Today, at Palacio San Martín, Foreign Minister Mondino and Minister of Justice Mariano Cúneo Libarona opened a training event on the adversarial system for judges, in the context of the programme for implementation of the Argentine Federal Code of Criminal Procedure (CPPN), launched by the Ministry of Justice.
During the opening of the event, Foreign Minister Mondino stated that “this event bears witness to the cooperation efforts between our Ministries in the development of public policies and is part of the change needed for Argentina to be able to grow again.” She then added that “Argentina is strongly committed to international standards set by organisations such as the OECD and FATF on this subject, and we are convinced that their enforcement will result in the strengthening of justice and the establishment of clear rules for all the actors seeking the economic development of our country and a social life in peace.”
For his part, Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona asserted that “the challenge we face has to do with enforcing the reform law and ensuring that investigations may be conducted. We do not intend to meddle with the Judiciary. Our duty is to provide it with tools, legal and procedural codes, structure, training and the necessary technology so that it can improve. Our duty is to make sure prosecutors have all the necessary means to pursue an investigation. We need to change Argentina and we also need to change the Argentine Judiciary, so that it can be effective, serious and, above all, expeditious.”
The event, organized and implemented by the Undersecretary for Criminal Policy of the Ministry of Justice, in collaboration with the Foreign Ministry’s General Directorate for International Legal Advice, is part of the implementation programme of the Argentine Federal Code of Criminal Procedure (CPPN), which introduces the adversarial system into federal courts, as well as into courts having jurisdiction in the City of Buenos Aires.
This initiative is part of a programme promoted by the British Embassy in Argentina, in collaboration with judges and legal scholars from the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple and the University College London (UCL).
The programme began with online training for trainers, followed by two in-person training courses in Argentina, one held last May and a second one this month, with the attendance of British experts.
The training event held today at Palacio San Martín included a first module that addressed the differences between the adversarial system in the US and in the UK, and a second module on case management and strategies to prepare for hearings and to produce evidence in complex cases, among other topics.
The implementation of the CPPN at the federal level is one of the recommendations given by the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions. Following this recommendation requires the Argentine Government’s best efforts and will be subject to the Working Group’s evaluation during 2025 and early 2026.
