MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina's S. Court ratifies its authority; questioned Justice Fayt attends Tuesdays' meeting

Fayt, 97, whose health condition has been questioned by the Cristina Fernandez administration walked into the Supreme Court minutes after 09:00.

Argentine Justice Carlos Fayt showed himself publicly on Tuesday morning as he readied to attend the Supreme Court to participate of a meeting of the country's highest court with four sitting Justices, as they regularly do on Tuesdays.

Fayt, 97, whose health condition has been questioned by the Cristina Fernandez administration walked into the Supreme Court minutes after nine in the morning.

Justice Fayt had been away from the spotlight for almost a month until Wednesday last week, failing to appear on Tuesday's usual meetings, which led the Argentine government to demand his removal on “physical and mental” conditions.

However with his reappearance, the Supreme Court ratified the re-election of Ricardo Lorenzetti as Chief Justice following the controversy that had arisen the previous week when it was confirmed that a first resolution of the Court renewing Lorenzetti's position was signed without the presence of Carlos Fayt.

Speculations continued last week when Fayt returned to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, with authorities practically “sealing” the fourth floor of the Courthouse where it was not allowed the circulation or access of journalists. But very soon the Centre of Judicial Information (CIJ) uploaded on its website a report saying that the “Supreme Court has reaffirmed its faculties to designate authorities” and attached the complete legal text.

On the same week the Argentine Lower House Impeachment Committee controlled by government lawmakers voted in favor of initiating an investigative process into the “physical and mental health” of Fayt.

Nevertheless the re-election of Argentina's Supreme Court Chief Justice was made official on Monday after the Official Gazette published Lorenzetti’s designation while also stressing that it “doesn’t matter” where the accord was signed. The document was signed by the four Supreme Court justices: Lorenzetti, Fayt, Elena Highton de Nolasco and Juan Maqueda.

“It doesn’t make a difference where in Buenos Aires city the accord was signed by the ministers — this has long been a practice in the court,” stated the document.