The government wants to declare that corruption cases are not subject to statute of limitations To do this, this fix will be merged into New Penal Code They said that Congress would send special sessions Nation Official sources.
The text of the new draft penal code was a mammoth task undertaken by a committee of jurists and judges, coordinated by the judge Mariano Borinski.
The Minister of Justice, Mariano Cuneo Libarona, also worked on the text; Deputy Minister Sebastian Amerio is currently in the offices of Security Minister Patricia Bullrich.
A source from the Ministry of Security said that this latest measure is where this novelty is incorporated, which will be part of the official draft that the government plans to send to Congress. Nation.
“It is under study”Sources in the Ministry of Justice said.
Crimes are dropped when a period similar to the maximum penalty prescribed for that crime elapses without a final ruling, from the day the illegal act was committed. There are some crimes that do not have a statute of limitations, such as crimes against humanity or attacks against democracy. The statute of limitations relates to the right of people to be tried within a reasonable period of time.
The reform, if approved, would not be applied backwards in time, but could be applied in time New corruption cases They have been reported and committed since the new penal code came into force. That is, in complaints after the approval of the new law and in events after its approval in Congress.
The draft penal code increases penalties for acts of corruption by up to 15 years In cases Unjust enrichment and 10 years In cases Bribes. Today the maximum sentences are six years.
There has been an ideological debate about whether corruption crimes do not have a statute of limitations. In October 2016, the Second Chamber of the Federal Chamber of La Plata declared that corruption crimes had no statute of limitations. The deputy was present in the case Elisa Carrillo like Amicus curiae In favor of no statute of limitations.
In 2018, judges of the Cassation Chamber Juan Carlos Gemignani and Gustavo Hornos They have canceled the prescription of the case IBM-DGI He ordered a trial to be held. In opposition, Borinski voted in favor of prescription.
This ruling was appealed to the court by the votes of the judges Horacio Rosati, Juan Carlos Maceda, and Riccardo LorenzettiThey retracted it in conjunction with the opinion of interim lawyer Eduardo Casal. They ordered a new ruling.
The court did not rule out the non-existence of corruption crimes, but rather questioned the way in which the Federal Court of Cassation ruled to reach this conclusion, as it understood that the two votes for the events that occurred between 1993 and 1995 were not close. That is, they did not constitute a majority because of the subtle differences between them.
The government’s idea, if approved by President Javier Miley, is to send the bill to Congress in extraordinary sessions, in December, and have it discussed by a committee composed of two chambers of representatives and senators.
This is the same mechanism that was used in the test Civil and Commercial Code of the Argentine Nation (CCCN)was promoted by a committee headed by Riccardo Lorenzetti, then President of the Supreme Court of Justice, with Elena Hayton di Nolasco and Aida Kemmiller de Carlucci. This committee began its work in 2012 and the code was approved in 2014.
Through this mechanism, the government wants to save time, as a joint opinion can be issued by members of both chambers, which will facilitate parliamentary debate, because it will avoid referring the project from one chamber to another in the event of amendments.
Interior Minister Diego Santilli – they said Nation Sources of that portfolio: He included the issue of the new penal code in his tour with the governors whom he met in an effort to agree on the approval of the budget law and labor reform, which are the government’s two priorities.
He added: “There is a consensus that there must be a reform of the penal code. Now, there will be a discussion with Kirchnerism, which will oppose reforms related to legitimate defense, the role of the police, and aggravating circumstances for the possession of weapons of war or civilian use.” Nation Source from the Ministry of Justice.
As for weapons, mere possession of weapons without a permit is punishable by up to four years in prison and carrying them becomes non-paroleable.
Borinski presented on Friday the content of the new draft penal code in Posadas, Misiones, along with the new accusatory criminal procedure code, which will govern since March in that province.
The content of the new penal code was presented in Ezeiza prison, on October 2, by President Javier Miley and Patricia Bullrich, before one hundred judges and prosecutors. The show, in the middle of the election campaign, included prisoner wards that could be seen behind the stage.
The project proposes four aspects: tightening sentences in general, eliminating the statute of limitations, effective implementation of sentences, and limiting the early release of convicts.
For example, the minimum and maximum thresholds are raised for a large number of crimes. he Murder Al-Basit goes from the current prison sentence of eight to 25 years to 10 to 30 years. The aggravated life sentence now applies if the victims of murder are the president, chief of staff, ministers, police officers, teachers, children or people over 65 years of age. The same is true if it happened on a football field, in a school, or in prison.
Protection has been enhanced VictimsWith greater involvement in the criminal process. And it regulates “false complaint” With tougher penalties, especially in cases where a parent is accused of committing sexual crimes in order to prevent them from seeing their children.
Crimes Child pornography Penalties are compounded by up to nine years for possession and up to 12 years for whoever possesses it to distribute it. The same thing happens with Human traffickingThe penalty increases to ten years and to 15 years if it is aggravated.
New behaviors are incorporated, such as “Stealth“, which involves surreptitiously removing the condom during sexual intercourse. f sexual harassment In workplace, teaching or nursery settings. Penalties are also being tightened Grooming And represents Revenge porn.
The form of theft has been fixed, especially the incorporation of the “Motorcycle planes” also “Black widows“, with non-parole penalties of up to 10 years in prison when the crime is committed with violence against people.
It is also listed as a crime Pyramid scam The punishment for a crime rape To 10 years.
A prison sentence of between 2 and 5 years is imposed for assaults committed in Demonstrations Or gatherings of people. If the attack is directed against a police officer or other public employee, the penalty increases to 3 to 9 years.
Moreover, it is considered Imprescriptible Particularly serious crimes, such as aggravated murder, sexual offences, drug trafficking, corruption of minors, trafficking and terrorism.
On the other hand, with the new penal code, conditional death sentences were reduced and minimum sentences were raised to more than three years, so that in 82 percent of crimes the minimum sentence was actual compliance. Cases of early release of convicted persons have also decreased.
The current Penal Code was approved in 1921. During these 105 years, 15 constitutional governments and six dictatorships passed, 18 reform commissions were established and more than a thousand laws providing for amendments and corrections were approved.