the Supreme Court of Justice Make the sentence final Six years in prison Former Minister of Legality of San Luis Sergio Freixes and his deputy Mario Zabala, members of the government Alberto Rodriguez SATo pressure judges to sign their resignations in advance of taking office.

This case happened 20 years ago, and now, with the court’s final ruling, it has come to an end.

With the final ruling, the former officials must be arrested and serve their sentences in prison. They have been convicted of crimes Coercive threats and Worsening threats For the purpose of obtaining certain measures or privileges by any member of public authorities.

The case was such a scandal in 2004 and 2005 that the intervention of the San Luis judiciary was considered.

The complaint was filed by Marina Zilioto, who, once appointed to the position of chamber judge for which she contested, was asked to participate in a jury trial against her two colleagues from the Appeals Chamber of which she was a member.

All this happened under the threat of activating the memorandum she signed without a date, through which she submitted to the governor of San Luis, Alberto Rodríguez Sa, her resignation from exercising this judicial office. The woman refused and reported him.

On November 1, 2018, the Federal Criminal Oral Court in San Luis issued a five-year prison sentence against the former officials, as co-authors. However, they were acquitted of one of the two acts they were accused of committing.

The defense also appealed for acquittal for the other act, and the prosecution demanded conviction for the act committed on October 28, 2004. On that day, the then Minister and the then Deputy Minister for Legal Affairs summoned the victim, as well as the rest of the candidates who made up the shortlists to fill the vacant positions, to demand – on pain of not sending the document to the Senate – that they sign their resignation from the position for those who competed.

The Attorney General’s Office said: “The illegal maneuver that was carried out consisted of the judges of the judicial authority in that province submitting the designs of the executive authority in that region.”

In 2019, the Fourth Chamber of the Federal Criminal Court of Cassation convicted the former officials of Zavala and Freix by majority also in the second act and increased their sentence to six years in prison.

The defenses were resumed. With the addition of a new fact, another cassation chamber reviewed the case and judges Daniel Petrón, Juan Carlos Gemignani and Carlos Maquis (in partial dissent) confirmed the conviction of Frakes and Zabala.

The defenses filed a “complaint” with the Supreme Court. They questioned their case for reviewing the ruling, the legal classification, and the penalty imposed. They said that principle Not repeated in itself And guarantee a reasonable period.

Rosati, Rosencrantz and Lorenzetti rejected the proposals because they were deemed unacceptable, under Section 280 of the National Civil and Commercial Procedure Code.

In this case, Poder Ciudadano filed an amicus curiae. He said that republican forms of government should be protected, stressing the independence of the judiciary and the human right to access justice.

How did they work?

By amending the Basic Law of Judicial Administration, in 2004, the process of selecting judges became entrusted to the Ministry of Sharia, which is charged with Freex and ZavalaWho required their positions to appoint judges.

In this way, a clear subordination of judicial power to the executive branch of San Luis County was created, because every time a judge acted contrary to the interests of the executive branch or the orders it imposed on judges, they had the power to remove him through “resignation” and choose another who responded to their needs.

Given the seriousness of the events and the violation of independence between the authorities, Poder Ciudadano stressed that the solution to this issue goes beyond the parties concerned.