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Viewing cable 08BUENOSAIRES504, ARGENTINA: SUPREME COURT OVERRULES CONGRESS AND REINSTATES

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08BUENOSAIRES504 2008-04-18 18:43 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Buenos Aires
VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #0504 1091843
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 181843Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0815
INFO RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000504 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KJUS PHUM AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: SUPREME COURT OVERRULES CONGRESS AND REINSTATES 
DEPUTY ACCUSED OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS 
 
1. (U) Summary:  The Argentine Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that the 
Congress acted illegally when it refused to seat Luis Patti, the 
former mayor of Escobar who is accused of committing human rights 
violations as a police officer during the 1976-83 military 
dictatorship.  The decision opened the way for another court to 
order Patti's release from prison.  Patti then announced his 
intention to take his seat in the Chamber of Deputies, which he won 
in the October 2005 elections.  Following Patti's election, the 
government-dominated Chamber declared him "morally unfit" and barred 
him from taking office.  Many Deputies and human rights groups 
oppose the Court's decision, and constitutional experts come down on 
both sides of the issue.  Patti, who had been under arrest since 
late November 2007, was released April 16 on the grounds that, as a 
sitting member of Congress (the Supreme Court's decision), he 
enjoyed immunity from arrest and prosecution.  The Chamber of 
Deputies is looking for ways to remove Patti should he take his 
seat, and has begun to discuss bills that would prevent people 
accused of human rights violations from running for office.  This 
issue has sparked a "conflict of powers" discussion concerning the 
Argentine legislative and judicial branches.  End Summary. 
 
2. (U) In the October 2005 mid-term legislative elections, Luis 
Patti won election as a national Deputy for the Province of Buenos 
Aires.  At the time, Patti, a former Buenos Aires provincial police 
officer, was under investigation for his alleged involvement in the 
kidnappings and killings of leftist militants during the 1976-83 
military dictatorship.  Based on this, the government-controlled 
Chamber of Deputies voted to prevent him from taking his seat in 
Congress, declaring him "morally unfit."  On November 22, 2007, a 
federal judge ordered Patti's arrest.  Patti filed a law suit to 
have the Chamber's decision overturned, and on April 8 the Supreme 
Court ruled 4 to 3 in favor of Patti, opening the way for him to 
take his seat in Congress. 
 
3. (U) The Supreme Court decided that the Chamber of Deputies can 
remove a legislator from office with a two-thirds majority vote, but 
only after he has taken his seat.  Many deputies disagree with the 
Court's decision and oppose Patti's re-entry into Congress. 
Analysts and constitutional experts are split on the subject, some 
claiming the Supreme Court's ruling subverts the autonomy of the 
legislative branch, others arguing the Chamber overstepped its 
boundaries in negating the popular vote and barring Patti's entry. 
Deputies opposed to Patti's entry are considering removal 
proceedings. 
 
4. (U) Government-allied Deputies Miguel Bonasso and Victoria Donda 
have introduced bills to ban from public office "all those who were 
convicted of committing or covering up crimes against humanity." 
(Embassy notes this would not apply to Patti, who has not been 
convicted of crimes against humanity.)  FPV-PJ Deputy Graciela 
Camano stated that "the bill aims to clarify a situation that is 
very clear to deputies but not to members of the Supreme Court." 
Donda, the Legislature's youngest member at 26, and the first child 
of a "disappeared" couple to obtain a seat in Congress, stated that 
"criminals should be in prison, not in office." 
 
5. (U) With the Court's ruling in his favor, Patti's lawyers 
appealed his arrest.  The Court of Appeals, citing the Supreme 
Court's decision, stated that Patti enjoyed parliamentary immunity, 
could not be arrested, and therefore ordered his release on April 
16.  However, he remains under investigation. 
 
6. (U) Cabinet Chief Alberto Fernandez told the press that the Patti 
case had created a "conflict of powers" between the legislative and 
judicial branches.  While he declared that the current 
administration had an "opinion" on the Supreme Court ruling, he 
declined to comment, instead assuring the media that the 
administration "respects the separation of powers."  While Fernandez 
claimed the government had nothing to say on the topic, former 
president Nestor Kirchner declared that he believed Patti should 
"prove his innocence before assuming his seat." 
 
7. (SBU) Comment:  Prosecution of the military dictatorship's Dirty 
War human rights violators has been a cornerstone of the Kirchner 
administrations.  Barring Patti from taking his seat in Congress, 
and in the process overturning the large popular vote in his favor 
(even though his service as police officer and the allegations 
against him were well known), was considered a victory for Kirchners 
and their human rights supporters.  They are not likely to let Patti 
peacefully resume his seat on the opposition benches.  In this 
ruling, the Supreme Court made a legitimate argument for the 
sanctity of due process and also demonstrated unusual independence 
in its willingness to go against the administration.  End Comment. 
 
WAYNE