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| The moment of the voting |
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| Governor Ricardo Quintela |
In a very special day, which ended with sustained applause, the House of Representatives of La Rioja unanimously passed three laws that will fundamentally change its justice system and will surely influence all of northern Argentina.
This includes a top tier jury trial law, the implementation of the adversarial system and the organic law of the judiciary.
It's a complete revolution for the Northwest. After this breakthrough, only four provinces and some federal districts remain with a mixed inquisitorial process.
It was the culmination of a long legislative and training process that took almost four years (2022 Governor Quintela sends the bill), with significant participation from the AAJJ and INECIP.
The main change is the elimination of the investigating judge, who currently concentrates the functions of investigation and judgment, undermining the principle of impartiality. The reform adopts oral and public trials and hearings in every stage of the procedures. Furthermore, serious crimes will be tried by twelve jurors.
The initiative's enthusiastic support was such that even the opposition endorsed it with a landmark speech by the UCR party leader, Gustavo Galván, in defense of the jury and the adversarial oral system.
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| Representative Galván UCR La Rioja |
According to Governor Ricardo Quintela , who promoted the initiative, this represents "a step toward a more accessible, modern, and participatory justice system".
In this regard, the governor stated on his Twitter account: "With the implementation of the adversarial system and trial by jury, we will move toward a more agile, transparent judicial system with the participation of the citizenship".
THE JURY LAW
The law establishes the classic model with twelve jurors, gender parity and conducted by a presiding judge. It will adjudicate crimes with sentences of 20 or more years in prison, such as homicide, rape, and other serious crimes.
The judge will instruct the jury on the law, then send the jury to deliberate in secret until the jurors reach a unanimous, general and final verdict. The law specifically provides for an innovation regarding gender perspectives in the instructions.
“…When the case involves female victims or defendants, the judge will include instructions with gender perspective, explaining in a simple and concrete manner the evidentiary law and the applicable law, taking into account the context of the case, ensuring the equal interpretation and application of the law…”
The parties will present evidence and testimony in open court and the jury will assess the facts based on that evidence.
There will be several pre-trial hearings to admit or exclude evidence, based on objective criteria of relevance, reliability, and lack of prejudice, which can be reviewed by another judge in the event of disagreement.
The verdict must be unanimous, both for conviction and acquittal; if the twelve votes are not reached and the jury is deadlocked, the case may be retried by another jury once more. In the event of guilt, a subsequent hearing will be held to determine the sentence with judge alone.
Acquittal verdicts are final and have the authority of res judicata, except in cases of bribery or coercion.
To be a juror, you must be Argentine, between 18 and 70 years old, be literate, have resided in the province for at least two years, and not be legally disqualified. Judicial officials, active members of the security forces, political and religious leaders, and others are excluded. Jurors will be selected by public lottery and will be updated every two years.
There is also a voir dire with four peremptories and limitless challenges for cause, ensuring the impartiality of the jury.
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| Minister Pedro Goycochea |
Pedro Goyochea, minister of justice, stated that the jury will begin in 2026: “We had an inquisitorial system, where the investigating judge carried out in writing the investigation of the cases submitted to jurisdiction for criminal acts. Now that investigative capacity is transferred to the prosecutors and the investigating judge becomes a real judge in public hearings”.
The official explained how a jury trial works and maintained that the mechanism is similar to that seen in Hollywood movie trials. "There is a defense, a plaintiff, the prosecutor, the judge presiding over the case, and the 12 people who will be present and who will follow all stages of the trial. Once the arguments conclude, the jury must decide whether to convict or acquit the defendant. To do so, the jury will retire to deliberate in secret and then deliver its unanimous verdict. The jury's decision is final; there is no appeal if there is an acquittal", he reported.
"In this second half of the year, intensive training will be carried out. With the system changing, we need to train not only judicial officials but also those who act as assistants and work in this field, such as lawyers", he explained.
The official emphasized that these training sessions will be conducted jointly with UNLaR "and will involve scholars and lawyers who will introduce them to this new dynamic. It's a qualitative leap that allows all these criminal proceedings to be conducted much more efficiently and quickly, resolving issues submitted to local jurisdiction ", he commented.
Read the news here:
- Rioja Virtual (15/05/25): "La Rioja tendrá juicio por jurados y sistema acusatorio" (ver)
- INECIP (15/05/25): "La Rioja aprobó la implementación del sistema acusatorio con juicios por jurados" (ver)
