charge of creating the courts that make up the Judicial Branch of the Nation. In addition to
determining their number, their mode of integration, it must establish the material and territorial scope of their
jurisdiction and the rules of procedure, according to which they will exercise their functions.
We must distinguish between two different concepts: the "person judge" (a natural person who occupies the
position, who must meet certain requirements) and the "organo judge" (the position created by Congress with
competence "ratione materiae" and "ratione territorio" determined by law).
Each case, of whatever nature (civil, commercial, criminal, etc.), at the time when the event giving rise to it
appears or occurs, has already been assigned by law a specific judicial body, with specific competence to resolve
it. This is the NATURAL JUDGE in this case.

Due Process.
Although the right to jurisdiction and the guarantee of the natural judge are basic prerequisites for ensuring the
primacy of justice, they are insufficient in themselves to achieve this purpose. It is also necessary to protect the
judicial process as integrity - This guarantee is contemplated in art. 18 of the Constitution which determines that
"the defense in trial of the person and his rights is inviolable".
The due process is integrated with stages that are unavoidable: the Accusation, the Defense, the Evidence, the
Sentence and the Execution.
Any person who is coercively brought to justice has the right to know the reasons for his or her appearance, i.e.
the charges or accusations against him or her. This requirement is particularly relevant from the point of view of
the defense, since the information about the reasons for the accusation will allow the defendant to establish the
accusation.
The right of defense is a necessary prerogative of every defendant or accused person. It includes the possibility of
being heard and, likewise, legal assistance (which is usually required for better protection of the accused).
For those who lack economic resources, the state must provide a dignified defense through the provision of a free
and efficient public defender service.
Another essential step is the possibility of offering all the necessary evidence to allow for an adequate defense. It
includes any evidence that is relevant to the resolution of the issue. This evidence can only be disregarded on
reasonable grounds.
This guarantee also includes the possibility of checking the evidence provided by the opposing party.
Every litigant has the right to obtain a judgment that settles the matter, which must be strictly related (congruent)
with the issues raised by the prosecution and the defense and also with the evidence provided by the parties. The
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sentence must be reasoned and reasonable, i.e., free of arbitrariness.

Finally, it is worth mentioning the right to enforce the judgment, which is incumbent upon anyone who has been
favored by a final and definitive judicial decision. Without this, the judgment would be merely declaratory and the
judicial process would be useless.

Non-retroactivity of the Law.

The non-retroactivity of the law is not a general principle that is expressly enshrined in the Constitution. It has
only been established in criminal matters (see art. 18 of the National Constitution) that "no inhabitant of the
Nation may be punished without prior trial based on a law prior to the fact of the proceeding". This implies that
the criminal offense must have been foreseen, both in the description of the conduct and in its sanction, prior to
the event that motivates the trial.
(The principle has an important exception (of legal, not constitutional rank) which is Art. 2 of the Criminal Code,
which establishes the retroactivity of the most benign criminal law: "If the law in force at the time the crime was
committed is different from the law in force at the time the judgment is rendered or at an intermediate time, the
most benign shall always be applied. If during the sentence a more benign law is passed, the penalty shall be
limited to that established by that law...").- The lack of an express general rule prohibiting the non-retroactivity of
the law should not be interpreted as a broad and unlimited permission of retroactivity, on the contrary, as Linares
Quintana says, "the truth is that, in principle, in none of the fields of law is the retroactivity of the law justified or
admissible".
In private law, Art. 3 of the Civil Code originally enshrined this principle: "laws provide for the future, they have
no retroactive effect, nor can they alter rights already acquired". This regulation was amended in 1968 (Law
17,711). The new text was intended to replace the principle of non-retroactivity of civil law with that of limited
retroactivity, notwithstanding the fact that the effects of this reform have been notoriously attenuated by the
contribution of constitutional doctrine and the jurisprudence of the Court, which has continued to protect acquired
rights, now no longer as a consequence of a provision of the Civil Code, but as a corollary of the broad concept of
the Constitutional Right to property. Consequently, if a right has been effectively incorporated into the patrimony
of a person, it is protected from retroactive laws.
8. Constitutional Guarantees.
Habeas Corpus.
Habeas corpus - a Latin expression meaning "you have the body" - is a constitutional guarantee that protects
physical freedom, bodily or locomotion, against arbitrary restrictions, through a summary and expeditious
procedure.
It is a guarantee because it constitutes a means or instrument of protection that defends specific rights and
freedoms: physical, bodily or locomotion freedom, which constitutes a legal asset of particular hierarchy because
it refers to one of the most precious and valued attributes of the freedom and dignity of the person. Our
Constitution, since the 1994 reform, expressly includes this institute.
The standard supports the most popular variants of H.C.:
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reparation: is the one by which the freedom of a person illegitimately detained is sought;
preventive: it tends to ensure freedom against the threat or possibility of deprivation of it;
restricted: the purpose is to put an end to limitations or disturbances to freedom, which, without constituting an
effective deprivation of freedom, endanger it (e.g., excessive surveillance, monitoring, restriction of access to
certain places, etc.); and
the corrective: which is applicable in the event of an irregular worsening of the conditions of a legitimately
ordered detention.
Who can promote the HC: the affected person himself or any other person.
We understand that HC. The judge must be quick and expeditious, but this does not prevent the judge from
requesting the pertinent reports and other elements that allow him to be persuaded of the legitimacy or
illegitimacy of the restriction of physical liberty under review.
Habeas Corpus remains in force during the State of Siege.
The procedure is regulated by Law 23.098 (1984) which, with respect to provincial autonomy, establishes that in
the event that the provinces have, in their constitutions or laws, more protective provisions, they must be applied.
In other words, the provinces may apply better or greater protection to freedom of movement, but never less than
what is established in Law 23.098.
Amparo Action.
The institution of Amparo is part of the constitutional guarantees. It is a jurisdictional means to enforce the
protection of the enjoyment of the rights recognized in the fundamental law.
It is a brief and summary judicial procedure that provides an expeditious means for the protection of constitutional
rights and freedoms (other than the physical, bodily freedom or freedom of movement protected in habeas
corpus). Its objective is to operationalize the contents of freedom contained in our Magna Carta.
It was incorporated as an express guarantee in the National Constitution by the 1994 reform, in paragraphs 1 and 2
of Art. 43 of the National Constitution: "Any person may file a prompt and expeditious amparo action, ...".
It is an action that must be expeditious and quick, that is to say, it requires simplicity and speed in the procedure.
By establishing that it is viable as long as there is no other more suitable judicial remedy, it has opened the way
for a debate on how this should be interpreted. We understand, for our part, that the ordinary process as well as the
administrative instance cannot be understood as more suitable ways that must be exhausted prior to the filing of
the amparo, since this would affect the very nature of the institute and of the constitutional injunction.
The rule allows to challenge not only acts or omissions directly harmful to the National Constitution, but also
those that violate an international treaty or a law.
It protects rights not only against acts or omissions by public authorities, but also by private parties.
Judges are empowered to declare the unconstitutionality of the law in the amparo proceeding, thus invalidating, in
the specific case, the arbitrary application of the law.
It establishes the existence of collective protection, which allows for the protection of collective rights (to the
environment, users, etc.).
The range of parties with standing to sue for amparo is broadened to include the affected party, the ombudsman
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and the corresponding registered associations.

Habeas Data.
Habeas data, which means "have the data", is a brief and summary procedure aimed at obtaining knowledge of
the data contained in records or databases, including the possibility of correcting or updating them if they are
erroneous or outdated.
It allows to ensure the confidentiality of certain information and also to cancel information that should not be
subject to registration.
Our Constitution provides for this guarantee in the third paragraph of art. 43.-
Its material scope of application is broad: it includes any registry, whether or not it uses computerized means,
whether public or private, in the latter case it must be of a public nature, i.e.: it must be intended to make the data
known, whether with a general scope (to the public at large) or restricted (e.g., to the public at large). register of
defaulters distributed to financial institutions).

9. Legislative Branch.
It is also called Parliament, Congress or Legislature, it has the function of sanctioning laws, another of its
functions is, through the Chamber of Senators, to approve the Magistrates proposed by the Executive Branch.

9.1. Congress of the Nation.

The Congress is bicameral, since it is composed of two chambers that meet separately and whose members have
different requirements, terms and investitures.
The two chambers that comprise it are: the Chamber of Deputies of the Nation, which represents the people of the
Nation, and the Chamber of Senators, which represents the member states and the autonomous city of Buenos
Aires. As. (see art. 44 of the National Constitution).

9.2. Legislative Branch of the Province of Mendoza.

The Legislative Power of the Province shall be exercised by two Chambers: one of Deputies and the other of
Senators, directly elected by electoral sections (see art. 64 of the National Constitution).
It also has the function of sanctioning laws, another of its functions is, through the Chamber of Senators, to
approve the Magistrates proposed by the Executive Branch.

Impeachment (see art. 109 of the Constitution of Mendoza).

It is intended for political responsibility; the national and provincial constitutions limit this type of responsibility
to a reduced number of officials and its only purpose is the removal or dismissal of the official on the grounds set
forth in the Constitution.
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Subjects.
- Governor.
- Ministers.
- Vice-governor.
- Members of the Supreme Court of Justice of Mendoza.
- Procurador Supreme Court of Justice of Mendoza.

Causes.
- Poor performance.
- Behavioral disorders.
- Misdemeanors or offenses in the exercise of their functions.
- Common crimes.

10. Executive Branch.

10.1. President of the Nation.
It is unipersonal and simple. The vice-president presides over the Legislative Assembly and replaces the president
in case of absence or vacancy; he/she is part of the Legislative Branch and not of the Executive Branch.
Argentina's political and institutional history and sociology allow us to verify that from 1853 to the present day,
the Executive has been transformed into a much more powerful authoritarian body than the one conceived by the
constituents of 1853.
The Executive is the one that carries out the compliance with the rules, norms, which are essential for the
functioning of the State. The Executive Branch is the one that has the function of executing the acts, as well as the
administrative and political functions.

Executive Function. Concept. Headquarters.

It is related to the political and administrative function, it has the function of executing and enforcing. The
legislative function is to create rules. The Executive is the one that carries out the compliance with the rules,
norms, which are essential for the functioning of the State. The Executive Branch is the one that has the function
of executing the acts, as well as the administrative and political functions.
Here the Chiefs appear , because the president of the republic is the executive power, and the ministers are an
integral part of the structure.
Heads of State (see art. 99 inc. 11 of the National Constitution).
Administration (see art. 99 inc. 1, 7, 10 of the National Constitution).
Armed Forces (see art. 99 inc. 12, 13 and 14 of the National Constitution) - Government (see art.
99 inc. 1 and 3 of the National Constitution).

10.2. Ministers.
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Function and Responsibility (art. 100 and 102 C.N.).
The ministries are represented by ministers and the ministers are secretaries of the departments that the president
designates, to collaborate with their function. The law establishes the number of ministers per ministry and these
depend on the areas. The political ideology of the ruling party, the characteristics and particular circumstances.
Originally the Constitution established five (5) ministries, then eight (8) and now it says nothing - Art.102 -
National Constitution.
Each minister is responsible for the acts he/she legalizes, and jointly and severally for those he/she agrees with
his/her colleagues.

10.3. Executive Power of the Province of Mendoza.

The Governor is the head of the Executive Branch and appoints, with the Senate's consent, the members of the
Supreme Court of Justice and the Attorney General, and upon the proposal of the Council of the Magistrature, the
other lower judges and representatives of the Public Prosecutor's Office, also with the Senate's consent. (see arts.
111 and 128 of the Constitution of Mendoza).

11. Judiciary.
Jurisdictional Function.
Concept.
The jurisdictional function consists of the application of laws to resolve conflicts of interest, also called lawsuits,
litigation or cases. A cause of action is any litigation or controversy, a clash of two opposing interests, which must
be resolved by applying the law in force. It is a monopoly of the Judiciary.

Right to Access to Justice.

According to Bidart Campos, the right to jurisdiction is the right to turn to the judicial body to administer justice,
and consists of requesting and provoking the administration of justiceThe state owes as a benefit the
administration of its jurisdictional function.
The right to jurisdiction is not exhausted with access to the judicial body.
The Right to Jurisdiction is a group of faculties that are recognized to all persons and its purpose is to guarantee
their access to a fair, well-founded and timely decision, issued by the jurisdictional body constitutionally
empowered to do so.
The rights that can be generically labeled as "rights to jurisdiction" are the following:
a) right of access to a court of law
b) the litigant's right to present his or her claims
c) the right to obtain a fair ruling from the court within a reasonable period of time
d) right to obtain a congruent sentence
e) right to enforce the final judgment
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f) .1. Judiciary: Guarantees of its Independence.
The independence of the Judiciary can be viewed from two different aspects:
Institutional Organic Aspect: which implies that the Judiciary has the judicial monopoly, is co-legislator and
guardian of the Constitution.
Organic Functional Aspect: which includes the requirements to be a judge, the intangibility of remuneration,
irremovability, professionalism and impartiality.

g) .2. Judicial Branch of the Province of Mendoza.

Judiciary.
The Judicial Power of the Province shall be exercised by a Supreme Court, Chambers of Appeals, Judges of First
Instance and other lower courts, tribunals and officials created by law.
The Supreme Court of Justice shall be composed of at least seven members and there shall be a Solicitor for it,
and it may be divided into chambers to hear specific appeals.

Council of the Judiciary.

It is composed of a member of the Supreme Court of Justice, who will preside over it, a representative of the
Executive Branch, a representative of practicing magistrates, two lawyers from different Judicial Districts and two
Provincial Deputies from different political parties. The members of the Board shall serve for a term of two years
and may be reelected at intervals of one term. The office of member of the Council of the Judiciary shall be
honorary.
It has the following powers: 1) to propose to the Executive Branch, in binding shortlists, the appointment of
Judges and representatives of the Public Prosecutor's Office, with the exception of the members of the Supreme
Court of Justice and its Attorney General; 2) to select, by means of public competitions, the applicants for the
positions referred to above.

Impeachment Jury.
Chamber Judges, Judges of First Instance, Prosecutors, Counselors and Defenders may be charged with
malfeasance, crimes in the exercise of their functions, common crimes and disorders of conduct, before a Jury of
impeachment which shall be composed of the members of the Supreme Court and an equal number of Senators
and an equal number of Deputies. It is presided over by the President of the Supreme Court of Justice or his legal
replacement and may not function with less than half plus one of its members. In the event of a tie, the president
of the jury shall decide, even if he/she has already voted when the decision is pronounced.
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SUBJECT II: ADMINISTRATIVE LAW

A- GENERAL NOTIONS OF JUDICIAL ORGANIZATION

1. General Notions.
By provision of the Provincial Constitution, the Judicial Power of the Province of Mendoza is exercised by the
"Supreme Court, Chambers of Appeals, Judges of First Instance and other Courts, Tribunals and Officials created
by law" (Art. 142 of the Constitution of the Province of Mendoza).
The Supreme Court is composed of seven members who are divided into three Chambers (art. 143 Provincial
Constitution), and an Attorney General.
In 1910, Law 552, known as the "Organic Law of the Courts", was passed, which has been repeatedly modified by
different laws and decrees, updating its contents. This general rule establishes, in accordance with the
constitutional mandate (Art. 144 of the Provincial Constitution), that the Judicial Power of the Province shall be
exercised by the Supreme Court of Justice for the purposes of administration, superintendence and other powers
granted by law (art. 1 law 552). It also provides that the Judicial Power shall be exercised by Chambers of
Appeals, by Judges of First Instance and by Justices of the Peace, also recognizing the participation in the
administration of Justice of the Prosecutors, Defenders and Counselors of Minors and Incapacitated Persons,
Defenders of the Poor and Absent and the official private complainants (Art. 2 and 3 Organic Law of the Courts
according to the text of Law 552 as amended by Law 2637 and Law 7256).
Law 4969, as amended by Law 6851, establishes the composition, competences and attributions of the Supreme
Court of Justice and its three Chambers, amending Title II of the Organic Law of the Courts in its entirety. This
regulation establishes that the Supreme Court shall be composed of at least seven members and that it shall have
jurisdiction over the entire territory of the Province, that its natural seat is the capital city of Mendoza, and that the
presidency shall be exercised by one of its members elected by a majority vote of the other members and that he
shall serve for two years, and may be re-elected.
It is also provided that the Court is composed of three chambers; Chamber I will hear civil and commercial
matters and Chamber II will hear criminal and labor matters. It should be noted that both Chambers will have
jurisdiction in Administrative Procedural Jurisdiction, being the same established according to time, that is, claims
filed between the 1st and 15th of each month will correspond to Chamber I and claims filed between the 16th and
the last working day of the month will correspond to Chamber II. Chamber III will be composed of the presidents
of Chambers I and II and will be presided over by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Justice.

1.1. Jurisdiction of Court I.

He is in charge of:
To hear and resolve the Extraordinary Appeals in Civil and Commercial matters.
To resolve questions of jurisdiction that arise between the courts and whose decision corresponds to the Court,
also in Civil and Commercial matters.
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To hear and resolve the Appeals for Review and Complaints referred to in art. 144 inc. 9 and 13 of the
Constitution of the Province in Civil and Commercial matters, that is, when after the final judgment of second
instance has been pronounced, the injured party obtains decisive documents that were ignored, lost or the
judgment has been issued, or for other analogous cause; or when the judgment has been rendered by virtue of
documents or testimonial evidence and then in a subsequent trial such evidence or documents are declared
false; or when the judgment is on things not requested by the parties, or omits to resolve on any of the chapters
of the claim, answer or counterclaim; or when the judgment has been obtained by prevarication, bribery,
violence or any other fraudulent scheme.-
To hear and rule on Administrative and Unconstitutionality Procedural Actions filed between the 1st and 15th
of each month.

1.2. Jurisdiction of Chamber II.

To hear and decide on extraordinary appeals in criminal and labor matters.
To resolve questions of jurisdiction that arise between the courts and whose decision corresponds to the Court,
in criminal and labor matters.
To hear and resolve the Appeals for Review and Complaints referred to in art. 144 inc. 9 and 13 of the
Constitution of the Province, in criminal and labor matters.
To hear and rule on Administrative and Unconstitutionality Procedural Actions filed between the 16th and the
last day of the month inclusive.

1.3. Jurisdiction of Chamber III.

It exercises the Superintendence over the entire Administration of Justice.
It may establish corrections and disciplinary measures.
It prepares and submits annually to the Legislature and the Executive Branch a report on the movement and
state of the Administration of Justice.
Proposes procedural and organizational reform projects.
Proposes to the Executive Branch the annual budget of expenditures in accordance with Art. 171 of the
Constitution of the Province.
It hears and decides on the reduction, commutation and pardon of sentences.
Exercises exclusive jurisdiction over the internal regime of prisons for detainees, arranging for periodic visits to
the penal establishments.
^ Makes appointments of officers and employees.
Prosecutes, suspends or removes from office officials and employees for misdemeanors or crimes committed in
the exercise of their functions, or for incapacity, or for any other cause that compromises the proper
functioning of the administration of justice.
Appoints, on an annual basis, the Administrative Delegates of Chamber III in the Second, Third and Fourth
Judicial Districts.
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It keeps the registers of Lawyers, Attorneys, Notary Publics, Accountants, Auctioneers, Experts, and other
auxiliaries of Justice.
It dictates Agreements determining the shifts of the jurisdictional and functional organs, resolving questions
on subrogation.
^ It annually prepares the list of judges.
Generally issues and enforces Administrative Rulings that do not fall under the jurisdiction of the full Supreme
Court.

1.4. Jurisdiction of the full Supreme Court.

It issues internal regulations and the Rules of Procedure of the Judiciary.
It hears and resolves competition cases between the Public Powers of the Province and in the internal
conflicts of the Municipalities and of these with other Municipalities or authorities of the Province (for
example, a Municipality against a Ministry).
It issues Resolutions for the purpose of standardizing the jurisprudence of the Chambers and other Courts.
And by residual effect, it has jurisdiction over any matter not specially attributed to one of the Chambers.

1.5. Powers and Duties of the Chief Justice.

He presides over the body, represents it, convenes it and directs its deliberations.
It acts in urgent cases of superintendence, giving timely account to the Court.
Exercises the authority and police of the Palace of Justice.
Orders, plans and distributes the administrative dispatch and takes care of the discipline and economy of
the Tribunal.
He/she shall conduct the proceedings that correspond to the full Court, issuing the orders of mere
formality until the file is ready to be resolved.
Exercises other powers conferred by the Constitution, laws and regulations.

1.6. Powers of the Presidents of Chambers.

To conduct the proceedings in the respective Chambers, issuing the orders of mere formality, until the
file is ready to be resolved, and may delegate this function to the Court's legal officers (Secretaries) by
means of express authorization.
They must take care of the economy and discipline of the Offices under their immediate dependence.
Represent the respective Chamber in all acts and communications pertaining thereto.
They speak at hearings and give the floor to other members.
They determine the order in which the cases are studied.
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5
2. Organization of the Judiciary.
2.1. Territorial Organization of the Judiciary.
Territorially, the province of Mendoza is divided into four judicial districts. The first corresponds to the
Capital of the Province and the departments of Las Heras, Guaymallén, Godoy Cruz, Maipú, Luján de
Cuyo and Lavalle. The Second District comprises the departments of San Rafael, General Alvear and
Malargüe and has an Administrative Delegation located in the city of San Rafael. The Third District
comprises the departments of San Martín, La Paz, Junín, Rivadavia and Santa Rosa and has an
Administrative Delegation located in the city of San Martín. The Fourth District comprises the
departments of Tunuyán, Tupungato and San Carlos and an Administrative Delegation located in the city
of Tunuyán.

2.2. Internal organization and distribution of functions.

The Supreme Court of Justice, in order to carry out its functions, has a Judicial Secretariat which handles
jurisdictional matters (Administrative Procedural Actions; Actions and Appeals of Unconstitutionality,
Revision and Cassation; conflicts of competence; Appeals of fact; Appeals of Complaint for denial or
delay of justice; Extraordinary Appeals before the Supreme Court in judicial matters; habeas corpus and
habeas corpus; andn and Cassation; conflicts of competence; Appeals of fact; Appeals of Complaint for
denial or delay of justice; Extraordinary Appeals before the Supreme Court of the Nation in judicial
matters; habeas corpus and letters rogatory - art. 86 of the Rules of Procedure of the Judiciary). The
General Administrator, who is in charge of the general administration of the Judicial Branch, according to
the following scheme:

Proposed organization chart of the Administrative Chamber of the Judiciary (Administrative

Area) Agreement No. 18,640 - Annex
I

Administrative Room
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6

General Administration
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7
Proposed Organization Chart of the Administrative Chamber of the Judicial
Branch
Agreement No. 18,640 - Annex II
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8
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9

Proposed Organizational Chart of the Jurisdictional Support

Area Acor dada N° 18.640 - Annex IV

Attorney General of the Supreme Court.

He is the superior head of the officials who work in the Public Prosecutor's Office before the
Courts and Tribunals of the Province, i.e., Prosecutors, Defenders and Advisors. He is primarily
responsible for criminal prosecution.
He is empowered to issue general and specific instructions to the Corps of Prosecutors for the
application of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Represents the Public Prosecutor's Office before the Supreme Court of Justice.
It is the accusing body before the Impeachment Jury.

General Administrator of the Supreme Court.

It reports to the Administrative Chamber and shall be in charge of the following functions and
duties (Agreement No. 16,828):
Execute the decisions that the Supreme Court of Justice, the Administrative Chamber and Mr.
President of the Superior Court.
To provide, with the best possible use of existing resources.
To prepare and present proposals for the administration of human, material, financial and
organizational resources.
To exercise the institutional relations related to its functions.
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Directing the budget preparation and execution process. 0

To propose structural and functional reforms of the administrative sector necessary for its better
functioning.
Render quarterly reports to the Supreme Court of Justice on the objectives pursued and
achievements made.

2.3. Hierarchical and Jurisdictional Organization of the Judicial Branch.

2.3.1. Lower Courts.
The Lower Courts referred to in the Provincial Constitution are organized and distributed in the four
Judicial Districts in different jurisdictions: Civil, Commercial and Mining; Juvenile Criminal,
Criminal, Labor and Family. In the cases of the Third and Fourth Circumscription, the lack of Civil
Appeals Chambers (3rd and 4th) and Criminal Chambers (4th) is substituted by those corresponding
to the First Circumscription.
The order of the Tribunals and the Public Prosecutor's Office can be seen in the following scheme:

Supreme Court of Justice

Labor Fuero de
Civil Jurisdiction Criminal Court
Jurisdiction Family

Criminal Chamber Crime Chambers

of
Minors 1
Civil, Commercial, Judge of Guarantees
1
Mining, Peace and (law 6730)
Tax Court of Juvenile Criminal Examining Magistrate
Appeals. Judge (law 1908)
Civil, Commercial and Family Correctional Judge
Cameras
Mining Court. Labor Judge
Bankruptcy
Proceedings and
Registry Court.
Tax Courts.
Lawyers' Courts of the
Peace.
District Justice of the
Peace
Public Prosecutor's Office
Procurator of the Court
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1
• \

Chamber Prosecutor's Office

Preliminary Prosecutor's Office Juvenile Criminal Defender

Defender of the Poor and

Corrections Prosecutor's Office
Absent
Advisor for Minors and
Civil Prosecutor's Office Incapacitated Persons

Juvenile Criminal Prosecutor

2.3.2. Pronouncements of the Supreme Court of Justice.
The Supreme Court of Justice expresses itself administratively through:
2.3.3. Acordadas: These are decisions of the Supreme Court of Justice or of some
of its Chambers, especially in matters of Superintendence. According to Dr. Aída
Kemelmajer de Carlucci, they are true "Administrative Regulations".
2.3.4. Presidential Resolutions: This is the administrative act issued by the
President of the Supreme Court.
These two types of resolutions refer to general issues.
2.3.5. Administrative Orders: In a specific case, within the analysis of an
administrative file, the Supreme Court may issue an Administrative Order. This is of a
particular nature for the case in question.
2.3.6. Resolutions of the Attorney General's Office: Issued by the Attorney
General of the Supreme Court of Justice, by means of which decisions of an administrative
nature on the organization and operation of the Public Prosecutor's Office are made.
2.3.7. General Administration Resolutions: issued by the General Manager.
They are mainly issued to authorize or award purchases or budget elevations (depending on
the amount, Acordada No. ) and exceptionally refer to other administrative matters.

3. Administrative Records.
Administrative files generally follow the same formalities as those applicable to civil files. In
other words, the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure and Law 3909 of Administrative
Procedure of the Province are applicable to administrative records in relation to writing, form
of the documents, folio, charges, signatures, seals, proof of list, etc.
These files have a cover page with an indication of the subject to which the administrative
proceeding in question refers (e.g.: Service Sheet, Call for Tenders, Call for Bids,
Miscellaneous Notes from the Courts, presentation of a matter by individuals or Magistrates
 2
and/or Officials) .These files have a cover page with an indication of the subject to 2
which
the administrative procedure refers (e.g.: Service Sheet, Call for Tender, Call for Bidding,
Various Notes from the Courts, presentation of an issue by individuals or Magistrates and/or
Officials), and then all the corresponding procedural actions are added in strict chronological
order.

3.1. Concept of Administrative Process.

It is the "sequence of acts necessary for the exercise of the administrative function" (Sarmiento
García - Petra Recabarren, "Ley de Procedimiento Administrativo de Mendoza 3909").

4. Structure of a Court.
We take as an example a Civil, Commercial and Mining Court - 4.1. Judge.
Supreme authority of the Court.
It is the person who exercises the jurisdictional power of the State, that is, the one who decides
the conflict brought before it by the parties in accordance with the law.
It issues Judgments, based on law, which decide on the merits of the matter in question, and
Orders, which are pronouncements that also decide, based on law, on accessory issues that arise
in the course of the proceeding.
They are appointed by the Executive Branch with the consent of the Senate, after examination by
the Council of the Judiciary.

4.1. Secretary.
It is a civil servant who is given the category of hierarchical personnel. He is appointed by the
Supreme Court at the proposal of the Judge or Collegiate Court (Chambers). The functions of the
same are fundamentally derived from the Organic Law of the Courts (arts. 136 to 146).- He is the
head of the office in the Court where he works and the assistants and other employees carry out
the orders he gives them regarding the office. He is the director of the personnel under his
charge.
It decrees the files and provides the presentations of mere formality.

He is responsible for all materials and goods of the Court or Office (files, papers, shelves,
telephones, etc.) and must keep them in good condition, being liable for their loss or destruction.
Keeps certain books under his care (e.g., books of detainees, of judgments and sentences, etc.).
Produces statistical reports and any other reports required by the Judge or the Supreme Court.
It must ensure the care and preservation of the files, with respect to their cover page, folio,
location in boxes, etc.; it must also ensure that the attention to the public is immediate and
correct.
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It attests to the judicial proceedings carried out in the Court (e.g., minutes or certification3of
copies of files).
Signs the daily list with the files provided by the Tribunal.

4.2. Assistant Secretary.

He is a qualified assistant attorney to the Judge. He drafts resolutions that the Judge reviews,
corrects and then signs.

4.3. Head of the Intake Desk.

He is in charge of the custody of the files. Stores them in boxes according to the type of
processes.
At the Front Desk, the public is attended to, the files are displayed on the list, the loan of the files
to the professionals is noted once authorized by the Secretary.
The Chief works with two assistants.

4.4. Receiver.
The person who prepares and/or reviews the notification letters.
He is appointed by the Supreme Court.
4.5. Justice Officer.
It is the official in charge of enforcing the measures dictated by the judge (seizures, seizure of
goods, payment orders, eviction).
He is also appointed by the Supreme Court.

4.6. Auxiliaries.
They are administrative employees, appointed by the Supreme Court, after taking and passing
the entrance examination in accordance with the entrance agreement No. 19.072.
They are governed by the Statute of Public Employees (Decree Law 560/63) and by the
Regulations of the Judiciary.
In general, the members of the Civil Court are distributed in this way to fulfill their functions.

B- DUTIES AND PROHIBITIONS. DECREE LAW 560/73. STATUTE

OF THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEE
1. Duties.
Art. 13 - Without prejudice to the duties particularly imposed by laws, decrees and special
resolutions, the personnel is obliged to:

• The personal rendering of the service, with efficiency, capacity and diligence, in the place,
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conditions of time and form, as determined by the corresponding regulatory provisions. 4

• To observe, in and out of the service, a decorous conduct worthy of the consideration and
trust that his official status demands.
• Conduct himself with tact and courtesy in his service relations with the public, conduct that
must also be observed with respect to his superiors, colleagues and subordinates.
• Obey any order issued by a hierarchical superior with the authority to give it, which meets the
formalities of the case and has as its purpose the performance of acts of service compatible
with the officer's duties.

• Refuse gifts, presents, rewards or any other advantages in connection with the performance of
their duties.
• To keep secret any matter of the service that must remain confidential, by reason of its nature
or special instructions, an obligation that shall subsist even after leaving office.

• Promote the corresponding legal actions when it is publicly accused of a crime, being able to
request the free legal sponsorship of the legal service of the respective agency.

• Remain in the position of resignation, for a term of thirty (30) calendar days, if not previously
replaced or his resignation accepted, or authorized to cease in his functions.
• Declare all activities and the origin of all income, in order to establish whether they are
compatible with the exercise of their functions.
• To declare, under oath, his patrimonial situation and subsequent modifications, when he holds
positions of a higher level and hierarchy or of a peculiar nature.
• Promote the instruction of administrative summaries of the personnel under their command,
when appropriate.
• Excusing themselves from intervening in all matters in which their actuality may give rise to
interpretations of partiality or moral incompatibility.

• To fall within the legal and regulatory provisions on incompatibility and accumulation of
positions.
• To comply fully and regularly with the established work schedule.
• Responsible for the efficiency and performance of the personnel under his command.
• To watch over the conservation of the tools, objects and other assets that make up the
patrimony of the state and of third parties that are placed under its custody.
• Wear the work clothes supplied for this purpose.
• Bringing to the attention of the superior authority any act or proceeding that may cause
damage to the state or constitute a crime.

• Fulfill their civic and military obligations, accrediting it before the corresponding superior.

• To declare the list of dependent family members and to communicate within thirty (30) days
of the occurrence of the change of marital status or family variants, accompanying in all cases
the corresponding documentation and to keep permanently updated the information regarding
 2
the domicile. 5

• Testifying in administrative summaries.

• To submit to the disciplinary jurisdiction and to exercise the disciplinary jurisdiction that
corresponds to its hierarchy.
• To undergo a psychophysical examination when required by the competent authority.

2. Prohibitions.
Art. 14 - it is forbidden to personnel:

• Sponsoring administrative procedures or formalities related to third party matters that are
related to their function.
• Directing, administering, advising, sponsoring and representing individuals or legal entities,
or integrating companies that manage or exploit concessions or privileges of the
administration at the national, provincial or municipal level, or that are suppliers or
contractors of the same.

• Directly or indirectly receive benefits arising from contracts, concessions, franchises or

awards, entered into or granted by the administration at the national, provincial or municipal
level.

• Maintaining relationships that represent benefits or obligations with entities directly audited
by the agency in which he/she renders services.
• Directly or indirectly taking advantage of powers or prerogatives inherent to their functions to
carry out proselytism or political action. this prohibition of propaganda does not include the
exercise of the agent's political rights, according to his conviction, as long as it is carried out
within a framework of moderation and circumspection.

• Performing, encouraging or consenting to acts incompatible with the rules of morality, civility
and good manners.
• To take steps, through persons other than those to whom it hierarchically corresponds, in all
matters related to the duties, prohibitions and rights established in these bylaws.

• Organizing or promoting, directly or indirectly, for political purposes, acts of homage or

reverence to active officials, subscriptions, adhesions or contributions from personnel.
• To carry out credit operations among themselves.
• Use for private purposes the transportation and working tools destined to the official service,
and the services of the personnel.
• Using the knowledge acquired in the function, for purposes outside the service.
• Assuming powers that are not within its competence.
• Withdrawal, copying or improper use of public documents.
• Circulate or promote subscriptions, raffles or donations of any kind in the workplace without
superior authorization.
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6
• Accepting or promoting tributes or any other act that implies submission or obsequiousness.

• Ordering or making deductions from personnel assets for purposes not expressly authorized
by law.

C- REGULATION OF THE JUDICIARY

Art. 3 Judges, officers and employees shall observe irreproachable conduct. In particular,
they are obliged to:

• Residing in the place where they perform their duties or within a radius of prompt
communication that does not exceed 100 km. of the same. The Supreme Court may
temporarily waive this obligation when there are very reasonable grounds.

• To maintain absolute confidentiality with respect to matters pending before the respective
courts.

• Do not provide consultations or advice in cases of actual or potential legal disputes.

• Not to manage third parties' affairs or take an interest in them, except in cases of necessary
representation.
• Refusing gifts or benefits.
• Abstain absolutely from frequenting places intended for gambling.
• To lift within 60 days from the date of their notification any garnishment of their salaries or
of the bankruptcy proceeding that may have been decreed. Exceptionally, and with explicit
mention of the reason that determines it, the Supreme Court may extend this term or even
exempt the interested party from complying with this obligation.

• They may not exercise liberal professions or the positions whose incompatibility is set forth
in art. 95 of the Provincial Constitution. Neither may they render services simultaneously
under the supervision of lawyers, attorneys or other professionals acting in the jurisdiction of
the Province.

• Not to engage in commerce (art. 22 inc. 3° of the Code of Commerce) except for owning
shares of corporations that do not contract with the State.
• Do not practice sports as a professional.
• Not to participate in the organization or activities of the professionals acting in the forum.

Art. 13.

• To give notice to their boss or substitute, in order to inform the superior authority, when it is
impossible for them to attend their job for justified reasons.
• Not to leave work without permission from the boss.
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7
• Refrain from petitioning superior authorities without the permission of their immediate
superior, except in the case of unjust refusal.
• To attend the public with deference, provide them with pertinent information and refrain from
receiving money for the replacement of stamps.
• Not to charge fees for the issuance of copies ordered by the court or tribunal, except for those
mentioned in Articles 27 and 28 of the Code of Civil Procedures.
• To issue receipts for the amounts received for means of mobility, in the cases of out-of-radius
proceedings, and must be limited to the strictly necessary expenses.
• Do not use official telephones for private matters.

TOPIC III: CIVIL LAW

1. The Judicial Process.
1.1. Concept
Man is a social being, he is born into a family and needs others to survive, he has biological,
intellectual and spiritual needs that he cannot satisfy by himself.
Living in society, where goods are scarce, conflicts arise. In primitive societies, conflicts were
resolved by force and men took justice into their own hands. Currently, when the parties in
conflict cannot reach a particular settlement (called selfcomposition), they resort to an impartial
third party, who, at the end of an analysis, decides the situation in justice.
Men have organized themselves in society, distributing the powers of power in three organs: the
Legislative Power that dictates laws to govern society, that is, to regulate the conduct of men, the
Executive Power that directs the actions of government to achieve the common good, and the
Judicial Power that resolves conflicts that arise between individuals.
How is this activity developed?
Through what is called the Judicial Process. The process is the modern replacement for private
violence.
The process is a peaceful means of dialectical debate to achieve the solution of inter-subjective
conflicts of interest and whose raison d'être lies in the need to eradicate illegitimate force in a
given society.
Thus contemplated, the process fulfills a dual function:
Private: this is the instrument available to any individual in conflict to achieve a solution from
the State, to which he/she must necessarily resort, as a final alternative, if he/she has not been
able to resolve the conflict through one of the possible forms of self-composition of the conflict
(withdrawal, settlement and/or transaction).

