Judge Orders Preventive Suspension
On Monday, Judge Marta Elba Pascual, head of the Juvenile Criminal Responsibility Court No. 2 of Lomas de Zamora, ordered the preventive suspension for 60 days of the new Juvenile Penal Regime in the province of Buenos Aires. The measure came in response to a collective habeas corpus filed by the Federation Familia Grande Hogar de Cristo on behalf of adolescents deprived of liberty. The ruling was issued just two days after the national entry into force of Law 27.801, which lowers the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 14 years.[S1][S2][S3]
The judge's decision focuses on the province's capacity to implement the new system. In her ruling, Pascual questioned whether the State can expand the universe of adolescents subject to the criminal responsibility system without creating the material, institutional, and professional conditions essential to meet constitutional and conventional standards governing any deprivation of liberty during adolescence. She argued that the reform will cause a considerable increase in the number of minors detained, both due to new admissions and longer stays in detention centers.[S1][S2][S4]
Concerns Over Detention Conditions
To justify the suspension, the court referenced inspections at the Socioeducational Center for the Deprivation of Liberty Ambulatoria in Lomas de Zamora, where a maximum capacity of 60 adolescents had previously been set due to failure to meet minimum standards. Although the ruling acknowledged recent improvements in infrastructure, drinking water, and food, it noted persistent deficiencies in access to education, vocational training, employment, and the limitation of isolation periods. These issues were described as recurrent across various provincial facilities, according to information provided by the Provincial Organism for Children and Adolescents.[S1][S4][S6]
The judge warned that overcrowding inevitably increases levels of insecurity and violence within the establishments themselves. She emphasized that detention conditions directly influence the levels of violence with which adolescents will regain their freedom once they have served their sentences. The ruling also highlighted that the judicial branch cannot wait for rights violations to occur before intervening, when there are elements that reasonably presume they will happen, based on the precautionary principle.[S3][S4][S6]
Political Reactions and Next Steps
The ruling generated a quick political reaction. Senator Patricia Bullrich, a libertarian and former Security Minister, criticized Governor Axel Kicillof on social media platform X, accusing him of siding with criminals while residents of Buenos Aires live behind bars, in fear, and without security. She also criticized the provincial justice system as 'guarantist' for leaving criminals free to continue robbing, murdering, and destroying families.[S3]
The judge has called a hearing for September 16 at 10 a.m., where officials from the provincial Executive Branch responsible for implementing the law must appear to explain what measures they have adopted, which they project, and within what timeframes. The Ministry of Security, the provincial organism for Children, and the Ministry of Justice of Buenos Aires are tasked with ensuring compliance with the suspension while it lasts. Law 27.801, published in the Official Bulletin in March, establishes a maximum of 15 years of deprivation of liberty, prohibits life sentences, and incorporates electronic monitoring as an autonomous sanction.[S3][S6]
