ARGENTINA. LAST VESTIGES OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT ABOLISHED

August 6, 2008: the Argentine Congress eliminated the Military Code of Justice, thereby eliminating a special jurisdiction dating back to the 19th century, as well as burying the last vestige of the death penalty and ending punishment for homosexuality. The Senate voted unanimously to revoke the Code, originally approved in 1895 and later converted into law in 1951, with very few later modifications. Military crimes have now been incorporated into the standard Criminal Code, and a military criminal procedure in time of war has been created. Until now, military personnel could be judged by their peers and did not have the right to a lawyer. Retribution for the most serious crimes including treason, espionage, rebellion and mutiny was the death penalty, which does not exist in the country’s civilian justice system. Disciplinary action under the military code ran counter to respect for human rights as upheld by the constitution. The new law enters into force in six months’ time. "This law brings the military within the scope of the constitution. It’s a big step forward for the democratisation of the armed forces and for the justice system in general," Gastón Chillier, the head of the Centre for Legal and Social Studies (CELS) and one of the legal experts who worked on the draft law, told IPS. The law provides that even in time of war, every effort should be made to use the ordinary justice system for cases involving military personnel. (Sources: IPS, 08/08/2008)