Public: it is the guarantee granted by the State to all its inhabitants in exchange for the
prohibition imposed on the use of private force. In order to make this guarantee effective, the
State organizes its Judicial Power and describes a priori, in the law, the method of debate as well
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as the possible forms of execution of the decision on a given conflict. 8

The series of acts - affirmation (claim), denial (answer), confirmation (proof) and allegation
(pleadings) - constitutes the process, understood as a means of debate. This entire procedural
series is aimed at obtaining a declaration from the judge before whom the litigation is brought.
This statement is made in the sentence.
To conclude, we will say that Procedural Law is the set of legal norms that regulate the
jurisdictional activity of the State for the application of substantive laws. The National
Constitution (art. 75 inc. 12) establishes that the power to issue substantive rules corresponds to
the Nation (Civil Code, Commercial Code, Criminal Code, etc.), reserving to the Provinces the
power to issue the Procedural Codes through their Legislatures. Procedural Law establishes rules
that regulate the organization of the Judiciary, the competence of its officers, and the actions of
the judge and the parties in the substantiation of the process.
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1.2. Procedural guarantees. Due process. Rationale.
It is possible to justify the idea of due process as an intrinsic value, since it confers on individuals or
groups against whom governmental decisions operate the opportunity to participate in the process in
which those decisions are made; that opportunity signifies a recognition of the dignity of the persons
participating in that process.
The procedural debate represents a value of human interaction in which the affected person
experiences at least the satisfaction of participating in the decision that vitally concerns him/her and
the expectation of receiving an explanation of the reasons for the decision that affects him/her.
Due process protects the fundamental principles of liberty and justice that relate to the basis of all
civil institutions.
The National Constitution of 1853/1880, in addition to affirming in its Preamble the objective of
consolidating justice, recognizes in Article 18 that the defense of the person and rights in court is
inviolable.
Joaquin V. González, in his classic work on Constitutional Law, referring to the defense in trial,
states that it is "a prerogative of every man, as is the defense of one's own life in case of material
aggression. The text expressly sanctions the guarantee of defense in court, not only for the legal
entity, but also for the rights attached to it as a citizen and inhabitant of the Nation. It has not,
therefore, stripped man of the fullness of his sovereignty not vested in the government, but by
organizing it, it has left him the means of defending his life, his honor, his property, even against
the aggressions of the same public power".
The inviolability of the defense means that the litigant must be heard and be in a position to exercise
his rights in the form and with the solemnities established by the common procedural laws.

1.3. Parts of the Process.

Party is the one who claims and against whom it is claimed or, more broadly, the one who claims
and against whom the satisfaction of a claim is claimed.

1.3.1. Plaintiff and defendant.

In principle, in every process there are two parties involved: one that petitions in its own name, or in
whose name the performance of a legal norm is requested, called the "plaintiff" or "plaintiff", and
another against whom this conduct is demanded, called the "defendant".
The presence of these two parties in the process is a consequence of the Principle of Contradiction,
these Processes are called "Contentious Processes" (contention: fight, discussion).
In turn, there are the so-called "Voluntary Proceedings", in which we cannot speak of plaintiff or
defendant, since the claims are the same. An example of these are the Probate Proceedings where
the heirs go before the Judge to determine their right to the Inheritance. Here the idea of parties must
be replaced by that of "petitioners", i.e., those persons who in their own interest claim before a
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0
judicial body the issuance of a pronouncement that resolves their claims, constitutes, integrates or
gives effectiveness to a certain state or legal relationship.
The concept of party is strictly procedural; this quality is given by the active or passive ownership of
a claim and is totally independent of the effective existence of the substantial legal relationship on
the merits of which the judgment will be pronounced. We must not forget that it is not necessary for
the plaintiff to actually have the right he alleges, or the legal standing to act in the Process.
When the process is initiated, the parties present the judge with mere hypotheses, simple assertions,
not proven facts, and it is precisely in order to verify whether the alleged right really exists, and
whether or not the plaintiff has standing, that the process is initiated.
All persons, both individuals and legal entities (entities capable of acquiring rights and contracting
obligations) may be parties. Legal entities (Civil or Commercial Companies, Associations, etc.) by
their very nature, must act through their Legal Representatives or Statutory Representatives (those
arising from the contract, bylaws or constitutive act of the Company or Association).
The same person may be both plaintiff and defendant in the process, as occurs in the case of
counterclaim or counterclaim. In other words, the person being sued may in turn sue the person who
sued him.

1.3.2. Third parties.

In principle, the process involves two parties: the plaintiff and the defendant. However, many times
during the course of the litigation, persons other than the original parties join the litigation, either
spontaneously or provoked, in order to assert their own rights or interests, but always linked to the
claim of one of the original parties, which is called "Third Parties".
Other non-parties, such as witnesses, experts, interpreters, etc., are also involved in the process.
1.4. Process Classification.
There are different types of Processes. They differ in terms of time limits, the extent of the evidence
that can be offered and the object pursued.
The Processes of Knowledge, which include the ordinary and summary, have in common that the
knowledge of the judge is full, that is to say that all the issues related to the conflict that originated
the judicial intervention are discussed.
In others, such as the Executive Process or some Special Proceedings, it is authorized to discuss
certain issues, such as the goodness or legitimacy of the executive title, for example, reserving
others for a later process.
Summary Proceedings are those of limited knowledge and of shorter procedural time than the
ordinary one.

In summary:
Ordinary: These are proceedings of full knowledge by the judge, in which all the issues related to
 3
1
the conflict that originated the judicial intervention are discussed.
Structure: Complaint - Answer (twenty days) - Opening of Evidence (ten days) - Substantiation of
Evidence - Arguments (ten days) - Judgment (sixty days).

Summary proceedings: These are proceedings of limited knowledge by the judge with shorter
terms than ordinary proceedings.
Structure: Complaint - Answer (ten days) - Transfer of the Answer (five days) - Substantiation of
Evidence - Arguments (five days) - Judgment (thirty days).

Executives: These are processes in which only certain issues are authorized to be discussed, and are
given only for those titles that the law admits as Executives.
Structure: Execution Demand - Writ of Execution and Garnishment with summons for the defense
and legal defense (six or three days depending on the type of execution) - Opposition of exceptions
and defenses - Substantiation of Evidence - Judgment (ten or fifteen days, depending on the case) -
Execution and Garnishment with summons for the defense and legal defense (six or three days
depending on the type of execution).

Precautionary measures: Precautionary measures that may be requested before, during and/or after
the proceedings in order to ensure the outcome of a litigation. They are based on the need for the
judgment to have its possible and necessary compliance in due time, to prevent, by means of the
corresponding measures, that during the inevitable delay in the processing of the process, the object
of the litigation may be modified or diminished or even disappear, either by the defendant or by the
action of time and the nature of the thing itself.
They include liens, annotations of litis, inhibitions, seizures, etc...

Amparo: Process designed to protect constitutional guarantees of immediate protection by judges.

These are processes in which it is sufficient the immediate verification of the restriction of
constitutional rights and guarantees, without order of competent authority and without expression of
legal cause, to be reestablished by the judges in its integrity, without being able to allege to the
contrary the inexistence of a law that regulates the individual guarantee that exists and protects
individuals by the mere fact of being enshrined in the National Constitution, regardless of the laws
that regulate its exercise.The individual guarantee that exists and protects individuals by the mere
fact of being enshrined in the National Constitution, regardless of the laws that regulate its exercise,
cannot be invoked to the contrary.-

Universal: These are those that deal with the totality of an estate, with a view to its liquidation
(bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings) or its distribution (inheritance).
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2
2. Dockets.
2.1. Training. Collation. (art. 55 of the C.P.C.).
The files are formed with the first document, to which are added in strict chronological order the
writings, documents, minutes and other actions that arise during the process.
When the professional goes to the Mesa de Entradas Central en Materia Civil (M.E.C.C.), he/she
fills out an information form (Auto Administrativo del 31/07/97), which contains the necessary data
to load in the fields of the central computer system. This card goes immediately after the title page,
as "sheet 1".
The covers of the files are made of cardboard, in different colors, according to the type of process.
Following the file, all the basic documentation of the claim, the lawsuit and finally the charge of the
M.E.C.C. are added. The file is kept in an envelope that is removed the next day, first thing in the
morning, by the Head of the Intake Desk of the Court where the case was filed. From that moment
on, all the proceedings are filed in the Court and are added in chronological order, including the time
of filing of the documents filed on the same day.

2.2. Advertising (art. 56 of the C.P.C.).

The files are public, unless otherwise provided by court order, i.e., they may be examined at the
Court's Intake Desk by those who request them, invoking a legitimate interest, which shall be
qualified by the Clerk. In principle, the litigants, their professionals, experts and other assistants
involved in the process may freely examine them - It should be borne in mind that it is appropriate
to deny the exhibition when there is a well-founded suspicion that the person who intends to
examine them is illegally exercising a forensic profession or an illicit activity. In this case, the fact
must be brought to the attention of the criminal justice system.

2.3. Loan (art. 56 of the C.P.C.).

The files may be provided on loan to professionals and experts involved in the case, when their
volume or the complexity of the issues so require. The loan is authorized by the Secretary and for a
term to be fixed by the Secretary. The loan is recorded in a special book, which is kept at the Intake
Desk, and the number, cover page, pages in the file, date and term of the loan are recorded.
Upon expiration of the loan without the file having been returned without good cause, the borrower
shall be sentenced to pay a daily fine, and the loan shall not be made available to him/her thereafter.
At the same time, an order is issued to the Officer of Justice to remove the file from the domicile
recorded in the Loan Book, with a search of the domicile and the use of public force. These
proceedings are without prejudice to any criminal penalties that may apply.
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2.4. Delivery and return.
The files are recorded in the Loan Book when they are withdrawn from the Court, and cancelled
when they are returned by the borrower.

2.5. Archive. Custody of files (art. 59 of the C.P.C.).

Once a proceeding has been terminated, by any of the means provided for in the Code (judgment,
expiration, acquiescence, waiver, conciliation and settlement), the file will be archived, leaving a
record of the date it was sent and the information necessary for its search. The letter corresponds to
the first letter that begins the cover page and the number to the number of the correlative package of
that same letter (e.g. M-14, which means that the file in question is filed in package No. 14 of letter
M, of that Court). A copy of the list of the files in the package is kept at the Court's Intake Desk and
sent to the Judicial Archive of the Province.
The files may be examined in the Archive, in accordance with the provisions of the first part of Art.
56, that is, by those claiming a legitimate interest. But they can only be withdrawn by court order,
either to be added to another file, or for their continuation if appropriate, and with charge of timely
return.
2.6. Custody.
The custody of files is the task of the Head of the Intake Desk (art. 55 of the C.P.C.). It is also
responsible for the conservation of the same in good condition.

2.7. List of files.

A list is made daily of all the files in which any order has been issued. The list is very important,
since the judicial proceedings will be notified to all those who intervene in the process on Mondays
or Thursdays or on the next business day following the day on which they took place if one of them
is a holiday. The lists are subscribed by the Secretary of the Court, and include all the files that leave
the office, with the exception of the resolutions that order precautionary measures or decrees of the
same style (Ex. ordering the enforcement of a seizure ordered in previous pages).

2.8. Secret files. Cases.

In principle, in Civil and Commercial matters, the files are public, i.e., they are listed from the first
document. This principle gives way when the litigant, in order to defend its rights, requests the filing
of any precautionary measure, such as, for example, attachments, seizures, inhibitions, annotations
of litigation, judicial intervention or administration, prohibition to contract or to innovate, etc..

2.9. Business days and hours. Qualification. (art. 60 of the C.P.C.).

Judicial proceedings and procedures shall be carried out on working days and hours.
All days of the year are working days, except Saturdays, Sundays, holidays and non-working days
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declared by law or decree, by the Executive Powers of the Nation or of the Province, or by
Agreements of the Supreme Court of Justice; the entire month of January and TEN (10) working
days between July 10 and 31, which are established annually by the Superior Court.
Working hours are those between seven (7) and twenty-one (21).
Judges, either ex officio or at the request of an interested party, may set aside non-working days and
hours for the purpose of carrying out urgent proceedings or actions, the delay of which may cause
irreparable damage to the proceedings. It should be noted that the authorization must be requested
on a business day and time.
However, if a proceeding was initiated on a business day and during business hours, it can be carried
out until its end, without interrupting it and without the need to enable the non-business hours, that
is to say, the act can exceed the business hours, but it does not need an express extension.

2.10. Court books.

• Compliance with schedule and attendance of personnel.

• Verbal permissions.
• Book of embargoes.
• Book of Appeal of Autos to Resolve.
• Book of Liens.
• Book of fictitious notification - Daily list (art. 66 C.P.C.).
• Record of substantive hearings.
• Book of Edicts.
• Cause ticket book.-
• Book of file loans (Arts. 47 inc. IV, 56, 58, 285 of the CPC. 47, 49 and 98 of the Regulations of
the Judiciary, and Agreement 11.440).
• Justice Officers' Duty Book.
• Book of copies of Resolutions.
• Book of Internal Resolutions, Observations and/or Recommendations.

2.11. Report.
When a file is sent to another Court or Office (Ex. State Prosecutor's Office), a report is issued and
signed by the Head of the Intake Desk of the Court or Office that receives it, and this report is
returned to the Court that sent it to be duly filed.

3. Judicial writs.
3.1. Requirements and formalities.
Article 50 of the Code of Civil Procedure (C.P.C.). establishes: "Briefs shall bear, at the top, a brief
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summary of their contents; be headed by the name and surname of the petitioner and of his
represented party, if applicable; number and cover page of the file and be typed or handwritten
clearly, in indelible black ink."-.
They shall not contain scratches or illegible testaduras, and corrections shall be interlined, stating,
before the signature, what has been tested and what has been interlined.
No abbreviations or numbers shall be used in the main part of their content; blank lines shall not be
left unused, nor shall they be written in the upper or lower lateral margins. They will be signed by
the interested parties, and if they do not know how or cannot do it, they will have to put the right
digit-thumb impression, in the presence of the head of the entry desk, who will certify the act. If the
interested party does not know how or cannot read, the head of the entry desk shall read the
document and shall record this circumstance when certifying the act. The same procedure will be
used in the same circumstances for any procedural act.
When there are doubts as to the authenticity of the signature on a document, the interested party
may be summoned to ratify it, proving his identity. The document will be ineffective if it is not
ratified within the period indicated for such purpose.
All signatures shall be typed or stamped."
The aforementioned article contains the formal requirements common to all pleadings. Its
requirement is justified in the civil process for several practical reasons, all of which tend to avoid
errors in the performance of the Judge and Officials in the process. Thus, for example, the summary
of the contents of the brief, which should be inserted at the top of the brief, quickly places the judge
in the subject matter of the petition. Therefore, documents containing summaries such as "what it
requests", "what it expresses" do not comply with the precepts, because, in short, they do not
indicate anything. What the law wants is that the summary synthetically reflects the content of the
document - We will now analyze the content of each of the requirements demanded by Art. 50 of the
CPC.
^ Heading.
When the litigant acts in his own right, it is sufficient to mention his name and surname in the
heading. When the person acting is the representative, legal or conventional, his name and surname
must be mentioned, as well as the name and surname of the represented party. The judicial practice
has admitted that the representative, without mentioning the name and surname of his principal,
indicates on behalf of which party he is acting. For example: "NN by the plaintiff" - "NN by the
plaintiff" - "NN by the plaintiff" - "NN by the plaintiff".

File number and cover page.

The court file must contain all the proceedings of the litigants and of the judge and his assistants in
an orderly fashion. The mention of the file number and the cover page of the case serve this purpose,
so that the judge can rule on the issues raised in the process.
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^ Writing.
The writings must be typed or handwritten clearly, using indelible black ink. However, forensic
practice has admitted the use of printed or photocopied forms as long as they keep those characters.
Court practice has also admitted the filing of written pleadings, called "oral petitions", which we will
develop later on, which are usually filed by professionals without respecting the color of ink
required by the Code. However, what is essential and cannot be dispensed with is clear and easily
understandable handwriting.
The writings must not contain scratches or illegible testaduras. Corrections should be interlinear. The
typed and spaced text must be saved by stating that fact before signing.
No abbreviations or numbers should be used in writing, no blank lines should be left unused, nor
should they be written in the upper or lower lateral margins.

^ Signature.
The signature of the litigant when acting in his own right, or that of his legal or conventional
representative, as the case may be, is an indispensable formal requirement for the validity of the
document. The signature must be authentic, otherwise it is invalid. Two situations may arise in this
regard: the first is that the signature is authentic but there are doubts as to its authenticity. In this
case, either ex officio or at the request of a party, the interested party may be summoned to ratify it,
proving his or her identity. If the interested party does not appear within the term indicated for such
purpose, the document shall be ineffective. In the case of a litigant acting in his own right, due to the
seriousness of the sanction, the summons must be served by writ of summons at the real domicile,
and the judges have the power to so order. The second situation is that the signature of the interested
party is actually apocryphal. The subsequent acknowledgment of the litigant, in this case, does not
change the situation, the pleading is ineffective. The invalidity of the same must be resolved by
means of a nullity proceeding (art. 94 C.P.C.) since an essential form of the process would have been
violated.
The signature of the sponsoring attorney is also a requirement for the admissibility of the document,
as it is required by art. 33 C.P.C., for the cases expressly indicated. All signatures must be typed or
stamped.

^ Thumb digit printing.

In those cases in which the interested parties do not know how or are unable to sign the documents,
they may substitute the signature by printing the fingerprint of the right thumb digit. The act must be
carried out in the presence of the Head of the Entry Desk, who must certify it. In the case of minutes,
the Secretary certifies.

^ Language.
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In this regard, Art. 49 of the C.P.C. establishes that "In all procedural actions, the Spanish language shall
be used.
When documents written in other languages are submitted, they shall be accompanied by a Spanish
version, drafted and signed by a certified translator of the registry.
When a litigant or witness who does not know how to express himself in Spanish is called upon to take
the stand or testify, a public translator shall be appointed by lot".

3.2. Verbal Requests.

Article 52 of the Civil Code. establishes: "Any request that does not require to be substantiated, may be
made verbally and shall be recorded in the file, signed by the interested party and authorized by the head
of the entry desk." The article allows for oral motions in all types of proceedings (ordinary, summary or
executive). It is an essential condition that the petition does not require factual or legal grounds,
otherwise the forms of art. 50 C.P.C.
It is called "verbal petition" because originally, the lawyer or professional would verbally tell the Head
of the Court's Intake Desk what he/she wanted to ask for or to make a statement, but it was the latter
who wrote it down and recorded it in the file. Currently, the request is not verbal but written, since it is
the litigant himself or the professional who writes it in the file and is certified by the head of the entry
desk. The following is a common way of writing and presenting an oral petition, as an example, the
following: "On the day of this date, appears Dr.............. by the plaintiff/defendant and requests, in
view of the status of the case, that a new hearing date be set for the witnesses offered at fs. ".
Attorney's signature.
Before me
Signature Head of Entry Desk
The oral petition must be recorded in the file respecting the chronological order of the preceding
procedural acts, starting from the last blank space on the last page, or on a new sheet of paper. Verbal
petitions should not be made on the folios containing documents or official documents.

3.3. Copies.
Article 53 of the Civil Code. reads: "A true copy, perfectly legible and signed, for each of the opposing
litigants, shall be attached to every document to be served or heard and to the documents in which the
service or hearing is answered, as well as to the accompanying documents.
If the transfer is not prescribed by this code, the copies shall be presented within two days of the decree
ordering it".
The rationale for the rule is that professionals need to have copies of the pleadings filed by the parties in
order to properly exercise their right of defense. In addition, in order to be able to keep in their files all
the records of the trials in which they are involved. Therefore, it imposes the obligation to attach copies,
not only of all pleadings to be served or heard, but also of the pleadings in which the hearing or hearing
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is contested, copies of which are available to the litigant at the Intake Desk.
In case of possible loss of the file, copies of the documents ensure its reconstruction.
In many cases the Code determines the obligation to give notice or a hearing to the other party. But it
may happen in the course of a proceeding that a particular petition does not provide for a transfer or
hearing and yet the judge orders it to be complied with. In this case, the litigant, who is not obliged to
know in advance the Judge's decision, must present the copies within two days of the decree ordering it,
the time limit being computed from the day following the fictitious notification of the decree ordering
the hearing or service not provided for by the Code, unless the Judge orders notification at the domicile
by registered letter.In this case, the litigant, who is not obliged to know in advance of the Judge's
decision, must present the copies within two days of the decree ordering it, the time limit being
calculated from the day following the day of the fictitious notification of the decree ordering the hearing
or the transfer not provided for by the code, unless the Judge orders notification at the domicile by
letter.-

3.4. Non-compliance with legal requirements.

Article 54 of the Civil Code. provides: "If the requirements set forth in arts. 49, 50 and 53, the
document will not be admitted, and the Head of the Entry Desk must point out the deficiencies to the
interested party so that they may be corrected and leave a record in the file of the presentation of the
document, its purpose and the reason for its rejection, subscribing the document with the interested
party. Failure to comply with the formalities set forth in Art. 51, the Secretary shall be liable to a
pecuniary fine, in addition to the nullity of the minutes, if they are not signed by the Judge".
This article requires the Head of the Entry Desk to examine, in each document submitted, the
compliance with the formal requirements indicated and if they are not complied with, to reject them,
pointing out the defects or omissions so that they may be corrected. The Secretary, as chief of staff and
in charge of issuing the orders of mere formality, shall resolve any discrepancy between the Head of the
Intake Desk and the submitter of a rejected document. The Head of the Entry Desk who does not comply
with this obligation shall be subject to penalties.
In reality, this article is not applied with such strictness in our Courts, for which reason a writ or decree
is issued by the Secretary's Office to correct the defects, under penalty of dismissal of the presentation.

3.5. Breakdown.
It consists of removing from the file writings or documents whose permanence or addition to the file
would be unnecessary or inadmissible. When a breakdown is carried out, a record must be made of the
items that have been broken down and of the page on which the resolution that ordered the breakdown is
found, but without altering the foliature of the file in the event that there are proceedings subsequent to
those items.
In this regard, Art. 55, app. II of the C.P.C. provides: "When by court order a breakdown is ordered, the
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foliature shall not be altered and a new sheet shall be placed in place of the piece removed, where,
under the signature of the Head of the Entry Desk, the sheet where the resolution is made, the receipt
and a summary description of the piece shall appear, unless an authorized copy of it is left".

3.6. Position.
Article 61 of the Civil Code. available:
"I.- The Head of the Entry Desk, immediately upon receiving a document, report or expert opinion, shall
charge it under his signature, indicating the date and time of presentation, number of pages,
attachments and copies; whether it is signed by counsel and any other significant detail.- II.- He shall
then add it to the file and foliate it, passing it to the Secretary.- II.
111- A pleading not projected (filed) within the court hours of the day on which a time limit expires may
only be validly delivered to the corresponding clerk's office on the next business day and within the first
two hours of the office. Within half an hour of its expiration, the Secretary shall draw up a list of the
pleadings filed pursuant to this provision, which shall be displayed at the Intake Desk."
The charge is the formal act that indicates the date and time of filing of a pleading or document in the
file and determines the time in which the filing has been completed. The charge is of vital importance to
determine whether the procedural act or diligence filed by a litigant has been complied with on time.
The presentation of a document that must be filed within a certain period of time must be considered
extemporaneous when it is not filed within the term, even if it is only for a few minutes.
The charge that meets all the formal requirements demanded by the code must be considered as a public
instrument.
The charge is generally pre-drafted or made up in advance on a stamp that is directly imposed on the
pleadings filed. It is usually worded as follows.

Model.
Presented on.........from...................of two thousand...............
being the ...............hs., with/without...signature/s.- Accompanying

Signature of the Head of the Entry Desk

Regarding the grace period granted by the third paragraph of Article 61, it is of vital importance for
litigants who have not been able to file their brief within the ordinary time limit granted, since it enables
them to validly file their brief on the next business day and within the first two hours of office.
For example, if the defendant in an exchange execution has six business days to appear, defend himself
and establish legal domicile, he may validly do so on the seventh business day, provided that he leaves
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his written statement between 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. (first two business hours), by the Secretary's
office, and stating before the Secretary that he is appearing within the grace period.
Litigants who make use of this grace period or "Night Clerk's Office" must inform the Head of the Entry
Desk or Clerk (depending on each court), so that the filing can be included in the daily list of pleadings
filed in the Night Clerk's Office. This list shall be closed at 09.30 a.m. sharp, and no presentation shall
be admitted after one minute after that time. The same, duly signed by the Clerk of the Court, shall be
exhibited at the Entrance Desk so that all interested parties may be aware of the existence of the
documents thus filed.
The name "Night Clerk's Office" comes from the fact that in the past there was a Clerk for the entire
Civil Court, who received all the pleadings that were filed in the afternoon and into the night. These
briefs were distributed the following mornings to the corresponding courts. This practice was replaced
by the aforementioned two-hour grace period within the business day following the expiration of the
deadline.

4. Judicial Resolutions.
4.1. Concept.
These are procedural acts emanating from the jurisdictional body.

4.2. Classes. Decrees, Orders and Judgments.

Decrees: the decrees provide without substantiation to the development of the process and must be
pronounced within two days from the date of the charge or the oral request made.
No other formalities are required other than its expression in writing, indication of date, place and
signature of the Judge or Secretary.

Orders: they decide all the issues that arise within the process, which should not be resolved in
the final judgment. They must be pronounced within the terms established in the Code of Civil
Procedure, and in the absence of such terms, within twenty days (for Ordinary Proceedings) or ten
days (for Summary or Compulsory Proceedings) of being in a state of resolution.

Judgments: they decide on the merits of the issues involved in the process and must be pronounced
within sixty days ( Ordinary Process), thirty days (Summary Process), fifteen or ten days
(Executive Process, depending on whether or not exceptions have been raised) from the date on
which the decree ordering the summons became final.

5. Hearings.
5.1. Formalities.
In the Civil Process, hearings are held for different reasons, the main one being as a means of evidence
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offered in a timely manner by the parties. Once their production has been ordered, they are carried out in
the Secretariat and will be taken by an assistant in the presence of the Secretary, who will control their
development.
The testimonial hearing is the one taken to receive the statement of a natural person, about past events of
which he/she has knowledge or that he/she has seen or heard. Witnesses must be of legal age, able-
bodied and present their ID. They must be summoned in advance and must appear, because it is a public
charge, i.e. they cannot refuse. They must also tell the truth, otherwise they are liable for false testimony.
The absolution hearing is the means for the parties to obtain the confession of their opponent in a given
proceeding.
Minutes are also drawn up for the proposal and acceptance of positions of experts, administrators of
estates, trustees, etc., which in most courts or tribunals are prepared on a pre-printed form.

Conciliation hearings are held between the parties to reach an agreement on different aspects or points of
the process, and may be ordered at any stage of the process, up to the call for a ruling.

5.2. Questions, Cross-examination, Opposition and Cross-examination of Witnesses.

The witness must be present with his/her ID card. and take an oath to tell the truth. He is then questioned
about the "generals of the law", i.e. he is required to give his personal data: name, age, nationality,
profession, marital status and domicile, he is asked if he has knowledge of the litigants, if he is related to
any of them and in what degree, if he is a friend with frequent dealings or an enemy, creditor, debtor,
employee, employer or has any other kind of relationship or link with any of the litigants, and then he is
interrogated according to a sheet of questions. At the conclusion of the questions listed above, the
attorneys for the parties may extend the interrogation (First Extension... Second extension, etc.) and the
opposing party may cross-examine.
It may happen that an opposition to the testimony of a witness is filed when it appears from his personal
data that he is not in a position to testify (minor, spouse, etc.) or it may also happen that he contradicts
himself or is not precise in his answers, and the professional of the opposing party of the one who
proposed the witness crosses him out. That is, it expresses the reasons why it challenges the testimony.
The objection can be resolved at the same moment of the hearing by the Judge (he accepts the objection
or rejects it with the corresponding grounds) or in the Judgment when evaluating all the evidence; unlike
the opposition to a question that will be resolved at the same moment of the hearing.

5.3. Sample Minutes.

5.3.1. Acceptance of the position of experts.
In the City of Mendoza, on the ..............days of the month of...of the year..., at...hours, in
accordance with the order on fs..of the case nº...proceedings:...........Mr. A. S. S., appeared in court
at the.........................................................expert accountant appointed in the proceedings, who
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proved his identity with his ID card. N°...and the act was opened by the Judge: That he comes to
accept the position of expert accountant for which he has been appointed, swearing his faithful
and lawful performance. He establishes his legal domicile at...To which the Court resolves: To
consider the position as accepted and the legal domicile as indicated. Whereupon, the act is
terminated and, after reading and ratification, is signed by the person appearing after the Judge
and before the authorized Secretary.
Signature of the Expert
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Secretary's signature Judge's
signature
Court Seal

5.3.2. Substantiation hearing minutes.

In the City of Mendoza, on the ...days of the month of...of the year..., at...hours, in accordance with
the order in fs..of the proceedings n°..caratulados:..., Mr...with D.N.I. appeared in this Court. ...in
their own right, with the legal representation of Dr...and the defendants Messrs...with the legal
representation of Dr...The proceedings were opened by the Judge and they were invited to attempt
conciliation. After an exchange of ideas, no solution was reached and the conciliatory attempt was
deemed to have failed. Next, the parties are invited to propose a handwriting expert,
designating ...by mutual agreement, with domicile in calle...Next, the plaintiff Mr....who, after
having taken the oath of law, is questioned according to the sheet that is opened in this act,
answering to the FIRST: that it is true. At this stage, the defendants, through their attorneys-in-
fact, expand the pleadings as follows: FIRST AMPLIFICATION: To swear as true ANSWER:
Whereupon, the statement of the plaintiff is closed, and after reading and ratification, the plaintiff
signs for the record after the Judge and before the authorizing Secretary.

Signature of the defendants, Signature of the absolving actor

Signature of attorneys Signature of attorneys
Judge Signature Secretary's signature

5.3.3. Appointment of experts by lot.

In the City of Mendoza, on the ...days of the month of...of the year..., at...hours, in accordance with
the order in fs..of the proceedings No...proceedings:..., Dr.... for the plaintiff and Dr.... for the
defendant, requesting the term of Art. 29 of the C.P.C. to prove the legal capacity invoked. The
Judge opened the proceedings, and the parties requested that the appointment of the Psychologist
Expert be carried out by drawing lots before the Professional Office, to which the Court resolved:
That Dr...be granted the term of art. 29 of the C.P.C. to accredit the legal capacity invoked, under
penalty of law. In order for the preceding drawing of lots to be carried out, the date is set for the
day ... at the hours, and the parties are hereby duly notified. To this effect, it is hereby notified to
the Professional Office.

Signature of attorneys
Judge Signature
Secretary's signature
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6. Trades.
6.1. Concept.
It is a procedural act, a written communication within the process; it is also used in administrative
proceedings.
It is used to notify, gather information, request documentation, order measures or delegate them to
other Officers or Magistrates.
It is the most common means of action in legal proceedings.

6.2. Requirements it must contain.

• Place and date of grant -(1)

• Magistrate or official to whom it is addressed -(2)
• Indication of the pages of the file where what is the reason for or object of the official
communication is stated.
• Identifying data of the file in which the official document is ordered.
• Court of origin -(5)
• Transcription of what is notified, summoned or ordered when it is not subscribed by the Judge ( 6).

• If it is a notification, summons, summons, injunction, attachment, seizure, etc., the person to whom
the order is to be served or on whom it is to be complied with or executed must be indicated.

• Type of domicile: real, legal, special, place of work expressly authorized by court order -(8)

• Person authorized to fill it out and withdraw it -(9)

• Closing or greeting -(10)
• Seal of the Court or Tribunal, and clarifying signatures of the Judge or Clerk, well placed and clear.

• Any other circumstance that may be convenient to include (how many pages of the transfer, what
documentation is attached, interrogatories, statement of positions, etc.)(12).

6.3. Special claims.

When the communication is made between different Provinces, according to Law 22.172, some special
requirements must be taken into account, as well as provisions that regulate not only the preparation of
the Oficio, but also what other documents or copies must be attached (cfr. Art. 3°, 9° and 7° of Law
22.172).
Note: It is advisable to include in the text of the Official Letter the Court of the Court of origin ( 5),
since it is frequent that Judges or interim Clerks must sign it, which may cause it to be returned to the
Court of the signatories because the seal of the Court of origin is not clear.
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6.4. Annotations of seizures, inhibitions and annotation of litigation in the Public Registry Office.
In the case of real estate, in addition to the requirements of art. 101 of the C.P.C., the references or data
of the same must be included, as determined by the National Law 17.801- Real Property Registry by
means of Registry Techniques or the Organic Law of the Courts and its modifying Provincial Law
1.197.

6.4.1. Foreclosures.
Concept.
It is a court order that individualizes a specific asset of the debtor, affecting it to the payment of the
credit for which the seizure has been made.
It does not prevent the disposition of property (art. 1174 and 1179 of the C.C.), only limits such power
(arts. 2513 of the C.C.).
The seizure of real estate is secured by means of the annotation of the court order in the Property
Registry, the same happens with registrable goods, such as motor vehicles, (they are registered in the
Registry of Motor Vehicles). On the other hand, if the seized item is a movable thing, the seizure is
carried out by seizure of the thing that is placed under judicial deposit.

Classification.
The seizure can be preventive or definitive. The first is that which tends to ensure the effectiveness or
the practical result of an eventual process of knowledge or execution. This type of seizure can be:
executive and executory.
The executive seizure is the first step in the forced sale of a debtor's property, which is then placed at the
disposal of the judge, who establishes, in accordance with the provisions of the law, the conditions of the
auction. This seizure is applicable when the creditor exhibits a title that entails execution, or has a
judgment in its favor. The enforceable seizure is the one resulting from the circumstance that no
exceptions to the progress of the execution have been filed, or that they have been rejected by a final
judgment. The executive seizure becomes enforceable when any of the aforementioned situations are
verified. It follows, therefore, that since the seizure is enforceable by simple conversion, it is not
necessary to have a judicial decision expressly conferring such character.
What is interesting to note is that by becoming enforceable, the attachment becomes definitive. Indeed,
while the preventive seizure and the executive seizure constitute provisional measures, when the latter
becomes enforceable, the creditor is immediately paid or the respective assets are realized through
judicial sale, as the case may be. ("Diccionario Manual Jurídico" by José Alberto Garrone, editorial
Abeledo-Perrot, Buenos Aires, 1994, pag. 328).-
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Annotation of liens.
Concept.
It is the assignment of one or several assets of the debtor or alleged debtor, to the payment of the claim
on which the execution is based, or of a claim that is to be claimed and eventually disputed in a process
of knowledge (ordinary or summary).
Embargo Official Letter: "The official letter(of embargo) must contain a precise designation of the
property to be embargoed, the amount for which the measure is being taken, data on the
registration of the property in the Property Registry, name and ID card number. of the
registrant.

6.4.2. Inhibitions.
Concept.
Inhibitions or general inhibition of assets: unlike the seizure of one or more assets of the debtor,
whether movable or immovable, the prohibition constitutes a precautionary measure that
translates into an interdiction to sell or encumber any real estate that the debtor may own at the
time the measure is recorded, or may acquire thereafter, since notaries may not, without judicial
authorization, grant deeds of transfer of ownership or constitution of rights in rem when it
appears from the certificate issued by the Property Registry that there is an inhibition of
ownership with respect to the debtor, or that the debtor may acquire in the future.The notary
public cannot, without judicial authorization, grant deeds of transfer of ownership or
constitution of rights in rem when it appears from the certificate issued by the Property Registry
that there is an annotation of an inhibition with respect to the owner of the property.
("Diccionario Manual Jurídico" by José Alberto Garrone, editorial Abeledo-Perrot, Buenos
Aires, 1994, page. 436).-

Office of Inhibitions.
The writ containing the restraining order must indicate the name and surname, domicile,
marital status: if married in first or subsequent marriages, if he/she has a binding divorce or
personal separation by judicial sentence, widowed. Indication of the identity document, in
order to avoid the problem of homonyms" (art. 30, 31 and 32 Law 17.801 and art. 313
Organic Law. of Courts).
"When the inhibition is ordered due to insolvency and bankruptcy, the judge who intervenes in
the case and the domicile of the last business(if the insolvent or bankrupt is a merchant) must
be indicated" (art. 12 Law 1.197).
All these data are important, because if they are missing, especially the identity document number, the
Head of the corresponding Section (Inhibitions) will return the official letter to the Court of
origin, stating that the order is recorded in a "provisional" form that will expire at the expiration
 4
7
of the agreed term.
This is an extremely important detail that must be taken care of because of the subsequent
implications and inconveniences that arise on a daily basis from poorly, incompletely or
carelessly drafted documents.
The return of the documents lacking these requirements (which make their admissibility by the
Registry) is made by informing the cause of the same and that the annotation has been made
provisionally in accordance with art. 18 inc.a Law 17.801.

