In a conversation with Chaco TV Digital, JSCA’s Training Director noted the impact that the passage of the province’s law allowing trial by jury in civil matters will have on Argentina and Latin America.

The passage of the law allowing trial by jury for civil matters  in Argentina’s El Chaco province beginning this year* has generated a great deal of interest due to its impact on justice administration in the region, the country and the rest of Latin America.

During an interview on the Chaco TV program “Punto de Partida” (Starting Point), the Training Director of the Justice Studies Center of the Americas (JSCA), attorney Leonel González, highlighted the positive consequences that the new legislation will have for resolving disputes, which is being observed by the rest of the countries in Latin America.

“By passing the trial by jury law for civil matters, Chaco province has become a point of reference for the rest of Latin America. It is a very important step forward that JSCA will be observing.”

During his Chaco TV interview, González also noted the effect that it has on the perception of justice among those who seek to resolve their disputes -which is generally negative- given that they will now be the ones who will reach a verdict. 

“When the people participate in a trial as members of the jury, their negative perception of justice changes, and litigants must do more and better work in terms of presenting the cases,” he said.

Chaco Province -whose capital is the city of Resistencia, home to nearly 400,000 people- has 24 departments and 70 municipalities and a population of over one million. Its judiciary is comprised of the Superior Court (with five members), the Chambers, the first instance courts, peace and misdemeanors courts, the prosecution service and the public defender’s office.

History

In 2015, during JSCA’s International Seminar on Civil Justice Reforms in Viña del Mar, Chile, Leonel González gave a lecture proposing the inclusion of discussions of the experience of trial by jury in civil matters.

Two years later, in 2017, JSCA presented a document containing ten ideas about a civil justice reform model for Latin America. In the document, we mentioned that civil justice reformers should not shy away from innovation. To that end, we recommended that  institutions that have received little attention in the region should be explored. These include the possibility that the parties may represent themselves, multidoor courthouses and trial by jury in civil and commercial matters.

Download the law: https://www.justiciachaco.gov.ar/juicioporjurados/archivos/ley2364.pdf

Watch the interview on our YouTube channel, CEJAoficial.