MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Milei criticized for his choices for the Supreme Court

Lijo is said to have strong political ties to secure the Senate's nod

Argentine President Javier Milei took heavy flak Thursday after signing a decree Wednesday whereby he nominated Buenos Aires City Federal Judge Ariel Lijo to fill the Supreme Court (CSJN) vacancy left by Justice Elena Highton de Nolasco when she retired in 2021. The head of state also singled out Manuel García-Mansilla to take over from sitting Justice Juan Carlos Maqueda who will be reaching the mandatory retirement age later this year.

Lijo's choice was not welcome in Buenos Aires due to his involvement in numerous high-profile cases against prominent politicians which were either shelved or resulted in questionable sentences. He was the one to convict former Vice President Amado Boudou in a corruption scandal, among other notorious decisions.

“Both nominations will restore the number of Supreme Court justices to five,” the Office of the Argentine President (OPRA) argued in a statement.

“The Executive Branch expresses its gratitude for the distinguished work of Dr. Maqueda and highlights his extensive career in the three branches of the National State and in the province of Córdoba. In particular, it thanks him and recognizes his valuable participation as a Supreme Court Judge for 20 years,” the document went on.

“Dr. Lijo has excelled in his prominent judicial career in the criminal field, while Dr. García Mansilla is a prestigious scholar with a solid background in constitutional law,” it added.

“The changes that Argentina needs to return to the principles of Alberdi's Constitution that made our country great will not be permanent unless we have a Justice that strictly and honorably defends the values of life, freedom, and property of the Argentines”, concludes the statement released by the Office of the President.

After Highton's retirement in November 2021, the CSJN has been one justice short. Chief Justice Horacio Rosatti made up a majority together with Carlos Rosenkrantz and Maqueda, while Ricardo Lorenzetti stood alone as a dissenting voice. Rosatti and Rosenkrantz were appointed by former President Mauricio Macri, while Lorenzetti dates back to the times of Néstor Kirchner and Maqueda stems from Eduardo Duhalde's interim administration.

According to TN columnist Adrián Ventura, a Constitutional Law expert himself, “Lorenzetti and Lijo have formed, for many years, a tandem with great prestige within the entire Judiciary.” In addition, Lijo's strong political contacts within the opposition would grant the necessary Senate votes for his appointment, Ventura also explained.

Lijo became a Federal Judge at Buenos Aires' Nº 4 Court in 2004. From that bench, he convicted Boudou of bribery and negotiations incompatible with a public office and sentenced him to 5 years and 10 months in jail.

He was also the first magistrate to decide in 2015 on the case filed by late Federal Prosecutor Alberto Nisman against then-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (CFK) for allegedly covering up for the Iranians accused of participating in the 1994 bombing of the Jewish welfare association AMIA's headquarters killing 85 people and wounding over 300 others.

Lijo also handles the case of the attack on Milei after he took office when die-hard Kirchnerite Gastón Ariel Mercanzini threw a bottle at him as he rode a convertible car from Congress to Casa Rosada.

Meanwhile, the conservative García-Mansilla is a partner at the Liendo & Asociados Law firm who teaches Constitutional Law at the Austral University. He has strong ties with business personalities in the hydrocarbon sector. He is also very close to the ultra-Catholic Opus Dei group and opposes legal abortion.

In picking these two candidates, Milei “ignored the possibility of electing a woman, in open defiance of the progressive sectors” -hence most of the objections- while winking to the Church and the business establishment, according to Ventura.