6.4.3. Annotation of litis.

Concept.
It is a precautionary measure whose purpose is to publicize litigation relating to real estate or
registrable property, so that the claimant may oppose the alleged right to third parties acquiring
rights over such property, who must bear the effects of the judgment rendered in the trial,
without being able to plead ignorance in this regard. The annotation of litigation does not imply
an attachment or inhibition, nor does it prevent the free disposal of the property; its only effect is
to publicize the litigation, so that third party purchasers cannot rely on the presumption of good
faith.
The purpose of this registration is to ensure the publicity of proceedings relating to real estate
and also to registrable movable property (motor vehicles, motorcycles and mopeds), in the
event that the judgment to be rendered therein is to be opposed to third parties acquiring the
disputed property or in whose favor a right in rem is constituted over the same.

Litis annotation.
 4
8
This official letter must contain the requirements of art. 101 of the C.P.C. and the registration of
ownership of the real estate or registrable movable property in question must be precisely determined,
and the litigants (plaintiff and defendant) must also be identified.
With respect to real estate, the registration is authorized by art. 2 inc. b) of the National Law. 17.801
and with respect to motor vehicles, Art. 37 of Regulatory Decree No. 9722/60 of Decree Law
6582/58.

6.5. Cancellation of attachments and inhibitions or other registrable precautionary measures.

In order to cancel the precautionary measures that had been previously secured and recorded in the
Public Registry and Judicial Archive, an official letter is issued to the relevant registry and section.
In these cases, the official letter ordering the cancellation must specify the registration note of the
annotation to be cancelled.
It can be re-registered by reiteration issued by the Judge (art. 10 Law 1.197).
In no case shall note be taken of annotations of seizures, inhibitions or registrable precautionary
measures, if not ordered in an official document. It should not be noted with the mere presentation of
the file (art. 17 Law 1,197).
6.6. Models of Oficios.
a) Inhibition annotation .
Mendoza, April 19, 2005 (1)
To Mrs.
Director of Public Records and Judicial
Archives of the Province. Dr. Liliana Vinassa.
(2) S / D

As I have ordered at fs. 18 (3) of case No.

113.115, entitled "Mr........................................ C/ Sr......... P/ EXECUTION OF EXCHANGE"
(4), originating from this First Civil, Commercial and Mining Court of the City of Mendoza (5), I
am writing to you to request you, through the Garnishments and Inhibitions Section, to take note
of the INHIBITION (7) decreed against Mr.. .,
Argentinean, married in first marriage, of legal age, son of .......................................... and of
...........domiciled in street..........................., ID CARD ........
Yours faithfully (9)
Explanatory stamp (11)
Note: By law 3269 art. 76 inc. e), the order must be addressed as indicated in the trade. The
Directorate then notifies the Director of the Registry of Civil Status and Capacity of Persons of
the inhibition.
Court Seal (11) Judge's signature
 4
9
The underlined data are indispensable in all Inhibition letters: full name of the defendant and
DNI (National Identity Card).

b) Real estate seizure annotation .

Mendoza, April 19, 2005 (1)

To Mrs.
Director of Public Records and Judicial
Archives of the Province . Dr. Liliana
Vinassa. (2)
S / D

As I have ordered in fs. 18 (3) of case No.

113.115, entitled "Mr............................................................C/ Sr................P/ EXECUTION
CAMBIARIA" (4), originating from this First Civil, Commercial and Mining Court of the
City of Mendoza (5), I am writing to you to request you, through the corresponding
Section, to take note of the PREVENTIVE EMBARGO (7) decreed on the property owned
by the defendant Mr..............................................D.N.I..................registered at , registration
number N°.............................................................. The amount of the payment, entry A-1 of
Folio Real, to cover the sum of PESOS FIFTEEN THOUSAND ($ 15,000.-), which has been
provisionally budgeted to cover the capital, interests and costs of the above mentioned
process.
Yours faithfully (9)

Court Seal (11) Judge's signature

Explanatory stamp (11)

Note: the underlined are the essential data that cannot be missing in any real estate seizure order:
precise data of the defendant (full name and ID number), precise data of the real estate (entry of
the real estate, either in the Land Registry) and amount of the seizure.
 5
0
c) Oficio de Anotación de Litis.

Mendoza, April 19, 2005 (1) To Mrs.

Director of Public Records and Judicial
Archives of the Province.
Dr. Liliana Vinassa. (2)
S / D

As I have ordered in fs. 18 (3) of Case No. ...,

filed "...c/...p/ Ej. Exchange" (4), originating in this First Civil, Commercial and Mining Court of
the City of Mendoza (5), I am writing to you to request you, through the corresponding Section,
to take note of the LITIS ( 7) that has been decreed with respect to the real estate owned by the
defendant, registered in registration number ..., entry A-1 of Folio Real.
To this end, I hereby inform you that the
plaintiff is Mr. Juan Carlos Alonso, Argentinean, widower, of legal age, domiciled at ... Mendoza,
D.N.I. ..................... and the defendant , D.N.I....., , Argentinean, married and first marriage, of
legal age, son of Antonio and María, domiciled at ................-.

Yours faithfully (9).

Court Seal (11) Judge's

signature
Explanatory stamp (11)

d) Notice of Lien on Automobiles.

Mendoza, April 19, 2005 (1)
To the Lord
Responsible for the National Registry of
Automobile Property Section N° 1
Mendoza
Dr. Carlos Gonzalez (2)
S / D
As I have ordered in fs. 18 (3) of Case No. under
the caption "..... C/................................. P/ EXECUCION CAMBIIA" (4),
I am writing to you to request you, through the corresponding Section, to take note of the
EXECUTIVE Garnishment (7) decreed on the motor vehicle owned by the defendant Mr. D.N.I.
 5
1
........................................,registered in under the domain KKK 253, at that time.
Sectional and up to the amount of PESOS FIFTEEN THOUSAND ($ 15,000.-), which has been
provisionally budgeted to cover the capital, interests and costs of the above mentioned process.
Sincerely yours (9).

Court Seal (11) Judge Signature

Explanatory stamp (11)

e) Oficio Ley.
(Law 22172)
This national provision regulates "COMMUNICATION BETWEEN COURTS OF THE REPUBLIC".
In its first article, it states:" Communication between courts of different territorial jurisdiction shall be
carried out directly by official channels, without distinction of rank or class, provided that they exercise
the same jurisdiction by reason of the subject matter".
The "oficio ley" is the means through which a court of the Province of Mendoza may request a court (or
department) of another Province (e.g.: San Luis) to obtain certain information, or to take a testimonial
statement or acquittal, or to take a certain measure, such as: to seize a vehicle located in such Province,
or to make an annotation of a lawsuit.San Luis) to obtain certain information, or to take a testimonial
statement, or to take a certain measure such as: to seize a motor vehicle located in that Province, or an
annotation of litis in a property whose registry seat is in another provincial jurisdiction, to make
effective a payment requirement, seizure of vehicles, etc...

Special claims.

• Designation and number of the Court and Secretariat (1).

• Name of the judge and the Secretary (2).
• Name of the parties (3).
• Object or nature of the trial (4).
• The pecuniary value, if any (5).
 5

• Mention of the jurisdiction of the officiating Court (6).

2

• Transcription of the resolutions to be notified or complied with and their object clearly expressed
if it does not result from the transcribed resolution (7).
• Name of the persons authorized to intervene in the procedure (8).
• The Tribunal's seal (9)
• Signature of the judge and the clerk on each of its sheets (10).

Model of Oficio Ley.

JUDGMENT: First Civil, Commercial and Mining Court
First Judicial District, Mendoza ( 1) (6).

JUDGE: Dr.................... (2)..

SECRETARY: Dr................... (2)..
PARTIES: Actor: Mr..........................
Respondent: Mr.....................(3)..
NATURE OF THE PROCEDURE: Exchange Execution ( 4).
VALUE: $ 14,000 (5).
COMPETENCY: by degree, subject matter, amount and territory (6).
AUTHORIZED PERSON: Dra.................Registration number 22222 (8).

Mendoza, April 19, 2005.

To Mrs.
Director of the Real Estate Registry of the Province
of San Luis Dra.
S ___ / __ D

As I have ordered in fs. 18 of the proceedings No.

............................under the caption "........ C/ ................... P/ EXECUTION OF
EXCHANGE",
originating from this First Civil, Commercial and Mining Court of the City of Mendoza, with
domicile in Av. España 480, Ground Floor, North Wing of this City, Telephone 0261-4493233,
Fax 0261-42436 (CP: 5.500), I am writing to request you to take note , through the appropriate
Section, of the EXECUTIVE Garnishment, decreed on the property owned by the defendant,
Mr..............................................................................................................., D.N.I. ......, registered
in the registration number , A-1, of Folio Real, to cover the amount of PESOS
FIFTEEN THOUSAND ($15,000.-), which has been provisionally budgeted to cover the
capital, interest and costs of the aforementioned process.
As a precaution, I transcribe the resolution
 5
Mendoza, April 19, 2005. A seizure of the denounced property is ordered until covering 3the
amount of PESOS FIFTEEN THOUSAND ($15,000.-), which is provisionally budgeted to cover
the capital, interests and costs of the lawsuit. Please note the professional authorized to execute
the official document. Official Letter Law 22172 .... Fdo. JUDGE" (7).
Sincerely yours.

Signature Secretary Judge Signature

Explanatory stamp (10) Explanatory stamp (10)
Court Seal (09)

f) Certificate of Law.
It is the means used to notify transfers, sentences, rebelliousness, expiration of evidence, etc.,
outside the province of Mendoza.
It has the same requirements as the common writ, but it must also contain the data of the authorities
of the court of origin: judge, clerk, address, etc..

Model of the Certificate of Law.

CÉDULA art. 6 law 22.172
First Civil, Commercial and Mining Court
Secretariat No. 1 seal of the
court

Exp. N° 142.336...............................CEDULA..................Mendoza, 12/02/01

Mr..(actor).c/ Mr...........(defendant). p/ Fulfillment of contract

NOTICE TO:
6.7. Mr.....................defendant (by himself) with real domicile at Entre Ríos St., Entre Ríos No.
Capital Federal.
At fs. 16 the Tribunal ruled: Mendoza, May 23, 2000.
Of the claim, transfer to the defendants with a summons and summons of TWENTY DAYS, so
that they may appear, answer and fix a legal domicile within the radius of the court (arts. 21,
167, 74, 75 and 66 of the C.P.C.) The term to answer the transfer is extended by eleven more
days due to the distance (art. 64 of the C.P.C.) Keep in mind the professionals authorized to
file the writ of summons law 22.172. Thirteen pages are attached.

Signature Receiver or plaintiff's counsel. Court seal.

 5
Explanatory stamp 4

7. Notifications.
7.1. Concept.
We can conceptualize notification as the procedural act of communication by which a judicial
petition or resolution is brought to the attention of the parties or a third party.

7.2. Different forms.

• Ficta or by operation of law.

• In the file.
• By letter and to the real or legal domicile that corresponds.
• Edicts or Edictal Notification.
• Exhortos and Exhortos.

7.3. False Notification. (Art. 66 of the C.P.C.)

Also called automatic notification or by the Ministry of Law.
These are those notifications that are deemed to have been complied with, by the mere appearance in
the file of the relevant decision on the docket.
Art. 66 of the C.P.C.: With the exception of the cases expressly indicated in the Code, the judicial
proceedings shall be deemed to be notified to all those who intervene in the process, on Monday or
Thursday, or the following business day, after the one on which they were produced if any of them
is a holiday. Said list shall be signed by the Clerk of the Court and shall include all the files in which
any judicial order has been issued up to the preceding business day, with the exception of the
resolutions ordering precautionary measures. On the aforementioned days, the file must remain at
the Intake Desk at the disposal of the interested parties, and if this is not the case, the latter shall
duly record it under their signature in a book intended for this purpose.
The book of notifications by list is in the Intake Desk so that the Professional who requests a file in
list with an order and it is not exhibited to him/her, can leave a record of it. In such a case, the
fictitious notification will only take place on the next day indicated for fictitious notifications.
Important. This notification does not replace the notification that should be made by letter (cédula).

7.4. Notification in the Docket. (Art. 17 and 71 of the C.P.C.).

The members of the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Officers who must intervene in the file will
be notified in their offices.
The State Prosecutor of the Province must always be notified in cases where his intervention is
appropriate in the file.
 5
It consists of forwarding the file to the official leaving a record placed by the Head of the 5
Entry
Desk (pre-printed stamp).
Note. This type of notification can also be made to those who intervene in the process and thus a
notification by writ of summons is avoided. ART- 67 of the C.P.C. This type of notification
supplements the notification that should be made by any other means provided for in this Code (the
notification stamp and the signature of the professional and the Head of the Entry Desk are affixed).

7.5. Notification to Real/Legal Domicile and by Letter (art. 68 and 70 of the C.P.C.).
7.5.1. Concept.
It is the judicial notification that is made in writing and through the official authorized by law to do
so (notifier, receiver).
It is an instrument by virtue of which a resolution issued by the judge is made known to the party or
third party.

7.5.2. Case studies. Art. 68 of the C.P.C.

They will always be notified by writ of summons and at the real or legal domicile that corresponds:
the summons to appear, the transfer of the claim, of the counterclaim, of the exceptions, the transfer
of documents, the judgment, orders to open the case to evidence, admission of evidence, declaration
of the plaintiff, order to place the case in order to plead, order for the presentation of expert opinions
and accounting reports, appointment of auctioneers, date of auction, hearing of the substantiation,
order to file the expert opinions and accounting reports, appointment of auctioneers, date of the
auction, hearing of the substantiation, hearing of theThe following are the most important documents
to be submitted to the court: the summons to appear at law, the transfer of the claim, the
counterclaim, the exceptions, the transfer of documents, the judgment, the order to open the case for
trial, the admission of evidence, the declaration of pure law, the order to place the case for argument,
the order to notify the presentation of expert opinions and accounting reports, the appointment of
auctioneers, the auction date, the hearing for substantiation, to receive evidence, the summons of
witnesses, experts, etc..-

7.5.3. Form of Notification.

Art. 70 of the C.P.C. The form and content, who subscribes it and the procedure for notification.
There is a receiver in each court who prepares the writ or reviews the writ prepared by the attorney,
and sends it to the Centralized Office of Notifications by means of a form. The aforementioned
office distributes the cédulas by zones and delivers them to another receiver, the notifier, who is the
one who serves them. The zones of Greater Mendoza are territorially divided by Acordada (rule),
and according to the distance from the Judicial Palace (up to 50 blocks).
 5
Requirements. 6

Indication of the area where the domicile is located, the court and clerk's office, place and date of
issuance, number and title of the file, persons to be notified, indication whether it is by itself or
through an attorney-in-fact, in which case the name of the attorney and who he/she represents,
domicile and its nature (real, legal, labor, social) or by proxy, in which case the name of the attorney
and the person he/she represents is mentioned, domicile and its nature (real, legal, labor, social),
resolution to be notified with indication of the page on which it was issued. Only the place, date and
operative part of the decision may be transcribed in the case file and in the judgment.
It is made in original and in as many copies as persons with different addresses must be notified.
Person who prepares it: Receiver of the Tribunal.
Alternatives may be made by the parties, under the signature of the counsel of those who have an
interest in the notification.
Who signs them: the recipient or professional.
Obligation of the recipient to sign those that notify:
Garnishments, precautionary measures, delivery of goods or judgments and those corresponding to
proceedings in which no legal counsel is involved.
It must be indicated before the signature, how many pages of the transfer are attached, when
notifying transfers or hearings.

Model of Certificate.
ZONE 1
First Civil, Commercial and Mining Court Court seal
Secretariat No. 1

File no.....................CEDULA................................MENDOZA, 12/04/05

Mr......(actor) C/ Sr.......(defendant).and OT. FOR CONTRACT FULFILLMENT

NOTICE TO:
Mr.........(defendant), for himself, defendant with address at ................................. No............
(real or legal address as applicable)

On pages... the Court ruled: Mendoza, December 1, 2004. The defendant is notified of the
claim with a summons and summons of TWENTY DAYS, so that he may appear, answer, fix
domicile within the radius of the Court (arts. 21,167,74,75, and 66 of the C.P.C.)FDO:
DR..JUDGE.
The transfer is attached in 3 pages.
Signature of recipient or counsel
Explanatory stamp
 5
7.5.4. Edictal Notification. 7

Edicts.
Concept. It is a form of notification or knowledge addressed to uncertain persons or persons of
unknown domicile by which the content of a judicial decision is made known (art. 72 of the C.P.C.).
Note: It is published in the Official Gazette and in a newspaper of major circulation in the Province
three times with two days of interval in the case of summons to appear at law, to answer the lawsuit
and only once in the case of judgments. (art. 72 inc. IV of the C.P.C.).

7.5.5. Notification by Oficio

When notifications cannot be made by cédula due to the location of the domicile, an official letter
must be sent to the Justice of the Peace or Civil Judge of the place where the notification is to be
made.

Mendoza, September 4th, 2004

To Mr.
JUSTICE OF THE PEACE OF VILLANUEVA
GUYAMALLEN
DR........................................
S.............................../............................D

Pursuant to what I have ordered in Case No.: of

this First Civil Court of the First Civil Court, of the First
Judicial District, I am writing to you to request that you notify the defendant, Mr.
Villanueva, Guaymallén Mendoza, the resolution transcribed in date and pertinent part reads:
Mendoza...The defendant is served with the complaint with a summons and summons of TEN
DAYS, so that he may appear, answer and establish legal domicile within the radius of the
Court. (arts. 21, 212 inc. 1, 74, 75 of the C.P.C.).
The transfer is accompanied in . fs.
Greetings to U.S. kind regards.

Court seal Signature and seal of the Judge.

 5
8
TOPIC IV: LABOR JURISDICTION

1. Labor Law.
1.1. Introduction.
The object of this autonomous discipline of law is focused exclusively on dependent human labor,
that is, all human action that produces a result, a lawful activity that is rendered in favor of another,
in exchange for remuneration.

• It follows that the determining factor is the quality of DEPENDENCE of this effort. This means
that the activity that is provided is for another to appropriate it; there is a relationship of
authority; in such a way that the person who carries out the physical or intellectual effort does so
in order for it to be used by another who gives him/her a remuneration in exchange and who at
the same time has the possibility of directing this work, guiding it to his/her own ends.

• However, the subject who works does so not only for the money (remuneration) that he will
obtain in exchange, but fundamentally because by doing so he dignifies himself as a man and as a
creative subject. Therefore, it can be said that dependent work has an intrinsic social value that
represents an act of solidarity, since at the same time that it enhances the person who performs it,
it offers a service to society.

• Therefore, art. 4 of the Labor Contract Law (L.C.T.) defines work as the productive and creative
activity of man in itself, and only then should it be understood that there is an exchange
relationship and an economic purpose between the parties.
Thus, understanding that the man who works is not a machine, nor his work a commodity, or a mere
resource, allows us to establish that work is made for man and not the other way around, being only
a means, never an end.
By emphasizing the note of dependence, it can be stated that self-employment, voluntary and family
work is excluded from this discipline. The first is because the fruit of the work belongs to the person
who provides it, so that the subject participates equally in the profits as in the losses; subordination
or dependence is absent, since no one directs him. The second because its purpose is a charitable or
beneficent work, it does not pursue a remuneration or economic gain; and the last because it is
carried out for what means the help derived from the kinship bond, it does not pursue a lucrative
purpose either.

1.2. Labor Law.

Applicable regulations
The National Constitution sets forth the fundamental principles of Labor Law, especially through
Art. 14 bis of the National Constitution (C.N.).
In turn, the development of these principles as well as the institutes that are specific to them, such
as: remuneration system, vacations, suspension of the contract for various reasons, causes for
 5
dismissal, compensation for unjustified dismissal, etc., are legislated in the Labor Contract 9
Law
(L.C.T.) and its amending laws.
The study and regulation of this dependent work, which is labor law, is private law made up of
public policy rules.
Public order is a notion that is difficult to define, as it responds to the socio-cultural, political and
economic values of a given society at a specific time. These are the rules that the State favors
because the public interest and social peace are at stake. In the case of labor law, it represents the
minimum of decent conditions to which the dependent work must be subject; considering that only
by restricting the free will of the employer can the employment contract be developed. It is therefore
the minimum floor below which the working conditions agreed upon are not valid.
The law establishes dignified and equitable conditions of work, thus coming through the limitation
of the autonomy of the will of the contracting parties, to favor the worker whom it assumes in a
condition of vulnerability; It thus creates a legal inequality, to compensate for the social and real
inequality between the owner of the capital and the means of production and the employee; and it
does so because it is in the interest of society as a whole and responds to the principle of social
justice.-

1.3. Proprietary Principles.

• If our discipline is characterized by being an autonomous branch of law, although detached from
the trunk of Civil Law, it has its own characteristic and exclusive principles. They are above all
the protective principle, established in the National Constitution, by art.14 bis, which specifies
that work in all its forms shall enjoy the protection of the laws; ensuring to dependent work all
the conquests achieved over time, not only from the individual perspective, but also associated
workers - unions - and in the social security and family sphere.
Art. 14 bis reads: "Work in its various forms shall enjoy the protection of the laws, which shall
ensure to the worker: condiciones dignas y equitativas de labor; jornada limitada; descanso y
vacaciones pagados; retribución justa; salario mínimo vital y móvil; igual remuneración por igual
tarea; participación en las ganancias de las empresas, con control de la produccióThe following
are some of the main characteristics of the labor unions: - free and democratic union organization,
recognized by simple inscription in a special registry.-
The unions are guaranteed: the right to enter into collective bargaining agreements; to resort to
conciliation and arbitration; the right to strike. Union representatives shall enjoy the necessary
guarantees for the performance of their union duties and those related to the stability of their
employment.
The State shall grant social security benefits, which shall be comprehensive and unwaivable. In
particular, the law shall establish: compulsory social insurance, which shall be in charge of
national or provincial entities with financial and economic autonomy, administered by the
interested parties with the participation of the State, without any overlapping of contributions;
 6
retirement and mobile pensions; integral protection of the family; defense of the family asset; 0
family
economic compensation and access to decent housing."-
This is based on the prior concept of the worker's unequal bargaining position. For it is he who is
inserted into an outside business organization - the source of labor - so that when contracting, most
of the time, he will hardly be able to assert his claims in full force. Their only capital is their ability
to work, as opposed to the owner of the means of production. Since he offers only his labor force for
the attainment of ends that are alien to him - the employer's profit - the law must necessarily take
extreme care to protect him.
Hence, the protective principle -the axis of our discipline- is strongly enshrined both in the general
law of substance: the Labor Contract Law (L.C.T.), and in the procedure that is developed in the
Courts to enforce those rights that the law enshrines.
It manifests itself in various forms: the so-called "indubio pro operario", which means that, when in
doubt about the interpretation of the law, the version that favors the worker must always be
preferred. Also the rule of the most favorable rule and the rule of the most beneficial condition.
It is established in articles 7, 8 and 9 of the Labor Law.

• Art.7: "Less favorable conditions. Nullity. In no case may the parties agree to conditions less
favorable to the employee than those provided for in the legal norms, collective bargaining
agreements or arbitration awards having the force of such, or that are contrary to them. Such acts
are punishable under Article 44 of this law".

• Art.8: "More favorable conditions arising from collective bargaining agreements. Collective
bargaining agreements or arbitration awards with the force of such, which contain rules more
favorable to workers, shall be valid and applicable. Those that meet the formal requirements
demanded by law and that have been duly individualized shall not be subject to proof at trial".

• Art. 9: "The principle of the rule most favorable to the worker. In case of doubt as to the
application of legal or conventional norms, the most favorable to the employee shall prevail,
considering the norm or set of norms that governs each of the labor law institutions.
If the doubt falls on the interpretation or scope of the law, the judges or those in charge of applying
it will decide in the sense most favorable to the worker".
Collective Bargaining Agreements (C.C.T.) are the result of collective bargaining carried out
between the most representative union of an activity, which has trade union status, and the
employers' representatives, which refer to better working conditions than those established by the
L.C.T.. Awards are interpretations of collective bargaining agreements made by the authorized body
and approved by the Ministry of Labor. Both the C.C.T. as the homologated awards have the same
force as the law for all workers in that activity, even if they were not affiliated.
The principle of unwaivability of the employee's rights is also relevant, so that it can never be
presumed that the employee renounces the rights that the legal system establishes for him/her.
Thus, art. 12 of the L.C.T. reads: "Irrenunciability. Any agreement between the parties that
 6
suppresses or reduces the rights provided for in this law, the professional statutes or 1
collective
bargaining agreements, whether at the time of its conclusion or its execution, or the exercise of
rights arising from its termination, shall be null and void".
Another important principle is that of the conservation of the work relationship. In case of doubt as
to whether the employment contract has terminated, the interpretation that the contract continues
should be preferred.
Art.10 L.C.T.: "Preservation of the contract. In case of doubt, the situations must be resolved in
favor of the continuity or subsistence of the contract".
Of unquestionable value is the principle of gratuity, according to which the worker is ensured access
to the rights granted to him/her, as well as the right to go to court to file a claim without having to
spend money. Thus art.20 L.C.T. which reads: "Gratuity. The employee or his or her rights holders
shall enjoy the benefit of free legal or administrative proceedings arising from the application of
this law, professional statutes or collective bargaining agreements.
Your home may not be affected to the payment of costs in any case.
Insofar as the background of the proceeding shows inexcusable overrepetition, the costs shall be
borne jointly and severally by the party and the acting professional".

2. Labor Procedural Law.

Having outlined the main guiding criteria of the substantive law, or substantive law, enshrined for
employees, it is appropriate to enter the area where these rights will be recognized or defended
against encroachment.
In these cases, the holder of these rights - the worker - needs to have an action in order to achieve
the true effectiveness of this right, so that it does not remain a dead letter.
Thus, the action is configured as the initial act of the process, conceived as the set of legal powers
that seeks from the jurisdictional body an authoritative action, since through the judicial order
(sentence) something will be ordered to be done by coercion.
For the exercise of the action, both the individual holder of the right and the party against whom the
action is directed, as well as the officers and assistants, must adjust their actions to the
predetermined rules and forms that make up what is known as the process.
Thus, the process appears as a path, a lane along which one must travel to achieve the recognition of
the right and in which an order must necessarily prevail.
The process can thus be conceptualized as a gradual, orderly series, where one act is necessarily
followed by another, without the possibility of turning back, acts disciplined by Procedural Law,
which are carried out before predisposed public bodies (judges), with the intervention of individuals
(the parties) and auxiliaries of justice, through whose path it is sought to investigate the real truth in
order to realize the rights enshrined in substantive law.
In general, the principles do not differ substantially from those used in civil proceedings; so much so
 6
that although there is a Labor Procedure Code (C.P.L.), when situations arise within the process 2that
are not contemplated in said code, the norms of the Civil Procedure Code (C.P.C.) must be applied
in a supplementary manner to the labor process.
The main and substantial difference is that the labor process, when carried out to satisfy claims
derived from the dependent work relationship, which are considered to be of a food nature, since
they are either the salary that the worker needs to cover his vital needs and those of his family, or
indemnities -which may be for dismissal or for illness or accident at work- must be faster than the
civil process. Therefore, the deadlines that are handled in this procedural path are shorter for all
types of processes that are heard in the labor courts.
It also aims to find out the REAL TRUTH, that is, to try through the evidence to reconstruct the
facts that preceded the conflict in the closest way to reality, being able in this investigation to go
beyond what was offered by the parties. Unlike in civil proceedings, although the parties propose
evidence, the Court may carry out other evidence on its own, ex officio. From this derives the active
role played by the judge, who not only directs the process, but also investigates autonomously.
This is reflected in art.19 of the C.P.L. which states: "Once the lawsuit has been filed, the
proceeding shall be initiated ex officio by the court, for which purpose it shall order the necessary
and appropriate measures for the development of the process, having broad powers of investigation
of the facts submitted to its decision".
Equally at the service of the real truth is the determinant note of the ORALITY of the hearing of the
case, or oral debate, which is the central act of the whole process. This is where all the evidence -
instrumental, expert, testimonial and positional- that takes place before the Court, the parties and
their attorneys is concentrated.
With the oral nature of the central act, the principles of immediacy, concentration, publicity and
continuity are incorporated, which are essential instruments to achieve historical reconstruction.
Indeed, the normal and most accurate means of transmitting and receiving information is the spoken
word -since not only the sound level conveys the truth, but also the gestures and in general the
attitude of the speaker-; immediacy means that the means of evidence are received directly by the
judges and the parties, without the interference that would be caused by written statements;
concentration means that all the means of evidence are gathered in a single act; publicity is a
guarantee for the parties, because anyone can attend the act of production of the evidence, that is to
say, all the means of evidence are gathered in a single act.The immediacy means that the evidence is
received directly by the judges and the parties, without the interference that would result from
written statements; the concentration means that all the evidence is gathered in a single act; the
publicity is the guarantee for the parties, because anyone can attend the act of production of the
evidence, that is, listen to the witnesses, the expert opinions, etc.; and the continuity means that the
act of production of the evidence is a single act. and continuity means that the act of gathering and
producing all the evidence begins and ends simultaneously in a single procedural act, which makes it
 6
easier for the judge to reconstruct the facts by having them gathered. 3

The consecration of all these characteristics is set forth in art.1 of the C.P.L. when it states: "The
Labor Courts will hear, except for the special procedures established by this law, in sole instance
and in oral and continuous trial...".
The single instance means that the judgment issued by the Labor Court closes the hearing of the
matter. There is no possibility of having this decision reviewed by another appellate court. Labor
judgments are not subject to appeal. Only and with restrictive criteria may appeal to the Supreme
Court of Justice of the Province by extraordinary appeal, but only for very serious and specific
matters.

2.1. Parties in the Labor Process.

In general, when speaking of the parties in the process, reference is made to the subject that seeks
justice and initiates the action, who is called the ACTOR, and in the case of a dispute in which what
must be resolved is a conflict of interests, the claim is directed against another - who is unaware of
the right of which he is the holder or who violates it - who is called the DEFENDANT.
This is the typical adversarial process, where there is a bidding of interests that the judge will settle
when arriving at the judicial resolution par excellence which is the judgment. The latter will declare
the right and will order the satisfaction sought by the plaintiff when initiating the action through
coercive means: first by ordering the payment or the obligation to do what was demanded in a
determined term and, if the non-compliance persists, by means of forced execution.
There may also be processes in which there is no demand from another to give or do, that is to say, it
is not contradictory, but what is sought is the recognition of a situation, for example, that the
worker's years of service with an employer be recognized in order to be able to present it to obtain
the benefits of retirement. These are called voluntary jurisdiction proceedings.
In the former, both workers and employers may be actors, while in the latter, only the worker.
The worker-actor can choose to file the jurisdiction of the Judge of:
a) the workplace;
b) the place of conclusion of the employment contract; or
c) the defendant's domicile.
When the employer is the plaintiff, it must always be filed with the judge of the employee's
domicile. This is so as not to cause travel expenses to the worker and so that he/she can defend
him/herself (due to the principle of gratuity).
In the labor process, only individual labor disputes are heard; thus, collective disputes such as a
strike or a problem between unions could not be brought before the labor courts.
Employer may be an individual person, a group of individuals associated in any type of company -
commercial or civil-, for-profit or not-for-profit -mutuals, social welfare organizations- and in
general anyone who has required the services of a dependent worker.
 6
Worker is always a natural person. It can also be a minor from 14 years of age onwards, because4it is
from that age that work is allowed, although with parental authorization and with the obligatory
intervention in the trial of the Juvenile Counselor. The working age is 18 years old. Adult minors -
which is the name given to those between the ages of 18 and 21 - have the same capacity to stand
trial as adults. For the employer, on the other hand, the age of majority rules of civil law apply,
meaning that the employer must be 21 years of age or older. Working minors from the age of 14
may also be on trial.
Since it is indispensable to act in the process the legal sponsorship -that is, by a licensed attorney
(art. 22 of the C.P.L. and art.32 of the attorneys' fees law, 3641 ordered text) - in labor lawsuits
initiated by the employee, the representation, that is, the power of attorney granted to an attorney to
represent his client, is carried out through what is called apud-acta power of attorney, which
consists of granting the representation before a judicial officer who certifies the signature of the
employee, thus not incurring in expenses, honoring the principle of gratuity. In practice, this is done
before the Chief of the single file referral desk of the Labor Courts, although in remote areas it may
be done before the Justice of the Peace. It is provided for in art. 23 of the C.P.L. which states: " .
Representation in court may be made by means of a power of attorney apud-acta, the signature of
the grantor being authenticated by the Secretaries of the Judiciary or by any Justice of the Peace of
the Province. In the event of impediments of the worker or employee, the instrument may be signed
by any able person, at his request, before the clerk who will certify".
This apud-acta power of attorney replaces the power of attorney for lawsuits that must be executed
by public deed before a notary public. It is a special power of attorney, therefore restricted to sue for
the items stated in the minutes.
The principle of gratuitousness already referred to and contained in the L.C.T. is reflected in art. 21
of the C.P.L. which states: "Workers or their legal successors shall enjoy the benefit of free justice,
being exempted from any tax or fee. The issuance of testimonies or certificates of birth, marriage or
death certificates, and their legalizations, shall also be free of charge. The documents presented by
the worker shall be admitted even if they do not have the legal seal, without this being an obstacle to
the substantiation of the case and without prejudice to the provisions of the Tax Code".
In order to preserve procedural equality between the parties, in the labor lawsuit the employer does
not pay taxes or attorney's fees. It is only when the judgment is rendered, which puts an end to the
dispute, that the costs of justice are calculated, which, being part of what is known as "costs", are
borne by the losing party.
In other respects, the civil law concepts of active litisconsortium are applicable.
(plurality of plaintiffs) and passive (plurality of defendants) and third parties (interveners: who assist
in the defense; or excluders: who displace the original defendant in the defense) that may intervene
in the lawsuit.
 6
2.2. Types of Processes. 5

Those already referred to of knowledge: are those that pursue the judicial resolution that declares a
right and orders compliance. In labor law, due to the brevity of the terms, they are comparable to the
summary proceeding of civil law, but they have a wide evidentiary scope, they are investigated to
arrive at the real truth. It begins with the lawsuit (a written document expressing what is being
sought based on the substantive law); the defendant is transferred to answer and defend himself; the
plaintiff is again heard on the answer to the plaintiff for the sole purpose of offering counter-
evidence if there are new facts in the answer; there is no opening of evidence because all the
evidence must be offered when filing the lawsuit and answering - thus saving time by eliminating
the stages that exist in the civil process that lengthen trials - evidence is admitted; The evidence is
admitted; the written evidence is admitted; the written evidence is carried out, such as the issuance
of official letters requesting reports, the requesting of other files, and the performance of expert
opinions by the assistants of the process; and finally the hearing is held where all the evidence is
concentrated, including witnesses and statements of the parties; the lawyers make their arguments
(which is the analysis of the evidence provided and produced by each party), and the Court passes
sentence within a short period of fifteen working days.-
Within this category of knowledge trial, but even faster, there is a summary trial to reestablish
working conditions altered by the employer. The time periods are reduced because the trial is carried
out while the employment relationship is still in force. The stage of notifying the defendant of the
transfer of the claim is eliminated; when the claim is filed, a hearing is set, which is called hearing
and answer , an opportunity in which the defendant defends himself and goes directly to the
production of evidence.
The so-called "amparo sindical" is also known as an action brought by the union representative
when the employer obstructs him in the performance of his union duties. It is processed by the same
summary procedure described in the preceding paragraph (hearing and answer trials, art. 91 C.P.L.).
In the context of union activity, the employer may also initiate a brief and summary trial to remove
the union member's privileges in order to treat him/her as an ordinary employee. It is called a
guardianship exclusion action.
There are the executive lawsuits, where the aim is to enforce the judgment. Executives for the
collection of remuneration.
Special eviction lawsuits when the worker was granted housing as an accessory to the employment
contract -very common in rural jobs, or landlords- and once the employment relationship is
terminated, the worker continues to occupy the house-room; there, the employer initiates the
eviction before the Labor Courts.
Another special type of process is that of employer insolvency, which occurs when the injured
worker is unable to collect from the convicted party because he is insolvent and needs to declare this
insolvency in order to be able to collect from the Guarantee Fund created by the labor risk law. For
 6
example, domestic service disputes are resolved by the SubSecretariat of Labor; the party 6
seeking
review of that resolution (worker or employer) appeals to the Labor Chambers.
Provisional measures may also be filed in Labor Courts as in civil proceedings.

