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7. Conclusion: Past and Present of the Criminal Justice System in Argentina
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KimE — University of Nebraska Press / Page 114 / AUGUST . 31 . 2005 / Crime and the Administration of Justice in Buenos Aires, 1785–1853 / Osvaldo Barreneche 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 [First Page] [114], (1) Lines: 0 to 42 ——— 7.0pt PgVar ——— Normal Page PgEnds: TEX [114], (1) 7. Conclusion Past and Present of the Criminal Justice System in Argentina This study of the formative stage of the modern penal system in Argentina has conveyed the multiple and relevant aspects of the topic. The first chapters went back to Medieval Spain to see how these early legal texts contributed to the general framework of the colonial penal system in Buenos Aires, an urban society marked by deep social stratification. The historical evolution of criminal law reflected a social formula of judicial coexistence. Privileged and general norms coexisted and were prioritized in the resolution of criminal cases. Thus, colonial legislation was used for adjusting criminal laws to fit specific cases, adding an interpretative component to the evolving penal systems. The combination of Spanish legal standards and colonial procedural regulations was completed by the application of penal norms at the local level. In the case of late colonial Buenos Aires, viceroyal bandos were important for the formation of an official discourse on social control. The colonial bureaucracy in the city of Buenos Aires was able to use all the Spanish penal laws to cope with the problems of administering criminal justice in the capital of the viceroyalty. Porteño audiencia members and other new judicial officials confronted other bureaucrats like the viceroy for preference in dealing with public safety matters. Ideally seen by law historians as an example of correct and moderate application of colonial laws, the audiencia was in fact mostly concerned with imposing its judicial authority. Softening hard alcalde sentences or punishing abuses of authorities fell behind this other main goal. While controversies between audiencia and viceroy preceded similar disputes between judicial magistrates and executive authorities during the early independent period, colonial alcaldes took control of a key instance of the criminal process, the sumario, which collected the initial information of a case. Sumario writing provided an important power tool for those who controlled it, colonial alcaldes first and police comisarios from 1820 on. Continuities in the legal architecture of colonial penal justice did not prevent an intense institutional experimentation after independence. Furthermore, the need to maintain social order and public safety in a context of political insta- KimE — University of Nebraska Press / Page 115 / AUGUST . 31 . 2005 / Crime and the Administration of Justice in Buenos Aires, 1785–1853 / Osvaldo Barreneche conclusion: past and present 115 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 [115], (2) Lines: 42 to 48 ——— 0.0pt PgVar ——— Normal Page PgEnds: TEX [115], (2) bility encouraged the adaptation of colonial penal practices to the early republican urban milieu of Buenos Aires. As part of these changes and adaptation of previous judicial practices, many reglamentos were passed in an attempt to shape the legal profile of the emerging penal system. Nineteenth-century republican principles collided with the more practical needs of social control. Political instability during the first decades after independence challenged the legitimacy of diverse political urban groups. One of the few ways politicians could guarantee popular support was to maintain acceptable levels of public safety and social control. Thus, executive authorities acknowledged individual rights, like due process, but at the same time pressured the judiciary to speed the resolution of criminal cases even when it meant overlooking certain legal personal guarantees. Criminal judges and the Cámara de Justicia were not so enthusiastic about this search for results at any cost. Judicial officials did not want to modify parts of the existing structure of justice administration without addressing and defining the role they thought they should have in the emerging republic. The judiciary thus adopted a legal position that executive authorities saw as preventing tackling public safety through the administration of criminal justice. Meanwhile,and as a consequence of this position,a powerful discourse by police forces was in the making, one...