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the case of argentina This chapter was Wrst drafted in Argentina in late-2003, a setting providing a number of cautionary lessons for would-be judicial reformers. The lessons derive from the fact that in the prior decade Argentina made notable strides in implementing many of the usual reform recommendations. This was done in a less concentrated and publicized fashion than has been customary in most countries. As a consequence , it is probably misleading to speak of a single Argentine reform. Aside from the constitutional amendments introduced in 1994, many of the changes occurred gradually and with minimal central direction or planning. Nonetheless, the nation’s political and judicial leaders have responded to concerns about the sector’s poor performance with a series of actions intended as remedies. Taken as a whole, they cover the full range of partial strategies and the activities commonly associated with them. Most of the changes discussed here occurred at the federal level. Many have been imitated and in some cases anticipated by provincial court systems. It is well to keep in mind that Argentina’s judiciary, like that of Mexico and Brazil, is federally organized.1 The “national courts” of the federal capital (Buenos Aires) belong to the federal system and are divided into fueros (specialized jurisdictions) that hear either local or federal cases (as determined by applicable law) in narrower substantive areas.2 Elsewhere in the country, twenty-three independent provincial court systems exist alongside those belonging to one of Wfteen federal judicial districts . There is one set of substantive codes for the entire country, but each province has its own procedural codes. The Problems Complaints about judicial performance, at both the provincial and federal levels , have a long history in Argentina. In general, they are not much different from EIGHT toward a more strategic model 1. It also bears noting that the three vary considerably as to organizational details, the rules for assigning cases to federal or local courts, and the impact of federal law on state or provincial court operations. 2. See Bielsa and Graña (1999), for a description of the national judiciary. There is also a small set of municipal courts in Buenos Aires. They currently hear only misdemeanor and local administrative cases, but represent a move to give the capital an independent court system. elsewhere in the region. They originate both within the sector and among its clients, political elites, and the broader public. Complaints from judges and other members of the legal community tend to focus on insufWcient institutional autonomy , excessive workloads, and inadequate budgets. Contrary to common regional practices, management of Argentine court budgets and other administrative matters traditionally fell to ministries or secretaries of justice, not to the respective supreme or superior court. Formal executive control of appointments and other career decisions was the normal rule. Typically, this meant the president or governor selected the judges, with some or all appointments ratiWed by the legislature. The real level of political interference may have been no greater than in countries where the supreme court nominally managed budgets and appointments, but the legal foundations of the Argentine arrangements made them the target of criticisms from reform-minded judges.3 With respect to the judges’ additional complaints, Argentina’s litigation rate is moderately high (roughly 9,500 cases per 100,000 population), but its complement of judges (4,029, or 10.9 per 100,000 inhabitants) and judicial workload (875 annual Wlings per judge) appear reasonable in that light.4 There are problems of geographic and functional distribution. Some judicial districts or specialized courts (fueros) have far more work than others. Argentina’s courts receive less Wnancial support than they would like, but in regional (and global) terms they are among the better off. The judicial share of the public budget has risen over recent years, currently reaching 3.5 percent. Until the economic crisis of 2001, court budgets were sufWcient to allow signiWcant investments in buildings and equipment.5 Budgets also provided for a very large auxiliary staff, working within the courtrooms and in central administrative ofWces. At the federal level, the staff per judge ratio is about twenty to one; in the provincial courts the ratio is usually lower. As compared to the rest of the public sector, judicial salaries are relatively high. Moreover, judges are alone among public employees in not paying income taxes, thanks to the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the constitutional prohibition on lowering their salaries. 272 problems and remedies 3. This...

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