3. Organization of Labor Justice.

As anticipated, the labor process is of single instance. This makes it necessary for labor justice to be
organized through labor chambers, with six in the First Judicial District, two in the Second, two in
the Third and one in the Fourth. These are collegiate bodies composed of three chamber judges; the
number in the collegiate bodies must necessarily be odd in order to allow for a majority in the event
that any of the judges does not agree with the resolution; in this case, the resolution is resolved by a
majority of two members.
As of 2002, when a partial modification was made to the C.P.L., the general principle that had
prevailed since the creation of the labor justice system in Mendoza, that all proceedings should be
heard by the full Chamber, that is to say, by the three judges, was reversed. The Court has now been
divided into three chambers, each composed of one of the three judges, so that jurisdiction is
exercised in a unipersonal manner in all cases, with only two exceptions: a) that in the opinion of the
Court the issues to be resolved are very complex and b) that the plaintiff requests it in the statement
of claim or the defendant when appearing to answer the intervention of the full Court.
The Public Prosecutor's Office, represented by the Prosecutor of the Chamber, intervenes in the
labor proceedings as it must not be forgotten that labor law has a strong content of public order
norms, and the State is interested in its observance since the social interest is at stake.
Its interference in the labor process is secondary in that it consists of technical assistance provided to
the Judge through advisory, monitoring and control tasks regarding compliance with provisions
aimed at ensuring the proper administration of justice. Their opinions are not obligatory and
therefore not binding for the Judge, but only illustrative.
Thus, in accordance with art. 11 of the C.P.L.: "It is incumbent upon the Public Prosecutor's Office:
a) Representing and defending fiscal interests;
b) To intervene in any judicial matter involving the persons or property of minors, insane persons
and other incapacitated persons, and to file the necessary actions or appeals in their defense, either
individually or jointly with their legal representatives;
c) To ensure compliance with the laws, decrees, regulations and other provisions to be applied by
the labor court, for which purpose it shall file the pertinent legal remedies;
d) In disputes over jurisdiction and competence;
e) In the incidents of recusal of judges and procedural nullities;
f) In appeals of final administrative resolutions;
g) In voluntary jurisdiction trials;
h) In cases of salary reductions or modification of working conditions;
 6
i) Represent the Guarantee Fund created by Law 9688". 7

Since labor justice is a single instance jurisdiction, unlike civil proceedings, it is not possible to
recuse oneself (i.e. to oppose the intervention of a specific judge in a specific case) without stating
the reason that justifies the removal of the natural judge.
The sentence issued by the Labor Court -either by a single Judge or by the full Court- can only
exceptionally and for restricted causes, be appealed by extraordinary appeal before the Supreme
Court of Justice (S.C.J.) of the Province, a procedure that is regulated in the Code of Civil
Procedure.
There is no instance prior to the Labor Courts that is mandatory in administrative proceedings, that
is, before the Sub-Secretariat of Labor of the Province. The parties involved in an individual labor
dispute, if they so wish, may go before the administrative body, but only in the hope of an out-of-
court and voluntary settlement, which, in practice, hardly ever materializes.

3.1. Procedural Acts.

As regards the formation of the files, the formal requirements of the pleadings, the books that are
handled in the Labor Court, the provisions of the civil process are fully applicable; so that we refer
to what is specified in that matter as regards these points.
There is only some difference in terms of notifications. In general the modes of notification are
essentially the same as in the civil process, that is:
- Fictitious notification or by appearance of the order in the daily list: According to art.34 of the
C.P.L. of the C.P.L.: "Any judicial order is considered notified by the Ministry of the law on
Tuesdays and Fridays of each week, or on the following working day, if one of these has not been
notified, with the exception of the cases in which this law or the court establishes that it must be
notified in another form". The difference with the civil process is the established days, in our case:
TUESDAY AND FRIDAY.
- Notification in the file: it is the same as the civil process, it refers to the notification to the
representative of the Public Prosecutor's Office (Prosecutor or Pupilar) and to the judicial officers.
- Notification by writ of summons: Article 35 of the CPL. reads: "They shall be notified by writ of
summons:
a) The transfer of the claim, the counterclaim, its answers and exceptions;
b) The summons to absolve positions and for the acknowledgment of documents, as well as those
addressed to persons not involved in the process;
c) Conciliation hearings and hearings of the case;
d) Judgments if they have not been rendered at a hearing;
e) Interlocutory orders, and those that resolve appeals for reconsideration and clarification;
f) Resolutions that provide for injunctions or warnings not directly provided for by law, and the
resumption of deadlines suspended for an undetermined period of time;
 6
g) Resolutions that apply disciplinary corrections or make known precautionary measures or 8
their
modification or lifting;
h) The first order issued after a file has been returned from the judicial archives or has remained in
the Court expressly paralyzed or outside the Secretariat for more than three (3) months;
i) The resolutions expressly designated by law or exceptionally ordered by the Court.
The writs with the requirements set forth in the Code of Civil Procedure shall be served by judicial
employees when the notification must be made within the radius set by the Supreme Court, and by
the Police of the Province when the communication must take place outside such radius and within
the Province. When the proceeding is to be carried out outside the Province or in a foreign country,
an official letter or letter rogatory shall be sent, as appropriate, to the Court with jurisdiction in the
place where the proceeding is to be carried out.
The writ of summons may be replaced, at the request of the interested party, by registered telegram
or document letter. In all cases, notification by writ of summons shall be made at the Court's
request, within three (3) days after the order has been issued".
Ascan be seen, it refers to the Code of Civil Procedure regarding the form of preparing the writs, so
that the models contained in the Civil Code are fully applicable to this proceeding. The substantial
difference is that outside the thirty-block radius of the Court, instead of notifying by means of
official letters addressed to the Departmental Peace Courts, it is the Departmental Police that is in
charge of notification within the Province. For the rest, outside the province, the models set forth in
the civil process (letters rogatory, oficio law 22.172 and cédula law 22.172) are applicable.

3.1.1 Model Oficio to the Police:

Mendoza,......from..........of 2005.

To the Lord

COMMISSIONER OF THE SECTIONAL

LAS HERAS- MENDOZA
S/D.-----------------------------------------------

Pursuant to the order at fs..........................of the

orders No...............................................................................................................................I have the
pleasure to address you, in order to request you to arrange, through the appropriate person,
the summons of the witness Mr. NN, with address at.......................................................-
The witness must appear before this Court, with
documentation proving his or her identity, to testify at the CAUSE HEARING scheduled for
 6
the following day.................................................................................., under penalty of 9

law (Arts.20 and 60 CPL).

In the act of notification, give him/her a copy of the
attached copy of this document, and return this document with the pertinent notification of all
the persons to be summoned, informing, if applicable, the reason why the notification was not
carried out, in an urgent manner before the corresponding Section, signed and dated by the
notifying officer.
I send you my best regards.

- Notification by edicts: according to article 36 of the C.P.L.: "When the domicile of the defendant
is unknown, notification shall be made by edicts published in the Official Gazette for five (5) days. If
the plaintiff is a worker, the publication shall be free of charge, but shall be paid by the defendant if
he is ordered to pay the costs. Hereinafter, notifications will be made at the Court's dockets".

4. Procedural acts specific to labor procedural law.

4.1. Conciliation.
Conciliation is a legal procedural business by means of which the parties -actor and defendant- with
the presence of the Judge, put an end to the process, self-composing the litigation, that is, reaching
an agreement that puts an end to the conflict situation that has brought them to trial. In the labor
process it acquires notorious importance because, well used, it constitutes an effective weapon to
end the dispute more quickly, which means to take care of the urgency that generally presides the
credits of alimony nature such as those born from an employment relationship.
It is legislated in art.40 of the C.P.L., which states: "In theopportunities foreseen in this code, the
Court may propose any conciliation formula, directed to:
a) Rectify any material errors that may have been made;
b) Increase admitted facts by reducing evidentiary activity;
c) To seek a total or partial settlement of the dispute.
Once the agreement between the parties has been reached, it shall be recorded in the respective
minutes. After hearing the Public Prosecutor's Office, the homologation will be resolved, which will
produce the effects of res judicata.
For cases of partial conciliation, a separate piece will be formed to follow the process of execution
of the sentence".
In the constant intention of facilitating a settlement, conciliation may be attempted as many times as
requested by the parties or as decided by the Court, from the FIRST MANDATORY
CONCILIATION HEARING, which is when the evidence is accepted, to the last one, which is
immediately before the hearing of the case. The representatives of the parties may conciliate, subject
to subsequent personal ratification by the employee, who may only receive money in the presence of
the judicial officer, at the seat of the Court.
 7
4.2. Reversal of the burden of proof. 0

It is also unique to the labor process in evidentiary matters that, just as the judge has broad
investigative powers, regardless of the impulse or proposal of the parties, there are opportunities in
which the worker IS EXEMPTED FROM PROVING FACTS BY THE ALLEGED, a circumstance
totally unique to our discipline, since the general principle in all procedures is that "whoever alleges
a fact must prove it".
Well, according to art.55 of the C.P.L. it is the employer who must provide evidence contrary to the
employee's statements in the following cases:
a) When the worker claims the fulfillment of benefits imposed by law (for example, payment of
ordinary vacations: if the worker says that they were not paid, only the employer is exempted by
accompanying the receipt showing their payment);
b) When there is an obligation to keep books, records or special spreadsheets, and at the request of
the court they are not exhibited, or when they do not meet the legal or regulatory conditions (for
example, if the worker says that he worked overtime and the employer is summoned to attach to the
Court the mandatory time sheets, he does not do so, it is considered true what the worker said);
c) When the amount of remuneration is in question.
Finally, if the employee proves the effective rendering of services, the employer has to prove the
opposite, that is, that these services were not rendered under an employment relationship or contract.

4.3. Cause View.

Finally, it should be noted that the central act of evidence in labor proceedings, where the principles
of immediacy, concentration and continuity converge, is the hearing of the case. Art. 69 of the
C.P.L. he says:
"Onceall the evidence that cannot be received orally has been produced, or once it has expired, the
court shall set a hearing for the hearing of the case within a period that may not exceed sixty (60)
days, summoning the parties, experts and witnesses to attend, under penalty of being held with the
party that is present.
On the day and at the time set for the hearing of the case, the proceedings shall be declared open
with the parties present and the following rules shall be observed:
a) The evidence produced prior to the hearing shall be read, if any of the parties so request;
b) The other evidence will then be received, and the Court, the Public Prosecutor's Office and the
parties may freely question the witnesses and experts, if any, through the intermediary of the Court
and without any limitation whatsoever;
c) The floor shall be given to the Public Prosecutor's Office if it has the right to intervene and then
to the parties in their order, so that they may express their opinion on the merits of the evidence,
and each party may have twenty (20) minutes for its argument. At the request of the plaintiff, the
Tribunal may grant ten (10) minutes only once to exercise the right of reply, which shall be limited
 7
to the refutation of the arguments of the opposing party that have not been previously discussed. 1The
time may be prudentially extended by the Tribunal;
d) Once the arguments have been made, the Court will declare the debate closed and will
immediately call the case files for the issuance of the sentence, which must be pronounced within
fifteen (15) days from the date of execution of the call;
e) It will deliberate and issue the sentence, which will contain a concise list of the disputed facts,
establishing the legal issues it considers pertinent, assessing them according to the rules of sound
rational criticism, except when there is a legal rule containing special rules of assessment and will
be founded on law. The judges shall vote in the order to be established by lot".

4.3.1. Model Decree for the Hearing of the Case.

Mendoza, ....... from ................... of 2005.

For the parties to attempt a CONCILIATION, in

person, the hearing is set for DECEMBER EIGHTEENTH OF DECEMBER TWO THO
THOUSAND AND FIVE AT EIGHT THIRTY HOURS (Arts. 40 of the C.P.L.).
In the event that no agreement is reached, the
hearing is scheduled for DECEMBER EIGHTEENTH OF DECEMBER TWO THOUSAND
AND FIVE AT NINET HOURS, for the hearing of the case, which will be held with the party
and witnesses who attend.
At said hearing, the defendant Mr. XX shall
personally absolve positions, under penalty of law (Arts. 56 and 57 of the C.P.L.).
The following persons are also required to
testify: ....................................................................................... -offered by the plaintiff- and
.............................-offered by the defendant, who will be summoned under penalty of law (Arts. 20
and 60 of the C.P.L.).
Expert witnesses should also be summoned
Accountant Dr............................................... and Occupational Physician Dr... to clarify the
points required of them in their capacity as auxiliaries of justice, and they must be summoned
under penalty of law (Arts. 20 and 108 of the C.P.L., 191 inc. III and 46 incs.1º) and 3º) of the
C.P.C.).
The parties are urged to take all the necessary steps
to produce all the accepted evidence FIVE DAYS prior to the hearing of the case, under penalty
of law (Art.55 of the C.P.L.).
Be notified.
 7
In all other matters relating to evidence, ordinary appeals, etc., the Code of Civil 2
Procedure
is
applicable in a supplementary manner in accordance with the authorization that emerges from art.
108 of the C.P.L., which states:
"Only when the principles that emerge from the normative spirit of the present law are insufficient,
the precepts of the Code of Civil Procedure shall be applied.
Judges, when applying the supplementary provisions or those to which this Code expressly refers,
shall do so bearing in mind the characteristics of the labor process and in such a way as to consult
the statements of the declaration of the worker's rights and the purposes of social justice pursued by
labor law.
In case of doubt, the procedure to be adopted will be the one that involves the least delay and best
actualizes the solidarity value.
In no case shall the instance be barred".
Truly, this last transcribed provision summarizes with economy and diaphanous and forceful clarity
the spirit with which not only the process should be approached, but all labor matters, a discipline in
which the dignity of man is compromised as a being that in work acquires transcendence, rescues the
value of social solidarity and therefore constitutes a source of emancipation.

TOPIC V: FAMILY COURTS

1. Family Law.
Concept.
Family law is composed of the set of legal rules that regulate family legal relations.

1.2. Location among the branches of law.

Different theories:

1.2.1. Family law is part of private law.

This position holds that since family law is basically contained in the Civil Code, it is part of Private
Law and cannot be considered part of Public Law, since family relations do not bind the subjects to
the State as a subject of public law. These are relationships between people, derived from the
conjugal bond or from their kinship, and the fact that many family relationships are determined by
rules of public order does not change this conclusion.

1.2.2. Theory according to which it is part of Public Law.

This theory indicates that family law, although it is part of civil law, undeniably emphasizes its
public law aspect, which would be given by the state's interest in the fulfillment by individuals of
their powers and functions in the legal relations of family law.
The notion of public order appears here, whose primary function is to limit private autonomy and the
possibility for individuals to dictate their own rules in legal relations. In family law, public policy
 7
dominates many provisions. Thus those that regulate: 3

° the personal relations of the spouses;

° paternal-filial relations;
° the matrimonial property regime;
° the qualification of the assets of the spouses;
° etc..

1.2.3. A third branch of law.

For Cicu, family law is a third type of law, distinct from private and public law, which does not
protect individual interests (like private law) as autonomous and independent, but is subordinated to
a higher interest, the family interest.

1.2.4. Family law is a social law.

A new position on the systematic placement of family law affirms a new tripartite division of law:
public, private and social law. He argues that public law has as its subject the State and there is a
relationship of subordination and dependence and interest and authority; private law, on the other
hand, has as its subject the individual or the State as a private individual, and its normative source is
the will where there is no hierarchical subject; and finally, in social law the subject is society,
represented by the different collective entities with which it operates.
Within this scheme, family law is placed as a branch of social law together with labor and social
security law, based on the idea that art. 14 bis of the National Constitution includes family members
among the social rights.

1.3. Legal Regulation of the Family in our Law.

In view of the foregoing, it is necessary to point out that in our country family law is basically
contained in the Civil Code. Subsequently, several laws regulating family legal relationships were
enacted, some of which are declared to be complementary to the former. Thus we find, among many
others:
Law Year Institution
2.393 1.888 Civil marriage
10.903 Juvenile Board of Trustees
11.357 Legal status of women
13.252 1.948 Adoption
14.357 1.954 Elimination of differences between children
14.394 Family property
 7
4
9983/57 1.957 Ratifies Conv. Women's Civil Rights
17.711 1.968 Divorce Reforms
19.134 1.971 Adoption
23.264 1.985 Parental rights
23.515 1.987 Divorce
24.779 1.997 Adoption
That is to say that family relations are governed by rules of different origins, from the National
Constitution (arts. 14 bis, 75 incs. 22º and 23º), passing through the Civil Code and the other
national laws that complement it. In addition, at the provincial level, there is also important
legislation on the subject, for example, Law 6.354, which regulates the procedure before the Family
Courts, and Law 6.672 on family violence.

1.4. The Publicization of Family Law. The National Constitution.

The constitutional reform of 1994, when enumerating the powers of the Congress of the Nation (art.
75 C.N.), confers it the power to approve or reject treaties with other nations and international
organizations. Thus, in inc. 22º enumerates a series of treaties that will have constitutional hierarchy
and which must be understood as complementary to the rights and guarantees recognized by the first
part of the Constitution.
Among these international treaties and declarations there are several that contain precepts, now
operative, concerning Family Law:
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man of 1948;
Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948;
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination;
American Convention on Human Rights ( Pact of San José, Costa Rica);
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women;
International Convention on the Rights of the Child.

These international instruments, due to the constitutional hierarchy they have acquired, require that
positive law be confronted with their provisions.
The question that arises is what happens if a rule of domestic law relating to family law collides with
a rule contained in one of these instruments.
The impact of the constitutional reform on family law is vast and complex. It must be taken into
account that in our times private law is inserted in the political plan that the Constitution defines and
from which the rights and guarantees that it explicitly or implicitly recognizes result. In this order of
ideas, it can be affirmed that family law is civil law but that we are immersed in a process of
publicizing its rules and principles, in which the interests of society and future generations take on
current importance.
 7
In this regard, the importance of inc. 23rd of art. 75 of the N.C. which imposes on Congress5the
obligation to dictate a special and comprehensive social security system for the protection of
children in distress, from pregnancy until the end of elementary school, and of the mother during
pregnancy and while breastfeeding. The legal regulation, in these cases, goes far beyond the scope
of private matters and concerns society as a whole, hence the need to entrust the highest authorities
responsible for determining and conducting State policies with the task of ensuring the respect and
dissemination of these interests.

1.5. Content of Family Law.

Family law includes rules regulating personal and family property relations. This includes:
° Matrimonial law.
° Legal relations between parents and children.
° Parental relationships.
The consequences of de facto unions.

1.6. Family Subjective Rights.

The family legal bond is the relationship that exists between two individuals, derived from the
marital union, filiation or kinship, and by virtue of which certain subjective rights exist in an
interdependent and usually reciprocal manner, which can therefore be considered as family
subjective rights (e.g. the right to request alimony).
In turn, in many cases, these rights assume the characteristic of rights - duties, e.g., those derived
from parental authority, when the law recognizes rights to certain persons in order to achieve duties
that the law itself places in their charge. These are powers granted to individuals as a means of
protecting legitimate interests determined by family legal relationships.

1.7. The Family State.

Concept.
The location or place that corresponds to an individual within a social group attributes a status to
him/her. Within the family, every individual also has a family status determined by the legal family
ties that bind him or her to other persons, or even by the total absence of such ties, as in the case of a
bachelor.
The location determined by the existence of such ties or by the absence of them, implies a set of
correlative rights and duties attributed to the persons that make up their family status. In this respect,
one may be single, married, widowed, separated or divorced; and in relation to another person, one
may be a spouse, relative or stranger.
As can be seen, the family status is an attribute of persons of visible existence, which is therefore
inseparable from the person himself, and therefore inalienable and unrenounceable - As we have
 7
seen, from the family status derive subjective family rights and the corresponding duties 6and
obligations, but also non-family subjective rights, such as the right to inherit intestate.

In this order of ideas, the Family State is projected to the State as a tribute of personality and
generates a series of effects in different juridical planes. For example:

Art. 166 C. Civil

Basis of matrimonial impediment by
consanguinity, ligament and adoption
Source of maintenance obligation Arts. 198, 207 to
E 210, 367 to 376, 265
CIVIL
et seq C. Civil
F Source of the intestate succession
vocation
E Provides the right to oppose the Art. 177 C. Civil
marriage
 7
7
C It confers legal standing to file a Arts. 219 y 220
marriage annulment action. C.Civil
T It confers legal standing to file a Art. 144 C. Civil
proceeding for insanity and judicial Art. 307 CPC Mza.
O disqualification.
Imposes the obligation to report
S orphanhood
It grants the right to guardianship and Arts. 390 and 476 C.
conservatorship. Civil
Homicide: art. 80 inc. 1st Criminal
Law
Homicide in a state of violent emotion
AGGRAVANT
Injuries. Art. 92 C.Penal
CRIMINALS Weapons abuse
Rape - Stupefaction - Indecent assault

Deprivation of liberty. Art. 142 inc.

2nd Criminal Law
Thefts, frauds
Damages EXEMPT
Concealment
Failure to comply with family care ELEMENT OF THE
duties TYPE
PROCEDURALS Ineligibility to be a witness
Grounds for recusal and disqualification of magistrates
PROVISIONALS Basic element for the existence of pension rights

1.8. State Title.

In a formal sense, it is the instrument or set of public instruments from which the family status of a
person emerges. It is identified with the document that makes the family status opposable erga
omnes. E.g.: birth certificate, marriage certificate. In a material or substantial sense , it refers to
the cause of a particular location. For example, filiation recognizes as a cause the biological
presuppositions that allow it to be attributed in relation to the father and the mother. If there is no
voluntary acknowledgment of the child, the latter may bring an action to obtain the summons by
proving the biological presupposition; thus, this child, not yet acknowledged, but who judicially
claims to be the child of a certain person, asserts the cause of a summons.

1.9. State Possession.

The family status requires the title of status in the formal sense, since only through it becomes
opposable erga omnes and allows the exercise of the rights and duties that correspond to the status.

But it may well happen that a person exercises, in fact, such rights and duties without title; e.g.,
Joseph claims to be the son of Mary, who publicly treats him as such and at the same time claims to
 7
be his mother; another example: Mark and Andrea claim to be husband and wife, publicly 8
behave as
such and live together, but have not married.
The possession of status has legal relevance, because, depending on the case, it allows the law to
presume that those who in fact have behaved publicly as if they were placed in the family status,
recognize by means of that conduct the existence of the substantial presuppositions of the status. Ex:
art. 256 C.Civil establishes that the possession of state duly accredited in court shall have the same
value as the express acknowledgement, if it is not disproved by evidence to the contrary on the
biological nexus.
In other cases, the possession of status constitutes a fact that the law takes into account to attribute
certain legal consequences. For example, the cohabitation of the mother with the presumed father
during the time of conception leads to the presumption of paternity, unless there is proof to the
contrary.
The possession of status creates, then, an apparent family status.

2. The Organization, Jurisdiction and Procedure in the Family Courts of the Province of
Mendoza.

2.2. Procedural Principles in Family Law (Module I)

a- Partially free of charge (art. 51)

Exceptions (art. 52)

-Inc. a: personal separation, divorce and liquidation of the marital partnership

-Inc. c: marriage annulment

-Inc. K: supplementary authorization of art. 1277 B.C.

-Inc. LL: authorization to encumber and dispose of property of minors and incapable persons.

-Inc. o: And any other related cause, incidental, ancillary, preparatory, precautionary and precautionary

proceedings and their cancellations, third parties, accessory proceedings and enforcement of its

decisions, in relation to those listed in this article.

-Patrimonial issues deduced originally or by connection with the agreed competence. b- Significantly

attenuated dispositive principle.

-turno Tutelar (art. 53)

-Compulsory opening of the case to evidence ex officio after the answer to the claim and counterclaim

(art. 81)

In addition to this civil process, there are also family proceedings that are absolutely inquisitorial (e.g.,

the family court). The judge can thus take into consideration other main facts not alleged (directly or

indirectly) and evidence not offered by the parties: thus in filiation trials, where it is stated that all

kinds of evidence will be admitted and that they can be "decreed ex officio" (art. 253 of the C.C.)

-Precautionary or preventive measures (art. 83 inc. a) ex officio or at the request of a party.

 7
c- Orality: Hearing process 9

-Investigation stage: Written (claim, answer, counterclaim, exceptions).

-Hearing of the case: oral with full recording by technical means (art. 98)

d- Immediacy:

The interests involved in family litigation make it imperative for the judge to have direct and necessary

contact with the persons involved in the process, in order to obtain first-hand knowledge of the facts of

the case and of the parties involved in the process.

Personal attendance at all hearings, under penalty of nullity (art. 82)

e- Reservation or confidentiality.

In view of the facts that will normally be the subject

matter of the family claim or petition, the procedure
will be implicitly or explicitly (e.g., Law 24779 on
Adoption) conducted in a reserved manner, in order to
protect the right to privacy of the persons directly or
indirectly affected in the litigation or petition. Law
24779 on Adoption) in a reserved manner, in order to
protect the right to privacy of the persons directly or
indirectly affected in the litigation or petition, thus
leaving aside in this aspect the principle of publicity
of the judicial proceedings. Judicial disposition (art.
83 inc. b)
f- Attenuated formalism.

Free interrogation of witnesses (art. 93)- therefore, the offer of the testimonial evidence cannot be

rejected if the litigant omitted to enclose the envelope with the interrogation.

Minutes by the secretary (art. 97)

g- Concentration or economy (art. 95)

The reception of oral production evidence will always be concentrated in the hearing of the case.

Intermediate rooms for justifiable reasons.

h-Accentuation of the conciliatory function.

What has been the subject matter of agreements will have to be privileged and taken as a relevant

antecedent to resolve the issue submitted to the judge, since as it is noticed in mediation (and operates

as its true raison d'être), what has been agreed between the parties, as long as it is not contrary to the

public order or to the best interests of the family, is appreciated as more beneficial in contrast to a

solution imposed "from outside", even by the mere fact of the higher degree of spontaneous compliance

that it usually awakens spontaneous compliance.The agreement between the parties, as long as it is not

contrary to the public order or to the best interests of the family, is considered more beneficial than a

solution imposed "from outside", even by the mere fact of the higher degree of spontaneous compliance

that this usually awakens in the protagonists.

 8
i- Interdisciplinary cooperation: 0

The family conflict normally involves not only its immediate protagonists, but also the members of the

cohabiting family group, which is why interdisciplinary cooperation is established to solve or prevent the

aggravation or extension of the conflict, through the intervention of social workers, psychologists, etc.

The interdisciplinary cooperation is established in order to solve or prevent the aggravation or extension

of the dispute, through the intervention of social workers, psychologists, etc., assigned to the court or

appointed ex officio or at the request of a party, and to decide with solvency the petitions formulated in

extra-contentious proceedings;

j- The best interest of the child.

This concept is the north that guides the judge in his decisions, and we can mention that it is of

indeterminate content, subject to the understanding and extension of each society and historical

moment.

The best interests of the child, as strongly enshrined in Article 3 of the Convention, demand that in

judicial proceedings, decisions involving children should not be made behind their backs, since their

status as subjects of law prevents them from being marginalized. There is an absolute equivalence

between this best interest and the fundamental rights of the child, and it can be affirmed that this best

interest is nothing more but nothing less than the complete satisfaction of the child's rights .

2.3. Organization.
The Family Court is composed of the Family Courts, the Juvenile Counseling Offices, the Mediators
Corps -as a previous instance in custody, visitation, alimony and common-law marriage trials- and
the Interdisciplinary Auxiliary Corps -CAI- with medical professionals, psychiatrists, psychologists
and social workers- who collaborate with the Judge to solve legal issues submitted to their decision
from their discipline. with medical professionals, psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers -
who from their discipline collaborate with the Judge to solve the legal issues submitted to his
decision.

2.4. Competition.
ART. 3 Law 6,354
The competence of the Family Courts arises clearly from Art. 3 of law 6.354 when it states:
“A los efectos de la promoción y protección de los derechos del niño y el adolescente y de la
aplicación de la presente ley, compete al CONSEJO PROVINCIAL DE LA NIÑEZ Y
ADOLESCENCIA el asesoramiento para la formulación y coordinacióThe PROVINCIAL
DIRECTORATE FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS (today the Family Directorate) is
responsible for its programming, execution and evaluation, and the JUDICIARY is responsible
for the DECISION OF CASES IN WHICH THERE ARE QUESTIONS OF
RIGHTS WHICH ARE THE SUBJECT OF CONTROVERSY OR LEGAL CONFLICT and the
 8
cases expressly contemplated in this law". 1

That is, the family court mechanism is set in motion when there is a need to resolve a legal issue,
especially as contemplated in Law 6.354.
The aforementioned law obliges family judges to intervene in two different situations, given by the
two competences that characterize the family jurisdiction: civil competence and guardianship
competence.

2.4.1. Civil Jurisdiction and Procedure.

Art. 52 of Law 6.354, states that it corresponds to intervene in the causes referred to personal
separation and divorce, whether contentious or by joint presentation, liquidation of the conjugal
society (except by death), separation of assets, nullity of marriage, filiation actions, whether they are
summons as an action of recognition (paternity or maternity) or displacement, as an action of
contestation (paternity or maternity), as an action of impugnation (paternity or maternity).The Court
is also competent to intervene in cases of separation of property, nullity of marriage, filiation
actions, whether they are actions of location, such as the action of recognition (paternity or
maternity) or of displacement, such as the action of impugnation (paternity, maternity or
recognition). These are ordinary proceedings, i.e., they provide ample evidence, longer procedural
deadlines and the possibility of counterclaims, among other differences.
It must also resolve situations whose process is summary, i.e., with shorter deadlines and more
expeditious resolutions. These issues relate to minor children: exercise, suspension or loss of
parental authority, authorizations, age entitlements, adoption, custody and visitation and all matters
related to child support payments.
The Family Judge, in civil jurisdiction, is responsible for resolving matters related to the name,
marital status and capacity of persons, including hospitalization of the mentally ill, chronic
alcoholics or drug addicts, and all matters related to all the cases listed above.
The civil jurisdiction summarized above must be exercised with legal counsel, that is to
say, each person who requires the judge to rule on any situation contemplated in the
guidelines indicated must do so through a lawyer. To this end, the Judiciary has
professionals who assist those who cannot afford to pay a professional through the
Defender's Office for the Poor and Absent and the Codefensores.

In relation to the procedure, we can mark the following differences:

Ordinary Procedure (Arts. 77 A 99)
Summary Proceeding (Arts. 100 Y 101)
Summary Proceeding (Arts. 102 Y 103)
TYPE DE SUMMARY SUMMARY (art. 52,
PROCESS ORDINARY (art. 52, (art. 52, incs. e, f, g, h, incs. b, k, l )
STAGE incs. a, b, c, d) j, ll, m, n)
 8
2
DEMAND- TRANSFER 15 days 8 days 5 days

ANSWER No transfer No transfer No transfer

RECONVENTION Yes, as appropriate Yes, as appropriate Not applicable
OPENING A Ex officio, for 15 days Not applicable Not applicable
TEST
TESTIMONIAL Unlimited Limited to 8 witnesses Idem above
SUSTANTIATION All that is not to be Idem Idem
rendered at the Hearing
of the Case
CAUSE VIEW All verbal evidence Idem Idem

ALLEGATIONS Oral (reality: Idem Idem

written)
SENTENCE Deadline: 10 days Deadline: 8 days Deadline 5 days
APPEAL Deadline: 5 days Idem Idem

2.4.2. Guardianship Jurisdiction and Procedure.

These are those cases in which the family judge must intervene in shifts that have a duration of 15
days, and must resolve situations of victimization or risk, both of minors and adults in cases of
domestic violence. Regarding the minor children, art 53, of the law 6.354, indicates when it must
intervene and it must do it even ex officio, that is to say, only for having taken knowledge even
anonymously of the situation, it does not need that the victim requests a protection measure. These
are the following causes:
Art. 53: It corresponds to the Family Judge on guardianship duty to hear, ex officio or at the
request of a party, the following cases:
a) when the minor or incapacitated person is the victim of an infraction to the penal norms,
misdemeanors or contraventions committed by his/her parents, guardian, tutor or any other
person in charge of the minor or incapacitated person.
According to the norm, the judge intervenes when the persons who are naturally called to provide
protection and containment to the child are precisely those who abuse minors. These are crimes or
misdemeanors in the criminal sense of the term, but in the case of family relationships, the concept
is broadened to include all types of mistreatment that cause physical or psychological harm, etc.

b) when it is necessary to decide on the family situation of minors or incapable persons in the
event that they have suffered or could suffer harm due to physical or mental abuse, neglect or
negligent treatment, mistreatment, exploitation, while in the custody of the parents, guardian,
tutor, tutor or any other person in charge of them .
The law includes in this subsection the concept of risk, and mandates the judge to intervene in the
child's family situation when the child may suffer harm, when the child is in a situation of danger
caused by his or her parents (or representatives) or by other people outside the family, and does not
have family support.
 8
c) when the health, safety or physical or mental integrity of minors or incapacitated 3
persons is
compromised by acts or actions taken against their best interests.
These are those acts that the child or adolescent carries out against his or her own integrity, e.g.,
drug use, alcohol abuse, etc.
This paragraph must be understood in accordance with the following, and consequently, the family
judge in guardianship duty intervenes when the minor incurs in these acts and the family group does
not exercise the adequate containment. Thus, for example, if the young person is a drug addict but
his parents assist him, take him to specialized programs to "get him off drugs", etc., there is no need
for judicial intervention, unless the parents' efforts are not enough.

d) When for reasons of orphanage, absence or legal impediment of parents, guardian or

guardian, it is necessary to adopt measures in order to give certainty to the attributes of the
personality.
This paragraph emphasizes the subsidiary nature of the intervention of the judge during the
guardianship shift, i.e., the judge intervenes whenever the parents (or representatives) of the child
are absent or for various reasons are unable to provide for their children. On the other hand, the
judge also intervenes during the guardianship shift, when the victim is an adult, by virtue of Law
6.672 which states that: "Any person who suffers physical, psychological or sexual abuse by
members of the family group, may make a verbal or written complaint to the judges". In these cases,
it is required that the victim is the one who requests the judge to intervene, since she is a capable
person. This law also defines what is understood by family group: the one originated by marriage or
de facto unions and includes all degrees of kinship, provided that they are cohabitants; and the
persons close to that nucleus when for any circumstance they regularly cohabit with permanent
characteristics.
The Family Violence Law indicates that the Judge intervening in all proceedings for physical,
psychological or sexual abuse committed in the family environment may require a diagnosis of
family interaction to be carried out by experts from different disciplines that make up the
aforementioned C.A.I. to determine the physical and psychological damage suffered by the
victim(s), the dangerousness of the perpetrator and the family's social and environmental
environment.
Unlike the civil competence, in this tutelary competence, the legal sponsorship of lawyers will not
be mandatory to request the Judge to rule on the situation of victimization or risk that the victim is
subjected to, whether or not the victim is of legal age.- Regarding the Process of the TUTELARY
MEASURES, in general, Art. 104 of Law 6.354 states that prior to the adoption of guardianship
measures to which the cases indicated in the present law give rise, the Family Judge, ex officio or at
the request of a party, whenever possible in view of the circumstances of the case, shall request from
the parties, the Interdisciplinary Auxiliary Body and the relevant agencies, the elements of judgment
 8
he considers necessary to resolve the measure, and shall decide within a very short period of 4
time:
within 24 hours of becoming aware of the facts.
Regarding the measures to be adopted, Art. 180 of law 6.354 lists some measures with respect to
children and art. 3 of law 6.672 provides for the exclusion of the offender's home in the case of the
victim being an adult.
THE PROCEDURE FOR GUARDIANSHIP MEASURES:

We have tried to clarify what a guardianship measure is and in which cases the family judge in charge of
applying them by law must be involved, but it is necessary to analyze the process through which
guardianship measures go through.
Undoubtedly, the topic falls within the so-called general theory of urgent proceedings. In this matter,
more than ever, slow justice, that which arrives late, ceases to be justice.
The time factor in certain judicial proceedings acquires elemental importance, especially when the
rights discussed in them are essential to the human being. Kielmanovich argues that the time factor constitutes
a note of dramatic importance and unavoidable consideration in and for the judicial process, since the
jurisdictional function is not exhausted in the simple, nominal or abstract declaration of the right in debate, but
in its effective reestablishment, taking into account that an untimely or late decision is equivalent, more often
than not, to its non-existence, in the same way that a timely resolution is equivalent to the non-existence of
the same.The judicial function is not exhausted in the simple, nominal or abstract declaration of the right under
debate but in its effective reestablishment, taking into account that an untimely or late decision is equivalent,
more often than not, to its non-existence, in the same way that a timely decision that is impossible to comply
with is frustrating for its recognition1
. This becomes evident when the rights under discussion refer to values
transcendent to man that make up his own dignity, such as his life, his psycho-physical integrity, his privacy,
his freedom, etc. These are the assets that are generally affected in cases of domestic violence.
It is publicly known how shocking and devastating this phenomenon can be for its victims and what
the after-effects -both psychological and physical- can be when it manages to control itself before ending the
life of one of the parties involved (whether the victim or the perpetrator). For this reason, the judge and the
legislator cannot ignore the need to create alternative procedural means to put an immediate and expeditious
end to these situations. Episodes of violence tend to become increasingly serious and can lead to irreparable
injuries.
A valuable guide, in this sense, is proposed by the Supreme Court of Justice of Mendoza insofar as it
has understood that the security measures provided for in the law on violence respond to the new conceptions
on the matter, which advise more the protection of the victim than the punishment of the aggressor, being able
to affirm that such principle constitutes a guiding principle for the adoption of all protective measures.
Therefore, in relation to the proof, the petitioner is not obliged to demonstrate the danger of delay
and the verisimilitude of the right invoked to the extent required for precautionary measures. The suspicion of
the existence of ill-treatment authorizes the judge to take urgent measures to put an end to the situation of
risk reported.
In other words, the complainant cannot be required to prove the verisimilitude of the right, the danger
of delay and provide counter-guarantee with the same rigor that is required in the case of precautionary
measures in Family Law, much less with the same rigor that is required for precautionary measures in general 2.

