Individual Rights and Guarantees in Argentina
Retroactivity of the Law: Laws govern future actions and are never retroactive unless otherwise stated.
More Benign Act: This is the exception to the principle of non-retroactivity. Laws can be applied retroactively only if they are more beneficial to the accused.
Declaration and Arrest Immunity: According to Article 18, nobody can be compelled to testify against themselves. Unlike the defendant, witnesses may refuse to testify. If they agree to testify under oath, they must tell the truth. If defendants testify under a promise of truth, they are forced to do so, as lying would be against them. (This is not a summary).
According to Article 18, nobody can be arrested without a written warrant from a competent authority. Only a judge can order the arrest of a person for a period of 12 hours, extendable by 6 more. This detention can later be transformed into remand. The only case in which police may apprehend a person without a warrant is in *flagrante delicto*, which is finding someone red-handed committing a crime or escaping after committing it. They can also do it for a background check.
Presumption of Innocence: A person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. To convict someone, the accuser must prove their guilt. It is not the innocent who must prove their innocence because it is presumed by law.
*Reformatio in Pejus* (Aggravation of Sentence): This means that a sentence cannot be aggravated if it was not requested by the accused person. Under the principle of congruence, the judge must rule as requested by the parties.
Double Instance: This is the possibility that a higher court may review the decision of a lower court. Any judge can make mistakes, and so both sides have the possibility to appeal. They can file: an appeal, a nullity appeal, or an extraordinary appeal to the Supreme Court.
Inviolability of the Home and Correspondence: According to Article 18 of the National Constitution, the home is inviolable, and the law will determine in which cases a search and seizure may proceed. One can only enter another person’s domain with a written order from a judge.
Correspondence and private papers are also inviolable, as everyone has the right to privacy under Article 19 of the National Constitution. This correspondence cannot be used as evidence in court if obtained in violation of that right.
Prison System: According to Article 18, prisons must be sound and clean, for security and not for punishment. Anyone who authorizes actions otherwise will be held liable. The penalty of imprisonment is a serious measure and the deprivation of a fundamental civil right. No arrest can be combined with other measures, since its purpose is rehabilitation and not mortification. It seeks the safety of the detainee and the community. However, this guarantee is not always respected in the Buenos Aires Penitentiary Service (SPB).
Death Penalty: It is forbidden for political reasons, and torture and beatings are also abolished. However, our Criminal Code does not provide it as a penalty in any case; therefore, it cannot be applied in our country. In states where it is permitted, it is carried out through the electric chair, hanging, firing squad, etc. Advantage: it is economical for the state. Disadvantage: it does not allow for social reintegration, a judge may mistakenly condemn an innocent person, and countries that have not implemented it have seen reduced crime.
These rights and guarantees are not absolute but may be regulated by different laws that limit them, but cannot alter them. This is established in Article 28 of the National Constitution.