The Ruling and Its Legal Grounds
Judge Laura Beatriz de Marinis, who heads Court No. 3 for Juvenile, Misdemeanor and Minor Offenses in Buenos Aires, declared unconstitutional Article 1 of Law 27.801, the provision that defines the scope of the new juvenile penal regime. The law, in force since September 5, sets criminal responsibility for adolescents from age 14 until midnight on the day they turn 18. De Marinis ruled in response to a request from the Public Defender's Office and dismissed the case against a 14-year-old identified as M.I.A., who had been accused of attempted robbery. The judge argued that applying the penal system to conduct that previously fell under the child protection system is regressive and violates the youth's fundamental guarantees.[S1][S2][S5]
The case stemmed from an incident on September 10 at 6 a.m., when a 47-year-old man walking on the sidewalk was approached by a group of four or five adolescents on the opposite side. Two of them crossed over and demanded his belongings. The man ran and sought help from a police officer, escaping the robbery. Four adolescents were charged. De Marinis noted that while the victim was intimidated, no property was taken and no physical injuries occurred. After reviewing video evidence, she described the group's conduct as crude and clumsy, typical of adolescent immaturity and incomplete prefrontal cortex development.[S1][S4][S6]
The Judge's Reasoning
De Marinis argued that the state's institutional response to the adolescent's conduct was regressive because, before the law took effect, the state held him responsible but did not pursue criminal prosecution, instead involving the comprehensive protection system. She emphasized that adults cannot punish children and adolescents for what adults failed to do, for having left them unprotected in early childhood, or for not providing a normative figure that would allow them to become responsible subjects. She added that punishing them for the failures of the adult world means disclaiming adult responsibility and the duty of co-responsibility that weighs on society.[S1][S3][S4]
Understand this article deeper
The judge clarified that she did not intend to romanticize juvenile criminal offenses, but rather to stress that incorporation into the penal system must be a last resort, and in some life trajectories it unfortunately becomes the first. She also rejected the defense's incompetence motion, citing the National Supreme Court's stance that the national character of ordinary courts is transitory, meaning the Buenos Aires Superior Court of Justice must intervene in jurisdictional conflicts between ordinary courts in the city.[S1][S2][S4]
Political Reactions and Precedents
The ruling quickly drew political reactions. Buenos Aires Mayor Jorge Macri rejected the decision and announced he would seek impeachment, saying judges who defend criminals must be exposed and that the ruling is stained with blood. Senator Patricia Bullrich of La Libertad Avanza also criticized De Marinis, arguing that judges more concerned with protecting delinquents than delivering justice to victims only build impunity. The case marks the second judicial setback for the new juvenile penal regime. The first was a ruling by Judge Marta Pascual of the Juvenile Criminal Responsibility Court No. 2 in Lomas de Zamora, who suspended the law's application in Buenos Aires province for 60 days through a collective habeas corpus, citing inadequate infrastructure. That decision was later revoked by the Appeals Chamber.[S1][S3][S6]
De Marinis had previously been at the center of controversy for a 2021 case in which she released a 17-year-old who severely beat Arturo López, a parking attendant in Monserrat. López was discharged from the hospital in late 2023 and was left with lifelong aftereffects. The new ruling is a concrete case decision and can be reviewed by higher courts if appealed. Its impact on the application of the new regime in other cases will depend on future judicial resolutions.[S1][S5]