2 DI LELLA, Pedro and DI LELLA, Pedro (h), La ley de protección contra la violencia familiar de la prov. of Buenos Aires. J.A. 2000-II-
1,269
 8
On the contrary, in the face of such well-founded suspicion, the court must relax the requirements. 5

On the other hand, the procedural rules for protection measures against violence can in no way hinder
victims from obtaining a prompt and timely decision.
But, specifically: What is the urgent procedure designed by the law on minority and family? We find it
in art. 104 of Law 6.354.
Prior to the adoption of guardianship measures, the family judge, ex officio or at the request of a
party, whenever possible in view of the circumstances of the case, will gather information from the parties, the
Interdisciplinary Auxiliary Body (C.A.I.), relevant agencies, and the elements of judgment he/she considers
necessary to decide on the measure.
In view of the facts denounced, the Judge must have the necessary elements for him to be enlightened of

the real situation the victim is going through, in order not to take a measure that does not respond to the

integral protection of the child or adolescent, for which he counts on the Interdisciplinary Auxiliary Body

(C.A.I.) which operates within the orbit of the Judiciary, is composed of professionals belonging to different

disciplines: clinical and psychiatric doctors, psychologists and social work professionals.

This team works on a shift basis, advising and informing the judge in charge of the guardianship,
through its permanent expertise that translates into diagnoses of the social, medical and psychological situation
of the victims and perpetrators. We do not treat medical or psychological pathologies. Hundreds of complaints
are received every day, which makes it impossible for the judge to go to the places where the facts occur, so
he is assisted by a social worker who goes to the place to collect the data of the family group, through the
neighbors, schools, health center, that is to say that in his reports the judge recreates the situation, in the
scene of the facts with its protagonists as they are, being able to adopt measures that respond to their
particular situation.In other words, in his reports the judge recreates the situation, in the scene of the facts
with its protagonists as they are, being able to adopt the measures that respond to their particular situation,
avoiding generalization and taking measures that do not respond to the value of justice.
The family judge will also rely on the contribution of the parties who, as emerging from a situation of

violence, must be urged to present the necessary evidence for the judge to take the appropriate measure of

protection, then they bring witnesses, psychological, school, medical reports, etc..

There are also numerous organizations that are an indispensable aid for the judge, and he finds it in the

social networks and family members that surround, for example, the abused child.

One of these organizations is the Interdisciplinary Pre-admission Team: within the Family Department, this
program is made up of professionals from different disciplines (psychologists, social workers, lawyers, etc.),
and its function is to search for the family or community network of children and adolescents who, due to
dramatic circumstances, have been referred by the courts.Its function is to search for the family or
community network of children and adolescents who, due to dramatic circumstances in their lives, do not
have access to a family or community network.The function of the program is to seek out the family or
community network of children and adolescents who, due to dramatic circumstances in their lives, do not
have the protection of their legal representatives or of those persons who are called by nature to care for
children, i.e. when their family has become dangerous for the child's development. The purpose of the team
is to find containment strategies in the family or community environment of the child or adolescent at risk in
order to prevent them from being sheltered in macro homes or mini homes that depend on the family
directorate.
Another agency is the one that organizes the Program of Integral Attention to Child and Adolescent Abuse,
 8
Law 6.551. 6

Information can also be obtained from health centers, health posts, hospitals, schools, municipalities, etc.
Therefore, after the judge has been imbued and knows the specific situation a child or adolescent is
going through, i.e. the judge has taken a thorough knowledge of the situation, he/she must issue a verdict
within 24 hours, and must justify it within three days.

3. The Public Prosecutor's Office.

In order to refer to this topic, it is necessary to recall some concepts on the legal protection of the de
facto incapacitated.
Incapacity in fact is instituted by law to protect the persons who are affected by it, but the institution
of incapacity does not exhaust the protection provided to such persons; in order for it to be effective,
it is completed by other legal measures, namely:
1) the nullity of acts carried out in violation of the incapacity;
2) the institution of an adequate representation, in order to make up for the incapacity and
equalize the subject with others, capable;
3) the intervention of a special agency dedicated to the protection of the incapacitated, the

Public Prosecutor's Office; and

4) in certain cases the exercise of the State Patronage.

3.1. Protection Systems: Representation and Assistance:

3.1.1. Representation.
It takes place when a person is appointed to replace the incapacitated person in the exercise of the
latter's rights, and to perform the acts for which the holder is legally prevented. The representative
acts on his own initiative and without the assistance of the will of the incapacitated person, who
under this system is left in the most absolute and complete passivity, being replaced by the
representative in the management of his interests.

Characters.
It is legal because it is direct from the Law. It is necessary because it cannot be missing. It is dual
and joint, and controlled by the State through the Pupil Ministry.

3.1.2. Assistance.
The incapable person is not substituted by another in the exercise of his rights, but called jointly
with another to the performance of such exercise. While representation dispenses with the will of the
represented subject, assistance gives rise to a complex activity whose voluntary element is made up
 8
of the will of the holder of the exercised rights, completed by the will of the person who 7
performs
the controlling function - Cases: art. 152 bis, 135 and 275 C. Civil.-
When the person exercising the function of comptroller refuses to give his consent to the
incapacitated person, the latter may go before a judge to decide the controversy.
The operation of this protection is established in Art. 57 of C. Civil law, which establishes who are
the representatives of the incapacitated, such as parents (or guardians) with respect to minors.
The law also establishes, in art. 59 promiscuous representation, the exercise of which is entrusted to
the Public Prosecutor's Office. In addition to the necessary or legal representatives that the law
provides for the care and protection of the rights of the de facto incapacitated, these have an
additional protection: the one provided by the Ministry of the Pupil.
In each province, for judicial or extrajudicial matters in which minors are parties, this figure is
structured with specific regulations. In Mendoza, the function is performed by the Advisors of
Minors and Incapables and they must intervene in all matters involving the interests of minors,
under sanction of what has been acted without their intervention.
4. The Rights and Guarantees of Children and Adolescents in Law 6354.
Article 6° - The State shall ensure the right of children and adolescents to freedom, physical,
psychological and social integrity, preserving their image, identity, autonomy of values, ideas or
beliefs and personal spaces and objects.

Article 7° - In the education of children and adolescents, the State, through formal and non-formal
education systems, shall instill in them respect for human rights, for their parents, for their own
cultural identity, for the natural environment and for social values, enabling them to assume a
responsible life.

Article 8° - The State shall guarantee the child and adolescent victim of crimes the physical,
psychological, legal and social assistance required to achieve his or her recovery.

Article 9° - Children and adolescents may not be deprived of their rights without due process of law,
which shall guarantee the right to be heard in any judicial process or administrative procedure
affecting them and the respect and dignity due to them as developing persons.

Article 10° - The lack of material resources of the parents, guardian or tutor does not constitute
sufficient cause for the exclusion of the child or adolescent from his or her family group or legal
guardianship. Where appropriate, the exclusion must be based on serious grounds that in themselves
authorize the imposition of the measure. In proceedings initiated for the purpose of deciding on the
suspension or loss of parental authority, the aforementioned cause shall be of restrictive
interpretation.
 8
Article 11 - The State shall guarantee the following rights and guarantees to children and 8
adolescents
in criminal proceedings:
a) to be considered innocent until proven guilty;
b) to the full and formal knowledge of the infringing act attributed to him and of the procedural
guarantees available to him;
c) to equality in the procedural relationship, for which purpose it may produce all the evidence it
deems appropriate for its defense;
d) to the assistance of legal counsel of their choice or provided free of charge by the State;
e) to be heard in person by the competent authority;

f) to immediately request the presence of their parents or the person in charge, as soon as they are
apprehended and at any stage of the procedure;
g) to have his parents, guardian or custodian informed, at the time of his accusation and in case of
apprehension, of the place where he is located, of the act with which he is charged. Court and police
agency involved;
h) not to testify against himself; and
i) that all actions related to their apprehension and/or detention and the facts with which they are
charged shall be strictly confidential.

Article 12 - No media shall publish or disseminate information that may lead to the identification of
children and adolescents, whether they are offenders or victims of a crime.

TOPIC VI: CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

A- CRIMINAL LAW

1. Introduction.
One of the functions of the State, understood as the integration of the three branches of government
(Executive, Legislative and Judicial), is to settle disputes in those cases in which it is determined in
accordance with the legislation in force, disputes that may refer to different matters, namely: civil,
commercial, labor, criminal.
In this particular case, this state obligation is embodied in the organization of what is known as
"criminal justice".
The primary task of this sector of the "administration of justice" will be to resolve the conflictive
situations that may arise, a task for which it will have to adapt to certain guidelines regulated by the
normative ordinances that specifically refer to the matter in question.
 8
2. Criminal Law. 9

Concept.
Before referring to the role of the State in the Administration of Justice, and specifically in what
concerns us (criminal matters), it is necessary to explain briefly what "criminal law" consists of.
For Soler "is the part of the law, composed of the set of rules endowed with retributive sanction".
For Creus, "it is the set of laws that describe crimes by assigning a penalty for the perpetrator of the
conduct that constitutes them, or replacing it in certain cases by a security measure, establishing at
the same time the rules that condition the application thereof".- Finally, for Zaffaroni, criminal law
"is the branch of legal knowledge that, through the interpretation of criminal laws, proposes to
judges a guiding system of decisions that contains and reduces punitive power, to promote the
progress of the constitutional rule of law".
Regarding the legal nature of this branch of law, the majority doctrine is inclined to hold that
criminal law has an eminently "punitive" nature, so that it cannot be said that it "constitutes" its own
wrongdoings, different from others existing in the legal system. It can therefore not be said that it
"constitutes" its own wrongful acts, different from others existing in the legal system, but rather that
it is considered that the wrongful acts are unique, and that what criminal law does is to punish them
by means of a special obligation such as the "penalty".- Creus argues that criminal law, as a set of
laws, is the one that delimits the power of the State to punish, that is, to impose penalties, which is
known as "ius puniendi", which in turn is also restricted -even before those formulated by criminal
law- in the national Constitution and in the International Treaties signed by our country.The
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, the American Convention on Human Rights,
the American Convention on Human Rights (Covenant on Civil and Political Rights), the American
Convention on Human Rights (Covenant on Civil and Political Rights), the American Convention
on Human Rights (Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) and the American Convention on Human
Rights (Covenant on Civil and Political Rights).American Convention on Human Rights" (Pact of
San José, Costa Rica); "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights"; "The International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights"; etc..-

3. Constitutional principles.
The National Constitution (ART. 18), establishes the basic principles of the criminal-legal
system, that is, the legal assumptions of repression, by providing: "No inhabitant of the Nation
may be punished without prior trial based on a law prior to the fact of the process, or tried by special
commissions, or removed from the judges appointed by law before the fact of the case".

From this postulate it follows:

1° That the criminal law must precede any sanction (there is no penalty without law).
 9
2° That the criminal trial (or process), necessarily regulated by a law that makes it unalterable, is0the
only means of applying the substantive law (there is no punishment without trial).

3° That no one can be considered guilty until a final judgment declares him guilty (principle of
innocence).

4° That the judgment of the natural judge is the only legitimate source for definitively limiting
freedom (natural judge).
Accordingly, ART. 1 of the C.P.P. The law states: "No one may be punished without prior trial
in accordance with the provisions of this law, or tried by judges other than those appointed in
accordance with the Constitution and competent, or considered guilty until a final judgment
declares him guilty, or prosecuted more than once for the same act.
By virtue of the criminal-legal system, the repressive power of the State is substantially and formally
defined, disciplined and limited. This legal system simultaneously protects two interests: that of
society (through the repression of the guilty party) and that of the individual (through freedom).
Justice and freedom are the two fundamental ideas that, according to the National Constitution,
inspire and condition the repressive function of the State.
For these reasons, the criminal-legal norm appears as a limiting norm: the substantive, because it
circumscribes the scope of repression; the procedural, because it establishes the only legitimate way
of exercising repressive power.

3.1 Principle of Legality (there is no crime or penalty without law).

This principle means:
1° That no human action (there must be an external conduct) can constitute a crime, even if it
appears immoral, if it is not defined as such by a written law prior to its execution, which must
emanate, exclusively: from the Congress of the Nation, if it is a crime (art. 75 inc. 12 National
Constitution) or of the Provincial Legislatures or Deliberative Councils, if it constitutes a
misdemeanor or contravention.
Our constitutional order requires that the law be a written and general rule. Only a written rule can
provide the assurances enunciated in the principle of reservation, which is intended to ensure that the
inhabitants of the State have before their eyes precisely determined crimes and equally precisely
delimited penalties.
The generality of criminal law is also a derivative of the principle of legality. This must be prior to
the punished act, a condition that is incompatible with a law established for a personally determined
case. This clashes with the warranty. equality before the law.
This written and general rule must be sanctioned and promulgated according to constitutional
requirements. The legislative power, understood as the power to form and sanction laws,
corresponds to the Congress of the Nation, to the provincial legislatures and to the municipal
 9
councils. The Legislative Branch may not delegate this power. The guarantee of repressive 1
legality
aims mainly at ensuring that the criminal power of the State is developed outside the action and
discretion of the Executive Power.
The configuration of a criminal offense is a matter of the essence of the Legislative Power and the
Executive Power cannot create them nor the Judicial Power apply them if there is no law that has
established them prior to the commission of the act.

2° That the Judge cannot apply any other sanction than the one established by law, both in quality or
kind as well as in quantity.

3° That the criminal law cannot be applied analogically.

4° That the criminal law cannot be applied retroactively, unless it is more benign for the accused
(art. 2 Penal Code).
Therefore, it is not possible for someone to be convicted, called to trial, prosecuted or placed in
criminal proceedings if a law in force at the time of the act does not qualify it as a crime and punish
it as such.

3.2 Principle of Reservation.

Together with the constitutional principle of legality, which requires that in order for a conduct to be
criminally prosecuted, its determination as disvaluable must be prior to its commission, the
"principle of reserve" is established.
Provided for in Article 19 of the Magna Carta, it expresses that: "The private actions of men that in
no way offend public order and morals, nor harm a third party, are only reserved to God, and exempt
from the authority of magistrates. No inhabitant of the Nation shall be compelled to do what the law
does not command, nor deprived of what the law does not prohibit".
The requirement that an act can only be considered a crime if it is so established by a law prior to its
commission, obeys the idea of reserving to individuals, as an area exempt from punishment, those
acts which, although they may seem illicit, immoral or harmful, are not foreseen as crimes and
punished by a law prior to their commission. The punishability of acts that the law does not punish is
reserved, as a sphere of immunity, against the repressive power of the State.
In the case of an individual guarantee, this reserve zone must be clearly delineated. This is achieved
by means of the taxonomical enumeration by law of the punishable acts and the relevant penalties.
This is what, according to Soler, constitutes a "discontinuous system of offenses", comparing the
criminal normative system as a "set of islets", according to which each of the offenses specified in
the different norms (criminal code, special laws) constitutes an islet, and when that conduct does not
 9
fit perfectly into one of those islets it will fall into what is called a "zone of freedom" and 2
therefore
cannot be repressed.According to Soler, each of the offenses specified in the different norms
(criminal code, special laws) constitutes an islet, and when that conduct does not fit perfectly in one
of those islets, it will fall in what is called "zone of freedom", and therefore its commission cannot
be repressed.-

3.3 There is no penalty without trial.

The National Constitution requires the State, by means of a certain activity of predisposed organs,
to verify whether the criminal law has been violated and to what extent, in order to impose the
corresponding sanction. According to this principle, no one may be sanctioned except as a result of a
previous jurisdictional trial.

a) From an objective point of view: the trial imposed by the Constitution or criminal process is a
prefixed legal entity or a legal type abstractly defined by procedural law, which establishes the
forms of the acts that comprise it and the order (procedure) that must be observed in fulfilling them.
The criminal process is necessarily interposed between the crime and the criminal, being the only
means of discovering the truth and effectively acting the criminal law.
Therefore, the warranty consists of:
1) On the need for a legally defined process to precede any sanction;
2) In the solemnity and forms that must be observed in the performance of the acts that comprise it;
3) In the regular order to be kept and in the time to be spent;
4) In the intervention and reciprocal control of magistrates, public officials and other acting
personnel;
5) In the various opportunities they have to perform their duties or exercise their powers.
The validity of this principle does not depend on the will of the judge or the defendant.

b) From an ideological point of view: the judgment constitutes an intellectual operation that is
ultimately performed by the judge when applying the law to the particular case. In this sense, prior
judgment is equivalent to prior sentence, since the latter is the act of will in which the former must
necessarily be externalized in order to be effective in the legal order.
According to Clariá Olmedo, the punitive power of the State is conditioned by the jurisdictional
activity developed in a regular and legal process that contains the constitutional "trial": accusation,
defense, evidence and final sentence. This sentence requires an indictment that is the basis for the
plenary session, and in the plenary session, the defense and evidence must be regularly secured. The
accusation is the thesis, the possibility of answering it is the antithesis and both are the
presupposition of the jurisdictional judgment, which is the synthesis. Therefore, the principle that
the judge cannot act ex officio is an immediate consequence of this dogma.
 9
3.4 Principle of Innocence. 3

The Constitution does not establish a presumption of innocence but the LEGAL STATUS in
which the accused is before a final conviction. This state is not destroyed either by the indictment or
by the accusation; neither is it destroyed by a sentence that has not passed into res judicata. The
accused is innocent during the proceedings until he/she is found guilty by a final judgment.
This does not prevent coercive measures from being taken against the accused during the process
(e.g., arrest, preventive detention, etc.). A suspicion against the accused is required for his or her
summons to testify or sufficient elements of conviction for the issuance of the indictment or
preventive detention. But this suspicion or presumption of guilt cannot affect the principle insofar as
it is objectively understood as a legal state, resistant to any declaration that is not of certainty.

3.4.1. Significance in the legislative field.

a) The principle of innocence explains the principle of inviolability of the defense and both
require that the accused be treated as the subject of a legal-procedural relationship and not as a
mere object of judicial persecution.

b) This is the basis for measures restricting the freedom of the accused: if he is innocent until a
final judgment declares him guilty, his freedom may be restricted only as a precautionary or
security measure, when it is indispensable to ensure the rule of law.

3.4.2. Significance in the procedural field.

a) Restrictive interpretation of all rules limiting personal freedom (art. 2 Código Procesal
Penal, law 6.730) E.g.: those that consent to arrest, detention and

pretrial detention or prohibit release from prison. If there is ever a conflict between the two
interests that the process protects, the individual interest in personal freedom must prevail.

b) Necessity of coercive measures: when such necessity is concretely verified (art. 6, law 6.730).

c) Exclusion of the burden of proof: the accused does not have the duty to prove anything,
although he has the right to do so, since he enjoys a legal situation that does not need to be built,
but must be destroyed. If he is not proven guilty, he will remain innocent and should therefore
be acquitted.

d) In dubio pro reo (art. 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Law 6.730): in order to convict the
accused, the judge must be convinced of his guilt. In case of doubt, he must acquit him; in order
to reach this solution it is not necessary to be convinced of his innocence, since this is a legal
situation that does not need to be constructed.
 9
3.5 . Principle of the Natural Judge. 4

In a negative formulation, this principle prohibits the intervention of judges or commissions

specially appointed ex post facto to investigate an event or judge a specific person.
In a positive formulation, this principle requires that the jurisdictional function be exercised by
magistrates previously instituted by law to judge a class of matters or a category of persons. Natural
judge is the court imposed by the Constitution to intervene in a given proceeding.
As long as the court is permanent and competent and the judge impartial, it is not in the interest of
the judge's person to be replaced or the composition of the court to be modified. But the substitution
or change of integration must take place in accordance with the law, avoiding the alteration of the
principles that govern the process.
Art. 3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Law 6.730 states: "No one may be tried by judges
specially appointed for the case.
The power to enforce the criminal law shall be vested only in the courts established in accordance
with the Constitution and the law".

3.6 . Non Bis In Idem.

Art. 26 Constitution of Mendoza and 1 Code of Criminal Procedure: "No one may be
prosecuted more than once for the same act".

It is a guarantee that prohibits double prosecution for the same act. Any procedural act that involves
the accusation of a criminal act that has already been judged or that is the subject of another pending
proceeding is inadmissible. It refers not only to the defendant, but to all defendants. The rule speaks
of "accused" instead of "convicted", which includes lis pendens, dismissal, acquittal and, in addition,
conviction.

When are we facing the same event? It must exist:

a) Identity of person: the principle protects only the same person who is being prosecuted or
whose prosecution has been terminated by acquittal, acquittal or final conviction. Possible
participants not yet prosecuted are excluded.

b) Identity of object: the identity must refer to the fact in its materiality, without the modifications
of the legal qualification of the same being of interest. The different criminal classification is
irrelevant: theft or robbery, minor or serious injuries. Nor is the degree of participation or
criminality or development of the crime of interest: perpetrator or accomplice; attempt or
consummation. In other words, the same act cannot be prosecuted again for a more serious
crime (e.g., the person prosecuted as an accomplice cannot be prosecuted as the perpetrator of
the same act in another proceeding).
 9
c) Identity of cause of prosecution: identity of repressive pretensions, in the sense that the 5
actions
aimed at obtaining the jurisdictional pronouncement coincide. It is necessary that the court of
the first trial, by virtue of the content of the indictment, should have been in a position to
examine the subject matter of the case extensively. The principle shall apply if the case is
pending or has been decided and may be exhausted on the merits. If the proceeding expired
without this decision because the court was not in a position to make a legitimate decision, the
principle does not apply: lack of jurisdiction, closing due to impediment or other dilatory matter,
etc.

4. Crime. Concept.
Once the parameters of the State's role in the configuration of disvaluable conduct have been
established, we must now refer to the characteristics that must be present in such conduct in order
for it to be classified as a "crime".
Having clarified the foregoing, it should be pointed out first of all that the Penal Code of our country
does not have a definition of what a crime is.
For this reason, its conceptualization must be based on doctrinal concepts.

For Núñez, a crime is a typical, unlawful and culpable act. These three conditions point to the
characteristics found in all legally punishable conduct. But the concurrence of these characteristics
does not definitively open the possibility of criminal imputation for the purpose of punishing the
perpetrator, since it still depends on other conditions external to the conduct of the person and to
which the punishability of the crime in the specific case is subordinated.
For Bacigalupo, the crime is a typical, antijuridical and guilty action.
From these definitions emerge the categories or elements of the theory of crime, which must be
analyzed in the order set out above.
First of all, it is necessary to determine whether there is an action. For a sector of the doctrine, action
is a voluntary external behavior that causes a result. It is will-driven bodily movement or lack of
bodily movement.
Secondly, it is necessary to analyze whether this human action fits perfectly into a figure provided
for in the Penal Code or in another special law of a criminal nature. This is what typicity consists of,
which is the adequacy of the human action to a legal figure.
The purpose of the theory of unlawfulness is to establish under what conditions and in what cases
the performance of a criminal offense, i.e., of a typical conduct, is not contrary to law. A typical
action will also be unlawful if there is no cause of justification in favor of the perpetrator. To say
that a behavior is justified is equivalent to affirming that the perpetrator of the typical action had
permission from the legal order to act as he did (for example: legitimate defense, state of necessity,
etc.).
 9
And, finally, the author of the typical and unlawful conduct must also be "guilty", which implies 6that
the act must be "reproachable".
What does this mean by reprehensible? That the individual was required to have understood that
what he was doing was prohibited, and that he could have acted in accordance with the law, but did
not do so.
B- CRIMINAL PROCEDURAL LAW

1. Concept.
This branch of law is characterized by the fact that it is made up of legal norms aimed at the
realization of criminal matters. It is a set of rules that implement criminal law.
According to Clariá Olmedo, this law is called criminal procedural law because the most important
object of study is the process and the main subject matter on which the process is based is a
hypothesis of criminal infringement.

2. Criminal Procedure.
Vélez Mariconde teaches that from an objective point of view, "the criminal process is a set or
gradual, progressive and concatenated series of acts disciplined by the criminal procedural law
and carried out by predisposed public bodies and by individuals obliged or authorized to
intervene, through which it is sought to investigate the truth and concretely implement the
substantive criminal law".

2.1. This set or series of acts is gradual because the succession of acts is broken down into
moments, phases or degrees of specific purposes. The note of progressivity refers to the fact that the
law determines a progressive order that must necessarily be respected, so that, except for substantial
defects or flaws, the procedure cannot be paralyzed or reversed. Finally, this series of acts is
concatenated, which means that the fundamental acts of the criminal process are closely linked to
each other, in such a way that some are formal presuppositions of others.

2.2. All these acts are not left to the discretion of the judge or the other parties to the proceedings,
but are regulated by the Criminal Procedural Law, which prescribes the forms to be observed and
the order or procedure to be followed. Criminal procedural acts are legal acts regulated by rules of a
criminal procedural nature and whose effect or purpose is the initiation, development and
completion of criminal proceedings.

2.3. The public bodies predisposed to perform these acts are the Judge or Court, the Public
Prosecutor's Office and the Judicial Police. The judge is responsible for applying the substantive
criminal law, up to the point of executing the penalties that may be imposed. The functions of the
 9
Public Prosecutor's Office are the promotion and exercise of public criminal action. As for7the
Judicial Police, it seeks to prevent the dispersion of evidence or the evasion of justice by the guilty
parties, acting as an auxiliary to the judicial bodies and promoting criminal prosecution through the
police preventive summary.

The individuals obliged to intervene in the process are, by way of example, witnesses, experts and
interpreters. The civil plaintiff, the civilly liable party and the private plaintiff are authorized, but
not obliged, to intervene.
The last part of the concept introduces us to the subject of the purposes of the criminal process.

3. Aims of the Criminal Process.

Historical evolution shows that the criminal process was not always assigned the same purpose. At
one time it was thought that its exclusive purpose was the repression of crime. The primary objective
was to punish or convict. On the other hand, the doctrine considered the process as a means of
protecting innocence.
Vélez Mariconde states that both conceptions are unilateral, deficient and inadmissible. Although
the process protects both the social interest in the repression of crime and the individual and social
interest in personal freedom, it cannot be said that it has either of these ends.
The criminal process has a mediate purpose consisting of the just enforcement of the criminal law,
i.e., the function of making concrete the abstract provisions of the substantive criminal law. For this
reason, it is said that criminal procedural law is a law of accomplishment, since the criminal judicial
function of the State can only be fulfilled by means of a legally defined process.
In addition, it has an immediate or specific purpose , which is the discovery of the truth in relation
to the specific act that is presumed to have been committed. This is achieved through evidentiary
activity.

4. Phases of the Criminal Process.

The criminal process develops in various stages or phases that characterize different moments of the
procedural relationship. To indicate them means to define in broad terms the procedure, the path or
legal route to be followed to apply the criminal law, or to indicate the order in which the procedural
acts take place.

4.1. ) The initial phase of the process: the criminal process

It can be initiated by a prosecutor's request, by a police prevention summary or by police
communication. The complaint is a purely informative act that may give rise to a public prosecutor's
request or a police preventive investigation.
The trial for a private action crime begins with the complaint of the offended party.
 9
4.2. The pre-trial investigation is the preparatory stage of the trial, the purpose of which is8 to
provide the basis for the indictment or to determine the dismissal of the case.
Under the system of Law 1908, in the case of crimes punishable by more than three years of
imprisonment, the investigation is carried out by the examining magistrate.
In the system of Law 6.730, the investigation stage is in charge of the Prosecutor of Instruction,
while the Judge - renamed Judge of Guarantees - is in charge of the control of the activity of the
Prosecutor and the protection of individual guarantees.
4.3. In the case of crimes punishable by more than three years of imprisonment, and before
reaching the final stage, there may be an intermediate stage, where the defendant's defense may
oppose the elevation of the case to trial.

4.4. The trial, or debate, is the essential phase of the criminal process, which is carried out orally
and publicly on the basis of an accusation and concludes with a final decision by the judge or court.

4.5. Eventual phase: extraordinary appeals (cassation, unconstitutionality and review) may be filed
against the judgment.

4.6. Execution phase: enforcement of the provisions of the judgment.

5. Classification of criminal actions.

Criminal actions are divided by their disposition into public and private. Public actions, due to
their promotion, are subdivided into those that can be promoted ex officio and those that depend on
a private instance - The general rule is constituted by public actions that can be promoted ex officio.
Arts. 72 and 73 of the Penal Code list exhaustively the offenses that give rise to the categories of
exception.
ART. 71 Penal Code: "All criminal actions shall be initiated ex officio, with the exception of
the following:
1° those that depend on a private instance;

2° private actions".
Accordingly, the ART. 8 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides: "Public criminal action
shall be exercised by the Public Prosecutor's Office, which shall initiate it ex officio whenever it
does not depend on a private instance. Its exercise may not be suspended, interrupted or ceased,
except in the cases provided for in this Code or any other law".
By establishing private actions and public actions dependent on private instance, the law establishes
individual subjective rights that condition the exercise of the State's repressive power.
 9
The Private Instance (ART. 72 Penal Code and 9 Code of Criminal Procedure). 9

Art. 72 of the Penal Code lists the crimes subject to private prosecution:
a) those provided for in articles 119, 120 and 130 of the Penal Code (referring to rape, statutory
rape and abduction) when they do not result in the death of the offended person or injuries of those
mentioned in art. 91 Penal Code (very serious injuries). In the latter case, it may be initiated ex
officio.

b) minor injuries, whether intentional or negligent. However, in the cases of this subsection, it shall
proceed ex officio when there are reasons of security or public interest.

c) preventing contact between minor children and their non-cohabitating parents.

In addition, it is provided that when there are seriously conflicting interests between some of them
and the minor, or in the case of a minor who has no legal representatives, the Prosecutor may act ex
officio when it is in the best interest of the minor.
In these cases, the offended party does not have the right to bring a criminal action, but rather a pre-
procedural right, prior to the process and also substantive, which is the right to cause the promotion.
In these actions dependent on private instance, the offended party judges on the convenience and
opportunity to bring the criminal proceeding; the law leaves to his discretion the appreciation of the
family and social interests that may be in conflict; it grants him the right to urge the promotion of
the action, not the promotion itself. The State thus conditions its repressive power; the offended
party's silence consecrates its renunciation.
The right of the individual is very singular, since it is exhausted with its exercise; once he expresses
his will in favor of the initiation of the process, his dispositive power perishes, it is definitively
extinguished. Once the obstacle to initiation has been overcome and the action has been brought, any
manifestation of will contrary to the exercise of the action is irrelevant. The State regains its power
to punish because it is a public action.
The private instance is an exception to the rule of officiousness of Art. 71 Penal Code. The Penal
Code foresees as ways to request "the accusation or denunciation" The Code mentions them as an
example and because they were the ones foreseen by all the codes of the time when it was
sanctioned.

ART. 9 Code of Criminal Procedure establishes: "When the criminal action depends on
private instance, it may only be initiated if the victim of the crime, or in exclusive order, his
legal representatives, his guardian or guardian, file a complaint before the authority
competent to receive it. The person who has the care of the minor, for whatever reason, shall
be considered the guardian.
The private instance shall be extended by right to all participants in the crime".
 1
The last paragraph means that the instant only disposes of the fact. Once reported, 0
prosecution is
0
released against anyone suspected of involvement in that act.

5.1. Private Action (ART. 73 Penal Code and 11 Code of Criminal Procedure).
Art. 73 of the Penal Code lists the crimes of private action:
a) slander and libel;
b) violation of secrets;
c) unfair competition;
d) The particularity is that in these cases no State organ acts as a promoter of the action, and the
conflict is limited to the parties involved, i.e. the one who initiates the criminal action and the one
who is accused of it.
Another characteristic feature - in contrast to the public action and the private action - is the
possibility for the person who initiated the criminal action to interrupt its course (retractability).
It should also be noted that the procedure by which the investigation of any of these offenses is
carried out is somewhat special.
In these cases, the offended party is the holder of the private action and has the right to provoke
the repression to the exclusion of any other person. This is evidenced in art. 59 inc. 4° Penal
Code: "The criminal action shall be extinguished by waiver of the aggrieved party, with respect to
crimes of private action" and art. 69 Penal Code: "The pardon of the offended party shall extinguish
the penalty imposed for a crime listed in Art. 73”.-
The State does not limit itself to granting the offended party the legal power to request the
enforcement of the criminal law, but grants him a right that conditions and completely restricts the
public power.
In the cases provided for in art. 73 Penal Code, public bodies can neither promote nor exercise
the action. The exercise of the action corresponds exclusively to the offended individual or to
his representatives or heirs in some cases.
Criminal prosecution cannot be initiated or pursued ex officio in these cases, as clearly emerges
from arts. 75 Penal Code: "The action for slander or libel may be brought only by the offended party
and after his death by the surviving spouse, children, grandchildren or parents" and 76 Penal Code:
"In the other cases of art. 73 shall proceed only by complaint or denunciation of the aggrieved party
or of his guardians or legal representatives".
Whoever exercises it must be the exclusive plaintiff, that is to say, to the exclusion of the public
prosecuting body. The ART. 11 Code of Criminal Procedure provides: "Private action shall be
exercised by means of a complaint, in the special form established" (arts. 450/469 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure).
 1
6. Competition. 0
1
Theoretically, the jurisdictional organ of a State could be objectified in a single court for criminal
matters. However, practical and technical reasons point to the need for a splitting to provide a more
adequate administration of criminal justice.

Objectively, jurisdiction is a criminal-legal orbit within which the court exercises jurisdiction.
Subjectively, jurisdiction is the aptitude that a criminal court has to hear a certain process or
moment of the same, for territorial, material and functional reasons.
In turn, each Court may distribute the task according to practical criteria of temporal determination,
which only by extension can be called "jurisdiction by rotation". This is a competence that is not
established by law, but by regulations and agreements of the Judiciary.
The rules of jurisdiction are intended to establish order in the exercise of jurisdiction, which is
essential in criminal matters in order to put into practice the principle of the natural judge. From this
derives its note of non-extendability (art. 37 Code of Criminal Procedure): the parties may in
no case provide for the alteration of these legal rules because they are in the public interest.
The non-extendability of criminal jurisdiction implies for the judge the imperative to act in the
proceedings assigned to the court he/she personifies. But it also implies the prohibition to intervene
when the court it embodies is not the competent one.
Criminal jurisdiction is of public order and interest in all cases, which is not the case with civil
jurisdiction, where extension is authorized in patrimonial matters.
When faced with the commission of an unlawful act, it must be determined, first of all, whether it
corresponds to the federal courts or to the courts of one of the provinces; then the court of which
district; then the court of which criminal matter; and finally, the court of the respective function
must be determined.
In criminal matters, provincial jurisdiction is the rule as opposed to federal jurisdiction, from which
the characteristics of independent and sovereign are derived. It must not report to the federal courts
for its actions and the proceedings before the provincial courts must be substantiated and concluded
before them. Its source is the ART. 121 National Constitution, by which the provinces reserved to
themselves all the power not delegated to the National Government.
The acts carried out without observing these rules are sanctioned with nullity because the court
would have acted without having the power to do so.

6.1. Determination criteria.

The criteria for determining ordinary jurisdiction differ from those used to determine federal
jurisdiction.
The territorial criterion predominates, which implies the division of the territory into different
districts. In each of them, the material criterion, related to the entity of the crime, as evidenced by
 1
the quantity and quality of the criminal offense, operates. Then appears the functional 0
determination
2
for the stages and grades of the process.
These criteria are complemented by the rules on connection, insofar as the unifying effect of the
process produces alterations to the rules of material and territorial jurisdiction.

6.1.1. Territorial Jurisdiction.

The law assigns the courts a territorial circumscription to exercise jurisdiction over all crimes
committed within it.
ART. 54 Code of Criminal Procedure (Law 6.730): The court of the place where the act was
committed shall have jurisdiction. In the case of an attempt, that of the place where the last act
of execution was carried out; in the case of a continuing or permanent crime, that of the place
where execution began.
This rule aims to bring the court as close as possible to the place of the event to be investigated and
judged. This favors the exercise of the right of defense, the speed of the investigation and the social
significance of the ruling.
The subsidiary rules on territorial criminal jurisdiction only apply when the place of commission is
unknown or in doubt.

ART. 55 Code of Criminal Procedure: If the place where the act was committed is unknown or
doubtful, the Court of the place where the investigation is being carried out or, failing that, the
one designated by the hierarchically superior Court shall have jurisdiction.

