ARGENTINA ENDS ITS MILITARY JUSTICE SYSTEM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BUENOS AIRES 001239 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/21/2018 TAGS: PHUM MARR PGOV PREL KJUS AR SUBJECT: ARGENTINA ENDS ITS MILITARY JUSTICE SYSTEM Classified By: Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne for reasons 1.4 (b and d). ¶1. (C) Summary: The Argentine Senate on August 6 completed the legislative journey for a law abolishing the Argentine military justice system, a change pressed forward by Minister of Defense Garre. The step fulfills a promise Argentina made to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and resolves many areas of conflict between the civilian criminal code and military code. Both ruling and opposition legislators broadly and almost unanimously supported the move, though some in the opposition voiced concern about plans for the provision of a military justice system for times of war. Argentina's uniformed military leadership had been disappointed for some time that Garre did not advocate a well-developed plan to reform rather than abolish the military justice system. They were mollified by the decision to use military justices in wartime and the continuance of administrative tools of military discipline. End Summary. ¶2. (U) In response to legislation put forward by the executive branch and passed in December 2007 in the Chamber of Deputies, the Argentine Senate voted unanimously August 6 to eliminate the country's military code of justice. Subsequent Senate votes on specific articles included some dissent and passed 40 to 20. The legislation will bring to an end, in six months time, a military justice system that offered those in uniform s separate judicial track for crimes committed whether on or off duty. Military justice also included the death penalty for certain crimes, something not allowed for under the civil criminal code. ¶3. (U) Specifically, the reform will mean that members of the military will be subjected to civilian proceedings for crimes committed during peacetime and to a new military disciplinary code for infractions of military rules. Former penalties such as time in a "stockade" will be replaced by fines or confinement to quarters. The new disciplinary code will exclude punishment for homosexuality and incorporates new penalties for discrimination or sexual harassment. The new law envisions development of a military criminal procedure exclusively for times of war, an aspect that raised concerns among opponents who felt it could create an opening for government human rights violations under the guise of a security crisis. Argentina, some senators noted, had a history of leaders exploiting armed conflict or external threat to violate the rights of political opponents. Commitment to the IACHR -------------- ¶4. (U) The reform reportedly fulfills a commitment Argentina made in 2004 to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. IACHR interest was based on a case brought in 1997 by Argentine Army Captain Rodolfo Correa, who had been imprisoned for testifying against a superior officer regarding the 1994 death of a conscript. Although a reform in 1984 had given civilian appeals courts the right to review military verdicts, it did not clearly establish a process for personal legal actions. Defense Minister Nilda Garre launched the reform effort in 2006, leading a team of legal experts, including current Supreme Court Justice Eugenio Zaffaroni, to draft the new law. ¶5. (U) Reaction to the move by human rights activists ws positive, although some raised practical and philosophical concerns about setting up a military justice in time of war. Gaston Chillier, director of the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS),said it "will avoid both privileges and lack of warrants in the military." The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo described it as an important advance, as did the "founding line" (linea fundadora) of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo. ¶6. (C) DATT and MILGP contacts among the military leadership have shared their concerns over the abolition of the military justice system. A reform proposal that had attracted significant support from within the military had been under consideration at the time of Nilda Garre's assumption of the Ministry, but she reportedly felt it did not go far enough. In response to her move to abolish the code, military leadership pressed strongly for the compromise of authorizing the stand-up of a military justice system during wartime. Although accepting of the compromise, officers have expressed unease over how quickly military judges can be instated during a conflict. One thought is to convert military lawyers into judges as required. The military may not have BUENOS AIR 00001239 002 OF 002 fought these changes as hard as might be expected because a system of administrative discipline for lesser offenses is already in place and working well. ¶7. (SBU) Comment: Argentina's deep-seated problems with a military justice system may seem odd to those from countries in which such systems function well (e.g., our own nation). The reason is rooted in the country's history of human rights abuses, especially the military regime's "Dirty War" of the 1970s and 1980s. Argentina's military code went much further than military codes in other countries and left open the door to abuse, either to protect the members of the military from appropriate punishment or to punish some inappropriately. Given that many remember the military regime's excesses, the reform was greeted by most citizens with approval. The decision to abolish rather than reform the code raises some practical challenges for the military, but military leadership has professionally accepted the change without a public protest. End Comment. WAYNE