INDEPENDENT NEWS

Cablegate: Argentina: Chief Justice to Seek Judicial

Published: Fri 28 Sep 2007 07:05 PM
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SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: CHIEF JUSTICE TO SEEK JUDICIAL
COOPERATION ON DC TRIP OCTOBER 1-5
1. (SBU) Summary: The Ambassador met with Argentine
Supreme Court President Ricardo Lorenzetti, on the eve of his
first official visit to Washington, to discuss his agenda and
judicial reform in Argentina. Lorenzetti shared the details
of his October 1-5 Washington schedule and his hope to
promote a pan-American conference on judicial independence
and rule of law. The Ambassador and Lorenzetti agreed on the
many similarities the Argentina and U.S. constitutions and
judicial systems share and on the existence of a strong basis
for cooperation. Lorenzetti highlighted that his scheduled
meeting with Chief Justice John Roberts will be the first
time the chief justices of Argentina and the U.S. meet. End
Summary.
2. (SBU) On September 27, the Ambassador met with Argentine
Supreme Court President Ricardo Lorenzetti, on the eve of his
first official visit to Washington, to discuss his agenda and
judicial reform in Argentina. Lorenzetti shared the details
of his October 1-5 Washington schedule. He is scheduled to
attend a session of oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme
Court on October 2, followed by a private meeting with Chief
Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito, Justice Stephen
Breyer, and Justice Antonin Scalia. Lorenzetti will also
meet privately with OAS Secretary General Jose Insulza on the
2nd. On October 3, Lorenzetti will visit the Georgetown
School of Law and have lunch with Argentine Ambassador Jose
Bordon. On October 4, Lorenzetti will meet with Director
General of the Federal Judicial Center Judge Barbara
Rothstein and travel to Baltimore to visit the University of
Maryland School of Law. Lorenzetti is scheduled to visit
Philadelphia October 5th, meeting the former director of the
American Law Institute, Professor Geoffrey Hazard.
Lorenzetti mentioned that he will visit the National
Archives. Other possible meetings that were requested but
not confirmed as of September 28 include:
-- interviews with international correspondents of Argentine
dailies Clarin and La Nacion;
-- a meeting with Speaker of the House of Representatives
Nancy Pelosi;
-- a visit to the Library of Congress;
-- a visit to the National Endowment for Democracy; and
-- and a meeting at the Argentine Embassy with members of the
Center for Argentine Students and Graduates (CEGA).
3. (SBU) Lorenzetti said he hopes to promote while in
Washington a pan-American conference on judicial independence
and rule of law. He said the U.S. Supreme Court, with the
help of USAID, held such a conference in 1995 and that there
was one follow-up meeting in Panama in 1997. Lorenzetti
showed Ambassador the conference report that named the
participating countries, themes covered, and conclusions of
the conference. He said he would propose hosting in Buenos
Aires another iteration of the 1995 conference next year. He
would like the conference to focus on fortifying judicial
independence and rule of law in the Americas.
4. (SBU) Lorenzetti explained that he is trying to promote
annual judicial conferences within Argentina. The Ambassador
congratulated Lorenzetti on the August judicial conference in
Salta province. Lorenzetti said that it was a very
successful conference which addressed the most important
judicial issues in Argentina, including modernization of the
court system, timeliness of trials, and budgeting.
Lorenzetti did not comment on his recent dispute in the press
with Justice Minister Alberto Iribarne over increasing the
Supreme Court's budget except to say that more funds are
needed for technology to improve the efficiency of judicial
proceedings. (Lorenzetti asked the administration for 2.3
billion pesos for 2008 -- a 50% increase over current funding
and 600 million pesos over the cap designated by the Ministry
of Economy. Lorenzetti claims that 90% of the current budget
goes to pay salaries and that a budget increase would allow
him to modernize and improve the justice system. Iribarne
said the judicial budget has doubled in the last four years.)
5. (SBU) On the judicial reform bill currently before the
Argentine Congress, Lorenzetti said the bill will
significantly contribute to improving the justice system. He
said the bill will introduce specific timetables for trials
and establish modern criteria. Lorenzetti said that the bill
was accepted by all of the federal judges.
6. (SBU) Lorenzetti's U.S. discussions will also focus in
part on helping Argentina develop a a system as exists in the
U.S. for describing case law to encourage more consistency in
judicial decisions.
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Biographic Information
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7. (SBU) Ricardo Lorenzetti, born September 19, 1955, was
appointed to the Argentine Supreme Court by President
Kirchner in December 2004 and became Chief Justice in
November 2006. Lorenzetti was born in Santa Fe province and
became a lawyer in 1978. He has also taught law in Santa Fe
and in Buenos Aires at the University of Belgrano. He said
his specialization is commercial law. He speaks English and
spent some time at the post graduate level in Austin, Texas.
He appears sincerely dedicated to modernizing the Argentine
justice system and to augmenting the legitimacy of the
Supreme Court in public opinion.
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Comment
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8. (SBU) Lorenzetti said he hopes that his visit to
Washington will result in the planning of a Pan-American
judicial conference in Buenos Aires next year. He said he
admires the professionalism and authority of the U.S. Supreme
Court and hopes the conference would present an opportunity
to learn from the U.S. justice system. He said Argentina is
working to change the role of the judicial system in society,
but that it is not Argentine tradition to follow precedents
established by the rulings and opinions of the country's
highest court. Lorenzetti's visit presents an opportunity to
engage the Argentine judicial system on increased cooperation
and exchanges. END COMMENT.
WAYNE
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