6.1.2. Material Competence.

In order to determine the penalty, external elements of the act itself are taken into account, such as:
the penalty, insofar as it demonstrates the nature of the crime; the age of the active subject, insofar
as he is a minor in need of guardianship; and the type of criminal action, due to its private exercise.
The entity of the crime is established by the amount of the penalty and, sometimes, also by the
quality of the penalty: criminal, correctional and misdemeanor courts. Minority has a special
procedure and a special court. Cases involving private action offenses also have a special procedure
and require a court suited to that procedure.

6.1.3. Functional Competence.

The process consists of two stages: pre-trial and full trial. Eventually there may be a contestation
stage and an enforcement stage. The determination of functional jurisdiction occurs when the court
established for each stage varies.
The most interesting functional distinction is that between the investigating court and the trial and
sentencing court. Applicable in all provinces where there are oral criminal proceedings.
 1
6.1.4. Jurisdiction by Reason of Turn. 0
3
In reality, it is not a question of jurisdiction but of administrative criteria for the internal distribution
of criminal cases, established by internal rules of the Judiciary, while the source of jurisdiction must
always be legal.

The most common criterion for the internal distribution of criminal cases is time, based on the date
of the commission of the act.

6.1.5. Competition by Connection.

ART. 58 Code of Criminal Procedure (Law 6.730) provides: "Cases shall be related:
a) If the crimes charged have been committed simultaneously by several persons together or, even
if they were committed in different places or at different times, when there was an agreement
between them.
b) If a crime has been committed to perpetrate or facilitate the commission of another crime or to
procure profit or impunity for the guilty party or others.
c) When a person is charged with several crimes.

The Art. 59 regulates the effects of the connection by stating: "When there are related cases for
crimes of public action, the processes will be accumulated and it will be competent:
a) The court with jurisdiction to try the most serious crime.
b) If the offenses are punishable by the same penalty, the court with jurisdiction to try the offense
that was committed first.
c) If the acts are simultaneous or if it is not duly established which one was committed first, the one
designated by the hierarchically superior Court.
Notwithstanding the accumulation, the summary proceedings will be compiled separately, unless it
is inconvenient for the investigation".

7. Organization of the Provincial Justice in Criminal Matters.

In the Province of Mendoza, the organization of criminal justice is regulated by the Code of
Criminal Procedure, the Organic Law of the Judiciary and the Public Prosecutor's Office Law.
Regarding the Criminal Procedure Code, the province of Mendoza is currently in a special situation
due to the coexistence of laws 1.908 (which contained the Criminal Procedure Code of Vélez
Mariconde) and 6.730, which contains the new Code of Criminal Procedure, which is partially in
force in the Province; in the First and Third Judicial District it is fully in force; in the Second and
Fourth Circumscription, its implementation is pending, mainly under Law 1908 and partially in
some institutes under Law 6730.
As is well known, the Province of Mendoza is divided into four judicial districts. The provisions of
 1
Law 6.730 contained in the Third, Fourth and Fifth Books are in force in all districts, i.e. 0
those
4
related to the Private Plaintiff, Civil Plaintiff, Trial and Special Proceedings, Appeals and
Enforcement.
Within the First and Third Judicial District, the new Criminal Procedure Code contained in Law
6,730 is in force in its entirety, covering the departments of Capital, Godoy Cruz, Las Heras and
Lavalle, Guaymallén, Luján and Maipú.

7.1. Table.

8. Cases with defendants over 18 years of age.

In the first place, we will refer to cases in which the accused are over 18 years of age or cases in
which both adults and minors are accused.
We are going to deal with the material competence of the different organs under the regime of Law
1908 -still in force in part of our province- and then under the system of Law 6730.

Law 6,730 Competencies

Introduction:
It should be noted that during the previous Code of Criminal Procedure, under Law 1908, the
investigation of crimes was in the hands of the Examining Judges and the Examining Prosecutors
were limited to making requests to the Judges, either to formally investigate a case or to summon the
case to trial or dismiss it. That is to say, the Prosecutor of Instruction had a much more passive role
 1
in the investigation, leaving all the investigative activity in the hands of the Judges. 0
5
With the enactment of Law 6730, the role of the Instruction Prosecutors, who are in charge not only
of the promotion and exercise of the criminal action but also of the whole investigation of the
crimes, was modified, among other things.The Judges, formerly called Judges of Instruction and
now called Judges of Guarantees, are in charge of controlling the legality of the process and the
effective compliance with the regulations in force.
SUPREME COURT OF JUSTICE (ART. 42)
It shall hear appeals of cassation, unconstitutionality and review.
CRIMINAL CHAMBER (ARTS. 44/46):
As a single Judge or as a collegiate Court, it will judge in sole instance the crimes whose knowledge
is not attributed to another Court.
CHAMBER OF APPEAL (ART. 47):
The Appeals Chamber will hear appeals against decisions of the Judges of Guarantees and questions
of competence that arise between hierarchically inferior Magistrates.
JUDGE OF GUARANTEES, ( ART. 48):
It shall intervene only in those cases in which the Code grants it jurisdiction.
Therefore, in Law 6730, the investigation or instruction stage no longer corresponds to the Judge but
to the Prosecutor of Instruction. This is a substantive difference with the 1908 law.
The CORRECTIONAL JUDGE (art. 49): shall judge in sole instance:
1) For intentional crimes of public action punishable by deprivation of liberty for a term not
exceeding three years or by a fine and/or disqualification.
2) Culpable crimes, regardless of their penalty.
3) Private action crimes.
ART. 48: The ENFORCEMENT JUDGE shall intervene in the cases determined in Book Five of
this Code.
ART.50: JUDGE OF THE PEACE: If in the territory of his jurisdiction there is no Prosecutor of
Instruction or Judge of Minors, the Justice of the Peace will practice the urgent acts of the
investigation according to Art.316. He may hear the accused in the manner and with the guarantees
established by law, order his detention in the cases provided for in Art. 284 and 286, communicating
it immediately to the competent body; and receiving witness statements, according to the rules of the
preparatory criminal investigation.
Likewise, and also with competence in criminal matters, there are the FELONY COURTS , whose
material competence refers to the investigation and trial of misdemeanors committed by persons
over 18 years of age. In order to refer to the regulation of this matter, it can be found in the Code of
Misdemeanors of the Province of Mendoza, instituted by provincial law no. 3.365.
 1
9. Accused Persons Under 18 years of age. 0
6
Law 6.354, enacted in 1995, created in our province the Family and Juvenile Criminal Justice. With
respect to criminal proceedings for minors, this law complies with the provisions contained in
international treaties that provide for the existence of a specialized jurisdiction for the treatment of
this matter.
The organs that make up the Juvenile Criminal Justice System are: the Juvenile Criminal Court, the
Juvenile Criminal Judge and the Juvenile Public Prosecutor's Office. The Public Prosecutor's Office
for Minors is made up of the Public Prosecutor and the Juvenile Defender.
The juvenile criminal justice system has jurisdiction over crimes committed by minors under 18
years of age, whether they are imputable or not, according to the provisions of the Criminal Code
and Law 22.278/22.803.
ART. 113, LAW 6354: The JUVENILE CRIMINAL COURT shall try all crimes, except those in
which the option provided for in paragraph c) of Article 114 has been exercised, and shall hear
appeals against decisions of the Juvenile Criminal Court.
ART. 114, LAW 6354: Corresponds to the JUVENILE CRIMINAL JUDGE:
a) To carry out the measures that correspond to it during the investigation of the Fiscal Agent;
b) Provide at the preliminary hearing;
c) The trial, in sole instance, of crimes charged against minors who at the date on which the action
is filed are under 18 years of age, when the law establishes a penalty for the offense that does not
exceed 10 years of imprisonment and an abbreviated trial is opted for;
d) The trial of misdemeanors committed by minors up to 18 years of age, and
e) To take protective measures with respect to minors who are not subject to criminal liability and
who have participated in an act provided for by criminal or misdemeanor laws.
ART.117, LAW 6.354: The Public Prosecutor will direct the preliminary investigation, practicing
and making practice the acts inherent to it and will act before the Court and the Judge in Juvenile
Criminal Matters, as appropriate.
In juvenile criminal proceedings, the preliminary investigation stage is conducted by the Public
Prosecutor. When the Prosecutor has elements of conviction that prove the participation of the minor
in a punishable act, he/she will request the Preliminary Hearing. During the preliminary hearing the
Judge in Juvenile Criminal Matters will hear the minor, his parents and the parties, and may
eventually conduct the Abbreviated Trial, provided that this is requested and that the crime
attributed to the minor has a penalty that does not exceed 10 years of imprisonment. If the penalty
exceeds this amount or the abbreviated trial is not requested, the common trial must be held before
the Juvenile Criminal Court.

C- PUBLIC MINISTRY
Law 8008 is the law that regulates the Public Prosecutor's Office.
 1
The highest authority of the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Province is the Attorney 0
General
7
of the Supreme Court of Justice , who is responsible for its proper functioning.
Among its duties and powers, the following are highlighted:
To rule on cases before the Supreme Court of Justice of Mendoza, in accordance with the provisions
of the Provincial Constitution and the laws.
To promote public action before said Court, in appropriate cases.
Representing the organization before the Supreme Court of Justice and the other
The Board of Directors shall be responsible for the administration of the State; to attend the
meetings of the Board of Directors, when invited, and to advise it on all matters that may be referred
to it.
To submit to the Supreme Court of Justice the annual budget requirement of the Public Prosecutor's
Office, for the purposes of the special account provided for in Law 8008.
To design the criminal and criminal prosecution policy of the Public Prosecutor's Office, issuing the
corresponding general instructions, in particular those referring to the substantive and procedural
law institutes necessary for such purpose, or whose application generates controversy.
To issue the general and specific instructions necessary to implement the principles of action and the
functions of the Public Prosecutor's Office provided for in this law.
To design the organization of the Public Prosecutor's Office,
To exercise general superintendence over the Public Prosecutor's Office with all the administrative,
regulatory, disciplinary and supervisory powers inherent thereto.
The Public Prosecutor's Office is part of the Judicial Branch, with organic attributions and functional
autonomy. For the best performance of its functions, it shall have a special account in the budget of
the Judicial Branch.
The Public Prosecutor's Office is composed of the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Public
Defender's and Pupil's Office.
They are part of the Public Prosecutor's Office:
1) The Deputy Prosecutors.
2) The Prosecutors of Criminal Chambers, of Criminal Appeals Chambers, of Civil, Commercial,
Mining, Peace, Tax and Labor Appeals Chambers.
3) The Prosecutors of Instruction, the Prosecutors in Criminal Matters for Minors, the Prosecutors
in
Civil, Commercial, Mining and Peace Courts and Family Prosecutors.
4) Correctional Prosecutors.
5) The Official Attorneys for Private Plaintiffs.
The Public Prosecutor's Office and the Public Defender's Office are part of the Public Defender's
and Pupil's Office:
1) The Secretary General of Defense.
 1
2) The Defenders of the Poor and Absent, the Defenders before the instance of Penal 0
Execution
8
and the Defenders of Minors in Criminal Matters.
3) The Advisors of Minors and Incapacitated.
With respect to the Prosecuting Agents in criminal matters, we have the following:
Chamber Prosecutors:
Powers and duties:
To continue before the respective Chambers the intervention of hierarchically inferior prosecutors
and to represent and defend the public action before them, under the terms of Article 3, paragraph 1)
of this law. The Prosecutor of the Chamber who gives particular instructions during the course of the
investigation of a specific criminal act shall continue to intervene in the trial stage, if any.
Comply with and enforce compliance with all general instructions issued by the Attorney General,
particularly those related to its scope of action.
To give their hierarchical inferiors the particular instructions necessary for the adequate fulfillment
of their functions.
Correctional Prosecutors:
Powers and duties:
The Correctional Prosecutors shall have the same functions, powers and duties as the Chamber
Prosecutors in their field of action and within the limits established for Correctional Justice. They
act before correctional judges.
The Attorney General, for reasons of service, may assign them to intervene in debates before the
Criminal Chambers and to take the place of the Instruction Prosecutors.
Preliminary Prosecutors:
Duties and Powers:
To exercise the criminal action, conduct the preparatory criminal investigation and act before the
Judge of Guarantees, in the manner established by law.
To act before the trial courts, in the cases determined by law.
Comply with and enforce compliance with all general instructions issued by the Attorney General,
particularly those related to its scope of action.
To give to their hierarchical inferiors the particular instructions necessary for the adequate
fulfillment of their functions.
To request general instructions from the Attorney General in the cases provided for in the second
paragraph of Article 25.
To comply with the regime of visits to prisons or detention facilities provided for in Article 9; to
provide assistance to the victim and witness protection provided for in Article 11 and to foster and
promote the forms of conciliation provided for in the laws pursuant to Article 12 of this law, in
accordance with the general instructions issued by the Attorney General.
Propose the officers and employees of his office, for the purpose of their appointment, respecting the
 1
rules of entry by competition and the judicial scale, as the case may be. 0
9
To order the joint or alternative action of two or more Assistant Public Prosecutors, when the
importance or difficulty of the matters makes it advisable.
To ensure in general the efficient rendering of the service in the Fiscal Unit in which he/she provides
services and in all the Fiscal Offices that belong to his/her scope of action.
In case of delegation, to grant ordinary leaves of absence to the personnel of its Fiscal Unit and of
the Fiscal Offices belonging to its scope of action, in accordance with the respective regulations.
To bring to the attention of the Attorney General any breach of duty committed by officers and
employees of the Prosecution Unit in which he/she serves and of the Prosecutor's Offices within
his/her scope of action, for disciplinary purposes.

Principles that regulate the actions of the Public Prosecutor's Office:

The Public Prosecutor's Office shall exercise its functions in accordance with the principles of unity
of action, hierarchical dependence, legality, timeliness and objectivity.
1) Unity of action: the Public Prosecutor's Office is one and will be represented by each of its
members in the acts and processes in which they act.
2) Hierarchical dependence: it is organized hierarchically and each magistrate controls the
performance of those who assist him/her and is responsible for the management under his/her
charge.
3) Legality and opportunity: the Public Prosecutor's Office will exercise the criminal action and
will require the fair application of the law, without prejudice to requesting the courts the total or
partial suspension of the criminal prosecution in appropriate cases.
4) Objectivity: the Public Prosecutor's Office will act in an objective manner, based on the social
interest and the correct application of the National Constitution, International Treaties, the
Provincial Constitution and the laws.
Incompatibilities.
Members of the Public Prosecutor's Office may not practice law or represent third parties in court,
except in their own affairs or those of their spouse, ascendants or descendants, or when they do so in
fulfillment of a legal duty. The incompatibilities established by the Provincial Constitution and the
laws with respect to the other members of the Judiciary apply to them.
Functional Autonomy
The organization and operation of the Public Prosecutor's Office shall be that which arises from the
Provincial Constitution, the present law and the general resolutions issued by the Attorney General
within the framework of the constitutional and legal provisions.
The Public Prosecutor's Office acts in coordination with the other authorities of the Province, but
without being subject to instructions or directives emanating from bodies outside its structure.
The members of the Public Prosecutor's Office, without distinction of hierarchy, shall observe in the
 1
performance of their duties the principles of flexibility, teamwork and shared responsibility1 in
0
relation to the results of the management, all in the interest of achieving greater efficiency in the
function and better use of human and material resources.
In particular, they shall avoid the creation of unnecessary formalities and any other form of
bureaucratization, ritual excess or carelessness in serving the public.
1) Public Prosecutor's Office.
a) Attorney General's Office of the Supreme Court of Justice.
b) Coordination of the Public Prosecutor's Office.
c) Inspection by the Public Prosecutor's Office.
d) Prosecutor's Offices of the Criminal Chamber. and Prosecutor's Office of the Court of
Appeals.
e) Preliminary Prosecutor's Offices within the Departmental Prosecutor's Units.
f) Juvenile Criminal Prosecutor's Offices.
g) Correctional Prosecutor's Offices.
h) Tax Offices.
i) Juvenile Criminal Defender's Office.
j) Counseling for Minors and Incapacitated Persons.
k) Forensic Medical Corps.
l) Office of assistance to the private complainant.
m) Civil Defender's Offices
n) Family Codefensorías.
o) Civil Prosecutor's Offices
p) Civil Chamber Prosecutor's Offices

Study in particular of the units of the Public Prosecutor's Office that make up the
Departmental Prosecutorial Units:
1.1. Departmental Fiscal Units - Law 6730 -.
Hierarchical position of assistants and most frequent activities they must perform
Currently in operation in the First Judicial District are the Departmental Prosecutorial Units of
Capital, Godoy Cruz, Las Heras - Lavalle; Guaymallén, and Luján - Maipú, in each of which there
are between 4 and 5 Preliminary Prosecutor's Offices, in each of which there is a Preliminary
Prosecutor's Office and four secretaries divided into two Preliminary Prosecutor's Offices and two
Correctional Secretaries (in both cases one in the morning and one in the afternoon).Each
Prosecutor's Office has one Prosecutor of Instruction, four secretaries, divided into two Instruction
Secretaries and two Correctional Secretaries (in both cases one in the morning and the other in the
afternoon), and four Heads of the Intake Desk corresponding to each of the Secretariats. The
 1
assignment of personnel and their schedule will be determined by the Attorney General's Office1and
1
the scope of action of each Prosecutorial Unit is limited to the corresponding Department.
In addition to the Departmental Prosecutorial Units, there is a Special Prosecutorial Unit, composed
of three Prosecutors of Instruction, with jurisdiction over the entire First Judicial District (regardless
of the Departments that compose it), which is in charge of the investigation of complex crimes or
crimes of wide public repercussion.
Finally, there is also a Prosecutor's Unit for Flagrancy, which is composed of three Prosecutors of
Instruction and two Secretariats, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon, with their
respective Intake Desks. The main purpose of this Prosecution Unit is the investigation of those
crimes whose perpetrators were caught in flagrante delicto and which are punishable by sentences of
not less than three years and not more than fifteen years. In addition to the investigation, the
Prosecutors of Flagrancy act in the Direct Trial before the Judges of Flagrancy.
In the Third Judicial District there are the Prosecution Units of San Martín - La Colonia, with three
Prosecutor's Offices, the Prosecution Unit of Rivadavia - Junín, with two Prosecutor's Offices and
finally the Prosecution Unit of Santa Rosa - La Paz, also with two Prosecutor's Offices.
The assistants are obliged to comply with the orders of their superiors (Head of Entry Desk,
Secretary, Prosecutor), and as soon as they do not respect them, they will be subject to the sanctions
that may be applied by their superiors according to the seriousness of the fault, likewise, they are
obliged to attend the office at the time indicated to them without being able to allege specific
obligations.
The Secretary is in charge of the staff of each Prosecutorial Unit, both in the Correctional and
Preliminary Prosecutor's Office, in the morning shift and in the afternoon shift, are the Heads of
Office. The Secretary is responsible for the books of Detainees, Seizures, Daily Attendance Bonds,
Permits and Disciplinary Measures that have been applied.
The Head of the Entry Desk is the one who receives the written submissions and must put "charge"
under his signature indicating the day, hour and minutes and shall ensure that the submissions are
added to the files immediately after their submission. He shall not provide the files to anyone to be
taken out of the office without the consent of the Registrar or the Prosecutor. He is in charge of
distributing the work to the secretarial assistants.

1.2. Tax Offices - Law 6730 -.

Hierarchical position of assistants and most frequent activities they must perform
The extension and modality of the working day of the officers and employees shall be established by
the Attorney General's Office, and the shifts shall guarantee the provision of services 24 hours a day,
every day of the year.
The Assistant Prosecutors are the Heads of the Prosecutor's Office and are responsible for the
security of the assets and files of the office; they have the same powers, duties and prohibitions as
 1
the clerks. They have the function of informing the Preliminary Prosecutor of all criminal 1acts
2
committed within the scope of their activity, as well as carrying out the investigative acts ordered by
the Preliminary Prosecutor and, in urgent cases, may adopt the necessary precautionary measures. It
also monitors the observance of constitutional and legal norms relating to the rights and guarantees
of the accused and provides information and assistance to counsel.

1.3. Judicial Police.

The Judicial Police will assume the summary function of the initial acts of the Preparatory Criminal
Investigation (Law 7231).
The Judiciary assumes the responsibility of carrying out the notifications, hearings and referral of
files through the Judiciary personnel assigned to perform their duties in the Prosecutor's Offices.
The Judicial Police receives complaints, ensures that the body, instruments, effects and traces of the
crime are preserved until the Prosecutor of Instruction arrives on the scene, records the state of
persons and things by means of plans, inspections and photographs, summarily interrogates
witnesses, summons and apprehends the alleged offender, receives the statement of the accused with
the forms and guarantees of art. 271 of the C.P.P. and use public force to the extent necessary.

1.4. Relationship with the Provincial Police.

The following judicial functions will continue to be carried out by the Police of the Province:
summonses, domicile verifications, transfer, search, custody and feeding of detainees and their
registration, extraction of dactyloscopic records, individualization and updating of criminal records,
removal of corpses with prior authorization of the competent Prosecutor or Judicial Officer, custody
of judicial seizures until their reception at the
To collaborate in the performance of technical and scientific studies in the investigation tasks and
the systematization and analysis of criminal information.
The Police of the Province will continue to receive complaints in police stations where there are no
Prosecutor's Offices, in cases of URGENCIES, and in these cases, they must request prior
authorization from the corresponding Assistant Prosecutor or Prosecutor and follow the directives
issued by them.
It is also responsible for guarding the premises of the police stations transferred to the Judicial
Branch for the operation of the Judicial Police in those situations where there are no judicial
personnel left in them.

2) Procedural Acts.
All procedural acts must be carried out in the national language. In order to date an act, the place,
day, month and year in which it was carried out shall be indicated, the time shall be indicated only
when required by law. The persons who are interrogated must answer orally and without consulting
 1
notes or documents, with the exception of the experts and those who are authorized to do so. 1The
3
declarant shall be invited to state what he/she knows about the matter in question and, if necessary,
shall be questioned. When proceeding in writing, the questions and answers shall be recorded using
the declarant's own expressions.

2.1. Proceedings.
When a public official must attest to acts performed or carried out in his presence, he shall draw up a
record, for which purpose the Prosecutor shall be assisted by the Secretary, the Assistant Prosecutor
by an Auxiliary of the Judicial or Administrative Police and the Auxiliaries of the Judicial or
Administrative Police by a witness who may not be under sixteen years of age, insane or in a state of
inebriation.
The minutes must contain date and object, name and surname of the persons who acted, the reason
for the absence of those who were obliged to intervene, indication of the proceedings carried out and
their result, the statements received, if these were made spontaneously or upon request, the
observations required by the parties and, after reading, the signature of all the intervening persons,
and when someone is unable or unwilling to sign, mention shall be made of this.

2.2. Complaint.
The complaint may be presented in written form (signed before the official who receives it) or
verbally (a record is drawn up), in person or by special representative (accompanied by a power of
attorney).
In all cases, the official shall verify and record the identity of the complainant; it shall contain, as far
as possible, a detailed account of the event, indicating the participants, victims, witnesses and all the
elements that may lead to its verification and legal qualification.

2.3. Formal Imputation.

When there is sufficient reason to suspect that a person has participated in the commission of a
punishable act, the Preliminary Prosecutor shall proceed to formally charge him/her with the act
attributed to him/her. The accused will be informed in detail of the fact that he/she is accused, the
evidence against him/her, that he/she may testify if he/she wishes, and that he/she may request the
presence of a defense attorney for the purpose of better exercising his/her rights. In the same act, the
accused must be informed of the provisions of articles 26, 30, 359, 364 and 418 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure. The defendant must be allowed to consult with his defense counsel in private
whenever either of them so requires and at any time during the proceedings.
At the first opportunity, and if the accused has expressed his willingness to testify, he shall be
invited to choose a defense counsel; if he does not do so or if the attorney does not immediately
accept the position, the Prosecutor of Instruction shall appoint the Defender of the Poor and Absent
 1
as defense counsel. Subsequently, the defendant will be invited to give his name, surname, 1
nickname
4
or nickname, age, state, profession, nationality, place of birth, domicile, place of previous residence
and living conditions, if he has a criminal record, for what cause, Court and if he was sentenced,
name, state and profession of parents.
The accused may or may not testify; if he/she declares his/her willingness to testify, he/she will be
invited to express whatever he/she may deem convenient in order to exonerate or clarify the facts,
and to indicate the evidence he/she deems appropriate. Your statement shall be recorded in your own
words. Then, he/she will be asked the questions deemed convenient, and the questions must be clear
and precise. At the conclusion of the deposition, the minutes shall be read aloud by the secretary; if
the declarant wishes to amend or add anything, his statements shall be recorded without altering
what has been written. The minutes shall be signed by all those present; and if anyone is unable or
unwilling to do so, a record shall be made and shall not affect the validity of the minutes.

2.4. Resolutions.
The decisions of the Court shall be given by judgment, order or decree.

2.5. Sentences.

It is dictated to end the process, must be subscribed by the Judge or all the members of the Court;
and must be substantiated.

2.6. Autos.
They are issued to resolve an incident or when required by the Code, must be subscribed by the
Judge or all the members of the Court, and the orders must be substantiated and issued within five
days.

2.7. Decrees.
They are issued on the day the files are placed in the office, and must be signed by the Judge or
President of the Court. Decrees must be substantiated when required by law.

2.8. Firm resolution.

Judicial decisions shall become final and enforceable without the need for any declaration, as long
as they are not appealed in a timely manner.

2.9. Arrest.
At the first moment of the investigation in which several persons have been involved and it is not
possible to identify those responsible and the witnesses, it may be ordered that those present do not
 1
leave the place, nor communicate with each other, before making a statement, and even order1the
5
arrest if necessary. Such measures shall in no case last more than 24 hours.

2.10. Apprehension in Flagrancy.

It is considered flagrante delicto when the perpetrator is caught attempting to commit the crime, at
the moment of committing it or immediately after, while being pursued by the public forces or while
having objects or presenting traces that make it vehemently presumed that he/she has just
participated in a crime. Officers and auxiliaries of the Judicial Police shall have the duty to
apprehend anyone caught "in fraganti" in the commission of a crime of public action that deserves a
custodial sentence, anyone who attempts a crime at the moment of preparing to commit it and
anyone who escapes while legally imprisoned. In the case of a crime whose action depends on a
private instance, the person who can initiate the action shall be informed immediately, and if the
latter does not file the complaint at the same time, the person apprehended shall be released.

2.11. Detention.

When there is sufficient reason to suspect that a person has participated in the commission of a
punishable act, his detention shall be ordered by a well-founded decree, provided that the offenses in
question are crimes of public action punishable by deprivation of liberty and it does not appear that,
prima facie, a conditional sentence is appropriate.When there is sufficient reason to suspect that a
person has participated in the commission of a punishable act, his detention shall be ordered by a
well-founded decree, provided that it concerns crimes of public action punishable by deprivation of
liberty and a suspended sentence does not appear to be appropriate, prima facie; or when a
suspended sentence is appropriate, there are strong indications that the accused will try to evade
justice or hinder its investigation.-
The restriction of liberty shall only be imposed within the limits absolutely necessary to ensure the
discovery of the truth and the enforcement of the law.

2.12. Pretrial Detention.

Whenever there are sufficient elements of conviction to sustain as probable the punishable
participation of the accused in the investigated act, after the accusation has been made, the Judge of
Guarantees, at the request of a party, will order his Preventive Detention within ten days of the
accusation.

2.13. Witness Statement.

Any person with knowledge of the facts under investigation shall be questioned when his statement
may be useful to discover the truth. Every person shall have the obligation to attend the summons
 1
and declare the truth of what he knows and is asked, except for the exceptions established by 1
law.
6
His spouse, ascendant, descendant or sibling, his collateral relatives up to the fourth degree of
consanguinity or second degree of affinity, his guardian or ward or person with whom he lives in
apparent marriage may abstain from testifying against the accused. For the examination of
witnesses, a subpoena shall be issued and in case of urgency they may be summoned orally, and the
witness may appear spontaneously.
Before beginning the testimony, the witnesses shall be instructed about the penalty of false
testimony and shall take an oath, under penalty of nullity, with the exception of minors under 16
years of age and those convicted as participants in the crime under investigation or in a related
crime. Each witness will be questioned separately, requiring his or her name, surname, state, age,
profession, domicile and family relationship. For each statement, minutes will be drawn up.

2.14. Summons to Trial.

The Prosecutor of Instruction shall request the Summons to Trial when he deems the investigation to
be completed and provided that there are sufficient elements of conviction to sustain as probable the
punishable participation of the accused in the intimated fact. The prosecutor's request must contain
the personal data of the accused, or those that serve to identify him/her, a clear, precise,
circumstantial and specific account of the fact, the grounds for the accusation and the legal
qualification.

2.15. Dismissal.
It irrevocably and definitively closes the process in relation to the accused in whose favor it is
dictated. It will proceed when the investigated act was not committed, it was not committed by the
accused, the act does not fall within a criminal figure, there is a cause of justification,
unimputability, inculpability or an excuse of acquittal; that the criminal claim has been extinguished,
that having expired all the terms of the preparatory criminal investigation and its extensions, there is
not sufficient basis to bring the case to trial and it is not reasonable to foresee the incorporation of
the case.The criminal prosecution has been extinguished, that having expired all the terms of the
preparatory criminal investigation and its extensions, there are not sufficient grounds to bring the
case to trial and it is not reasonable to foresee the incorporation of new evidence. The dismissal shall
be ordered by judgment.

2.16. Archive.
The Prosecutor of Instruction shall order, by a well-founded decree, the dismissal of the proceedings
when it is not possible to proceed or when the fact contained therein does not fall under a criminal
offense.
 1
D- THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE 1
7
LAW 6,730

PARTIAL IMPLEMENTATION DEPARTMENTS

A- Introduction:
The law that established the partial implementation of the Criminal Procedure Code (Law No. 6730
and modif.) began in a first stage as from December 1, 2004, in the Departments of Capital, Godoy
Cruz, Las Heras and Lavalle, later in a second stage, in the Departments of Guaymallén, Maipú and
Luján de Cuyo, as well as in the Third Judicial District.Finally, in a third stage of implementation, it
is in force in the Third Judicial District, covering the Departments of San Martín, Rivadavia, Junín,
Santa Rosa and La Paz, with implementation still pending in the other Judicial Districts.
The current distribution of the Prosecutorial Units of the First Judicial District is as follows:

1) In the West Zone, comprising the departments of Capital, Godoy Cruz, Las Heras and Lavalle,
three Fiscal Units provide services, with the following designations:
1-a)Departmental Fiscal Unit of Capital;

1-b) Godoy Cruz Departmental Prosecutor's Unit and

1-c) Departmental Fiscal Unit of Las Heras-Lavalle.
2) In the Eastern Zone, comprising the Departments of Guaymallén, Luján and Maipú, there are
two Fiscal Units with the following designations:
2-a) Guaymallén Departmental Prosecutor's Unit
2-b) Departmental Fiscal Unit of Maipú - Luján
3) Territorial jurisdiction shall be distributed as follows:
3-a) The Capital Departmental Prosecution Unit shall have jurisdiction over acts committed in the
Capital Department.
3-b) The Departmental Prosecution Unit of Godoy Cruz will be competent for acts committed in the
department of Godoy Cruz;
3-c) The Departmental Prosecutor's Unit of Las Heras-Lavalle will be competent for acts committed
in the departments of Las Heras and Lavalle.
3-d) The Guaymallén Departmental Prosecutor's Unit with jurisdiction in the department of
Guyamallén.
3-e) The Departmental Fiscal Unit of Maipú - Luján with jurisdiction in the departments of Maipú
and Luján.
On the other hand, in the First Judicial District there is also a Special Prosecutor's Unit, composed of
three Prosecutors of Instruction with two Instruction Secretaries with their respective Intake Desks,
 1
which operate both in the morning and evening shifts, with assigned personnel and with 1the
8
assistance of Assistant Prosecutors. This Special Prosecutorial Unit has jurisdiction over the entire
First Judicial District but exclusively for the investigation of crimes of special gravity, of public
transcendence, of complexity in the investigation, involving organized criminal activity or
committed in more than one department or when so ordered by the Attorney General.
Likewise, in the First Judicial District there is the Prosecutorial Unit of Flagrancy, which is
composed of three Prosecutors of Instruction and two Secretariats of Instruction, one in the morning
and one in the afternoon, which has a special competence established by Law 7692 (which modified
Law 6730), and which establishes the "Procedure of Flagrancy" which has as its objective in cases in
which the accused has been apprehended in flagrante delicto, and provided that the crimes are not of
correctional competence, (i.e. those whose prison sentence does not exceed three years or which are
punished with penalties of three years imprisonment), and which are punished with penalties of three
years imprisonment.The purpose of the "Flagrancy Procedure" is to be applied in cases in which the
accused has been apprehended in flagrante delicto, and provided that the crimes are not of
correctional competence, (i.e. those whose prison sentence does not exceed three years, or which are
punishable by a fine or disqualification, or whatever the penalty is, provided that they are not
punishable by a fine or disqualification, and provided that the accused has been arrested in flagrante
delicto.In these cases, the Prosecutor of Flagrancy must follow the special procedure regulated by
articles 439 bis and 439 ter of the C.P.P., Law 6730, acting before the Judge of Flagrancy.
This special procedure has the particularity that for the crimes indicated, the investigation and trial
are carried out in extremely short periods of time, with the criminal conflict reaching definitive
resolutions in a summary manner, and is currently in force and operating in the departments of
Capital, Guaymallén, Godoy Cruz and Las Heras - Lavalle.It is currently in force and functioning in
the departments of Capital, Guaymallén, Godoy Cruz and Las Heras - Lavalle, and the incorporation
of the rest of the departments of the First Judicial District is foreseen gradually.

3) Shifts
The Prosecutor's Offices of the Departmental Prosecutorial Units will act in shifts that will last
seven consecutive days, beginning on Mondays and concluding on Sundays of each week,
alternating each one successively.

4) Personal.
Each Departmental Prosecutorial Unit will be assisted by four Secretaries, two with morning shift,
(one of Instruction and one Correctional), whose schedule will be the one established for the rest of
the personnel of the Judicial Branch and two with afternoon shift, (one of Instruction and one
Correctional), from fifteen to twenty-one hours.
Each of the Secretariats will be assisted by a Secretary and Administrative Agents.
 1
Likewise, each Fiscal Unit also has its own Intake Desks, corresponding to each of the 1
Secretariats,
9
assisted by a Head of the Intake Desk and Administrative Assistants.

B- Situation table of the Prosecutorial Units of the First Judicial District:

CAPITAL DEPARTMENTAL FISCAL UNIT

Prosecutor's Office N° 1: Prosecutor, Attorney at Law
Prosecutor's Office N°2: Prosecutor, Attorney at Law
Prosecutor's Office N°3: Prosecutor, Attorney at Law
Prosecutor's Office N°19: Prosecutor, Attorney at Law
Prosecutor's Office N° 20: Prosecutor, Attorney at Law

Departmental Prosecutor's Office of the Departmental Prosecutor's Office of the Capital:

Morning Shift: Lawyer, Attorney or Esc. Ac.
Evening shift: Lawyer, Attorney or Esc. Ac
Correctional Secretariats Departmental Prosecutor's Unit of Capital City
Morning shift: Lawyer, Attorney or Escr. Ac.
Evening shift: Lawyer, Attorney or Escr Ac.

DEPARTMENTAL FISCAL UNIT OF GODOY CRUZ

Prosecutor's Office N° 4: Prosecutor, Attorney at Law
Preliminary Prosecutor's Office N°5: Prosecutor, Lawyer
Prosecutor's Office N°6: Prosecutor, Attorney at Law
Prosecutor's Office N° 21: Prosecutor, Attorney at Law

Departmental Prosecutor's Office of Godoy Cruz:

Morning Shift: Lawyer, Attorney or Esc. Ac.
Evening shift: Lawyer, Attorney or Esc. Ac.
Correctional Secretariat of the Departmental Prosecutor's Office of Godoy Cruz
Morning Shift: Lawyer, Solicitor or Esc Ac.
Evening shift: Lawyer, Attorney at Law or Esc ac.

DEPARTMENTAL FISCAL UNIT OF LAS HERAS - LAVALLE

Prosecutor's Office N° 7: Prosecutor, Attorney at Law
Prosecutor's Office N° 8: Prosecutor, Attorney at Law
Prosecutor's Office No. 9: Prosecutor, Attorney at Law
Prosecutor's Office N° 22: Prosecutor, Attorney at Law
Departmental Prosecutor's Office of Las Heras - Lavalle:
 1
Morning Shift: Lawyer, Attorney or Esc. Ac. 2
0
Evening shift: Lawyer, Attorney or Esc. Ac.
Correctional Secretary Departmental Public Prosecutor's Office of Las Heras - Lavalle
Morning shift: Lawyer, Attorney or School. Ac.
Evening shift: Lawyer, Attorney or Esc. Ac.

DEPARTMENTAL FISCAL UNIT OF GUAYMALLEN:

Prosecutor's Office N° 10 : Prosecutor, Attorney at Law
Prosecutor's Office N° 11: Prosecutor, Attorney at Law
Prosecutor's Office N° 12: Prosecutor, Attorney at Law
Prosecutor's Office No. 23: Prosecutor, Attorney at Law
Prosecutor's Office N° 24: Prosecutor Attorney at Law
Departmental Prosecutor's Office of Guaymallén:
Morning Shift: Lawyer, Attorney or Esc. Ac.
Evening shift: Lawyer, Attorney or Esc. Ac.
Correctional Secretariat of the Guaymallén Departmental Prosecutor's Office.
Morning shift: Lawyer, Attorney or School. Ac.
Evening shift: Lawyer, Attorney or Esc. Ac.

DEPARTMENTAL FISCAL UNIT OF LUJAN - MAIPU:

Prosecutor's Office N° 13 : Prosecutor, Attorney at Law
Prosecutor's Office N° 14 : Prosecutor, Attorney at Law
Public Prosecutor's Office N° 15 : Prosecutor, Attorney at Law
Prosecutor's Office N° 25: Prosecutor, Attorney at Law
Departmental Prosecutor's Office of Luján Maipú:
Morning Shift: Lawyer, Attorney or Esc. Ac.
Evening shift: Lawyer, Attorney or Esc. Ac.
Correctional Secretariat Departmental Prosecutor's Office of Luján Maipú:
Morning shift: Lawyer, Attorney or School. Ac.
Evening shift: Lawyer, Attorney or Esc. Ac.

SPECIAL TAX UNIT (complex crimes):

Prosecutor's Office N° 16 Prosecutor, Attorney at Law
Prosecutor's Office N° 17:Prosecutor, Attorney at Law
Prosecutor's Office No. 18: Prosecutor, Lawyer Secretariat of Instruction Special Prosecutor's
Unit: Morning Shift: Lawyer, Attorney or Esc. Ac. Evening shift: Lawyer, Attorney or Esc. Ac.

FISCAL UNIT OF FLAGRANCY:

 1
Prosecutor's Office N° 26 Prosecutor, Attorney at Law 2
1
Prosecutor's Office N° 27 Prosecutor, Attorney at Law
Prosecutor's Office N° 28 Prosecutor, Attorney at Law
Secretariat of Instruction of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Flagrancy:
Morning Shift: Lawyer, Attorney or Esc. Ac.
Evening shift: Lawyer, Attorney or Esc. Ac.

C- Situation chart of the C.P.P. Prosecutor's Offices, First District:

Starting conceptually from the Fiscal Units, we can obtain another picture of the situation, since
each Fiscal Unit has its own offices that report to that Fiscal Unit. It is therefore necessary to
establish the territorial scope of action of the different Prosecutors' Offices in the territory in
question. The scope of action of the Prosecutor's Offices does not modify the territorial
competence of the different Departmental Prosecutorial Units.

1) Capital Prosecutor's Office N°1-Sectional 3°-. It will act functionally in events occurring
within the territorial scope established by the jurisdictional limits of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Police
Stations of the Police of the Province.

2) Capital Prosecutor's Office N°2-Sectional 6°-. It will functionally act in events occurring
within the territorial scope established by the jurisdictional limits of the 5th , 6th and 33rd
Police Stations of the Provincial Police.
3) Capital Prosecutor's Office N° 13- Section N° 4: It acts functionally in the facts occurred in
the territorial scope established by the limits of the 1st and 4th Police Stations.

4) Godoy Cruz Prosecutor's Office N°3-Sectional 7°-. It will functionally act in events occurring
in the territorial area established by the jurisdictional limits of the 7th, 37th and Le Bihan
(former La Gloria) Police Stations of the Provincial Police.

5) Godoy Cruz Prosecutor's Office N°4- 27th Section-. It will act functionally in events occurring in
the territorial area established by the jurisdictional limits of the 27th, 34th and 50th Police
Stations of the Police of the Province.
6) Godoy Cruz Prosecutor's Office No. 17, Sectional No. 40- Acts functionally in events
occurring in the territorial area established by the limits of the 40th Police Station, Cuello
Detachment and Foecyt.

7) Las Heras-Lavalle Prosecutor's Office N° 5 -Sectional 16°-. It will act functionally in the events
 1
2
occurring in the territorial area established by the jurisdictional limits of the 16th and 43rd
2
Police Stations of the Police of the Province.

8) Las Heras-Lavalle Prosecutor's Office N° 6 -Sectional 36°-. It will act functionally in the
facts occurred in the territorial scope established by the jurisdictional limits of the 36th and
Subcria Precinct. Iriarte.

9) Las Heras-Lavalle Prosecutor's Office N° 7 -Sectional 17°-. It will act functionally in

events occurring within the territorial scope established by the jurisdictional limits of the 17th
Precinct of the Police of the Province.
10) Prosecutor's Office of Las Heras N° 14° Sectional N° 56 El Algarrobal: It acts functionally
in the facts occurred in the territorial scope established by the limits of 56° Police Station.
11) Guaymallén Prosecutor's Office No. 8 - Section No. 25: Acts functionally in the events
occurring in the territorial area established by the limits of the 25th, 31st and 45th Police
Stations.
12) Guaymallén Prosecutor's Office No. 9, Section No. 9: Acts functionally in events occurring in
the territorial area established by the limits of the 9th, 44th and 35th Police Stations.
13) Maipú Prosecutor's Office N° 10-Sectional N° 10° It acts functionally in the facts occurred in
the territorial scope established by the limits of the police stations 10°, 29° and Subcria Tropero
Sosa, Barrancas and Coquimbito.
14) Maipú Prosecutor's Office N° 16 - Sectional 49: It acts functionally in the facts occurred in the
territorial scope established by the limits of the 16th, 49th, Subcria Beltrán and Lara Police
Stations.
15) Lujan de Cuyo Prosecutor's Office N° 11- Sectional N° 11: It acts functionally in the facts
occurred in the territorial scope established by the limits of the police stations 11°, 30°, 47°, 48°,
23° (Uspallata), Subcria Potrerillos.
16) Luján de Cuyo Prosecutor's Office No. 15 - Section No. 47 It acts functionally in events
occurring in the territorial area established by the limits of the 30th and 47th Police Stations.

Status of the Prosecutorial Units of the Third Judicial District:

SAN MARTÍN - LA COLONIA FISCAL UNIT:

Prosecutor's Office N° 1,: Prosecutor - Attorney at Law
Prosecutor's Office N° 2, Prosecutor - Attorney at Law
Prosecutor's Office N° 3, Prosecutor - Attorney at Law
Secretariat of the San Martín La Colonia Prosecutor's Office (Preliminary and Correctional)
 1
Morning shift: Lawyer, Escr. Act. o Proc. 2
3
Evening shift: Lawyer, Escr. Act. or Proc.

RIVADAVIA - JUNÍN FISCAL UNIT:

Prosecutor's Office N° 1, Prosecutor - Attorney at Law

Prosecutor's Office N° 2, Prosecutor - Attorney at Law

Secretariat of the Rivadavia Prosecutor's Office - Junín (Preliminary and Correctional)
Morning shift: Lawyer, Escr. Act. or Proc.
Evening shift: Lawyer, Escr. Act. or Proc.

SANTA ROSA - LA PAZ FISCAL UNIT:

Prosecutor's Office N° 1, Prosecutor, Attorney at Law
Prosecutor's Office N° 2 Prosecutor - Attorney-at-Law
Secretariat of the Santa Rosa - La Paz Prosecutorial Unit (Preliminary and Correctional)
Morning shift: Lawyer, Escr. Act. or Proc.

C.P.P. Tax Offices Situation Chart Third Judicial District:

Sint Maarten Prosecutor's Office - Acts functionally in events occurring in the territorial area
established by the limits of the 12th, 55th and Sub-Colonial Police Stations.
Palmira Prosecutor's Office - Acts functionally in events occurring in the territorial area
established by the limits of the 28th and 39th Police Stations.
Rivadavia Prosecutor's Office - Acts functionally in events occurring within the territorial scope
established by the limits of the 13thSubcria Medrano and Segundo Ferreyra Police Stations.
Junín Prosecutor's Office - Acts functionally in events occurring within the territorial scope
established by the boundaries of the 19th Sub-city Police Stations.
Santa Rosa Prosecutor's Office - Acts functionally in the events occurring in the territorial area
established by the limits of the 21st and Sub-regional Police Stations of Las Catitas.
La Paz Prosecutor's Office - Acts functionally in events occurring in the territorial area established
by the limits of the 22nd and 51st Police Stations.

E- THE JUDICIAL POLICE

INTRODUCTION

This Guide is an adaptation of a manual prepared by the Assistant District Attorneys

of the City of Córdoba, Drs. Laura Mónica Cantore and Edgardo Tomás Casas, generously
provided by Dr. Hugo A. Almirón, during his visit to our city in 2004.
A) JUDICIAL POLICE
 1
The Judicial Police is created with a view to achieving an auxiliary organ of2the
4
Administration of Justice with the political independence that characterizes the Judicial Branch.
The fact is that the attribution of the investigation of crimes in the hands of the Administrative
Police does not guarantee such independence, since it belongs to the Executive Branch.
The first step forward in the implementation of the Judicial Police is the assignment
to the orbits of the Public Prosecutor's Office of the officers who will carry out the so-called
summary function of the Judicial Police: that is to say, the formation of the summary proceedings
that give rise to the preparatory criminal investigation.
It is thus distinguished from the Administrative Police, whose mission is the
maintenance of public order and security, and the prevention of crime.
This being so, the Judicial Police acts every day of the year, 24 hours a day, since it
must guarantee the investigation of crimes that occur at any time.
Notwithstanding the above, the Code of Criminal Procedure continues to impose on
the Administrative Police the obligation to act as Judicial Police in everything that exceeds the
summary function itself, now attributed to personnel under the Public Prosecutor's Office, and also
in cases in which the Judicial Police cannot do so immediately (art. 334).
The investigation of crimes, being an activity that is part of the criminal prosecution,
must be initiated, as a general principle, by order of the Public Prosecutor's Office, since it is the
latter who exercises the criminal action. This principle has its exception in cases of urgency, i.e.,
when the delay that would result from the prosecutor's intervention in the initial decision to
investigate would probably result in the loss of useful and effective evidence that could be obtained
by the Judicial Police. In this case, the Judicial Police must initiate the investigation autonomously,
ex officio, except in cases of crimes that are subject to private prosecution, in which it may only
proceed if the person who is entitled to do so files a complaint and immediately informs the Public
Prosecutor of what has been done.
It is important to highlight that the summary activity has, in the new legal system, a
change of legal valuation. Not only has the power been changed, so that the investigating
commissioner (an official of the executive branch) has been replaced by the Assistant Public
Prosecutor (an official of the judicial branch), but also the appreciation and scope of the acts carried
out within this new legal framework has been changed. In the previous system, all the acts carried
out were mere information of a presumably criminal act, which the competent judicial body had to
investigate again once these actions were submitted, whereas in the new system, the summary is the
result of the investigation carried out by the Prosecutor from the beginning through the Judicial
Police, so that its acts have all the necessary conditions to be presented for trial.
Book Two of the Code of Criminal Procedure, "PREPARATORY CRIMINAL
INVESTIGATION", deals with the activity to be carried out by the State through the Public
Prosecutor's Office for the "LEGAL" investigation of criminal acts. The JUDICIAL POLICE,
 1
among others, will be used for this purpose. 2
5
That is, compliance with the provisions of the legal texts transcribed below, in which
the JUDICIAL POLICE is a leading actor.
C.P.P. Article 314.-FINALITY. The preparatory criminal investigation must prevent
the crime committed from producing further consequences and gather evidence useful to support the
indictment (355) or determine the dismissal of the case (350).
C.P.P. Article 315.-OBJECT. The purpose of the criminal investigation shall be:
1) To verify if there is a criminal act, by means of all the diligences conducive to
the discovery of the truth.
2) Establish the circumstances that qualify the act, aggravate, mitigate or justify it,
or influence the punishability.
3) To identify the perpetrators, accomplices and instigators.
4) Verify the age, education, customs, living conditions, means of subsistence and
background of the accused; the state and development of his mental faculties, the conditions in
which he acted, the motives that could have determined him to commit a crime and the other
circumstances that reveal his greater or lesser dangerousness.
5) To prove the extent of the damage caused by the crime, even if the action for
compensation has not been brought.
From this concept, another one arises: if this instruction is preparatory, it is
preparatory to a TRIAL, which is the oral debate that takes place in the Criminal Chambers. This
necessarily means that this stage is not part of the trial.
In the book of PREPARATORY CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION, Chapter 3 is
entitled "Acts of the Judicial Police".
Art. 333.-FUNCTION. The Judicial Police, by order of a competent authority or, in
cases of urgency, by complaint or on its own initiative, shall investigate crimes of public action,
prevent those committed from being carried to further consequences, individualize the guilty parties
and gather the evidence useful to support the accusation or determine the dismissal of the case. If the
offense is a public action dependent on a private instance, it shall only proceed upon receipt of the
complaint provided for in Article 9.
Art. 334.-COMPOSITION. Officers and assistants of the Judicial Police shall be the
officials and employees to whom the law grants such character.
Officers and auxiliaries of the Judicial Police shall also be considered officers and
auxiliaries of the Administrative Police, when they perform the functions established in this Code.
The Administrative Police shall act as the Judicial Police until the Judicial Police is
operational, or if it exists, it cannot do so immediately. As soon as the Judicial Police intervenes, the
Administrative Police will be its auxiliary.
Art. 335.-SUBORDINATION. The officers and assistants of the Judicial Police shall
 1
be appointed and removed in accordance with the provisions of the Police Laws or those that 2
replace
6
them.
They shall perform their duties under the direct supervision of the Public
Prosecutor's Office and shall execute the orders given to them by the Judges, Prosecutors and
Assistant Prosecutors.
The officers and agents of the Administrative Police, insofar as they perform acts of
Judicial Police, shall in each case be under the authority of the Judges and Prosecutors, without
prejudice to the general administrative authority to which they are subject.
Art. 336.-ATTRIBUTIONS. The Judicial Police shall have the following
attributions:
1) Receive complaints.
2) To take care that the body, instruments, effects and traces of the crime are
preserved, by means of the corresponding safeguards, until the Prosecutor of Instruction arrives at
the scene.
3) If there is a danger that any delay may jeopardize the success of the
investigation, to record the state of persons, things and places, by means of inspections, plans,
photographs, technical examinations and other operations advised by the forensic police.
4) Proceed with searches under Article 219, urgent searches under Article 222 and
seizures that cannot be postponed.
5) If indispensable, to order the closure of the premises in which it is presumed, by
strong indications, that a felony has been committed, or to proceed in accordance with Article 286.
6) Summarily interrogate witnesses presumed to be useful in discovering the truth.
7) To summon and apprehend the alleged offender in the cases and in the manner
authorized by this Code.
8) To receive the statement of the accused, only if so requested by the accused, in
the forms and with the guarantees established in Articles 271 et seq.
9) Use of public force to the extent necessary.
Art. 337.-PROHIBITIONS. The officers and auxiliaries of the Judicial Police may
not open the correspondence that they safeguard or have seized by order of a competent judicial
authority, but shall send it intact to the latter. However, in urgent cases, they may be submitted to the
most immediate one, which will authorize the opening if it deems it appropriate.
The names and photographs of persons investigated as participants in an act may
not be disseminated to the media, unless expressly authorized by the competent judicial body.
Art. 338.-COMMUNICATION AND PROCEDURE. The officers of the Judicial
Police shall immediately inform the Prosecutor of Instruction of all crimes that come to their
knowledge and shall perform the urgent acts that the law authorizes and those that the Prosecutor
orders, observing the norms established by this Code.
 1
Without prejudice to the provisions of article 290, the proceedings and the 2
seized
7
items shall be forwarded to the Prosecutor of Instruction or to the Justice of the Peace, within
three days of the beginning of the investigation; but said officials may extend it for another three
days when the investigation is complex or when there are insurmountable obstacles.
Art. 339.-SANCTIONS. Officers and auxiliaries of the Judicial Police who
violate legal or regulatory provisions, who omit or delay the execution of an act proper to their
functions or who perform it negligently shall be sanctioned by the courts or the Public
Prosecutor's Office, after a report from the interested party, with a warning or fine of up to one
thousand five hundred pesos (cfr. Law 23.928), without prejudice to the suspension for up to
thirty days, dismissal or exoneration that may be ordered by the Supreme Court of Justice and
the corresponding criminal liability.
The officers and agents of the Administrative Police may be subject to the same
sanctions, but their suspension, dismissal or exoneration may only be ordered by the Executive
Branch.
 Supreme Court of Justice

COURT RECORDS

MINUTES

CONCEPT:

It is the written report made by the public official in charge of documenting

the acts that are carried out in his presence. ARE PUBLIC INSTRUMENTS.
Acts performed in person and verbally (receipt of declarations, inspections,
etc.) must be documented by means of minutes.

REQUIREMENTS

Arts. 141, 142, 147 and 148 of the C.P.P. establish the minimum requirements
that a record must have in order to be considered as such. The principal is transcribed.

GENERAL MINUTES

In the city of Mendoza, on the .... days of the month of .... of the year two thousand,
being the ... hs., a person who identified himself as Juan Gonzalez appeared before
the Assistant Prosecutor and the Judicial Police Assistant and was interrogated ...
but not his wife Marta Pereyra, because she was hospitalized at the Central Hospital,
according to the medical certificate that accompanies, who were duly summoned by
this Prosecutor's Office to proceed to the delivery of the moped DVP-123, as ordered
by the Prosecutor's Office of the 3rd Shift, District V in the present proceedings.
Having been informed of the purpose of the act, the named party STATES: that he
cannot remove the moped because he is not the owner and lacks documentation.
Questioned by the Assistant Public Prosecutor as to whether he knows who the owner
is, he answered: That the person who knows the data of the moped is his wife, but she
is in intensive care. The declarant having stated that he is illiterate and having been
informed of the provisions of art. 148 of the C.P.P., the same states that he is
satisfied with the reading made aloud by the auxiliary of the judicial police.
Whereupon the act is concluded, which, after being read aloud and ratified, is signed
by the Assistant District Attorney, all in the presence of the Judicial Police Assistant .
SIGNATURE OF THE FISCAL ASSISTANT
SIGNATURE OF THE INTERVENING PARTY OR PARTIES
SIGNATURE OF THE JUDICIAL POLICE ASSISTANT

Arts. 141, 142, 147 y 148.

a) National language.
b) date: place, day, month and year in which the act takes place. The time
will be indicated when required by law.
c) object of the minutes.
d) name and surname of the persons acting (it will be necessary to provide
for the identification of the persons when this does not appear in the file,
e.g.: ID card number, nationality, marital status, employment or

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profession, domicile, etc.).

e) If applicable, reason for non-attendance of those who were obliged to
intervene
f) Indication of the steps taken and their outcome.
g) statements received: their clarification as to whether they were made
spontaneously or upon request and whether they were dictated by the
declarants
h) observations required by the parties
i) reading aloud,
j) the signature of all the intervening parties who are required to do so, or
when any of them is unable or unwilling to sign, the mention thereof.
k) if a blind or illiterate person has to sign, they shall be informed that the
record may be read and signed by a person of their trust.

POSSIBLE WAYS TO CLOSE THE MINUTES

PERSON WHO CAN READ AND WRITE AND WHO IS WILLING TO SIGN.

"Whereupon the act was concluded, which after being read aloud and ratification of
all its contents, signed after the Assistant District Attorney, the person appearing, all
in the presence of the Judicial Police Assistant. "SIGNATURE OF THE FISCAL
ASSISTANT
SIGNATURE OF THE INTERVENER
SIGNATURE OF THE JUDICIAL POLICE ASSISTANT

ILLITERATE WHO DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO SIGN OR BLIND.

FIRST HYPOTHESIS

"Whereupon the act was concluded, which after being read aloud, it is made known
the contents of art. 148 of the C.P.P., and the person appearing states that he is
satisfied with the reading already given, and the Assistant Prosecutor signs before
the Judicial Police Assistant, but not the person appearing because he does not know
how to do so. "SIGNATURE OF THE FISCAL ASSISTANT.
SIGNATURE OF THE JUDICIAL POLICE ASSISTANT

SECOND HYPOTHESIS

"With which the act was concluded, prior to making him aware of the scope of art.
148 of the C.P.P., and the person appearing in the proceeding expressed his will to
have the minutes read by ................................................., of ... years of age, who
proves identity with ..., domiciled at ..., who is summoned to this effect only. After the
record has been read aloud by the person indicated, and its contents ratified by the
declarant, the Assistant District Attorney, the person he/she trusts, signs it before the
Judicial Police Assistant. "SIGNATURE OF THE FISCAL ASSISTANT
SIGNATURE OF DESIGNEE
SIGNATURE OF THE JUDICIAL POLICE ASSISTANT

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PREVENTED OR REFUSED TO SIGN

DISABLED

"Whereupon the act was concluded, which, after reading and ratification, was not
signed by the person appearing because he was unable to do so (describing physical
impossibility, a broken leg, burn, etc.) and signed by the Assistant Prosecutor before
the Judicial Police Assistant. "SIGNATURE OF THE FISCAL ASSISTANT.
SIGNATURE OF THE JUDICIAL POLICE ASSISTANT

DENIED

"Whereupon the act was concluded, which was previously reading, the
refuses to sign and ratify the contents of this document . do, and sign
the Assistant District Attorney before the Assistant Police Officer Judicial. - ”
SIGNATURE OF THE FISCAL ASSISTANT
SIGNATURE OF THE JUDICIAL POLICE ASSISTANT

WHO MUST SIGN THE MINUTES:

The minutes require the participation of certain persons, without whom they are
worthless (nullity, art. 150).
Specifically, in relation to the Judicial Police: the record must be signed by the
Assistant Prosecutor with the assistance of an officer or auxiliary of the Judicial Police
When the record is drawn up by an officer or auxiliary of the Police (judicial or
administrative), he/she must be assisted by a witness who, as far as possible, is not a
member of the police force. (Art. 147 of Law 6,730).

CANNOT BE PERFORMANCE WITNESSES:

Art. 149 of Law 6.730_ "Minors under 16 years of age, the insane and those who are
in a state of inebriation, or those who at the time of the hearing present evident signs of
alteration of their faculties cannot be witnesses".

ALL REPORTS DRAWN UP BY THE PERSONNEL OF THE POLICE OF THE

PROVINCE TO BE ADDED TO JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS,
MUST RESPECT EXACTLY AND RIGOROUSLY THE SAME NORMS.
THAT APPLY TO THE ABOVE MODELS

REPORT

IN GENERAL

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It is the news of allegedly criminal acts, provided by those who know

them, either directly or indirectly, to the competent authority.
This complaint may be filed with the Public Prosecutor's Office or
with the Judicial Police (art. 326).

CAPACITY

The power to denounce corresponds to any person who has notice of a

crime (notitia criminis) that can be prosecuted ex officio and does not require
any special quality or condition.
Optional nature of the denunciation: For individuals, making a
denunciation is an option, not a duty.
Compulsory nature: Article 329, paragraph 1 reads as follows:
"The following shall have the obligation to report offenses that may be
prosecuted ex officio: 1°) Public officials or employees who become aware of
them in the exercise of their functions...."
For the members of the Judicial Police it is an OBLIGATION except
in the case of crimes depending on private instance, in which case they can
only proceed with the complaint provided for in Article 9, without prejudice
to the following.

CONDITIONS

That it is a crime of public action prosecutable ex officio.

In the case of a crime subject to private prosecution (Art. 72 of the
Criminal Code), it is not appropriate to act ex officio but by accusation or
complaint of the aggrieved party, his guardian or guardian or legal
representatives.
However, the court will proceed ex officio when the victim of the
crime is a minor who has no parents, guardian or custodian or when the
alleged perpetrators of the crime in question are any of these (Art. 72 inc. 3,
last paragraph C.P.). When there are seriously conflicting interests between
some of these and the minor, the prosecutor may act ex officio when it is in
the best interest of the minor.
In the case of the crime of minor injuries, whether intentional or
negligent, the court shall proceed ex officio when there are reasons of security
or public interest (Art. 72 inc. 2 of the C.P.).
The following offenses are subject to private prosecution:

a) Those provided for in Articles 119, 120 and 130 of the Civil
Code. (crimes against sexual integrity), when it does not
result in the death of the offended person or injuries of those
mentioned in art. 91 (serious injuries).
b) Minor injuries, whether intentional or negligent.
c) Impediment of contact of minor children with their non-
cohabitating parents.

CONTENTS

The Assistant Public Prosecutor and his assistant shall draw up a

report in accordance with the provisions of articles 147 to 150, containing an

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account of the fact that must be:

• Clear (understandable)
• Precise (without digressions, determining the essential parts of the
event);
• Circumstantiated (establishing the circumstances of time, manner,
place and persons);
• Specific (in case of multiple events, each event should be reported
separately)
Based on:
• Time (day and hour)
• Place (physical space; area within which the criminal act was
committed)
• Mode (mechanics or development of the act and intervening
elements, with those particularities that may aggravate or mitigate
a crime -penally relevant-);
• Persons (those who produced the criminal act and those who
concomitantly or subsequently -immediately or mediately- had a
relationship with the act: defendants, victims, witnesses);
• Other elements that may lead to its verification.

CLASSIFICATION

BY THEIR SHAPE:
Art. 327 C.P.P: The complaint may be presented in written or oral form, personally or by
special representative.

VERBAL
A person comes to the Prosecutor's Office (or to a Prosecutor's Office
of Instruction) and expresses his or her willingness to file a complaint.

WRITTEN
The individual files a written document that must contain, as far as
possible, the formalities of art. 328, who must sign in the presence of the
Judicial Police Assistant in order to verify the identity of the person
appearing. (327 of the C.P.P.).

In the event that the report is incomplete, i.e., if information essential

to the clarification of the fact is missing, it must be supplemented with a
witness statement.

BY SPECIAL MANDATARY
A notarial act (public deed) must be presented containing the express
will of the principal to file a complaint for a crime that must also be
determined in the deed. The complaint may be made verbally or in writing.
Although the law says special mandate, this can be general with a special
mandate to denounce the crime in question. The agent is authorized to file the
criminal action and to receive the notifications of art. 108 C.P.P.

ANONIMA

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By a telephone call, letter or other anonymous: If from the content

of the anonymous, arises the possible commission of a crime of public action,
prosecutable ex officio, this circumstance may motivate the initiation of
proceedings, prior certification of the content of the call, addition of the letter
etc., in order to corroborate the veracity of the information and proceed
accordingly, in order to corroborate the veracity of the information and
proceed accordingly. This is up to the discretion of the Prosecutor of
Instruction, who should be asked for instructions to follow.

BY TYPE OF ACTION:

EX OFFICIO ACTION
These are all those actions exercised by the Public Prosecutor's Office,
provided they do not depend on a private instance. Its exercise may not be
interrupted or terminated except in the cases provided for in this Code or any
other law. (art. 8 C.P.P.). This exception includes the principle of opportunity,
incorporated by Law 6.730 (Art. 26).

PUBLIC ACTION DEPENDENT ON A PRIVATE INSTANCE

In the case of a crime dependent on a private instance (of those listed
exhaustively in Art. 72 of the C.P.), it is necessary to follow what is set forth
in chapter 2.2.3 - 2.2.3 - 2.2.4.

PRIVATE ACTION
Art. 11: "It shall be exercised by means of a complaint, in the special
form established by this code".
The Judicial Police will never intervene, since the Public Prosecutor's
Office is not a party. These are the cases provided for in Article 73 of the
Civil Code:
a) Slander and libel.
b) Violation of Secrets, except in the cases of arts. 154 y 157;
c) Unfair competition, provided for in art. 159;
d) Failure to comply with the duties of family assistance, when the
victim is the spouse.

BY THE COMPLAINANT

FACULTY
Art. 326 C.P.P. (power to report): "Any person who has notice of a
crime prosecutable ex officio, may report it to the Prosecutor of
Instruction or to the Judicial Police. When the criminal action
depends on a private instance, only those who have the power to
initiate it may denounce."

MANDATORY
ONLY OBLIGATION TO REPORT:
Pursuant to art. 329 of the C.P.P.,
"Art. 329 They shall have the obligation to report offenses prosecuted
ex officio:
1º Public officials or employees who become aware of them (the
offenses) in the exercise of their functions.

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2° Physicians, midwives, pharmacists and other persons practicing

any branch of the art of healing, who become aware of such facts
when rendering the aids of their profession, unless the knowledge
acquired by them is by law under the protection of professional
secrecy."
Failure to report when one is obliged to do so is punishable (art.
249 of the C.P.) "unless the knowledge acquired by them is under
the protection of professional secrecy".
"Art. 249. "A fine of seven hundred and fifty to twelve thousand
five hundred pesos and special disqualification from one month to
one year shall be imposed on any public official who unlawfully
omits, refuses to perform or delays any act of his office".

MINOR COMPLAINANT
A minor can report a criminal act that can be prosecuted ex officio
since the law does not require any minimum age for this act. It will be the
function of the Prosecutor of Instruction and the Assistant Prosecutor to
analyze the value of the minor's statements.
At present, a place called Gessel Chamber is located in the building on
Chile and Montevideo Streets (Family Courts), which is intended to provide a
suitable environment for the statements of minors. That is, in one room is the
minor together with (usually) a psychologist; and in another room are the
parties (Prosecutor, defense counsel, etc.), who can see through a glass what is
happening in the first room and can be heard through an audio system. The act
is carried out by means of questions provided by the Prosecutor and the
parties and transmitted by the psychologist to the minor. This is a resource
that may be used by the Prosecutor if he/she deems it convenient.

PROHIBITION TO DENOUNCE.
The Code incorporates a prohibition on whistleblowing:
Art. 329: "...No one may file a complaint against his spouse,
ascendant, descendant, or sibling, unless the crime is committed against him or against a
person whose relationship to him is equal or closer to the one that links him to the accused".
This prohibition, however, must be consulted in all cases with the
Assistant Public Prosecutor and with the intervening Prosecutor, since it may happen that the
public order or interest is compromised, cases in which the knowledge of the illicit act by the
authority will impose its intervention.

WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION.

Art. 330 of the C.P.P.: "The denouncer... shall have the right, at his request, to
have his identification safeguarded, until such time as the defense of the
accused requests the need to be relieved and the intervening Magistrate deems
it convenient. He shall also have the right to request the protection of his
person, family and/or property".
In cases where identity confidentiality is requested, a record shall be drawn up
without the complainant's personal data and without his signature, to be added to the
summary, and another record with all such data and his signature shall be kept in a safe
place. It should be added as soon as the Prosecutor's decision to do so has been made.

VICTIM'S RIGHTS. DUTY OF ANNOUNCEMENT.

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At the moment of practicing the first procedural diligence with the victim or
his successors or forced heirs, which is normally the complaint or the
procedural act in which a contact is made with them, the police or judicial
body must announce the rights recognized in article 108 of the C.P.P.P.

GENERAL MINUTES

COMMON

In the city of Mendoza, on .... days of the month of ....................... two

thousand..., the time being ............................................................. hs.,
appeared before the Assistant District Attorney and the Judicial Police
Assistant, a person3 who said his name was ... and expressed his willingness
to file a complaint.4 ........................................................................against ...
domiciled at ... for the reasons that he will explain. In this state and in view of
what has been stated, the Assistant District Attorney orders, in accordance
with the provisions of Arts. 326, 332 and 333 of the C.P.P. and in strict
observance of the provisions of Arts. 327 and 328 of the aforementioned body
of law, the complaint to be formulated shall be received, after informing the
person appearing as provided for in Arts. 330, 108 and concordant provisions
of the C.P.P. and Art. 109 and 245 of the C.P.. Immediately thereafter, and
having been informed of the content of the aforementioned articles 5, the
person appearing is interrogated as to his name and other personal
conditions and invited to show the pertinent documents proving his identity
and domicile. Upon request, the deponent declared his name to be ...,
nationality ..., of ... years of age, of civil status .... of profession ..., ..., ...
instruction6, with real domicile in jurisdiction of ... of the Police of ..., in ...
street ... (between ... and ... streets) of ... neighborhood, telephone number ....
proving his identity with ... ... which he exhibits. It also states that, ... it is
covered by the general provisions of the Law in relation to ... Subsequently,
the person appearing in the case COMPLAINTS:
With which the act was terminated, which after being read aloud and
ratification of its content, was signed by the Assistant District Attorney and
the person appearing, all before the Assistant of the Judicial Police.
FIRM FISCAL ASSISTANT
SIGNATURE COMPLAINANT (if known) SIGNATURE JUDICIAL POLICE
ASSISTANT

BY ACT
Handing over of police personnel procedure.

3 optional nature of the complaint

4 Art 109 and 245 C.P. to read 330 and scopes. The rights of article 108 must be notified in case the
complainant is the victim or his or her forced heirs.
5 The complaint will always be received, but must be identified, leaving a record of the type of
document used. In the event of lacking this type of document, the subject must be booked for
identification - Any other circumstance brought to the attention of the complainant in relation to the
impossibility or difficulty to prove his identity, or to verify it, must be stated in his statement - In case of
any doubt, consult with the Fiscal Assistant.
6 Depending on the answer, the provisions for illiterate persons may or may not apply (art. 148
C.P.P.)

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In the city of Mendoza, on the .... days of the month of ... of the year two
thousand.....................................the Assistant Public Prosecutor in charge of
this Prosecutor's Office, for the corresponding legal effects, HEREBY
NOTES: that the following has appeared personnel of ... reporting their
actions in the detection of a criminal act. In view of the foregoing
RESOLVED: to receive testimony in relation to the same and based on arts.
321, 324, 326 and other concordant of the C.P.P., to consider the present
summary proceedings as initiated with the knowledge of the Prosecutor of
Instruction. ................................

In the city of Mendoza, on the .... days of the month of .... of two thousand..., a
person who is to give a testimonial statement in the present proceedings
appears before the Assistant District Attorney and the Judicial Police
Assistant. She was informed of the purpose of the act and of the penalties for
false testimony, and took an oath in legal form. Questioned about her name,
surname and other personal conditions, she said her name was.... of
nationality ... of ... years of age, of civil status ..., of

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profession ..., ... instruction and with real domicile in the jurisdiction of ... of
the Police of ... at ... street ... nº ... (between streets ... and ... ) of Barrio ...,
telephone nº .... proving his identity with document nº .... Asked about the
other generalities of the Law, which previously. were explained to him, he
said that ... understand him.

Questioned about the fact under investigation, of which she is informed, she
said: .......................................

With this, the act was concluded, which, after being read aloud and ratified,
was signed after the Assistant District Attorney, by the appearing police
personnel, all in the presence of the Judicial Police Assistant.
FIRM FISCAL ASSISTANT
SIGNATURE OF DELIVERER
SIGNATURE OF THE JUDICIAL POLICE ASSISTANT

DELIVERY OF PROCEDURE BY PERSONNEL OF THE POLICE OF THE

PROVINCE.
The following outline is a synthesis of what the Judicial Police
Assistant cannot fail to ask and the Administrative Police cannot fail to
answer. In the event that the Administrative Police do not know the answers to
the questions that are asked according to the following model, this should be
recorded, for the purposes that the Prosecutor's Office may later determine.
1 Intervening personnel: name, position, police department from
which they come, home address.
2 Mobile vehicles involved: internal registration number, crew,
and unit on which it depends.
3 Place of the event, with characteristics as to its location and
details of the event. (Doors, windows, height of fences,
damages or breakages, type of constructions, installations, etc.).
4 Description of the event
5 Victims: name, age, sex, address, ID card number, etc.
6 Subtracted elements. (if applicable).
7 Elements removed from the site (after the fact, by the victims or
by the administrative police).

KNOWN. address, envelope name

a) Perpetrators

UNKNOWN physical description, clothing

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b) Conduct of the perpetrator:

c) Witnesses providing data: Name,

address, age.
g) Criminalistic cordon: name of the
personnel remaining at the scene of the crime.

knife, type

d) Elements used to commit the act:

firearm, description

blunt instrument or
other, description

e) Place or direction to where the perpetrators escaped.

f) Vehicle in which they arrived and with which they fled, type:

If the criminalistic cordon had not been formed, give reasons.

h) Sketch

i) Ocular Inspection Report.

j) Abduction Record: Objects abducted, who abducted them, from where they were
abducted.

k) Record of apprehension.

WRITTEN COMPLAINT
Upon presentation of the document, whether or not it has been
previously signed, it must be signed by the complainant in the presence of the
Judicial Police Assistant, who will verify the identity of the presenter (art. 327
of the C.P.P.) on the copy that is presented at the Judicial Unit. If it comes
with a copy, only the hourly charge will be inserted in the copy, NOT THE
CONSTANCE. The model CONSTANCE is as follows:
NOTICE: That the foregoing signature has been affixed in my presence, and
belongs to .... of ... years of age, marital status

... who accredits identity with ... ... which he exhibits and retains. Mendoza, ...
of ... of ... hs.......................................-

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COMPLAINT FOR ACTION DEPENDENT ON PRIVATE INSTANCE

Two situations should be kept in mind, which differentiate this complaint from
the common one. 1º The complainant must be the victim of the crime (not only the
injured party) or his/her legal representative if he/she is not fully capable, and 2º he/she
must expressly state the will to INSTITUTE THE CRIMINAL ACTION, whether it is
interpreted that the complaint alone is sufficient as an instance, (in this case, the
reading of the record should reflect the forcefulness of the intention), or that the
circumstance must be expressly stated.

DELIVERY OF OBJECTS

When in the investigation process, things or goods belonging to individuals,

or even to the State itself, have been seized and are no longer of investigative use,
they will be handed over to those who are determined to be the appropriate parties.
This act, which seems of little importance to the process, must be carried out with
great care, since it is the provincial State that is responsible for any damage suffered
by the thing. For this reason, and in order to minimize possible claims, these delivery
certificates should be as detailed as possible as to the condition in which the object is
received by the person who withdraws it.
There are two types of delivery. One is the plain and simple delivery of the
seized or retained object, called definitive delivery, in which the Intervening
Prosecutor gets rid of it because he is no longer interested in it, and delivers it to
whom he considers entitled to continue to have possession of it. The other, called
delivery in judicial deposit, is the one by which the Intervening Prosecutor who has
possession of a thing, delivers it to a person, but may not alienate or modify it, and
always with the charge to keep it in the state in which it is delivered with the
obligation to present it to that judicial authority at any time it is required.

GENERAL CERTIFICATE OF SURRENDER IN JUDICIAL DEPOSIT

In the city of Mendoza, on the .... days of the month of ... of the year two mi...l,
appeared before Mr. Assistant Prosecutor and Judicial Police Assistant, Mr.
...............................................................who proves his identity with an ID
card........................................................and whose other personal data are on
file at fs..................................................in order to receive as a judicial
depository ... (detail in detail the thing) ..................- In this state, the
The Assistant Public Prosecutor informs the person appearing of the purpose
of the act and that the measure has been ordered by the Prosecutor of
Instruction intervening in the present case, and instructs him on the scope,
responsibilities and penalties for non-compliance with the judicial deposit
(arts. 260 to 269 and 173 inc. 2 of the C.P. and Art. 230 C.P.P.). The person
appearing before the Court was invited to take an oath to preserve and take
care of the thing that is the object of the present case, and he took it in legal
form. Immediately the Assistant Public Prosecutor puts in possession of the
thing to the person appearing, who receives it in the state in which it is found,
which he says he knows and accepts. Immediately thereafter the person
appearing said that under the oath of Law that he has taken he commits
himself to faithfully comply with the charge according to law; as well as, to

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exhibit the effects in all the opportunities that he is requested, fixing to such
effect the domicile in street ..., with which the act was finished and after
reading aloud, the person appearing is ratified and signs the minutes after the
Assistant Prosecutor all before the Assistant of Judicial Police.

FINAL HANDOVER CERTIFICATE

In the city of Mendoza, on the ... of the month of .... of the year two thousand,
being the ... hs. appears ... whose other information is on file at fs. in order to
deliver to you ... (detailed description of the object) - In this state, the
Fiscal Assistant
informs the person appearing of the purpose of the act and that the same has
been ordered by the Prosecutor of Instruction in the present case. Having
been informed of the subject matter of the act, the person appearing said that
he accepts the subject matter hereof. Immediately the Assistant Prosecutor
puts in possession of the thing to the person appearing, who receives it in the
state in which it is found, which he says he knows and accepts, that is all that
is to be recorded, with which the act is concluded, after reading aloud and
ratification, signed after the Assistant Prosecutor by the person appearing
before the Assistant of the Judicial Police.

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GENERAL MINUTES

NOTIFICATION OF RIGHTS TO THE ACCUSED.

In the city of Mendoza, on the .... days of the month of ... of the year ..., being
.... hs., appears before Mr. Assistant District Attorney and Judicial Police
Assistant ..................................................who is syndicated as
alleged perpetrator of the crime of ... being lodged in ... at the disposal of -
In this act, as provided in
Article 7 of the C.P.P., we proceed to notify him of the rights recognized in
the Constitution and in the laws, which are transcribed: No one may be
punished except by virtue of a process processed in accordance with the
Constitution; nor judged by other judges than those instituted by law before
the fact of the cause and designated in accordance with the Constitution; nor
considered guilty as long as a final judgment does not declare him as such;
nor criminally prosecuted more than once for the same fact. All proceedings
must be concluded within a reasonable period of time. The defense of
persons and rights in court is inviolable. Every accused person has the right
to a technical defense, even at the expense of the State, from the first moment
of the criminal prosecution. No one may be compelled to testify against
himself in a criminal case, nor against his spouse, ascendant, descendant,
sibling and collateral relatives up to the fourth degree of consanguinity or
second degree of affinity, his guardian or ward, or person with whom he
lives in apparent marriage. Acts that violate guarantees recognized by the
Constitution lack any evidentiary effectiveness. In case of doubt on questions
of fact, the most favorable to the accused must be followed. The deprivation
of liberty during the process is of an exceptional nature and may only be
ordered within the limits established by the Constitution and provided that it
does not exceed the maximum term established by law. Except in cases of
flagrante delicto, no one shall be deprived of his or her liberty without a
written and well-founded order from a competent judicial authority. Once
the deprivation of liberty has occurred, the affected person is informed at the
same time of the event that caused it and of his rights, and he may inform
whomever he deems appropriate of his situation. That this is all that needs to
be stated for the record. Whereupon the act is concluded, which, after being
read aloud and ratified, is signed after the Assistant Prosecutor, and by the
Assistant of the Judicial Police - SIGNATURE OF THE ASSISTANT
PROSECUTOR.

SIGNATURE
OF THE NOTIFIED PERSON IF HE/SHE IS WILLING AND ABLE TO DO
SO SIGNATURE OF THE JUDICIAL POLICE ASSISTANT

NOTIFICATION OF THE INDICTMENT

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In the city of Mendoza, on.... days of the month of.... of the year two thousand, being
the... has. The following person is summoned to appear before the Assistant Public
Prosecutor and Judicial Police Assistant..., who claims to be... of nationality..., of...
years old, of civil status...,...,... education, profession..., domiciled at.... of district..., ID
number.... no. . - Who is the son of .......... and of .........who was born in ....,
the ././. That you are hereby notified that by order of the Prosecutor's Office of
Instruction ..., Secretariat in charge of ..., you are alleged to have participated in the
commission of an act that occurred on ... /. to the detriment of ... whose investigation is
being investigated in this Prosecutor's Office in case no. .../. legally qualified as ..., ..., ...
He is then informed of the evidence against him and that he may testify if he so wishes,
and may request the presence of his defense counsel for the purpose of better exercising
his rights. Whereupon, the act was concluded and, after being read aloud and ratified,
signed after the Assistant District Attorney, by the person appearing, all before the
assistant of the Judicial Police.

NOTICE OF CONTINUED DETENTION NOTIFICATION

In the city of Mendoza, on the .... days of the month of ... of the year ..., is made to
appear before the Assistant District Attorney and Judicial Police Assistant, at
email ..., who said he was from
nationality ...., from ... years, from state civil ....,
...
instruction, of profession ..., with address at ..., ID card. nº ..., also declaring to be the
son of ... and of ..., born in ..., on ././., who by this act and by disposition of the
Prosecutor's Office of Instruction ..., Secretariat in charge of ..., is notified that he will
continue to be lodged as a detainee, (by application of Art. 284 of the C.P.P.) for the fact
that is being investigated in the present case (Srio. .Nº .../.) and whose alleged
commission is attributed to him, legally qualified as ..., which occurred on date ././.
Being all that needs to be stated. Whereupon the act was concluded, which, after being
read aloud and ratified, was signed after the Assistant District Attorney and the person
appearing, all in the presence of the Assistant of the Judicial Police. SIGNATURE OF
THE FISCAL ASSISTANT
SIGNATURE OF THE PERSON NOTIFIED ASSISTANT'S SIGNATURE
JUDICIAL POLICE

NOTIFICATION OF RELEASE FROM PRISON

In the City of Mendoza, on the .... days of the month of .... of the year two
thousand, at .... hs., appeared before Mr. Assistant Prosecutor and Judicial
Police Assistant, a person who, interrogated by his name, surname and other
personal conditions, said his name is be of ... nationality ..., of ...
years of age, and whose other personal data appear in the file at fs. ... and
who is hereby notified and made aware that, as stipulated by the examining
Prosecutor, HE HAS RECOVERED HIS STATUS OF LIBERTY, being made

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aware of the conditions that he must comply with, under penalty of being
ordered to be detained: 1) To provide a bond of 2) To fix and maintain a
domicile; 3) To remain at the disposal of the judicial body and to appear at
all summons issued to him; and 4) To abstain from performing any act that
may hinder the discovery of the truth and the action of the law; all in
accordance with the provisions of Art. 280 of the C.P.P. Having been given
the floor to the person appearing, I DECLARE: That I accept the conditions
imposed and fix my domicile at calle ............. n°..........................., of
Bº ..., Precinct Nº .... of Cordoba Police. That this is all that is to be
recorded, which concludes the act, which was previously read aloud,
ratifying all its contents, and signed by the person appearing after the
Assistant District Attorney in the presence of the Assistant District Attorney
before the Assistant District Attorney. SIGNATURE
FROM
NOTIFIED SIGNATURE OF THE ASSISTANT
JUDICIAL POLICE.

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INSPECTION (OCULAR)

It consists of the written, meticulous and detailed description of people, places,

things, traces and other circumstances considered of interest to the investigation. We can say
that it is a "photograph", captured in written form in a record. This act, being written, has
the same formal requirements as all acts. In addition, it must be very clear that the minutes
record ONLY THAT WHICH THE PERSON WHO WRITES THEM PERCEIVES
THROUGH HIS OR HER SENSES. This, eliminates as data to record in the minutes,
appreciations, convictions, and impressions. ("That because of the braking he was coming at
high speed"; "the perpetrator knew that ..."; etc.).
It should be taken into account that as a means of graphing or representing the
circumstances of a place or thing that is the object of inspection (ocular), it is convenient to
make a CROQUIS as a way of improving what is often difficult to express with the written
word. This is possible as a complement to the Ocular Inspection Record: which consists of a
drawing or design made to graphically show the location of the place, things and/or persons,
traces that are observed at the time of the inspection.
When a chart or sketch must show different places where different parts or
stages of the events to be documented occurred, this should be recorded by marking
different sequential numbers on the same chart and then clarifying at the bottom of the sheet
what each number is intended to show. It is important to identify the cardinal points, to
clarify the location of the indicated place. The sketches are not independent evidence, nor
can they replace in any way the ocular inspection report, therefore, what must be very
complete is the report.

Art. 208 C.P.P. Judicial Inspection: The inspection of persons, places and things,
traces and other material effects left by the act shall be verified by means of
inspection; they shall be described in detail and, when possible, useful evidentiary
elements shall be collected or preserved.

GENERIC ACT

In the city of Mendoza, on the .... days of the month of .... of the year two
thousand, being the ... hs. the undersigned ... assigned to ..., hereby NOTES:
That on the date and at the time indicated, he is constituted in ..., and in the
presence of the witness of Law ..., D.N.I. No. ... we proceed to draw up an
OCULAR INSPECTION REPORT on - That this is all that needs to be
stated for the record, by
The act is hereby terminated, after reading and ratifying all its contents, and
is signed by the officer and the witness of the act.

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CROQUIS SIGNATURE OF THE AUTHOR OF THE SKETCH

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SEQUENCED SKETCH

l) SCENE OF THE EVENT

m) PLACE FROM WHERE THE SHOT WAS FIRED
n) SEIZURE OF THE WALLET
o) S.A. PREHENSION
SIGNATURE OF THE PERSON WHO MADE THE SKETCH

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TESTIMONIALS

THE WITNESS IN GENERAL

DEFINITION
It is the person who has personal knowledge of facts related to the
subject matter of the proceeding. It is important to clarify whether the person
knows the facts from personal perception or from third parties. If this is so,
(hearsay), the value of their statements can probably be lower. Nor can they
be required to make personal judgments or opinions on the facts they have
perceived, as this is a jurisdictional task.

OBJECT
In the investigation, what matters is not only the truth about the facts
denounced, but also the truth about the facts that may prove their commission
or the responsibility of the participants. That is to say, all those aspects
related to the procedural object.

OATH
Witnesses shall be required to take an oath under penalty of the
provisions of arts. 275 and 276 of the Penal Code.
"Art. Any witness, expert or interpreter who affirms a falsehood or denies or
conceals the truth, in whole or in part, in his deposition, report, translation
or interpretation made before the competent authority, shall be punished
with imprisonment from one month to four years.
If the false testimony is committed in a criminal case, to the detriment
of the accused, the penalty shall be from one to ten years of confinement
or imprisonment.
In all cases, the offender shall also be subject to absolute
disqualification for twice the term of the sentence.

Art. 276.- The penalty for a false witness, expert or interpreter whose testimony was
given by means of bribery shall be aggravated by a fine equal to double the
amount offered or received.
The briber shall suffer the penalty of the simple false witness."

DUTY TO INQUIRE AND MANDATORY NATURE OF TESTIMONY

Pursuant to the provisions of art. 231 of the C.P.P.
"Art. 231.- DUTY TO INVESTIGATE. Any person with knowledge of the facts under
investigation shall be questioned, when his statement may be useful to discover the
truth."

The expression every person does not set any age limit; they may be
adults or minors. We will see below the particularities of the testimony of a
16-year-old minor. It is important to emphasize that there is an obligation to
exhaust all evidentiary measures arising from the investigation, and in this
sense to attend the court summons and declare the truth of what is known and
questioned, as an obligation on the part of the witness. Art. 232.

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GENERAL PROVISIONS OF THE LAW

The C.P.P. refers to the general provisions of the law in art. 240,
which transcribed textually reads:
"Art. 240.- FORM OF DECLARATION. Before beginning the testimony,
the witnesses shall be instructed about the penalty of false testimony and
shall take an oath, under penalty of nullity, with the exception of those
under 16 years of age and of those convicted as participants in the crime
under investigation or in a related crime.
Immediately, each witness will be questioned separately, requesting
his or her name, surname, status, age, profession, domicile, kinship and
interest in the parties, and any other circumstance that may be useful to
assess his or her veracity.
If the witness may refrain from testifying, he/she shall be warned,
under penalty of nullity, that he/she has the right to do so, and this shall be
recorded.
He shall then be questioned about the fact, if applicable, in
accordance with Article 145.
For each declaration, minutes shall be drawn up in accordance with
Articles 147 and 148.
At the request of the witness the intervening Magistrate shall order
the custody of his person and/or relatives and/or property of the witness,
when there is a well-founded fear of harm to them."

Specifically, when asking about the general provisions of the law, the
following questions should be asked:
• Name, type and number of identity document, age, status, profession and
address;
• If he/she is a spouse or relative of any of the parties involved in the case
and to what degree;
• If you are a creditor, debtor or have any other relationship of interest or
dependence with any of them;
• If you have a direct or indirect interest in the case or other similar case,
e.g., the victim, the injured party
• If he/she is a close friend or a manifest enemy of those involved in the
process.
IF ANY OF THE GROUNDS ARE PRESENT, CONSULT

IDENTITY RESERVE.
The Code imposes on the magistrate the need to safeguard the
identity and other data of the witness at the request of the interested party. In
these cases, as well as in the case of a complainant who requests it, the
testimony must be taken in two copies. One of them with all the declarant's
data and signature shall be kept in a safe deposit box, and another one
without the data identifying the witness and without the signature shall be
added to the file until there is a judicial disposition ordering its knowledge.
Art. 232. Third paragraph.
“... Likewise, and at the request of the interested party, the
intervening magistrate shall safeguard the identity and other data of the
witness. Such situation shall apply until such time as it is not required by the
defense for the purposes of the exercise of the pertinent constitutional
guarantees."
POWER OF ABSTENTION

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Pursuant to the provisions of Article 233 of the C.P.P. After

identifying the relationship between the accused and the witness, the witness
has the right to testify or refrain from testifying. This is perhaps one of the
most difficult legal provisions to apply. The Provincial Constitution and the
procedural law especially protect the incoercibility to testify of those persons
linked to the accused in any of the established ways. This means that the
persons involved CANNOT BE COMPELLED TO DECLARE in the case,
because the law has privileged other principles over the one that supports the
discovery of the real truth in the process.
This in no way means that they cannot testify if they wish to do so,
since they are specially empowered to choose whether or not to testify.
The official who, at the time of questioning the witness on the
generalities of the law, finds that the witness has a relationship with the
accused mentioned in the law, which includes him among those entitled to
refrain from testifying, must question him about his decision. In the event
that the latter opts for a refusal, it immediately causes the termination of the
procedural act, but this does not mean that the veracity of the invocation
should not be confirmed, either through other witnesses, or independent
investigations of the commissioner, or any other form of accreditation at the
discretion of the Prosecutor or Assistant Prosecutor.

"Article 233.- ABSTENTION FACULTY. They may abstain from testifying

against the accused his spouse, ascendant, descendant or sibling, his
collateral relatives up to the fourth degree of consanguinity or second
degree of affinity, his guardian or ward, or person with whom he cohabits
in apparent marriage."

TABLE OF KINSHIP BY CONSANGUINITY

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3rd
grade
Nephew

4th grade
Sobrino Nieto

AFFINITY RELATIONSHIP CHART

DUTY OF ABSTENTION
Provided for in art. 234 of the C.P.P., supposes a prohibition on the
part of some subjects to testify about secret facts that have come to their
knowledge under penalty of nullity.

"Art. 234.- DUTY OF ABSTENTION. The following shall abstain from testifying on secret
facts that have come to their knowledge by reason of their own state, office or
profession, under penalty of nullity: Ministers of an admitted cult, lawyers, attorneys and
notaries; physicians, pharmacists, midwives and other auxiliaries in the art of healing;
military and public officials on State secrets.
However, these persons may not deny the testimony when they are released by the
interested party from the duty of secrecy, with the exception of those mentioned in the
first term.
If the witness erroneously invokes this duty with respect to a fact that cannot be covered by
it, the witness shall be proceeded with without further questioning."

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CLASSIFICATION

BY AGE

OVER 16 YEARS OLD

The characteristic that the testimonial statement is under oath to tell
the truth implies that testimony may be received from anyone who is 16
years of age or older.

UNDER 16 YEARS OF AGE

Traditionally, they receive briefings. The correct thing to do is to
receive an unsworn witness statement.

BY THE LINKAGE TO THE FACT

VICTIM - VICTIMIZED
The victim of the crime is the offended individual, who may or may
not coincide with the injured party, since the latter is indirectly harmed by
the crime. Ex. a cab driver who was robbed at gunpoint and had his vehicle
vandalized is a victim of crime. The injured party is the cab owner who
indirectly suffers the consequences of the criminal act (damaged vehicle,
inability to make it work, etc.). The injured party is given a testimonial under
the terms of art. 231 et seq. of the C.P.P.. When he is only an injured party,
he is made aware of art. 33 of the C.P.P. (possibility of bringing a civil action
in criminal proceedings). When the injured party and the victim coincide in
the same person, he/she is made aware of art. 108 (victim's rights) which
refers to arts. 10 (possibility of becoming a private plaintiff) and 33 of the
Criminal Code.

"Art. 108. VICTIM OF THE CRIME. The victim of the crime shall
have the right to be informed about the powers he/she may
exercise in the process.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, they shall also be entitled to:
a) To be treated with dignity and respect by the competent
authorities.
b) Be informed by the corresponding office about the powers it may
exercise in criminal proceedings, especially the right to become a
civil plaintiff.
c) Be informed about the status of the case and the situation of the
accused.
d) When the person is a minor or incapable, the judicial body may
authorize that during the procedural acts in which he/she
intervenes, he/she be accompanied by a person of his/her trust,
provided that this does not jeopardize the interest of obtaining the
real truth of what happened.
e) The protection of their physical and moral integrity, including that
of their family.

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f) In proceedings related to domestic violence, the intervening

magistrate, after hearing the Public Prosecutor's Office, may
order, at the request of the victim or of a legal representative or of
the Public Prosecutor's Office, as a precautionary measure, and by
means of a well-founded resolution, the exclusion or, as the case
may be, the prohibition of the accused from entering the victim's
home. The same shall apply when the crime has been committed
to the detriment of a person living under the same roof and there
are reasons to presume the repetition of acts of the same nature.
The measure shall be ordered after the accusation, taking into account
the characteristics and seriousness of the alleged act, as well as the
personal and particular circumstances of the alleged perpetrator. Once
the reasons that forced the adoption of the measure have ceased to
exist, in the judgment of the magistrate, and if necessary at the
request of the interested party or the Ministerio Pupilar, the
immediate lifting of the measure shall be ordered.
The rights recognized in this article shall be announced by the police
or judicial body at the time of the first procedural proceeding with the
victim or his assignees, under penalty of nullity of the act.
The rights referred to in this article are also recognized to
associations, foundations and other entities, in crimes affecting
collective or diffuse interests, provided that the purpose of the
grouping is directly related to such interests.

CIVIL ACTOR - PRIVATE PLAINTIFF:

Arts. 10 and 33 of the C.P.P., establish:

"Art. 10.- PRIVATE PLAINTIFF. The person criminally offended by

a crime of public action, his forced heirs, legal representatives or
agents, may intervene in the process as a private plaintiff in the
special manner established by this Code, and without prejudice to
the joint exercise of the civil action for compensation. If the
private plaintiff becomes, at the same time, a civil plaintiff, he/she
may file both instances in a single pleading, in compliance with
the requirements set forth for each act.
The same right will have any person against public officials, who
in the exercise of their function or on the occasion of it, have
violated human rights; when it is a matter of crimes committed by
officials who have abused their position as well as against those
who commit crimes that harm diffuse interests.
In all cases, the intervening Court may order the unification of the
plaintiffs if the number of plaintiffs hinders the agility of the
process.

CIVIL ACTION.
Art. 33.- Exercise. Headlines. Limitations. The civil action aimed at
obtaining the restitution of the object that is the subject matter of
the crime and the compensation for the damage caused may only
be brought by the direct victim, even if he is not the victim of the
crime, or his heirs within the limits of his share of the inheritance,
or by the legal representatives or agents thereof, against the

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participants in the crime and, if applicable, against the civilly

liable party.The civil action to obtain the restitution of the object
of the crime and compensation for the damage caused may only be
brought by the direct victim, even if he is not the victim of the
crime, or his heirs within the limits of his hereditary quota, or by
their legal representatives or agents, against the participants in the
crime and, as the case may be, against the civilly liable party. Civil
action may only be brought in criminal proceedings in the case of
an intentional crime and in the case of culpable crimes only in the
case of homicide. These limitations shall not apply in cases of
connection of cases in which other crimes are charged in addition
to those listed or where there is an ideal concurrence of crimes
between them".

It is important to note that the constitution of a private plaintiff does not exempt
him from testifying as a witness, which is why he is subject to the same obligation to
testify as the rest of the witnesses (Art. 106). The same applies to the civil plaintiff.

BY LINKAGE TO THE ACCUSED

VICTIMS
One of the innovations of the C.P.P. the incorporation of the figure of
the victim in art. 108 of the C.P.P . Transcribed in the previous point, it is
also important at the time of the general provisions of the law.

FRIEND or ENEMY.
See the general law - See the general law - See the general law

CHIEF DEPENDENT PARTNER

See the general law - See the general law - See the general law

SPECIAL CASES

CITIZENS WITH SPECIAL TREATMENT.

The Code provides for a series of exceptions to the obligation to appear in
person at the court to give testimony, based on the hierarchy of the public office of
the witness. In these cases, the statement shall be produced in writing, under oath.
Also, depending on the importance attributed to the statement by the Prosecutor, the
witness may be heard at his official residence (office), when the parties may not
question the witness directly.
In the event that the reference witnesses waive the special treatment, the statement
shall be taken without any difference from the normal.

"Art. 241.- SPECIAL TREATMENT. The following shall not be required

to appear: the President and Vice President of the Nation; the
Governors and Vice Governors of the Provinces; the Ministers and
Legislators; the members of the Judicial Power, national and provincial

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and of the Military Courts; the Diplomatic Ministers and General

Consuls; the Senior Officers of the Armed Forces in activity; the high
dignitaries of the Church legally recognized by the Argentine Republic
and the Rectors of the Official Universities; the President of the Court
of Accounts, the State Prosecutor, the Government Advisor and the
Directors of the General Security Inspectorate.-
Depending on the importance attributed to the testimony, these
persons shall testify at their official residence or by written report, in
which they shall state that they are testifying under oath. In the first
case, they may not be questioned directly by the parties or their
counsel.

However, the named witnesses may waive the special treatment."

PEOPLE WHO DO NOT SPEAK THE NATIONAL LANGUAGE.

While art. 141 establishes the obligation that all procedural
acts must be carried out in the national language under penalty of
nullity, Art. 260 regarding interpreters establishes the following
exception: "An interpreter shall be appointed when it is necessary to
translate documents drawn up or statements to be made in a language
other than the national language. During the preparatory criminal
investigation the deponent may write his statement, which shall
be added to the record."
PROCEDURE: a) Designation of the interpreter. The
Professional Office is requested by official letter to designate by
lottery an expert interpreter for the language required.
b) The expert must accept the position, and the parties may
excuse or challenge it. It governs the provisions on experts (art. 261).
c) The witness statement shall be taken in the presence of the
expert interpreter (art. 260 of the C.P.P.). However, during the
preparatory criminal investigation, the deponent may write down his
statement, which will be added to the record, to be later duly
translated by the interpreter (Art. 247 2nd paragraph).

EXCEPTION TO THE OATH

As previously stated, minors should not testify under oath to tell the truth;
the record should omit this aspect. The same applies to those convicted as participants in the
crime under investigation or in a related crime (with a final sentence).

"Art. 240.- DECLARATION FORM. Before beginning their testimony,

witnesses shall be instructed on the penalty of false testimony and shall take an oath,
under penalty of nullity, with the exception of those under 16 years of age and those
convicted as participants in the crime under investigation or in a related crime. "

DEAF, DUMB AND ILLITERATE.

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See art. 148 C.P.P.

This issue has already been addressed in the general aspect of
the minutes.

PREVENTED FROM ATTENDING THE JUDICIAL UNIT

"Art. 242.- HOME EXAMINATION. Persons who are unable to attend the Court or
Prosecutor's Office of Instruction because they are physically unable to do so, shall be
examined at their home."

There are occasions when people are physically unable to move around, which
is why they should be questioned in the places where they are (e.g. hospital). In this regard,
it is worth mentioning some differences with other cases in which people are interrogated
outside the investigation site. With respect to the present case, the law exempts only those
persons who are physically handicapped. This is the difference with respect to those who
can declare in their official offices (Special treatment art. 241 C.P.P.), or with those who
reside far from the seat, who declare by office (Residents outside the city art. 236 C.P.P.) -
Likewise, it must be clarified that when the law refers to domicile, this term is interpreted as
"place of stay", which may be a Hospital, the house of a relative, etc. The only difference
between this act and any other is that in the heading of the act it will not be enough to say
"In the city of Mendoza ..." because the general rule of presuming that the judicial officer
receives the testimonies in his public office is broken, and therefore it will be necessary to
clarify the place where the Judicial Unit is constituted for the act (as accurately as possible).

WITNESS FROM ANOTHER PROVINCE

Law 22.172 art. 10. The intervening Prosecutor's Office must request it, for the
sole purpose of receiving a statement in the Court with jurisdiction in his domicile,
accompanying the questionnaire on which he will have to answer.

GENERAL MINUTES

COMMON WITNESS STATEMENT

In the city of Mendoza, on the .... days of the month of ... of the year
two thousand........At ..., a person who is required to testify in the
present summary proceedings appeared before the Assistant Public
Prosecutor and Judicial Police Assistant. She was informed of the
purpose of the act and the penalties for false testimony, and was sworn
in legal form. He was then questioned about his name, surname and
other personal conditions, answering that his name was ... ..., be of
nationality ..., of ... years of age, marital status ..., profession ..., ..., ...
instruction and address in calle ... Nº ..., of Barrio ..., of ..., of ... city,
telephone: ..., proving his identity by means of D.N.I. Nº ..., which he
exhibits and retains. Asked about the other general provisions of the

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law that were previously explained to them, she SAID: That she knows
them and that ... understand them. That interrogated about the fact
under investigation, of which she is informed, DECLARES:
.................................................................................................................
... . That what has been stated is all that he has to declare, with which
the act is concluded, which after being read out loud, ratifying all its
contents, signing the appearance after Mr. Assistant District Attorney
before the undersigned Assistant District Attorney SIGNATURE
ASSISTANT D.A.P. SIGNATURE

JUDICIAL POLICE ASSISTANT SIGNATURE WITNESS (FOR

CLARIFICATIONS, ADDENDA, REMOVALS or AMENDMENTS
and REOPENING THE PROCEEDINGS, SEE BELOW)

TESTIMONIAL STATEMENT OF MINORS.

In the city of Mendoza, on the .... days of the month of .... of the year
two thousand...., at .... hours, appeared before the Assistant Prosecutor
and Judicial Police Assistant, a person, who must give a testimonial
statement in the present proceedings, and who is exempted from taking
the oath due to his age. After being informed of the object of the act, he
is interrogated about his name, surname and other personal
conditions, answering that his name is ..., his nationality is ..., of ...
years of age, of civil status ..., of profession ..., ... education and
domicile in calle ............................................ of ..., of Barrio ...,
telephone number ..., who proves his identity by means of his ID
card. ... that exhibits and retains. Asked about the other generals of the
law, which were previously explained to him, HE SAID: that ...
understand you, ...(if yes, explain why). Hereinafter DECLARES:
That what has been stated is all that he has to declare, with which the
act is terminated, which after being read out loud, ratifying all its
content, signing the appearance after Mr. Assistant District Attorney
before the undersigned Judicial Police Assistant. SIGNATURE
ASSISTANT PROSECUTOR SIGNATURE WITNESS SIGNATURE
ASSISTANT JUDICIAL POLICE ASSISTANT(FOR
CLARIFICATIONS, ADDENDA, REMOVALS or AMENDMENTS
and REOPENING OF THE ACT, SEE BELOW)

ILLITERATE, DEAF AND DUMB

The minutes are the same as the previous ones, but in the case of
illiterate persons, they must be made aware of the provisions of art. 148 of
the C.P.P. in the manner described above

NON-SPANISH SPEAKERS.
The record is the same as the common one, but it must be well clarified and it

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must be recorded in the record, everything that the interpreter said, translating what the
declarant said in his language.

POWER OF ABSTENTION
The act is the same as the common act, and after explaining the general
provisions of the law, it is appropriate to add the following:
Asked about the other generals of the law, which were previously
explained to him, he SAID: that they include him, for being (degree of
kinship or concubinal relationship). In view of the above, the deponent
is made aware of the scope and content of art. 233 of the C.P.P., and
SAID: That it is his will... to make a statement.
Next DECLARES:(if he/she wants to declare)
That what has been stated is all that he has to declare, with which the
act is concluded, which after being read out loud, ratifying all its
contents, signing the appearance after Mr. Assistant District Attorney
before the undersigned Assistant District Attorney.
WITNESS SIGNATURE ASSISTANT FIRM OF
JUDICIAL POLICE
(FOR CLARIFICATIONS, ADDENDA, REMOVALS or
AMENDMENTS and REOPENING OF THE PROCEEDINGS,
SEE BELOW)

PROHIBITION TO DECLARE
When the witness appears to testify, the record begins as they all do, and upon
questioning about the GENERALS OF THE LAW, or less frequently during the course of
the deposition, three different situations may arise:
1) That the witness declares impediment to testify,
because he/she knows that he/she has such impediment.
In this case, it is appropriate to close the record
immediately, trying to verify the cause, and to consult
the proceedings with the intervening Prosecutor's
Office.
2) That whoever notices such impediment is the judicial
officer, depending on the content of the statement, in
which case, the record shall be closed at that moment
and in the state in which it is found WITHOUT
REQUIRING THE WITNESS TO RATIFY OR
RECTIFY ITS CONTENTS OR SIGN IT, and then the
Prosecutor's Office shall be consulted, so that it may
arrange the breakdown of the record in case it is
necessary to do so.
3) If the witness erroneously invokes the prohibition, in
which case the witness will be questioned as provided

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by law.

Art. 233.- DUTY OF ABSTENTION. The following shall abstain from testifying on secret
facts that have come to their knowledge by reason of their own state, office or
profession, under penalty of nullity: Ministers of an admitted cult, lawyers, attorneys and
notaries; physicians, pharmacists, midwives and other auxiliaries in the art of healing;
military and public officials on State secrets.

However, these persons may not deny the testimony when they are released by the
interested party from the duty of secrecy, with the exception of those mentioned in the
first term.
If the witness erroneously invokes this duty with respect to a fact that cannot be covered by
it, the witness shall be proceeded with without further questioning."

The record is the same as the common one, but when the witness states his
relationship with the investigated fact, the following particularity must be added to the
generals of the law

Asked about the other generals of the law, which were previously
explained to him, HE SAID: that they understand him, for being
(mention the reason). In view of what has been stated, the Assistant
District Attorney considers the act concluded, which after being read
aloud, ratifies all its contents, and the person appearing before the
undersigned Assistant District Attorney signs after the Assistant
District Attorney before the undersigned Assistant District Attorney.
WITNESS SIGNATURE SIGNATURE
JUDICIAL POLICE ASSISTANT

MINUTES NOT ABLE TO ATTEND.

The minutes are the same as the common minutes, but the following
clarification must be included in the heading:

At ........ Godoy Cruz, on the ... days of the month of ... of the year two
one thousand..., being ..., , the undersigned Assistant Prosecutor and
Judicial Police Assistant is constituted in calle .... n° ... of B° ... of
this city, (private domicile, hospital, etc.) of a person who must give a
testimonial statement in the present summary proceedings and who
has been exempted from appearing in person because he is unable to
do so. She was informed of the purpose of the act and the penalties for
false testimony, and was sworn in legal form. He was then questioned
about his name, surname and other personal conditions, answering
that his name was .... ..., being of ... nationality ..., of ... years of age, of
civil status ..., of profession ..., ..., ... instruction and address in calle ...
Nº ..., of Barrio ..., of this city, telephone: ..., proving his identity by

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means of Identity Card Nº ..., which he exhibits. Asked about the other
generals of the law that were previously explained to them, she SAID:
That she knows them and that ... understand them. That interrogated
about the fact under investigation, of which she is informed,
DECLARES: .................... What The foregoing is all that he has to
declare, with which the act is concluded, which after being read aloud,
ratifies all its contents, and the person appearing before the
undersigned ASSISTANT PROSECUTOR SIGNATURE ASSISTANT
PROSECUTOR WITNESS SIGNATURE ASSISTANT JUDICIAL
POLICE SIGNATURE........(BY DISCLAIMERS,
ADDENDA, REMOVALS or AMENDMENTS and REOPENING
OF THE PROCEEDINGS, SEE BELOW)

CLARIFICATIONS, ADDENDA, REMOVALS or AMENDMENTS.

When the witness, after the minutes have been read aloud by the
Judicial Police Assistant, makes observations on the content of the same, in
the sense that what is written is not correct or is not complete, it is
appropriate to note such observations as indicated in the example below, as
appropriate.

In the city of Mendoza .................................. That what has been

stated
is all that he has to declare, with which the act is terminated, which
after being read aloud, the witness declares that he wishes to ADD
with respect to ......................... Mentions the deponent who
where it says "... ... ... " should read "... ... ... ... The declarant
clarifies that he made a mistake when he said "...."............. " said
which must be eliminated from the declaration, ratifying the rest of
its content, with the witness signing after the Assistant District
Attorney before the Judicial Police Assistant.

REOPENING OF THE EVENT.

This situation occurs when the act has already ended and the witness
has already signed the record, but for some reason has recalled data of
interest to the investigation, or the officer considers it essential to ask any
other question. The requirement for this reopening is that the witness has not
withdrawn from the Judicial Unit, and that he/she is made aware that the
proceedings are being reopened and the witness continues under the oath
already taken, which is recorded in the manner exemplified below.

In the city ... ... ... . That what has been stated is all that he has to declare, with
which the act is concluded, which after being read aloud, he ratifies its content,
signing it after the Assistant District Attorney before the Judicial Police

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Assistant. SIGNATURE OF
TAX ASSISTANT SIGNATURE FROM
WITNESS SIGNATURE OF THE ASSISTANT
JUDICIAL POLICE

Reopened by the Assistant District Attorney and Judicial Police Assistant, and
the witness was present. ........................................................ a who
is imposed that he continues under the faith of the oath already taken, the same
states that "... ... .... ... ... ". Asked to say ". "What is how much there is
to be recorded, whereupon, at the end of the act, which was previously read
aloud, its contents were ratified, and the person appearing before the Assistant
District Attorney signed after the Assistant District Attorney in the presence of
the Judicial Police Assistant. SIGNATURE OF THE FISCAL ASSISTANT
SIGNATURE OF THE WITNESS SIGNATURE OF
JUDICIAL POLICE ASSISTANT

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